Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with compositing

Is it still a good time to learn how to Shake ?

SageLeVoid — Wed, 12 Dec 2007 09:28:06 -0800

Is learning Shake, the visual effect software, still worth the trouble since Apple dropped it or should i learn to use a different package ? I am learning to do compositing and motion graphics. Right now i'm playing with after effects. It's a very good software but it seems that a lot of vfx houses are using node based interface packages to do their stuff. I'd like to learn to navigate in such a software.
Shake is one of those package and it seems to be the most widely used.
My problem is that, Shake is not supported by Apple anymore.
They're planning on releasing a new thing next year called Phenomenon. Since it's an Apple product, nobody knows anything about it yet, it could be a new and improved Shake, it could also be a dumbed down version to appeal to a larger market.
Should i still put the time and money to train on Shake or should i move to another software (Nuke ?) or should i just wait for the release of Phenomenon ?

Video Color Space is a mystery to me..

shmegegge — Mon, 15 May 2006 15:22:37 -0800

I would like to find resources, either in print or online, for learning as much as I can about video color space, specifically where it applies to compositing/keying work. I'm an assistant video editor, principally in avid systems, who's looking to learn what I can about the nature of color spaces for different video formats. For instance, I'm told that minidv, having a color space of 4:1:1, is worthless for compositing and keying work. DVCPRO, having a 4:2:2 color space, I'm told is much better suited to that work, and other formats are even better. But 4:1:1 doesn't mean anything to me, technically. I just remember "4:1:1 is bad for keying, and that's what minidv has, so minidv is bad for keying." I think it's time for me to understand what those numbers mean, and why certain numbers are better than others, and how they apply to compositing and editing scenarios that I will encounter in my work. thanks in advance.

AE expressions tutorials?

brundlefly — Sun, 08 Jan 2006 23:32:39 -0800

Anyone know of any good tutorials on expressions in Adobe After Effects?

Simple matchmoving program?

brundlefly — Thu, 23 Jun 2005 18:40:22 -0800

A question for any FX nerds out there: Can you recommend a good matchmoving program? It has to be for OS X and compatible with (preferably) After Effects or Combustion, and Maya. Ease of use would be a plus, as well. This is my first foray into matchmoving.