Digital CompositingNuke

Introduction to digital compositing
• Introduction, history, optical compositing, basics of film, digital compositing with examples (Star Wars, Blade Runner, Terminator, Titanic…)

Components of a digital image
• Digital and analogue signals, digitalization, basic components of an image, pixel, bit depth, resolution, characteristics of images from film and digital cameras, HDR format, Gamut, Color space

Light and camera I
• Basics of lights, movement of light, reflection, refraction, light sources, shadows, light temperature, white balance. Pinhole camera, visibility angle, perspective, explanation of aperture, depth of field, ISO sensitivity – all with practical examples

Light and camera II
• Filming angles, creative use of light, analyzing the light in various examples, recognizing types of light for easier matching. Camera movements, basic division and terminology. METADATA, how everything helps.
• Practical examples – the more the better.

Nuke basics
• Interface, navigation, controls, nodes, loading files. Simple compositing with two overlapping images. (Parallel with examples from Photoshop, so as to display the parallels between Nuke and Ps. Simple key)
• Exercise

Input devices
• Formats, analogue, digital, PAL, NTSC, HD, RED FPS, aspect ratio, compressing signals, compressing data, lossless and lossy compressions, file formats BMP, TGA, PNG, JPG, MPEG, MOV, DPX, EXR. Advantages and disadvantages, format conversion

All about color
• Theory of color, examples of photographs and various works of art
• Color correction in Nuke, showing what each slider does, explaining on a histogram what is happening with a signal
• Secondary color corrections. Examples from production
• Exercise – color corrections, on a given example (a homework assignment is also given)

Merge operators
• Operations between two inputs. Plus, minus, over, min, max, screen, overlay… To be explained mathematically. Premultiply and unpremultiply (To be demonstrated through a simple example and then through an example from production)
• Exercise

Filters, interpolation, transformation
• Blur, defocus, median, edge blur, erode, sharpen, soften, zblur, motion blur, emboss, god rays…
• Transformations: translate, corner pin, reformat, crop
• Interpolation: cubic, nearest, mitchel… (To be demonstrated through examples including several examples from production)
• Exercise

Animation, working with keys
• Roto, working with masks. Principles of animation, timing, spacing (Roto to be demonstrated through a simple example)
• 2D tracking, matchmove, stabilization. Example: sky replacement. Planar tracker (to be demonstrated through an example)
• Spline warp, grid warp, morphing
• Exercise

Compositing CG elements I
• Pass compositing. Working with channels. Integration with real elements, reference stand in, light wrapping, shadows, standardization of color, spill suppression, atmospheric effects, camera characteristics, size and perspective, focus and defocus (bokeh), motion blur, lens flare…
• Exercise: demonstrations through a simple example and then through an example from production

Compositing CG elements II
• Continuation
• Exercise

Visual qualities of an image and the perception of the eye
• Light and shadow
• Persistence of vision

Linear workflow
• Nonlinear Color Encoding (logarithmic format) (Examples: The Other Guys (film): how to render, how to set LUT, how to finalize)

More complicated key, keylight, primatte and IBK combinations I
• Custom despill, hue correct, smoothing edges, light wrap
• Grain, adding match grain.
• Exercise

More complicated key, keylight, primatte and IBK combinations II
• Continuation, key and key roto combined
• Exercise

3D space in Nuke
• 3D space, navigation, controls, nodes
• Camera tracker in Nuke and adding a track from another program (Maya)
• Projections, removing unwanted objects (Best example: removing unwanted objects in The Other Guys – scene in a bar)
• Exercise

Stereo compositing
• 3D space (Examples from Shark Night)
• Exercise

Quality and efficiency
• Minimizing data loss, Internal Software Accuracy
• Efficiency (Consolidating Operations, Region of Interest, Networked Environment, Disk Usage, proxy)
(Examples of an efficient Nuke workflow)

Organization of workflow
• Structure, working with files, working logically (gradually)

Working in pipeline surroundings and communicating with other VFX departments
• Demonstrating through an example the organization of production between the CG and comp sectors
(Shark Night may be used as an example)
• Exercise: group exercise Compositing and Light/ render departments

Analyzing workflow through examples from production
• Several examples may be taken from prior lectures and given now in full
(Interactive lecture, Q&A, group analyses)

Automation of the comp process through Python and the creation of a gizmo
• One simple example, gizmo for passes, from The Other Guys
(Analysis: automatic comp, output gizmo…)
• Exercise: Python exercises

Final exercise. Comp frame that contains CG, green screen, practical
(A concrete example may be taken from Crater production)

Independent exercise