Parallax in metres

Depth is what proves the camera travelled. Give each layer its distance, and name the one thing the move passes.

Every layer gets its distance from the lens in LOCATION MAP (block 3): "the fence post 0.6 m from the lens; the cyclist at 4 m; the hills from 40 m on."

For a truck, arc or crane, CAMERA names the one foreground element the move passes [best available, not yet validated], and what it does in frame: "the lamp post slides from the right edge to the left edge by about 3 s". Keep it soft. One element only: more objects clutter the frame and can take over the composition.

Where you want depth, move the camera through space. A pan or a zoom has no parallax by nature, and that is right for them. A truck, arc or crane must show it.

What failure looks like: the whole background moves as one flat sheet, near and far together. The fix is in Video with Seedance → The failure table; how to see it on a take is in Camera and lens → Measuring the dose on the sample batch. The reference bar asks for parallax on every moving take (see The quality bar → The reference bar).

Sources

• Emmanuel Lubezki on The Revenant (SHOOT); Linus Sandgren on La La Land (American Cinematographer); Roger Deakins; Higgsfield's Seedance 2.5 prompt builder (three background layers); HUNGER by @sssacccade (project); @adilinthewild (blog).