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July08 Term Courses
Projected course outlines....subject to change
AFX302 - After Effects Masters: UI Design and VFX
AUD101 - Introduction to Digital Audio Post
BKD101 - Best of Background I
BKD209 - Background Fundamentals July08: Cars
C4D202 - Cinema4D and After Effects in Production
DLG201 - Audio Dialogue
DOP301 - On Set Day and Night with RED One
DRK301 - VFX and Indie Films
FLM102 - Introduction to Flame
FUS101 - Introduction to Fusion
MAX101 - 3DS Max for Compositors
MIN201 - Stop Frame Animation and Miniatures
MYA101 - Introduction to Maya
NUK102 - Introduction to Nuke
NUK201 - Intermediate Nuke I
NUK301 - Advanced Nuke I
PNT202 - Matte Painting Previs: The Establishing Shot
PFT201 - 3D Camera Tracking with PFTrack
RED101 - Introduction to RED Workflow I
SCR201 - Scratch and Grading RED
SHK102 - Introduction to Shake
SHK201 - Intermediate Shake I
SHK302 - Shake (and More) in Production
SMK201 - Smoke Workflow Boot Camp
SYN101 - Introduction to SynthEyes
SYN201 - Intermediate SynthEyes
SYS101 - How to Build a Facility
SYS201 - Serving the Editors
TOX103 - Toxik 2008: Hit the Ground Running
 AFX302 - After Effects Masters
Our new advanced After Effects course this term is going to focus on a hot aspect of design and compositing in feature films and television shows: computer UI and interactive design. While much of the compositing will be done using After Effects, like our other advanced AE course, this one will be of interest to any compositor or designer. fxphd professor Mark Christiansen will be serving as overall creative director and lead compositor on the job. Working with him and leading the design aspects of things is Mark Coleran. You've seen Coleran's work on screens and UI in such films as The Bourne Ultimatum, The Island, AVP: Alien vs. Predator, and The World is Not Enough.
The course will start with a discussion of the history of UI design and technology in feature films, examining specific cases, including some of Coleran's own work. This will be followed by a look at the overall workflow process and techniques for creating a library of images and effects for use on projects. We'll also have a guest appearance by After Effects artist Danny Princz who will be breaking down a real-world graphics design project he did for the Madison Square Garden network -- creating a hockey rink environment (check out a still here and here
After these primers about the craft, we'll then dive into tackling the project for the term, including creating boards, discussing on-set issues, and creating the environment and screen graphics. This doesn't just include graphics design, but compositing greenscreen footage to create a 3D environment and more.
During the term, greenscreen original footage and cgi elements will be provided to course members so that they can create a final composite. What won't be given? The UI graphic elements -- as being an advanced course we expect members to create these graphics themselves.
AUD101 - Digital Audio Post
For this course, we will cover some of the concepts and processes for working with digital audio -- which is often overlooked (or at the very least, misunderstood). This will include a quick review of the basics, and then we’ll jump right into typical challenges, problems, techniques and solutions faced when dealing with audio. We will avoid focusing on a specific software application, but special coverage will be given to Pro Tools, Soundtrack Pro and Logic Studio and related plugins.
This course is taught by Kristin Martin (an multimedia designer and musician) and David Fleminger (an audio producer, composer and musician), each having more than 15 years experience in audio postproduction, music production, sound design and composition. Clients include Apple, Adobe, Sun Microsystems, Bank of America, Mattel, Leapfrog and many others.
Class 1: Digital Audio Basics. Sound, sample rate, bit depth, frequency spectrum, A/D and D/A converters, EQ, Dynamics (Compressors/Limiters/Gates).
Class 2: Tool basics. Overview of major software applications (ProTools/Soundtrack Pro/Logic Studio/Peak Pro), basic hardware setups (interfaces, mixers, etc), control surfaces, and workflow tools.
Class 3: Basic sound for picture, automation, timecode and sync.
Class 4: File and project management, workflow, file formats, plug-ins.
Class 5: Basic problem solving, dynamics, basic noise reduction, guidelines for production (mic technique, acoustic treatment, etc.)
Class 6: Loop libraries and sound FX (Apple Loops, etc.), foley, and online resources for libraries.
Class 7: Mixing and output. Stereo, surround/5.1 mixing, submixes, output, file compression, output formats.
Class 8: Sound design/editing project breakdown. Apply what you've learned.
Class 9: Advanced editing challenges and troubleshooting. Time compression and expansion tools.
Class 10: By popular demand - requests from course members.
BKD101 - Best of Background I
This is an elective course -- and not automatically included with your membership (our current term Background Fundamentals course is BKD209)
By overhelming popular demand we present a fireside chat with Mike, as he looks over some of his favourite classes from past sessions. If you have not been with us from day one this best of course will cover a range of subjects and is a must for those of you who love to have a broad knowledge of the industry.
Class 1: Term 1 - (03) HDR with Paul Debevec, part 1
Class 2: Term 1 - (04) HDR with Paul Debevec part 2
Class 3: Term 2 - (02) Lighting miniatures on set , Milo and softsuns
Class 4: Term 3 - (01) Principles of 3D tracking
Class 5: Term 3 - (10) Spider: How to not kill the girl part 1
Class 6: Term 3 - (11) Spider: How to not kill the girl part 2
Class 7: Term 3 - (12) Spider: How to not kill the girl part 3
Class 8: Term 6 - (03) Advanced QuicktTime tips
Class 9: Term 6 - (09) LUTs
Class 10: Term 5 - (06) Duncan's Corner on ncloth, Fluids and Maya
BKD209 - Background Fundamentals July08: Cars
As usual, all members receive the popular Background Fundamentals as part of the membership for the term.
Cars are used as the vehicle this term to explore complex issues of light and matching textures in 3D. Through the use of car shoots for both film and TV we will explore a range of topics -- and these are topics that are applicable to a wide range of situations...not just limited to cars:
* high speed photography
* lighting real cars
* producing photoreal CGI cars
* BRDF, materials, and shaders
* Renderman
* Mental Ray
* HDR and car touch up
* integrating CGI into live action
* shooting cars on film and digitally- comparing looks and highlights
Also returning this term is the very popular "Mike's Digital Dailies Challenge Review" for the term challenges.
Class 1: Everybody was Kung Fu fighting.
Class 2: Drum tower continued.
Class 3: Basic paint theory.
Class 4: Lighting a car.
Class 5: Global illumination, HDR and cgi.
Class 6: BRDF (Bi-directional Reflectance Distribution Function) and shader design.
Class 7: Renderman.
