We were working with a very shallow depth of field for all of the internal circuitry scenes and we wanted the flexibility to change it in post. This usually presents challenges because depth passes change with camera moves.

In order to combat that, we exported nulls linked to each corner of the main chip from Cinema 4D to After Effects. We then used expression code in After Effects to sample the center of those four points, convert the color to 8-bit, and then pass that value using a Master Property into Friscluft Lenscare so that our focus follows the chip.

While this allowed us to lock focus on the center point of the chip, the extremely shallow depth of field meant that we couldn't realistically keep the logo fully in focus when we see it on the main chip, so we cheated. Using the same calculation we used to find the color at the center of the chip, we wrote code to create a flat color area for the entire surface of the chip. The new matte had feathered edges to blend into the rest of the scene. This means that the focal point encompasses all of the surface of the chip and it's locked to the original camera throughout the move.

As we went along, we built new dailies for the client to see how things were coming together. In later iterations, like these, they included various effects—like chromatic aberration—that we built concurrently in 2D as we were revising cameras in 3D.

While we would normally grade at the end of the process, we were able to set the look early on as our scenes had very similar lighting. So we exported LUTs from Resolve and completed the final composites in After Effects.