Devil In The Details

Ever wonder why the ship outside of the bridge's view in Star Trek looks so small? That's because the proper illusion to create depth of field wasn't used. The top image is the original picture and the one below it is a quick mock up in Photoshop. A Gaussian blur was applied to it, giving the illusion of camera depth; which in return, gives the illusion of depth that we perceive through our eyes.

Had this this common practice been applied through the use of layered plates in front of the camera, those ships wouldn't look like plastic models being hung by a fishing line...which they were. Using this technique in live action or animation will make your subjects in the frame look much larger to the audience. With this ability at the fingertips of the amateur filmmaker, it's an expected level of quality from any serious artist. I made this mock-up in 10 seconds- so what's your excuse?

COH: Crazy Fingers