8

Environment 267
focal node. You can also press H to display the
Select O bjects dialog (page 1–78) from which you
can select objects to use as a focal node.
Remove—Removes the object selected as the Focal
Node.
Use Camera—Specifies that the focal length from
thecameraselectedintheCameraSelectionlistbe
used to determine the focal point.
Focal Parameters group
Custom—Uses the values set in the Focal
Parameters group box to determine the properties
of the Depth of Field effect.
Use Camera—Uses the values from the camera
highlighted in the Camera Selection list to
determine focal range, limit, and blur.
Hori z Foca l Loss—Determines the amount of blur
along the horizontal axis when Custom has been
chosen.
Vert Focal Loss—Controls the amount of blur along
the vertical axis when Custom has been chosen.
Focal Ran ge —Sets the Z dist ance, in units, to e ither
side of the focal point in which the image will
remain in focus when Custom has b een chosen.
Focal Li mit—Sets the Z distance, in units, to either
side of the focal point where blur will reach its
maximumasspecifiedbytheLossspinnerswhen
Custom has been chosen.
Env ir onment a nd
E nv i r onmen t E f f ects
Envir onment
Rendering menu > Environment > Environment and
Effects dialog > Environment panel
Env i ronment displays the Environment panel
(page 3–268)
, w hich is used for setting up
atmospheric and background effects.
You can use the environment functions to:
• Setandanimatethebackgroundcolor.
• Use an image in the background of the rendered
scene (screen environment) or use texture
maps as spher ical, cylindrical, or shrink-wrap
environments.
•Setandanimatethe
ambient light (page
3–1002)
.
• Use atmospheric plug-ins, such as volumetric
light, in the scene.
• Apply exposure controls to renderings.
Atmospher es
A tmospheres are plug-in (page 3–1089)
comp onents that create lighting effects such as fog,
fire, and so on.
Fire Environment Effect (page 3–272)
Fog Environment Effect (page 3–278)
Volume Fog Environment Effect (page 3–280)
Volume Light Environment Effect (page 3–284)
See Environment dialog (page 3–268) for all
environment parameters.