How to make Nuke see transparency in a PNG image sequence?

I’m relatively new to using Nuke, just trying to get to grips with the workflow and node based working, but have hit upon a problem that is stopping me from experimenting and getting used to it.

Essentially, I created a particle system in 3DS Max that simulated rubble flying from the ground as if a meteor had just hit it, intending to overlay this onto a video of my street for a simple meteor crashing effect. I rendered it out and saved it as a PNG image sequence as it can store transparency. When I load it into Adobe After Effects, everything is fine – the transparency data works and it overlays perfectly. But when I load it into Nuke, it has the background image I used for reference behind every frame and no transparency at all, so I can’t overlay it onto anything.

What they look like in windows explorer (and overlay into After Effects):

What they look like when loaded into Nuke:

So is there any way I can make Nuke read them as they appear in windows explorer, or am I going to have to go back and re-render the entire sequence in some other format? And if so, any suggestions on what formats Nuke can read transparency from?

Cheers guys!

Beckman Coulter’s production.

This is the opening video for Beckman Coulter’s product launch of flow cytometers. It’s a `teaser´ for the different instruments presented in an extensive interactive sales tool containing no less than 36 videos and more than 400 still images.

At Animech AB, in Sweden, I was the Director, VFX Art director and Compositor of a team of over 10 key people and 25 extra resources during 3 months

All Volume Ray, Lens flares, ZDepth, Motion blur, haze, screens projections where done in Nuke during post in a total of more then 100 Nuke comps.

I will have breakdowns of FX’s pretty soon.

Hope you like it:

http://www.hugo-guerra.com/hugo-guer…Portfolio.html

All of best

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Tracking a paint layer in AE

I need to know how to track a paint layer. I know how to animate a paint layer, I know how to track to a null object, but I don’t know how to apply the motion settings to a paint layer using a track point. I know there’s a way to do it in After Effects.

Basically, the subject is standing in a white environment like in the Mac Vs PC commercials and needs to write on the background.

I know what you’re thinking. A.) Put a white posterboard there and have the actor write with a sharpie on it. When you key the green and increase the contrast, the white will disappear into the backdrop leaving only the black. That doesn’t work. When you’re shooting the white blows out in the lighting setup leaving the black invisible. So then you think B.) get a chroma green poster board and THEN write on it with the sharpie. When you key the green, the entire poster board will disappear leaving just the sharpie. Wrong again. Though the black shows up on camera this time, the keyer isn’t precise enough to leave the sharpie strokes clean and strong, they always end up looking aliased and stringy.

So after running those two screen tests I have now devised option C.) Using a chroma-key posterboard and a green highlighter. The poster board will be there to simulate the weight, and the highlighter will be used as a prop, as well as a method of simulating the actual writing so the actor can be sure they are making the proper movements. I would then key out all the green, leaving them waving their hand in the air, then track the motion of the tip of the marker, to which I’d marry a paint layer to follow the movements. Right? Isn’t that nice and simple and clean and dandy? Sure! Except it’s not. Why? Because as far as I can see, there IS no option to track the paint layer. Sure, I can make a single dot and track that motion, but it won’t move in a continuous stroke. It’ll simply be a dot moving around.

My question is: How do I actually simulate writing? I know they do it because you see it in commercials all the time. Like a commercial when a man is writing on the background and then pushing the illustrations away and making new ones. After Effects is known for mogra (motion graphics), so there must be a way to simulate that effect. If anyone knows that would be very helpful. Thanks!

Industry Wages Inc. Arms Creative Professionals With Salary Knowledge

http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=industry%20wages
http://news.prnewswire.com/DisplayRe…4996698&EDATE=

SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 30 /PRNewswire/ — For all those job-hunters in creative fields who need a strategic edge in the salary negotiation process — or who simply could benefit from the motivation salary knowledge can provide, Industry Wages Inc. has delivered a powerful new tool. The company has launched the website VFXWages.com (http://www.vfxwages.com) as a free way for these professionals and students to determine the latest information on salaries and hourly wages in their market. Currently VFXWages.com provides pay information for individuals in the visual effects industry, particularly film and television visual effects, gaming, motion graphics, and animation.

