Chapter 9. The Camera and Optics

The Camera and Optics
 

A film is never really good unless the camera is an eye in the head of a poet.

 
 --Orson Welles

It seems as if visual effects is all about simulating the look of the real world, but that’s not quite the goal; as a visual effects compositor, your actual job is to simulate the real world as it appears through the lens of a camera. The distinction is critical, because when photographed the world looks different—more or less real, and possibly both.

It’s not too grandiose to say that cinematography is essential to compositing, because After Effects offers the opportunity to re-create and even change essential shooting ...

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