Class 8: Mental Ray.
Class 9: Cheats.
Class 10: Comp finals.
C4D202 - Cinema4D and After Effects in Production
We're excited that Tim Clapham returns this term for a combination Cinema 4D and After Effects course. The classes will be project based, with each project covering several weeks of classes. Clapham will start out by building elements and rendering imagery in Cinema 4D and then taking the results into After Effects for final finessing. Even if you're a motion graphics designer who doesn't use Cinema 4D, you'll still get a ton of great tips and tricks out of the course.
Clapham owns and runs his own Motion Graphics and animation company, www.HYPA.tv, which is based in Brighton, UK.
Class 1 & 2: Vector Style Rendering and Multipass Rendering. The first week will use MoGraph to create some skyscraper type buildings and distribute them around the scene. Using Multipass light render passes and exporting Camera and Null data for use in After Effects. The second week will look at compositing the light passes in After Effects and adding in 3D layers. This will also make use of Object Buffers and a Depth Pass.
Multipart Class (number TBD):FXPHD Logo Animation. Create a 5 - 10 second logo reveal for the FXPHD 'this week @ phd' broadcast that John Montgomery creates each week. We will create the animation in Cinema4D and complete the compositing in After Effects. Several student animations could be chosen and used in the weekly broadcast.
Multipart Class (number TBD):Trails and Sweeps. Taking a live action green screen shot, we will key the shot and create some tracking data. Using the tracking data we will add some trail effects to the live action. Then composite them together with a custom designed environment.
Multipart Class (number TBD):3D Composite in Live Action. Take a ready tracked 3D shot in to Cinema4D and add some animated 3D graphical elements. This will include an example of flocking techniques. We will render out various passes and composite them in After Effects.
DLG201 - Audio Dialogue
With the (fxphd audio introduction to dialogue) course we take a look at the process of getting the dialogue heard. From the basics of recording the dialog and working with it, right through to the end product that the audience hears. We look at the most popular methods of moving files around, the ADR process - from spotting to recording, as well as example projects that encompass many of the situations you will face in the world of dialogue recording and editing.
There are lots of assumptions in the "world of sound" and that it just magically happens. But like anything there needs to be planning and preparation for it to work. As the post sound dialogue editors weave their magic, there are plenty of steps that you, the filmmaker, can take to make this job easier, sound better and in the long run save the production time and money. The dialogue tells the story and is the most critical aspect of any soundtrack.
Below is the basic outline of the course stages and what we anticipate to cover. As the course goes through the various stages we encourage discussion and feedback on the forums as much as possible.
Class 1: Discussion on Dialogue and its importance, Planning and preparation, Capturing Dialogue, Equipment Requirements and Options, Quality of Microphones, Final Delivery Requirements
Class 2: Slate options, Mic Technique, Environmental Factors to Look Out For, Relationship with DOP, Importance of Making Notes
Class 3: Process of Syncing Dialogue to Footage, Timecode options
Class 4: Basic Studio Setup for Dialogue Editing, Software Examples, Process Flows and organization
Class 5: Preparing your project and receiving files from the vision editor
Class 6: The start of the Editing processes
Class 7: ADR – Principles and concepts and why it is needed, Spotting for ADR
Class 8: Preparing for an ADR Session, Recording ADR
Class 9: Advanced Editing – working with ADR, Word Replacement, Environment Matching
Class 10: Prepping for Delivery to Mix Stage, Formats, Feedback Requests
DOP301 - On Set Day and Night with RED One
A combination of the very popular RED and DOP courses, this 300 level course answers the question 'what does it take to film a low to mid budget feature film with the RED?'. We will cover everything from camera testing, a test shoot, lighting, and output through post production. Additionally, we will extend upon last terms DOP 201 course and cover more complex lighting and staging issues, complete with lighting diagrams and notes.
One immensely significant option in this course is to buy, at an additional cost (fee to be determined):
* A drive with the source .r3d files,
* A print of the film output
* A copy of the Negative or an SR tape with the graded test.
This will mean that at the end of the term you will have not only the knowledge of how to set up a feature, but also a complete film out test to project for your clients so they can see themselves the final quality from 35mm film/Neg/HD-SR or Uncompressed image sequence.
Class 1: The project - what it calls for, What resolution, trade offs - and breaking down the script
Class 2: testing gear, aligning and calibrating, rigging and setting up the camera
Class 3: Onset - blocking, LUTS, look files
Class 4: On Set Day and Night
Class 5: on set grip guide
Class 6: Framing
Class 7: TBA
Class 8: Prepping files for post
Class 9: Avid and FCp workflows, transfer times and archiving
Class 10: Grading and film out
DRK301 - VFX and Indie Films
In this course, veteran no-budget filmmakers Michael Scott and Ryan Wieber discuss how to make a high-quality film with little to no money, but with few to no compromises. This course will run the gamut from theory to tech, prep to post, exploring the crucial, yet oft-neglected interrelationship between production and post. This course will also cover some fundamental principles of digital filmmaking that everybody ought to know, utilizing examples from Scott and Wieber's prior work as well as new material created for the course.
Week 1: Intro and RVD2: Severed Arm
The class will introduce the profs, as well as introduce the basic theme of the course: "Get it in camera." We will also request suggestions from the postgrads towards high-budget effects that they would like to see reproduced on low-budget means. Whether they be iconic effects or something that a filmmaker just can't figure out how to do for her own project, we will take the best (feasible) suggestions and cover, in later classes, how we would solve the problem.
They will use as a specific example the severed arm effect from their film RvD2, which was intended to be an in-camera effect but could not be for logistical reasons. We will discuss not only how the effect was achieved but how the post method dictated, in part, the shooting of the sequence.
Week 2: Fight Scene choreography and Shooting (Part 1)
We begin with a conversation about fight scene shooting, touching on the dearth of valuable information available in that regard. It will begin with a discussion with Michael, Ryan, and their colleague Anthony Alba, a fight scene choreographer and martial artist, in which they will talk about what, in their opinion, makes a good fight scene, and the different ways of developing fight choreography. They will then move on to shooting the scene, and discuss why certain camera angles are typically preferable to others.
Week 3: Fight Scene Shooting (Part 2) and Editing
The continuation of the fight scene class, this one will finish shooting the fight scene and move into editing, where we show tips and tricks to really make action snap, in an editing situation where a single frame can make all the difference.
Week 4: Theory and Philosophy
After a few weeks with our nose to the grindstone in production environments, the profs will slow things down a little with a theory-based class. They'll delve deeper into the idea of "getting it in camera", as well as talking about how much of the work to let the audience do -- don't show it if they can imagine it for you.
