“Focus tracking for cinematography” by Wildfellner
Conference:
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Title:
- Focus tracking for cinematography
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Abstract:
Cinematographers primarily use manual control for focusing their cameras because existing autofocus techniques used in photography can’t be directly applied to video or motion-pictures and don’t provide sufficient artistic control. Adjusting focus therefore remains a key challenge, which limits the possibilities of executing certain shots. For instance, the amount of depth of field used in shots with a moving camera or subject is heavily influenced by how precise focus can be controlled. This work presents a simple method to overcome some of these challenges by tracking the focus with off the shelf sensory equipment and state of the art 3D point cloud processing techniques. The method integrates well with the current workflow of camera operators and their first assistants and even gives them more flexibility than a manually controlled follow focus. To evaluate the feasibility, a fully functional prototype was built and tested with professional camera operators.
