The Art and Science of Digital Compositing, Second Edition: Techniques for Visual Effects, Animation and Motion Graphics (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics) [Paperback]

Ron Brinkmann (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0123706386 | ISBN-13: 978-0123706386 | Publication Date: June 4, 2008 | Edition: 2

*The classic reference, with over 25,000 copies in print, has been massively expanded and thoroughly updated to include state-of-the-art methods and 400+ all-new full color images!

At ILM, compositing is one of the most important tools we use. If you want to learn more, this excellent 2nd-edition is detailed with hundreds of secrets that will help make your comps seamless. For beginners or experts, Ron walks you through the processes of analysis and workflows - linear thinking which will help you become deft and successfully tackle any shot.
- Dennis Muren ASC, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor, Industrial Light & Magic

Ron Brinkman's book is the definitive work on digital compositing and we have depended on this book as a critical part of our in-house training program at Imageworks since the 1999 Edition. We use this book as a daily textbook and reference for our lighters, compositors and anyone working with digital imagery. It is wonderful to see a new edition being released and it will certainly be required reading for all our digital artists here at Imageworks.
- Sande Scoredos, Executive Director of Training & Artist Development, Sony Pictures Imageworks

The Art and Science of Digital Compositing is the only complete overview of the technical and artistic nature of digital compositing. It covers a wide range of topics from basic image creation, representation and manipulation, to a look at the visual cues that are necessary to create a believable composite. Designed as an introduction to the field, as well as an authoritative technical reference, this book provides essential information for novices and professionals alike.

*17 new case-studies provide in-depth looks at the compositing work done on films such as Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Golden Compass, The Incredibles, King Kong, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Sin City, Spider-Man 2, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and Star Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith.

*The accompanying DVD-ROM features bonus resources, including example footage from hit films and projects that give readers hands-on experience with real industry materials.

*Includes new sections on 3D compositing, High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging, Rotoscoping, and much more!

*17 new case-studies provide in-depth looks at the compositing work done on films such as Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Golden Compass, The Incredibles, King Kong, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Sin City, Spider-Man 2, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and Star Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith.

*The accompanying DVD-ROM features bonus resources, including example footage from hit films and projects that give readers hands-on experience with real industry materials.

*Includes new sections on 3D compositing, High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging, Rotoscoping, and much more!

Editorial Reviews

Review

*17 new case-studies provide in-depth looks at the compositing work done on films such as Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The Golden Compass, The Incredibles, King Kong, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, Sin City, Spider-Man 2, Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, and Star Wars: Episode 3 - Revenge of the Sith.

*The accompanying DVD-ROM features bonus resources, including example footage from hit films and projects that give readers hands-on experience with real industry materials.

*Includes new sections on 3D compositing, High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging, Rotoscoping, and much more!

About the Author

Ron M. Brinkmann has been working in the field of Computer Graphics for over a decade, involved with both hardware and software design, development and use. His primary field of expertise is in visual effects for feature films, and his personal feature-film credits include: Contact, The Ghost and the Darkness, James and the Giant Peach, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Speed, Hideaway, Tall Tale, Last Action Hero, and In the Line of Fire. He has had articles published in a number of magazines, and has lectured on the topics of digital compositing and visual effects in the U.S., Europe, Australia and China.

Product Details

• Paperback: 704 pages
• Publisher: Morgan Kaufmann; 2 edition (June 4, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0123706386
• ISBN-13: 978-0123706386
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55,907 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #53 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Game Programming

More About the Author

Occasional supervisor in the visual effects and animation world. One of the founding employees of Sony Pictures Imageworks. Part of the initial design and development team that produced the digital compositing application Shake (acquired by Apple in 2002). Continued as Shake Product Designer for a few years, until development on the product was ruthlessly terminated. Also was slightly involved with Apple's photo-management software Aperture. Slightly. Frequently speaks at seminars on the topics of visual effects, digital filmmaking and general technology. (Has spoken in England, Netherlands, Russia, China, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, Japan and India... and several less-interesting locations). Regular guest/host on This Week in Photography podcast.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Amazing - no other text compares, June 26, 2008

By 

Sean Devereaux "filmsoup" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Art and Science of Digital Compositing, Second Edition: Techniques for Visual Effects, Animation and Motion Graphics (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics) (Paperback)

I started my career in visual effects around the same time the first edition was published and have referenced it constantly through out the 9+ years. I bought the 2nd edition for two reasons, my copy of the first edition was falling apart and nostalgia. I was not expecting much new information and was mostly just looking for an intact copy of the first edition with a few new tidbits here and there. I could not have been more wrong.