Week 5: Postgrad Suggestion
The first of our "Mythbusters" style classes, in which we take a postgrad-submitted suggestion for an effect or "moment" and discuss how we would approach it on a low-budget project.
Week 6: Miscellaneous RvD2
This class will run through a variety of additional effects or moments in RvD2, discussing the challenges each of them posed, the solutions produced, and why we made the decisions we did in achieving the moment. For example: the shooting and use of pyrotechnic effects.
Week 7: General Basics
As a filmmaker and a tech, the profs are always astonished by how many blank stares they get when using the phrase "3:2 pulldown", even among professionals. This class will cover some basic principles that everyone ought to know but many people may have missed, such as 24p concerns, the line of action, lighting and other interactive effects, and day for night.
Week 8: Postgrad Suggestion
Another class focusing on a specific shot or sequence and how it might be achieved.
Week 9: Miscellaneous Projects
Culling from their catalog of projects, the profs will discuss certain interesting challenges that arose and how they were addressed, with an eye towards how other filmmakers might find themselves in similar situations, and how what we've learned could benefit them.
Week 10: TBA
We are leaving the final week of the course open as of now, as there may be concepts or ideas that the profs think of during the course they will want to cover. Alternatively, if no such pressing idea presents itself, we will do a final postgrad suggestion class.
FLM102 - Introduction to Flame
Our new introductory flame course is designed to get artists up and running in the software so they can be confident working on scenes and spots in the app. We get a lot of questions from potential flame artists asking if they should take the course even though they don't have easy access to a flame or flint system. The answer is an emphatic "yes". The course is designed with the understanding that your time might be limited on the system -- for instance, maybe you're a junior artist who can only get on the system at night or you will be doing an internship at a facility in the coming months. By taking FLM102, when you get time on a flame, you won't have to waste hours finding your way around the software.
Taught by fxphd co-founder and longtime flame artist John Montgomery, the course begins with an exhausting overview of the system and the UI. This is important considering flame doesn't follow many of the standard desktop conventions users might be familiar with. Once that is done, we'll quickly dive into the various modules with a project-based approach to learning them. Our goal is to have course members be able to execute entry to intermediate level jobs on the flame by course completion. At the end of the term, an online certification exam will be available in order for you to test your knowledge.
Class 1: What is Flame?
An overview of Flint and Flame software, including the UI, importance of hotkeys, setting up projects, hardware and architecture, getting footage into the system, and more.
Class 2: My First Comp, Part 1
We'll start a simple project by taking a look at the various ways of getting footage into the system, concentrating in this case on importing image files. An introduction to Action, flame's 3D compositing environment.
Class 3: My First Comp, Part 2
We'll cover an introduction to the Keyer, Color Corrector, and Masks on the way to completing our first greenscreen composite.
Class 4: Assembling a Spot
The the next project, we'll look at loading footage in from tape using an EDL and Final Cut Pro XML. How to use the timeline to do minor editing.
Class 5: Batch, Part 1
Introducing the node-based compositing aspect of flame.
Class 6: Batch, Part 2
Continuing to work on our spot, approaching composites using the batch toolset.
Class 7: Batch FX
Now that we've learned batch and timeline, taking it to the next level using BatchFX.
Class 8: Paint
A comparison of the features of the two paint systems in flame: desktop and batch paint.
Class 9: Graphics Design
Finishing off the commercial with a flashy end title using the text module, 3D text in action, and even some simple particles.
Class 10: By Popular Demand
Requests and questions from course members.
FUS101 - Introduction to Fusion
Matt Leonard leads our Fusion course at fxphd. His sphereVFX company has been doing Fusion training for years, including creating an intermediate level DVD for the app. Leonard has worked in the animation and visual effects industry for over sixteen years producing state-of-the-art work for feature films, broadcast and commercials in the UK and US markets.. He has set up and run animation divisions in five companies, overseen animators and compositors, worked as a CG Supervisor on various projects and has overseen live-action shoots.
View a short sample clip from one of the FUS101 classes
Class 1: UI Overview and Understanding the Workflow of Fusion
This class covers the user interface, building the first simple composite and help to build an understanding of how Fusion deals with footage, channels, masks and nodes (colour correction, blurs, etc).
Class 2: Creators and Images Manipulation
This class covers the main nodes used to create backgrounds, gradients and fractals. Alongside these ‘creators’ we also cover the transformation nodes such as Scale, Crop and DVE. Finally we will look at some of the warping tools such as Displace, Corner Positioned and Grid Wrap.
Class 3: Colour Correction and Additional Colour Channels
This class will focus mainly on colour correction inside of Fusion. We will also be covering the use of addition channels such as z-depth, normals, UV, motion vectors, etc.
Class 4: Effects and Filters
This class will look at various effects and filters which ship with Fusion and how best to use them in a production environment. Included will be the blurs, sharpens, camera effects, and custom filters.
Class 5: Masks, Mattes and Keying
This class will focus on the four main keys inside Fusion (Chroma, Luma, Difference and Ultra). We will be covering matte manipulation and gaining an understanding of premultiplied alpha and how it affects our compositing. We’ll also be looking at Masks including double-poly lines and spline animation.
Class 6: Tracking, Stabilisation and Corner Pinning
This class will look in-depth at the Tracker in Fusion which covers multi point tracking, stabilisations, corner pinning and perspective positioning.
Class 7: Paint, Wire Removal and Time Wrapping
This class will cover the multi faceted Paint tool inside of Fusion. We will look at retouch, cloning and wire removal. Also in this class we will cover the time manipulation nodes.
Class 8: Getting to Grips with 3D in Fusion
This first class covering the 3D aspect of Fusion will focus mainly on the UI and controls. We will be building a basic 3D composite and looking at the key nodes for build a 3D system, including Camera, Merge, Render, Image Plane and some Lights.
Class 9: A Greater Understanding of 3D in Fusion
This second class will be covering some of the more advanced aspects of 3D inside of Fusion. We will look at importing animation data for use with camera and geometry, camera projectors, point cloud data, displacement nodes, fbx files and look more at lighting.
Class 10: A First Look at Particles
This class will be a basic introduction into Fusions powerful particle generator. We will cover the main Particle Emitter and both 2D and 3D Rendering. We will also look at how fields and forces control and manipulate the particles once emitted and how to build basic systems such as fire and rain. Also includes an extra Fusion bonus class covering 25 new nodes not addressed in the other lessons, along with a more detailed look at Fusion's Graph Editor.
