How to Set Up Custom Depth of Field Using Depth Footage

Instead of relying on in-game blur, you can pair a standard Minecraft recording with a Depth Style Shaders pass to dial in custom depth of field inside external editing software.

Framing Foreground and Background Separation

1. Enable Depth Style Shaders from Video Settings > Shader Packs before recording to preview how your scene separates by distance.

2. Position your camera so your subject sits at a distinct shade compared to the background—for example, placing a dark, close-up build or character against much lighter distant mountains.

3. Adjust your vanilla FOV in the Options menu if needed to emphasize distance between near and far blocks.

4. Capture both your color pass (with the shader disabled) and your depth pass (with Depth Style Shaders enabled), keeping F1 toggled on for both.

Using the Gradient in Post-Production

Import both clips into your external video editor and stack them on synchronized tracks. Assign the grayscale clip as the depth or lens-blur source for your color clip. Because closer objects are shaded darker and distant objects are shaded lighter, your editing software can cleanly isolate any focal plane from foreground to horizon without frame drops during capture.