"We’ve created a necessary tool for the pursuit of salary equality in this ever-changing job environment," says Aruna Inversin, president of Industry Wages Incorporated and founder of VFXWages.com. "In creating VFXWages.com, we strive to give the community a streamlined way to identify an appropriate wage to expect or ask for in salary negotiations."

VFXWages.com is a global tool that will help job-seekers see how they rate among other artists with similar skills and experiences in a particular location. Using the special Wages system, users can graphically compare wages and salaries around the world by typing in a city, state or zip code. Registrants can also obtain information about employment based on job title, company, start date and length of time the position will last.

"We use the anonymity of the web with the power of a community to give you the information you need," says Inversin. "This tool allows you to compare yourself to others in your field around the world."

The database of wages is normalized to a 260-day year or 40-hour workweek, based on the pay options available for that job. VFXWages.com uses this method because it is the most common way to aggregate wage information among the different methods that film and television studios use to pay their artists.

There are three different types of accounts for users. Professional and freelancer accounts feature jobs with salary or hourly paid wages for those particular individuals. Student accounts are perfect for those currently attending any post-secondary schools, or have recently graduated and are looking for work. Company accounts are for recruiters and managers or company owners that wish to take advantage of VFXWages.com’s special services to search for and recruit talent.

VFXWages.com is cross-browser and cross-platform compatible. Industry Wages Inc. strives to maintain and deliver a high-quality product; the company spent several months privately testing the VFXWages.com site in beta to make sure the website would guarantee customer satisfaction. Clients can find out about recent upgrades and the latest happenings on the "Latest News" section of the website.

About Industry Wages Incorporated and VFXWages.com

VFXWages.com was created by visual effects professionals based in Los Angeles who were disappointed with how secretive wages and salaries were in the creative arts industry.

Industry Wages is looking to expand its services to other vital industries around the world. For more information about this company or the new website, visit http://www.vfxwages.com.

Paint Lag

Hey, I’ve done some searching, and not found any information on this issue, so I was wondering if anyone knew anything about it.

I am painting in nuke (64bit Linux machine, but I am running 32bit nuke). As I paint, the software begins to lag. There seems to be a direct corrilation with the amount of lag I recieve to the amount of paint strokes in a node. -This occurs with both the paint tool and the clone tool-

I am working around this issue by creating several paint nodes (lag seems to go away when the node is closed). But is is becoming an issue and is a rather pesky bug.

I suspect that this may be caused by running 32bit on a 64bit machine, but I was wondering if anyone else has run into this problem and found a solution?

Thank you in advance!
Sabrina

Giovanni Bucci : New reel

Love the new showreel up at giovannibucci.com showing a selection of projects by freelance Giovanni Bucci over the last few years. The audio track is a blended/synthesis of flavours from the latest productions of Marco Morano, which include dirty electro, over compressed grooves, classical atmospheres and re-built sound effects. Great work guys!

Justin Harder : New Pollution v.2

FuelTV loved Justin’s New Pollution piece so much they returned to him to create a similar package in HD, v2. They felt Mud Man resembled more than mud, so the bad ass Rock Man was born, a distant cousin.

Echolab : new site, new work

Gavin has updated Echolab.tv with a new site, new work and a lick of paint too! Amazing audio work for clients like Shilo and Tronic.

BMW ART CARS @ GRAND CENTRAL

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We checked out the BMW Art Car exhibit this weekend at Vanderbilt Hall in Grand Central. The giant ramp with day glo tire tracks was a little whatevs but the 4 cars on display from Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Frank Stella, and Robert Rauschenberg are giant masterpieces of speed, paint, and commerce. Well worth the trip to see the video that tells the story, as much as it is to see the cars themselves.

Check out this video of Andy Warhol painting the BMW M1 and a synopsis of the whole art car project itself: Click here to view the embedded video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

 

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3d merge as particle

I have created a bomber plane out of to 2d planes, and now I want to use this as a base for a particle system. Is this possible? See image.

Thx!

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