Creating a Miniature Effect Using Depth Maps in After Effects Recreating the miniature effect from Bambai Meri Jaan's title sequence can be achieved using Adobe After Effects without third-party plugins. The key is creating depth maps, which define focus and blur areas on footage. By applying Camera Lens Blur with gradient-based or custom-created depth maps, realistic tilt-shift effects are produced. Adjusting parameters like blur radius and bokeh shapes enhances visual appeal.
Using Plugins for Advanced Depth Map Creation For complex scenes where simple gradients fail to create accurate depth perception, paid tools like the Depth Scanner plugin generate precise depth maps directly from footage. These enhance realism by focusing only on relevant elements while blurring others appropriately based on distance.
Free Alternative: Creating Custom Depth Maps via Photoshop Actions Depth maps can also be created manually without plugins by exporting video frames as PNG sequences into Photoshop. Neural Filters convert images into detailed grayscale representations of scene depths through automated actions applied across all frames before re-importing them back into After Effects for final composition adjustments.