Video · LensNO.036 / 166
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When to use it
Revealing someone in the background, moving from an object to a person, switching between two people.
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Prompt template
rack focus, locked-off: focus starts on a ring on the table in the foreground with the background soft, then smoothly shifts to a person standing in the doorway behind as the ring goes soft. Shallow depth of field, 3 seconds.
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Sample prompt · generate a video directly
The technique comes first, followed by the scene, action, performance and duration. Paste it straight into a video model and swap in your own characters and plot.
Rack focus, locked-off camera: a dinner table late at night, a wedding ring lying on the table in the foreground, focus on the ring and the background blurred; then focus glides smoothly to the background, where the husband stands in the doorway holding a suitcase, and the ring goes soft. Shallow depth of field, a warm yellow pendant lamp, 4 seconds.
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Common pitfalls
- Foreground and background are sharp at once, so there's no visible rack.
- The camera moves during the rack and the two get mixed up.
- Racking too fast looks like the focus failed.
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Parameter tips
Put real distance between foreground and background; say where focus starts and ends; complete the pull in 1 to 2 s.