The second edition has so much NEW information in it was like reading a time capsule of the technological advances of the last ten years. There is not a topic or subject used in compositing that is not covered here. Only two books have sat on my desk my entire career, the first edition and the cinematographers manual. I have read many books available on visual effects, but none compare, honestly. The main reason for that is complete software independence, not partial, complete.

There is no other book that teaches you the raw knowledge you need to be an artist. Anyone can teach you how to push certain buttons of a specific app, this is the only book that clearly teaches you when to push them and why. Artists in today's marketplace need a deep core knowledge of what the software packages are doing so that they can easily switch to other packages. This is especially true in feature film compositing where the industry is at a point of impasse and there is no clear winner of the package wars, fingers crossed for NUKE ;). There is no standard tool anymore so the best way to stay employable is to know what this book teaches, the math, the science, the art.

This book is chock full of examples, color photos and production examples. Whether you've been at this for a while or are new to the art, own this book. Own it for years and years and years. Yes, it's more expensive then any other book on the subject but it is worth so much more then the others that it will pay for itself very quickly. If you already have the other books, sell them, get this.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent primer and reference, September 23, 2008

By 

Ducatimark "Mark" (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Art and Science of Digital Compositing, Second Edition: Techniques for Visual Effects, Animation and Motion Graphics (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics) (Paperback)

The Art and Science of Digital Compositing, Second Edition: Techniques for Visual Effects, Animation and Motion Graphics (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics)

I've been doing video and 3D work for the last couple of years without really knowing how or why I do many things. This book gives me the source knowledge of the nuts and bolts of composisting that don't come in the directions for compositing software. I would consider this required reading for anyone in the video or 3D world. Serves as a great reference book as well.

The book is full of excellent photos and examples, too. The writer does a great job of building the reader's knowledge from review of basic photography to hard core compositing techniques. This book will live close at hand for a long time.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book if you want to lose your sleep and loved ones., July 25, 2010

By 

Rajneesh - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Art and Science of Digital Compositing, Second Edition: Techniques for Visual Effects, Animation and Motion Graphics (The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Computer Graphics) (Paperback)

I read this book front to back in 7 days. Not that I'm an avid reader or I can read 1000s of words a minute. The content is so exceptionally good that I just could not stop letting go off the book. I think I finally found something that can replace sex. There are many masters in compositing but very few are good teachers. Ron is one of those rare Zen master's who not only realized nirvana but can also teach the ways to achieve it. Try explaining light to a blind man and you will know how difficult it becomes with words.

The patience and accuracy with which Ron has laid out the nuts and bolts of the whole process of digital compositing is rare and for loss of a better word I will call it "Excellent". I also think that amazon should incorporate another rating system that calls "SuperHero stuff" or something. There are lots of books that say push this button and select that option and fall in love with the resulting image. But when the next version of the software is released those buttons are either gone or the options have been changed completely and what not.

Anyway, if you want to go underneath the hood, and I think you should, of any modern compositing software be it nuke or after effects or fusion or katana (i heard that nuke will incorporate some of katana into their software) please look no further. Real world compositing problems are not as simple as pushing this button or that. There will be no button in any software for that matter that says "Ladies! push this button if you have an uneven greenscreen with a flickering foreground element that is heavy in motion blur". Wallah, the problem is solved, your boss is ecstatic that you won an academy award for visual effects just because of that single lovable, darling, push me again and again - button.

There is a particular way in which I use this book. Courtesy Ron again. He made a software resistant book. What I mean by that is that he will not talk about nuke or after effects in particular. Anyway, I read the book, Ron sets out to put a concept in place. Then I dig out the option or options that would lend themselves to solve that Ron's concept from the particular software Im using and give the options a good spanking, punishing or a good squeeze to; you know "Bruce Lee's Fist Of Fury" style squeeze and make them give me the codes to the zion's mainframe. And even before you know it, everything falls in place like a Brian De Palma's movie.

Goodness God I already am feeling tired writing this simple review and wondering how Ron must have squeezed the juice of digital compositing with such elegance. I need a vacation(Terminator 2).

In short "BUY THIS BOOK YOU FOOL!!!!!!".

Rajneesh.