MAX101 - 3DS Max for Compositors
Run by Professor Gary M. Davis - this course opens the door to 3D for those who might have always been keen to learn but found 3D intimidating. Gary does international training for Autodesk and is an expert in 3d Max, Combustion and Toxik. These accelerated session focus on 3ds Max but will also address compositing issues using Autodesk Combustion. That being said, these aspects easily apply to using any compositing application you might currently be utilizing in your facility. These classes were specifically designed for individuals with existing compositing and/or editing experience looking to add 3ds Max to their toolkit.
Class 1 – UI and Workflow Essentials of Autodesk 3ds Max: User preferences, basic UI navigation, creating and naming primitives, the modifier stack, editing pivot points, basic hierarchies and selections, setting up a project to proportion and scale (for various types of client deliverable).
Class 2 – Modeling Fundamentals: Creating and editing 2d splines shapes, lathe and extrude, box modeling basics (aka “Sub-D modeling”), export considerations going to *.FBX & *.3DS formats (for export to use in Flame, Fusion, Nuke, etc.).
Class 3 - Cameras: Basic camera types, cameras on paths, Camera Projection/Mapping, modeling for perspective matching (Matte Painting & Set Extensions), material considerations.
Class 4 – Material Editor: Common Shader setups, working with material libraries, using HDR images as map types, applying materials to imported stock-art models.
Class 5 – Lighting Essentials: Basic light types and common setups, shadow types, attenuation, simple Global Illumination (“GI”) solutions.
Class 6 – Animation: Time configuration, key-framing, auto/manual key-framing, ease curves, timeline tools and editing, fundamental animation controller types including audio controllers and motion capture using a mouse.
Class 7 - Rendering Part 1 & 2 – Basic Output Considerations, Render Elements : Organizing MAX projects for Render Passes (i.e.: fore/mid/back ground renders), essential output file format considerations including full HDR/Floating-point renderings using Mental Ray.
Setting up render elements, UI locations of various features, accommodating render element output, format considerations (cont.), Scanline and Mental Ray explored.
Class 8 - Rendering Part 3 & 4 – The RPF File Format G-Buffers explained, 3ds Max UI locations of RPF hooks, RPF file rendering, advanced uses for RPF within Combustion.
Class 9 - Depth of Field and Motion Blur: Various options for both depth of field and motion blur will be explored. These include solutions within 3ds Max as well as ways of doing these effects as a post process in compositing software.
Class 10 – Motion Graphics and Broadcast: The text tool within 3ds Max will be explored in depth here. Broadcast considerations such as color safe, field rendering, bit-depth, resolution (over-rendering), animated graphic designs, creating looping animations.
Class 10: Setting up render passes, material override, ambient occlusion as render pass.
MIN201 - Stop Frame Animation and Miniatures
In one of the most exciting courses ever in our production stream, we work with Adelaide based Anifex. Formed in 1985 by Richard Chataway and Michael Cusack, Anifex is one of Australia's leading animation companies. The company has long maintained a reputation for producing some of the world's finest commercial animation. In addition to its work in advertising, which has earned the company many national and international awards, Anifex has also produced several acclaimed short films. With an experienced production team and world class facilities, Anifex has an amazing collection of talent and equipment including motion control.
We will also visit some of the world's leading model shops and look at general miniature photography. Shot primarily on location at the film studios, this course will provide you with the fundamentals, process and the tricks & tips of stop frame animation and miniatures.
Subjects to be convered in the course include:
* shooting scale photography
* Lighting miniatures
* Dialogue
* Animation materials and rigs
* Armatures
* specialist model making props and 12V lighting
* Models and set design
* The stop motion process including in camera mattes
* film and digital stills animation - lens, cameras and stocks.
Class 01 : intro Lip sync and Replacement animation
Class 02: Making Character Models. Clay, moulds, latex and dragon Skin
Class 03: Making set props
Class 04: Lighting sets
Class 05: Lighting sets
Class 06: History to the present miniatures: Principles
Class 07: History to the present miniatures: featuring New Deal Studios
Class 08: History to the present miniatures: featuring Kerner Optical (old ILM Model shop)
Class 09: 35mm vs digital stills vs RED, Motion Control and Go Motion
Class 10: Animation an the animator. Matte techniques
MYA101: Introduction to Maya
Taught by Matt Leonard, this Maya course is aimed at those who have little or no experience in 3D, or post-grads who know another system, such 3DS Max or Softimage|XSI but want to expand their software skills. The course is designed to cover almost all the main areas of Maya’s vast toolset including modeling, animation, dynamics, shader building, lighting and rendering. The aim of the course is to keep it as project focused as possible and although we won’t be producing a full animation every week the course is designed to get you full up and running and able to start producing greats shots for your reel as soon as possible.
Matt has been in the 3D and visual effects industry for 17 years and has produced work for feature films, commercials and large corporate projects. He has been involved in setting up post production departments, overseeing small teams of animators and compositors, along with acting as CG Supervisor on a number of projects. He has spoken at various events and shows on behalf of Autodesk and eyeon, had various articles published in magazine and journals and has beta tested Maya, Nuke and Fusion. He currently runs his own company in the UK.
View a short sample clip from one of the MYA101 classes
Class 1 : Maya Overview
This class will look at setting up a Maya project, getting to grips with the user interface, creating, manipulating and organising objects, and working with objects, components and attributes. We will also touch on the basics of texturing, cameras, lighting and rendering as we seek to build our first animation. All this is wrapped around our first project, creating an fxphd animated logo.
Class 2 : Maya Modeling: Curves and Surfaces
This class will look at Maya’s tools for creating curves internally along with how to import curves from third party software packages such as Adobe Illustrator. The class will then go on to cover the various ways of creating 3D objects from the 2D curves including tools such as Revolve, Loft, Extrude, Birail and Sweep.
Class 03 : Maya Modeling: Polygon, Subdivision Surfaces and NURBS
This class will cover the differences between Polygons, Subdivision surfaces and NURBS, when to use them and what their strengths and weaknesses are. The class will then go on to look at each surface type in more detail, including modeling and editing tips and tricks.
Class 4 : Maya Animation
This class will look at the basics of keyframe animation, adding an object to a path, working with deformers, and the various tools for previewing your animation including ghosting, motion trails, turntables and Playblasts. The class will also cover the two main animation editors, the Dope Sheet and Graph Editor.
