Escape Studios vs. VanArts

I am interested in learning VFX. I applied and got accepted into VanArts for their September term. However, after further research I came across Escape Studios. They seem to teach their professional course in just 18 weeks whereas VanArts takes a year.
I am confused as to which is better in terms of learning and job opportunities.
Would be really glad if anyone could help me out with this. Thanks

Canon HFS20 Settings

Hi!
I’m thinking about using this camera to shoot my footage for my demo reel:
http://www.usa.canon.com/consumer/co…elTechSpecsAct

Will this be good enough? And so, what kind of settings should I use to avoid problems after? (Shutter, framerate, etc.)

I’ve read here that it might be hard to track footage from a CMOS camera, but i’m not concerned that much about that.

Thanks a lot

3D Track and Comp – Start to Finish

Hey guys,

I’m very experienced in the areas of 2D composites and motion graphics. I’ve done a lot of combining images, footage, stock elements, etc to make a shot. The problem is that I learn things as I have to do them. I’ve never been required to composite 3d models into a shot.

That said, I’m trying to learn how to do them using a 3d tracking program like Nuke, PF Track, or Boujou, but even still, I really want to understand how to create a cgi composite from start to finish.

I was wondering if anyone could list the workflow steps to creating a 3d composite shot (with movement so it would involve tracking) from pre-production to post production. This would include shooting the footage, at what point I’d need the model, would I need the maya project file or is there an output format that preserves the 3d data that would allow me to insert the model into the 2d shot and have the perspective change in conjunction with the camera? These are all things that I have utterly zero experience with. I’m meeting with some buddies this week who are going to show me how, but all in all I want to at least learn the mechanics and process before I meet up with them so I’m not a deer in the headlights.

Any info would be great, thanks.

Reel Breakdown: How to

Hey guys,

I didn’t get the answer through the search function – so I got a few questions:

1.
Is it important how detailed the vfx shot breakdowns in a reel are?

Meaning: Do I have to show every single step in the order I made up the shot or is it enough to let them see that the shot contains for example 3D projection/comping, multipass renderings, greenscreens and matching everything – so that I can show some fast pass comping and the major CCs but focussing on the final result – so it’s more like "okay, he is able to do all major compositing techniques as well as rotoing/keying etc, but I’m happy he didn’t show us every single step but more his ability to match all elements creatively resulting in a nice picture"

2.
When is it best to do the Breakdown? or is it up to me?

I saw some VFS reels in which they’re showing the breakdowns after the main video. Professionals (individual people or companies like DD) are just showing a before and after via a wipe – sometimes with a text insert what their task was. … Are people getting stunned when the see tons of tiny steps which made up the shot or more before and after?

This is not about how to edit my reel, which things first and so on, but I rather wish to know which method is more professional and preferable applying for a job as a comper (not roto artist:p)

Iam glad to get some feedback on this 😀

cheers

Edge issues using black matte.

I’m having trouble with comping my character with my background.

In the renders below you can see the problem on the edge of the
feet where they meet the branch. The alpha channels don’t match up to make a solid alpha where the foot interacts with the branch. The next two pictures show the individual layers that make up the comp. There is a background layer and a character layer. The character layer has a black matte branch in to block the foot so the character can comp it over the background.

So I found a fix for the alpha in post (see comp_skyFix) but the other problem is the edge where there was no sky the sand in the background is visible in the edge where you expect to see just foot.

I know I can split the branch off onto its own pass for this shot but this could be hectic with more complex shots. Anyone have any ideas.

Thanks allot.

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question about online/offline compositing (can’t find the answer on google/forums)

Hi, my question is, what does online compositing mean?

i’ve seen many job offers saying "online/compositing", with later description saying that its a job for 3d generalist also.

I am a 3d generalist, with experience in compositing, i put together few commercials alone,
but i dont specialize in compositing so when i came across this online/offline word in context of job opening for a compositor/3d generalist i started to think, what exactly is this job about?

roto/paint reel – use your own footage or download hd footage?

Is it better to use your own footage for a roto/paint reel? Or is it ok to use downloaded footage.
I can see how it would be a problem if the downloaded footage could only be modified one way, and employers recieve reels of the same shot over and over, but if the downloaded footage has original and unique modifications done, is there any problem?

Academy award for VFX

When a particular movie bags an award for vfx, do all the companies(big or small) that worked on the movie take the credit ? or is it only the VFX supervisor ?

Is PRANA Studios good ?

Is PRANA studios a good company ?

Rotoscopy & keying definition

Can anyone give me a proper technical definition for keying and rotoscopy ?