Advanced Compositing: Keying & Creating 2.5D Projections

Composite a Shot in Nuke from Start to Finish with Meliza Fermin

This advanced compositing workshop guides you through compositing a shot, from start to finish, following the principles that would be expected of you in a real VFX production setting. Over the course of 3.5 hours, you’ll comp a photorealistic VFX shot while learning helpings of tips and tricks from Meliza, a Senior/Lead Compositor and Lead Digital Matte Painter, including how to solve common compositing problems that even professionals run into when working in Nuke.

Meliza begins with a lesson in color space, explaining how to work in linear, without compromising an original log plate. You will then do a 3D camera track in Nuke, and use this information to build a 2.5D background. Meliza provides subscribers with a layered digital matte painting to use; she instructs how to project these layers into cards. Meliza also teaches the important keying techniques that she always uses in production and that have proven successful on even the most difficult green- and blue-screen shots. 

Once the tracked background and keyed plate are done, Meliza shows how to add 2D elements from Action VFX to bring the environment to life. As the final step, you will learn how to create a depth matte, match focus, and add grain. 

Working knowledge of Nuke and some experience in compositing is required for this workshop, though artists of all levels will find inspiration in Meliza’s insights and workflow. 

Project files provided with this workshop include Meliza’s Nuke assets. A PDF containing useful links to download assets directly from Action VFX is also provided for those that want to utilize the same assets as featured in this workshop.