Class 5 : Maya Character Animation
This class will look at all the basics for setting up a character for animation including setting up a skeleton, skinning (having the skeleton deform the skin), animation deformers (for muscle bulges, etc), constraints and blend shapes. The class will also cover the use of Trax, Maya’s non-linear animation editor.
Class 6 : Maya Particles
This class will look at the different types of particles available in Maya and their uses. We will then move on to look at setting up particle emitters, defining and editing the particles once created, and controlling the particles once emitted using various fields such as gravity, wind and turbulence. We also look at particle collision events, instances and discuss goals.
Class 7 : Maya Rigid Body and Soft Body Dynamics
This class will look at creating soft bodies, used for cloth, skin, etc, and active and passive rigid bodies used for hard surface collisions such as disintegrating robots or shattering glass. We will also cover springs, which are used to help define the structure of soft body objects helping them to remain roughly their original shape. And finally we’ll cover rigid body constraints, which are used to restrict the movement of objects through the use of hinges, nails, pins, etc.
Class 8 : Maya Shaders and Texturing
This class will look at creating and applying Maya shaders to objects and the use of texture maps and mapping co-ordinates along with various utility nodes.
Class 9 : Maya Lights, Shaders and Texturing
This class will cover the basics of lighting, looking at all the main lights including Ambient, Point, Area, Spot, Volume and Directional. We cover how to setting up volumetric lighting effects and light linking. Final we cover the three main camera types, motion blur, depth of field, Z Depth render passes and camera projections.
Class 10 : Rendering: Software, Hardware, Vector and mental ray
This class will mainly focus on setting up a project for rendering. We will cover the main Maya software renderer, the hardware renderer, the vector renderer, and a brief look at mental ray including Caustics, Global Illumination, Final Gather and the use of HDRI for lighting techniques. The class finishes by looking at setting up render layers. Also includes bonus class examinging Set Driven Key, Expressions and .MEL.
NUK102: Introduction to Nuke
Taught by Sean Devereaux, this new introductory course will expand upon the Foundry Nuke tutorials produced by fxphd. Nuke version 5 software will be available over the VPN to fxphd postgrads for non-commercial use (OSX, Linux, and Windows versions). Devereaux has worked at Digital Domain, ILM, RhinoFX and other facilities as a freelance artist, working on films such as Transformers, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, I, Robot, Star Trek: Nemesis, and others. If you've viewed the Foundry DVDs, this course will cover the software in much more detail and is a great next step in learning the software.
Class 1: Where is that button that does that thing?
Overview of the window panes, the menu bar, toolbar and context menus. Viewer specifics such as playback controls, disk cache, gain/gamma, etc., working with proxies and "down-rez" settings, customizing, saving and restoring your layout, navigating the node graph. Adding nodes to the script and manipulating their parameters. Connecting, disconnecting and reconnecting nodes. Reading and writing images. Creation of a basic composite
Class 2 : Image Channels with a side Stereoscopic Compositing - buy your 3D glasses now!
Reading image files and the 32-bit float pipeline, viewing your image channels, shuffling image channels, troubleshooting image channels, setting up the views you will need for a stereo workflow. Reading in stereo imagery, viewing all the "eyes" separate and together, splitting a node's output to a specific view, converting your comp into anaglyph and rendering stereo images, comping in stereo and avoiding headaches.
Class 3: Motion sickness
2D Transform: position, rotation, scale, skew, motion blur. Animation curves and controls, the tracker, stabilizing and match moving. Applying transformations to other nodes. Motion blur: time blur, motion blur 2D and creating motion vectors
Class 4: Awesome keyers and good old fashioned rotoscoping
Roto tools: bezier, rectangle, radial, ramp. Creating and animating your shapes. Introduction to the Keyer
Class 5: SUPER awesome keyers
Primatte and the IBK (Image Based Keyer). Combining mattes and using mattes to effect a node's output.
Class 6: Color by number
The best color tools and other ones, too. Color matching, suppression, fine-tuning, and plate grading.
Class 7: Introduction to 3D Goodness (Part 1 of 2)
The camera, creating geometry and applying textures/images, modifying the geometry. Connecting to the 2D tree.
Class 8: Introduction to 3D Goodness (Part 2 of 2)
Projections, pan and tile, real magical motion blur, script optimization.
Class 9: In Production
We will put everything we learned this term to the test and focus on a production project. Great for learning and your reel!
Class 10: In Production and YOU!
Finessing the production shot with time left over for direct answers to your questions from the forums. There will be an
announcement in the forums a couple weeks prior to when question submissions for the class will be due.
NUK201: Intermediate Nuke I
Taught by Sean Deveraux, this course picks up where the 101 level course left off. Deveraux will be diving deeply into the 3D compositing features of Nuke over the term.
Note: This repeat course was recorded using Nuke version 4 (current release is version 5). However, the principles and techniques shown in this course are still fully applicable to the new release. The NUK301 course will be using version 5.
View a short sample clip from one of the NUK201 classes
Class 1: Warping
Nuke has several tools for image distortion and this week we will tackle the grid warp and the spline warp which use shapes to distort an image as well as the iDistort which drives the distortion using an image.
Class 2: Advanced Roto and Plate Clean-up
Although explored in nuk101, nuke has a lot more control over rotoscoping then previously discussed, such as tracking specific points and importing data from other applications.
Class 3: Gizmos
The "macro" system in nuke is called gizmos. We will create a gizmo utilizing expressions and user controls and learn how to add that gizmo to our nuke menus for others to access.
Class 4: Nuke Customization
Building on last week's course, we will further customize nuke by adding and setting default working resolutions on launch, setting up shot specific working directories and other tasks that nuke can automate.
Class 5: Nuke Shell Commands
We'll cover some common and intermediate shell commands such as rendering without launching the UI and building a script right in the shell.
Class 6: 3D: Locating a point in 3D Space
It's relatively simple to load camera tracks in nuke but how do you know where to place objects in the scene if you don't have a point cloud or tracking geometry as reference. This week we will go over finding points in Z-space and reconciling 3D track data in 2D.
Class 7: 3D Projections
One of the key powers to nuke's 3D system is it's ability to project textures onto geometry. This will be our focus this week and will help set up the rest of the semester.
Class 8: 3D Set Extensions
We will use what we learned in our previous course work to extend a practical set using nuke's 3D system.
Class 9: 3D: Set Replacement
One of the most challenging and time consuming tasks can be removing some unwanted foreground elements to create a clean plate. The technique we will learn this week has been used in hundreds of shots and saved thousands of hours.
Class 10: 3D Multi-Planing
Using a single layered frame we will create a camera move and turn our 2-Dimensional image into an active sequence and move through it with our nuke camera.
