Archive

Class 1: In this class we take a common household bench and turn it into a 3D point cloud using NukeX's built-in tracker. We then learn how to navigate Nuke's 3D view, lock the camera and set the ground plane. Finally, we venture into the joys of rotomation by assigning an arbitrary plane to a segment of the point cloud data, then use the ol' faithful RotoPaint node to roto in 3D.

Class 2: This week we introduce the concept of UV maps and segue into their indispensable nature for compositors. We then cleanplate our trusty old bench scene using UV mapped planes and discover that when you take a camera and stick a light source in it, you get a projector. A.K.A. camera projection mapping.

Class 3: In this class we discover how to track a moving object and then use NukeX's modeler tool to create guide geometry for more elaborate modeling to be done outside of Nuke. We then export our point cloud solve and guide geometry to Luxology's modo via fbx. Finally we get an accelerated orientation to the modo interface and toolset, along with an introduction to subdivision surface modeling. Whew. When you're done, head to the fridge and grab yourself a cold one, you'll have earned it.

Class 4: Another busy week. We start in modo, learning some very basic box modeling techniques with subdivision surfaces, to create some matching geometry for our face model. We then head over to Nuke where we use the projection solver node to align the object to camera, then do a little tweaking with expressions to align the scene solve camera to the projection solver cam. Then we throw in a light and relight our talking head.

Class 5: We launch into the core course project in this class: making someone turn to cloth, then evaporate into particles. We begin with a full solve with lens distortion removal for the shot, then use the modeler tool along with dueling cameras to create an animated cleanplate for the sequence.

Class 6: This week we create an animated model of the girl we plan to collapse into cloth. We start with a primitive created in Nuke, refine in modo, then setup a UV map for projection mapping. Finally we take a crash course in the bullet dynamics physics engine.

Class 7: This week we create the cloth simulation to collapse a girl to cloth, and set up an image-based lighting pass to match the basic scene lighting. We working with vertex maps and a basic shadow rig along the way.

Class 8: This week we wrap the disappearing girl shot with particles flying everywhere thanks to P maps (position maps), particles, vortexes and directional forces. We also work with multiple lighting passes to examine the workflow for neutralizing on-set lighting and replacing it with IBL lighting. Finally, we do a little warping to blend our cleanplate with the original source plates.

Class 9: Today we examine a basic multipass workflow with a multilayer EXR imported and then grouped to create fine-tuning controls. We add a little defocus and motion blur using depth and vector passes and also take a look at the workflow for matching diffuse objects to an on-set reference.

Class 10: We round out the course with a couple of nice tricks. Firstly we take a look at using camera tracking as a better way to nail down tough screen replacements, succeeding on shots that would cause planar trackers to lose their sanity. Finally, we look at solving one of the holy grails of compositing: how to correct perspective mismatch using a surprisingly simple depth matte gags built from the humble rotopaint node.