still images brought to life .. by adding depth & motion ..

2.5D = 2D still imagery in 3D space ..

works both for simple photography / complex multi-image matte-painting, and/or Illustrations, etc. ..
The parallax effect can be either very subtle (simple pan & zoom camera moves within still flat photography scene / ken burns effect, etc.) - or - more ´cinematic´ (by splitting an image into more separate layers, adding depth of field/motion blur, lens distortion, atmosphere enhancements, bits of vfx, painterly look, etc.) ..
Or - the possibilities can go even further - the ´3D illusion´ can become even more realistic .. allowing for some more advanced (wider angle) camera moves within the scene - or even ´diving´ into the scene, as if it was a true 3D environment shot ..

Camera Projection techniques .. for ´real world 3D´ illusion ..

Basic Camera projection principle (Cinema 4D version) briefly explained in the following video.
(Apologies for my limited English)
Note: To skip the ´intro part´ - start at >> 01 : 20

(DMP) digital matte painting ..

Combining all of the above + adding Photoshop to the mix - for fixing, extending, retouching, restoring, recreating (or simply painting from scratch) those parts that might need it - or - the entire scene.

Matte painting is a technique (originally painted on glass, nowadays digital) that helps film-makers create a ´believable´ illusion of (otherwise too expensive, inconvenient/dangerous, or simply non existent/impossible to shoot) environments or scenes .. used both for (entirely from scratch created) fantastic feature film worlds - and/or - just to ´invisibly´ alter existing ordinary real world scenes, so as no one can really tell it´s been altered .. (hence its ´invisible art´ name). Technically, it´s done using various art/photo & editing techniques (photo-manipulation /compositing /realistic digital painting /camera projections /3D etc.) .. combined seamlessly together in one final piece ..

Note:
In feature film productions/pipelines - NUKE & Maya combo is usually used for these. For me, though, using Nuke/Maya (seen in some of my videos) is just an exception (just testing a workflow, actually) - as I am NOT an experienced Nuke/Maya user .. (as a small/solo ´one-man-production´ studio - I switched to Cinema 4D & After Effects instead, in the end).


Photoshop / adv. image post-production /matte-painting (making-of / process) ..

Imagery used: Photobash Dirty Alley collection / & texutres.com
For more (about this project) - see in my Behance portfolio >>

Still not sure about how Matte-painting is used
in film ?

Here´s a sweet little demonstration :)
.. as these special visual effects had actually been used back in the early cinematography / silent films era, already .. Way before modern VFX industry even came to its existence ..
(Charlie Chaplin /Modern Times /Roller Skating Scene VFX, 1936)

The basic principle (of how matte-paintings work) is still pretty much the same, tho ..
The only difference now is that matte-painters do not paint the environments on glass any more, nowadays :) ..
Using Photoshop / Mari / Nuke / etc. instead ..

..
a few more (camera projection) examples ..


AR (AUGMENTED REALITY) little demo ..

for a bit more (info/ making-of/ case study) about the project .. see my Behance portfolio >>

 

Facebook ´3D post(s)´ ..

2.5D depth-map based images ..

introduced by Facebook some time ago / originally ment for Apple ´portrait-mode´ / dual-camera phones only - but - nowadays can be used for any types of imagery, basically ..
(VIDEO)