NUK301 - Advanced Nuke I
Our advanced Nuke course will be our first using the recently released Nuke version 5. This is going to mainly be a project-based course, with shots being examined and finessed over several classes. Sean Devereaux will be leading the charge as prof for the course, with a few special guest speakers. First, fxphd regular tahl Niran will be doing several classes covering integrating 3D elements into composites.
Frank Reuter, the worldwide king of nuke tools and customization will be our guest speaker for two classes where he will cover nuke 5 customization, tcl and python scripting as well as advanced gizmo creation with expressions galore! Frank faces difficult production challenges everyday and comes at nuke with that vital problem solving background. No other person on the planet has as much production experience as a nuke technical director and these two classes will crack the mysteries and tricks of custom nuke wide open.
Class 1: What's NEW! The first class will not be just the new interface but a detailed look at all the major new features of nuke 5. By the end of the first class every user will have a in-depth knowledge of the interface but also an in-depth knowledge of stereoscopic compositing and a good handle of all the new 3D lighting tools. The stereoscopic tools being the majority of the class time.
Class 2: Tahl Niran covers translating 3D objects and data between external applications and creating ad assembling advanced motion graphics in nuke 5.
Class 3: Tahl Niran continues with 3d integration and motion graphics, looking at using the .obj geometry along with mutli-channel renders to produce the final composite
Class 4: Tahl Niran looks at how to composite the exterior matte shot from 'I love Sarah Jane' with a focus on keying, integration and other production techniques
Class 5: Part one of a four part class to start and complete a full HD production composite. This class will lay the ground work for the weeks to come and explain all the details we need to start shot production.
Class 6: Part two of a four part class to start and complete a full HD production composite.
Class 7: Part three of a four part class to start and complete a full HD production composite. Adding scrolling text around the set and a creative way to deal with set problems when nothing else will work.
Class 8: Some basics for creating and editing nodes via python, for example attaching viewer, changing knob values, deleting nodes; using initi.py to add to plugin paths; adding favorite buttons to file browsers; writing a simple interface so user can input shot data on application launch to dynamically create favorites.
Class 9: A continued look at Python scripting and Nuke customization
Class 10: The final part of creating a full HD production composite.
PNT202 - Matte Painting Previs: The Establishing Shot
Pre visualizing for film or game development means that you have to be a storyteller. Instead of words you use images and timeless symbols. This visual language has to be learnt as any other. It has its own specific forms and rules. Which, when followed allow you to successfully visualize scenes and concepts that had previously only existed in words.
This course will provide an insight as to how, in a production environment, a brief is interpreted and pre-visualized. By combining classical art principles with Photoshop, we will explore how these ideas and techniques inform the modern production environment. Using Photoshop, we will create a series of 3 dynamic establishing shots; each having its own distinct lighting and atmosphere. Through these images we will explore the fundamentals of painting with Photoshop and the best way to exploit its versatility in a production environment.
The professor for the course, Gerhard Mozsi has worked both remotely and on-site for studios in the USA, Austria, Germany, Australia, and the U.K. He studied traditional art practice at University before exchanging the paintbrush for a Wacom, and now works primarily in the digital medium. He has been working as a concept artist and matte painter for film and games development for the last years 5. His work can be seen on his site and blog.
Class 1: Introduction
Introduction to the ideas and themes that will be explored over the whole course. The course brief will be outlined as we start to paint the initial thumbnails for the first image. An emphasis on composition and how to structure your image, in addition we will investigate the process of creating effect thumbnails and how they in form the production process.
Class 2: How to Start
Starting the first image, "Before the Storm". Fleshing out the first image with an emphasis on composition and color. Defining a midday color pallet. Working with Photoshop brushes.
Class 3: Setting the Mood
Finalizing the image. Looking at color harmonies and the creation of mood in an image. Working with color correction and contrast
Class 4: Changing the Mood
Starting the second image, "The Evening Raid". Establishing an evening pallet. How to use Layer Modes in Photoshop.
Class 5: Adding Detail
Continuing "The Evening Raid". Working with textures and how to effectively add detail and depth. Exploring perspective
Class 6: Creating Atmosphere or Mood
Finalizing "The Evening Raid". How to finish an image. Detailed examination of how to create atmosphere in your image.
Class 7: Perspective Revisited
Developing a new composition for the final image, with an emphasis on working with perspective and color thumbnails.
Class 8: Painting the Sky
Starting the final image, "Ruins". Defining an afternoon pallet. In addition, how to effectively paint a dynamic skyline.
Class 9: Polishing your painting: The last 10%
Finalizing the "Ruins". Polishing and how to add drama to your image
Class 10: Adjustment layers and Final Summary
Final polish of all the final images and wrap-up. Detailed examination of Photoshop adjustment layers.
PFT201: 3D Camera Tracking with PFTrack
Taught by Victor Wolansky and voiced by Mike Seymour, this course begins with an introduction to tracking in the application and then quickly moves to an intermediate level. fxphd postgrads will have access to a VPN version of PFTrack to follow along for the course. Wolansky is at at E3Post in Alexandria Virginia, working on high-end commercials, broadcast, and commercial projects. You can view a feature about some scenes we'll be working through this term at url(http://www.thepixelfarm.co.uk/content.aspx?Content=story14.htm, The PixelFarm's website).
This course was incredibly popular the first time it was run -- if you want to learn 3D tracking, this course is for you.
RED101: Introduction to RED Workflow I
This course is designed to give you everything you need to know to post a RED project. If you have done RED201 and RED202, you may not need this course and we would recommend the Scratch 201 course instead. This course will be new and up to date. bit it will cover ground that was also covered in RED201 and RED202. As the RED landscape is changing so fast, it is important to have one serious workflow course that explains RED and how to post it -- and this is it.
This course will not be on camera operation other than how it affects on-set monitoring and workflow. The course will build from the basics of RED to the more advanced scripting and also cover briefly the new Scarlet camera and how it will fit into the Red landscape. All modules such as RedCine and Red Alert will be completely revised from previous courses, to accommodate the latest releases of that software.
Class 1: NAB 2008 Update - Interview with Ted Schilowitz from RED.
Class 2: Basics of how the RED camera encodes. How that processing as well as in-camera decisions effect post handling.
Class 3: RED and R3D workflow. From on-set to archiving, with tips for sensible handling along the way.
Class 4: Logging Material and Scripting. A look at various RED related file formats and third-party utilities.
Class 5: How to breakdown and budget your RED project.
Class 6: Using RED Alert to convert your footage into image formats usable in post.
