Background Plate - DoF

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Whats up guys,

Is there a way to apply DoF directly on the backgroundplate image?



on this guy:


The scene can be downloaded here [www.dropbox.com] in case anyone wants to have a look

Thanks!
Edited by VFX_Skull - Jan. 15, 2026 20:09:11

Attachments:
no.png (1.0 MB)
DoF.png (1.0 MB)
env.png (243.9 KB)

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I have a workaround for it. It works, but it's not ideal.

Im projecting a uv from the camera and using the plate as a unlit material
Then I can render just the background with DoF first and then apply it to the backgroundplate later.

It works, but there might be a way to get this DoF background directly on the final render, without having to pre-render it (i hope this makes any sense)

Scene file is here [www.dropbox.com]

Edited by VFX_Skull - Jan. 16, 2026 12:42:17

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BG.png (2.5 MB)

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I could keep the dino on this background, but the BG wont get shadows since the scene have this unlit material applied to it

Edited by VFX_Skull - Jan. 16, 2026 12:46:03

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dino.png (2.8 MB)

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No, you cannot apply DOF to the background plate LOP's background plate. The plate isn't projected onto the geometry and rendered, it is simply composited in as a background, in the viewport only (by default: Render Settings > Karma > Use Background > Auto) as a preview of what the final comp should look like.
Typically the background plate will already have DOF - the idea is to match up the CG camera to the physical camera the plate was shot with.
In your case, you'll want to first render the plate projected onto your BG geo, and then use that as the plate for the background plate LOP.
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Thanks Nick!

Let me ask you something that is probably impossible.

Is there any way I can reference this ROP directly in the background plate, so I dont have to pre-render it? (or something like this)
I know this might sounds super weird based on how things work but, you know, this is houdini and everything is possible (most of the time - lol)

Edited by VFX_Skull - yesterday 03:54:14

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ROP.png (317.7 KB)

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If your ground used for backplate is enough precise, you could get Z deph with your render and do your dof in copnet, if i'm not mistaken..
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