Let me start by saying that I am not an After Effects wizard. I've toyed with AE for awhile and it still takes me some time to understand how to get what I'm after. I'm still learning some of the basics of the AE interface especially when it comes to 3D. But being the special effects nut that I am, I knew about Digieffects' Atmosphere plug-in and what it could offer. I jumped at the chance to give it a spin and I was not disappointed. Digieffects Atmosphere is simple to download and add-on to the AE list of effects.

I began by adding a simple white background and our DMAG logo with a chrome effect applied in Photoshop. Here I've added the AE 3D effect and given the logo a perspective rotation for depth in the 3D space.

This is the logo with Digieffects Atmosphere applied. Notice how the illusion of depth is enhanced by the atmospheric effect as the logo almost disappears in the distance. The "Start Depth" is set to 700 and the "End Depth" is set to 1700. More about this later.

The "Start Depth" and "End Depth" settings are critical to this effect. The oval in the upper right is where these setting appear in the Effects Control panel and they are easily adjustable with the results immediately appearing in the Composition panel. The yellow oval near the bottom of the screen indicates the depth of the near edge of the logo (692) in relation to the camera. By using this number as a reference to set the Start Depth you can determine exactly where to begin the atmospheric fade. Setting the End Depth determines where the fog will obscure everything beyond. Here the far edge of the logo is around 1600. With the End Depth set to 1700, we can still see the far end of the logo. (I know this is a little tough, but stay with me.)

In this panel, the Start Depth is still 700 which begins the effect just beyond the near edge of the logo (692). That's why it appears so clearly. However I've now set the End Depth to 1300 which is closer than the far end (1600) of the logo. This makes the logo disappear into the fog.

In this panel, I've reset the Start Depth to "0". This begins the effect directly in front of the camera. Notice how the entire logo in now enveloped in fog.

Digieffects Atmosphere allows you to apply the effect individual layers or to an entire scene. Striking effects occur when multiple layers of objects set to different depths in a 3D scene are enhanced with Digieffects Atmosphere.

Go ahead and load up Digieffects Atmosphere and give 'er a whirl. Just remember... keep your headlights on dim when driving in the fog. ;-)