Class 7: Colour space, LUTs and tips on shooting better green screen and the science behind it. Also includes bonus class: a look at the rolling shutter issue.
Class 8: Redcine overview. How it can assist your project and play a part in your workflow independently or with other programs.
Class 9: Build 16 overview. New features on the camera and the new Red Alert, highlighting REDspace and REDflex.
Class 10: TBD
SCR201: Scratch and Grading RED
Jeff Olm takes this course on colour grading with the Assimilate Scratch. Scratch has become extremely popular due to its unique position of being able to natively read RED's .r3d files. Jeff is an experienced Scratch artist with a very strong visual effects background in over 50 features. He has just finished doing a stereo 3D Scratch colour grade on Journey to the Center of the Earth as a Stereo Colourist. Jeff covers general Scratch workflow , grading Red footage and even gives an overview of Stereography issues using Scratch's stereo grading tools.
While this course uses a lot of RED footage, several classes will use non-RED material. Classes will cover the following subjects and more:
- Principles of colour grading: secondaries and primaries
- RED .r3d workflow
- How to approach a shot for balancing and standard grading
- Building a look
- Stereo grading
- Creative colour grading: general approaches
SHK102: Introduction to Shake
A general purpose introduction to compositing that uses one compositing application to cover the basic concepts of compositing in a step by step way. Professor Tahl Niran will use Shake and Photoshop to illustrate all the key areas of image compositing for visual effects.
Even though development of the product has stopped, Shake is still very widely used in film compositing pipelines at the major studios and is likely to be one of the first tools an entry-level artist uses at the facility. With its affordable price point, the app is great way for up and coming artists to learn how to composite.
Class 1: Introduction to Compositing Concepts
What is compositing and how it relates to computer graphics. Basic principles, layer-based and node-based systems compared, colour correction and concatenation.
Class 2: The Shake UI
Understanding common elements such as file-ins, timeline, and outputs. Flipbooks and rendering. Using QuickTime vs. image sequences.
Class 3: Layering Concepts
Layer, transfer modes, mattes and matte creation, roto.
Class 4: Moving the Image
Transforms and image manipulations, including key points about concatenation and filtering. First look at tracking.
Class 5: Matte Generation
Keying principles and practice: Luma, Chroma, and plugin keyers.
Class 6: Paint
Vector vs. raster, key uses for paint: clone, matte, wire removal.
Class 7: Colour Concepts
Colour space for film (log vs lin) and video.
Class 8: Image Integration Concepts
Integrating imagery. Focus, colour matching, grain, glows and blurs.
Class 9: Angel Composite Part 1
Practical project with files. Implement the principles covered in the previous classes.
Class 10: Angel Composite Part 2
Finalizing the Angel composite.
SHK201: Intermediate Shake I
Shake is the main stay of feature film compositing and in this course Tahl Niran focuses on the detailed workflow you need for real world feature film style compositing - but which are also relevant to other work such as compositing for commercials. This term we will be compositing a range of material from Cineon to Panalog and even traditional animation files. As shake is often used for compositing 3D - special attention will be given to this important area this term.
View a short sample clip from one of the SHK201 classes.
Class 1: Car Ad Part One - Tracking, Roto
Class 2: Car Ad Part Two - Sky Replacement, Multiplane, Colour Matching
Class 3: A Romantic Night - Smoothcam, Quickpaint, Primatte
Class 4: 2D Animation Composite
Class 5: Advanced Multipass : Spaceship Part 1
Class 6: Advanced Multipass : Spaceship Part 2
Class 7: Intro to Expressions
Class 8: Removal and Plate Fixup - Lens Distortion, Clean Plate Generation
Class 9: The Oil Rig Part 1 & 2
Class 10:The Oil Rig Part 3 & 4
Listen Here to an overview of SHK201
View a short sample clip from one of the SHK201 classes.
SHK302 - Shake (and More) in Production
A classroom is fine but does it really prepare you for your regular daily tasks as a compositor? We're very excited to have Tahl Niran, one of our most popular professors at fxphd, return for an all new advanced Shake in production course. Niran's courses have always been well received by postgrads and this course is sure to be no different.
The aim of SHK302 is to show the practical day to day approach the compositors use in production. Using the two most common scenarios for producion visual effects. Television commercials and film visual effects. Using two examples, the iPhone/Lexus spot and the short film I love Sarah Jane which was shown at Sundance, this course will demonstrate how to use a variety of tools to get the job done.
In production, software and a tools take a back seat. Technique and understanding are key. To this end the course will cover the principles and practice of bringing a series of shots to completion using a combination of Shake, Nuke, Maya, Boujou, Mocha and a few little bits and pieces. This also includes how to approach a shot creatively and from a design perspective and more importantly how to be flexible and client-conscious when approaching tasks. We will look at how to break down larger visual effects shots into manageable tasks and use composting and other visual effects techniques to maximise the quality and impact of the photographed material. In addition, we will be tackle key workflow issues including: file management, delivery and interchange formats and perhaps the most commonly requested topic. Colourspace management for film compositing.
This course is an advanced 300 level course and as such aimed at people with a solid knowledge in at least one compositing application and a grounding in the practical application of digital image management in a visual effects environment. Previous experience in either Shake or Nuke is highly recommended as is a knowledge of Photoshop and experience with a major 3D application is also beneficial.
Class 1: Intro to the course, customizing shake under the hood to setup workflows for use during the duration of the project
Class 2: Setting up a rough comp of a shot from the Lexus commercial to begin visualizing the final result, using Shake and Photoshop
Class 3: A quick look at same shot from class 2, this time in Nuke, pointing out some color space handling differences. Also, starting the 3D elements and track in Maya, and a tip for finding good 3D models online
Class 4: Back to Shake, moving on with the comp, integrating 3D elements
Class 5: Working with multi-pass compositing of floating point, multi-channel, exr files in Shake and Nuke, and more 3D prep in Maya
Class 6: Finishing the comp from a general compositing POV, but with a special look at getting the most out of Shake
Class 7: Starting a shot from "I Love Sarah Jane", where a number of techniques are used to add atmosphere to a scene by making a regular house look severely damaged using Shake, Nuke, and Photoshop. Also, using Mocha for roto.
Class 8: Another shot from "I love Sarah Jane" integrating a number of elements including a matte painting, sky replacement, and fog to completely transform the atmosphere of a relatively simple plate using Shake
Class 9: Continuing on with the finer tuning of the shot from class 8 in Shake
Class 10: A look at the closing shot from the Lexus commercial with keying, camera tracking, monitor replacement, and background replacement
SMK201: Smoke Workflow Boot Camp
Smoke is one of the most widely used finishing systems in high end post production, and one of its main strengths is to serve as the final stop in a facility before the finished product is output. With this strength comes the ability to be flexible in working with different types of footage and formats.
Chris Kreynus returns to lead the course, taking members through these varied workflows -- from P2 MXF, Final Cut Pro XML, RED, and film. At the end of the term, you will have enough information to tackle a wide variety of projects which might come through your door. Interspersed throughout the workflow discussions will be audio, graphics, and compositing techniques which you can use every day in the suite. It won't all be about workflow -- there will be a ton of fun creative tasks as well.
Class 1: Using RED footage in smoke. Using the Lexus iPhone RED DPX sequences available in the Additional Torrents, we'll show the workflow for getting the best quality footage out of RED.
Class 2: Creative Day. Working with the Lexus iPhone spot, doing some cool Action tricks to create a stylized 3D environment for the running footage.
Class 3: Creative Day. Working with the Lexus iPhone Spot.
Class 4: Alternative way of working with RED footage using QuickTime and Tether.
Class 5: Using Final Cut Pro XML with VTR sourced material.
Class 6: Working with Avid.
Class 7: 3D compositing in Smoke. Many smoke editors do 2D comps -- this ep will show why 3D compositing is a great way to go. Will use imported track from SynthEyes course.
Class 8: Working directly with P2 MXF -- broadcast style post.
Class 9: Smoke and Lustre Workflow
Class 10: By Popular demand....
SYN101: Introduction to Syntheyes
Our fxphd tracking specialist, Victor Wolansky, takes members through the economical but incredibly powerful Syntheyes 3D tracking application. The course will be using the recent release of Syntheyes 2008. This course will give you the base knowledge you need in order to solve various types of shot.
Class 1: Get up and running in Syntheyes. Tracking, solving, and using meshes when tracking a helicopter shot.
Class 2: 3D tracking theory and a first look at using the manual tracker.
Class 3: Tracking an overhead camera shot of a city and dealing with issues that generally come up when tracking. Aligning the camera to the footage.
Class 4: A look at tracking stationary cameras on tripods with and without zooms. Also, how to orient and align the camera on a still or locked off shot.
Class 5: Stabilization and more tricks on orienting the 3D world with the footage.
Class 6: Tracking a DV shot and dealing with the inherent issues of interlacing and compression artifacts. Also an intro to masking.
Class 7: Brief recap on importing interlaced footage in a 3D application. Solving a difficult handheld shot using manual tracking.
Class 8: Tracking a moving steadicam shot through a laboratory scene. Cleaning up trackers and prepping the shot for use in 3D.
Class 9: Tracking a shot with a lot of lens distortion. Adding distortion to CGI elements for use in compositing applications.
Class 10:
SYN201: Intermediate SynthEyes I
Our Introduction to SynthEyes course got members up and running in the software as well as being able to address common problems that come up in post. This course will build upon the knowledge and tackle trickier and more complex tracks in SynthEyes than were addressed in the 101 course. Taught by our fxphd tracking expert Victor Wolansky, he'll dive into more detail in how to make sure you get the most accurate track possible and minimize camera drifting.
This course will also support the Advanced After Effects 302 course, providing 3D tracks for use in the main project for the term.
SYS101: How to Build a Facility
Our introductory system administration course will be centered around what it takes to build a small facility. We will spec out a 'typical' post company and then over the ten weeks look at each aspect of it, considering the latest technology, what is value for money and how the various components will fit together. We will try and pick brands - being specific and focusing on real world tricks to make things work together - examining issues well beyond the PDF brochures and press releases.
Class 1: So this is what we want: our goal for the course
Class 2: Storage and servers
Class 3: Networking and internet
Class 4: Backing up and remote management
Class 5: Audio and video infrastructure
Class 6: Installation and site preparation
Class 7: Digital intermediate and render farms
Class 8: Unix commands, part 1
Class 9: Unix commands, part 2
Class 10: Simple scripting, cron jobs and course review
SYS201: Serving the Editors
Professor Pat Trivuncevic returns with a new 200 level course focused on Editing Pro applications and their servers. Offline is the start of any post process and Pat begins with the new Leopard Server, and then covers the new Final Cut Server as well as AVID suite installations. Covering lessons learned both side of the Pacific Ocean, this focused course aims to give the Post-grad a detailed understanding of setting up and maintaining a high end networked large FCP or AVID set up.
If you are a single FCP user, this will not be an ideal course for you. But if you have multiple suites and a professional workflow, this course will cover everything from installation to optimization.
Class 1: So this is what we want: our goal for the course
Class 2: Leopard Server, part 1
Class 3: Leopard Server, part 2 including Xsan
Class 4: A Final Cut Server solution
Class 5: Final Cut Server Implementation
Class 6: Using Final Cut Server
Class 7: AVID offline part 1
Class 8: AVID offline part 2
Class 9: TBA
Class 10: Archiving, upgrading and user questions.
TOX103: Toxik 2008 - Hit the Ground Running
This class can be viewed as a straight to the point “crash course” in which students familiar with other compositing packages can quickly feel comfortable with Toxik in a production environment. Professor Sebastien Jacob will quickly demystify and break down the application and show you several of the archetypal day to day production scenarios so you can start finishing shots in Toxik as fast as possible.
Forget the internet flame wars and hype. Want to know what Toxik is really like? This course is for you.
Class 1: An explanation of Toxik's core features, workflow, and system requirements, and getting started by creating a project and user profile.
Class 2: A discussion about the Linux version and it's advantages, Toxik architecture, Tiling, the UI, and basic navigation around the software.
Class 3: Understanding Toxik's versioning system.
Class 4: Back to Basics 1, getting into the main compositing tools and functionality, tracking, transformations, cropping, filtering, and expressions.
Class 5: Back to Basics 2, continuing the look at compositing functionality, keying, masking, paint, and floating point workflow.
Class 6: Different ways of compositing in Toxik, focus on real world uses and an overview of Reaction.
Class 7: A look at the blur tool and working with CGI, EXR workflow, and and introduction to retiming.
Class 8: A look at warping, grain management, and using macros.
Class 9: Maya 2008 integration, real world uses, and caveats.
Class 10: A mixed bag of production concerns, cineon/dpx workflow, display modifiers, advanced linking, Toxik 2008 vs 2007, collaborating in a standalone environment, and some discussion of Sebastian's personal experience using Toxik in production.
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