Customer Reviews

Compositing Visual Effects: Essentials for the Aspiring Artist

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Overall this appears to be an excellent book for learning how to composite when working with film, video, and animation. From the title, I thought it would include digital photography--which it basically doesn't do.

This book is valuable because it gives the reader a solid foundation in a straightforward and fun way. I read slowly and it still felt like a quick read. Readers with a background in motion graphics (for example Flash or After Effects artists) who don't think of themselves as "compositors" will probably take away much that can improve the quality of their work. The author does a particularly good job at explaining the structure and attributes of digital images. The writing is precise and well edited. From learning the basics of color correction, to gaining a working knowledge of video and film workflows, the book delivers. It comes across as an industry veteran who likes what he does, giving "Aspiring Artists" a simple and strong foundation. Well done!

As someone who has taught herself how to use a number of image processing applications, including photo and video editing programs, I was hoping that Compositing Visual Effects would help me ramp up my skills a notch. The introduction goes to great lengths to describe the book as "digital compsiting lite, readable by all" and "carefully written not to confuse or intimidate the newcomer." And I guess if you pick up this book hoping to skim a lot of pretty pictures amidst a flurry of technical terminology, you will be mildly entertained and perhaps even edified. If you are getting this book as an encyclopedic wiki-view of the compositing world, you may be satisfied. But if your objective is to master new techniques, you may have a hard time getting any traction. The 250+ sections zip through topics such as "spline warps" and "articulated rotos" with lots of before and after pictures but very little practical information about how to get from point A to point B.

I see that this book has gotten lots of stars, which is understandable. The author invested a tremendous amount of effort in assembling photos, illustrations, and charts. I appreciate that he hoped the book would be "extremely accessible and informative" and he seems like such a friendly, upbeat kind of author that I hate to let him down by telling him that it was neither. Three stars for effort, scope, and attractiveness, plus a few regrets for the valuable work that could have been produced with a little more focus.

I enjoy learning new techniques for special effects with Photoshop, but learn little from this one. A few new things, and convenient stock piling of old ones for reference. I usually like example in full page color, bt these were stoggy little examples that I needed a magnifying glass to study. Could have been so much better.

I've purchased this book as first guide for beginners - new young artists at my VFX studio.
But I've found a lot of really interesting, useful and sometimes interesting items for myself - VFX Supervisor with 18 years of experience!

So far I have read work through the 6 chapter of this very easy read book.I recommend this book to anyone who want to start in the art of vfx.Mr.Wright has a great teaching style that takes technical jargon and simplifies the visual effects for the total beginner with a lot of examples.Great job on this book looking forward to see other books written by this author

I had originally wanted to get Steve Wright's other book, Digital Compositing for Film and Video, Second Edition, but read another review of this book make mention that it is geared more towards a beginner. At first, I thought this to be what I needed and when I got the book and scanned through it, it just seemed like an overview of the variety regarding compositing. I was a bit disappointed, until I started to peruse through more thoroughly.

What I liked (and am liking) is that it is geared towards more of a primer in the sense of the fundamental operations involved in digital compositing. And ironically, it was also what I did not like. I expected to have a more thorough or at least a methodical approach (not necessarily step-by-step) towards teaching basic compositing principles. That is what the aforementioned book describes. (And I say this based on the Table of Contents.)

So, I give a 5-star review to let people know that if they want to get a handle on "essential" concepts, that is easy to understand and comprehend, then get this book. Even if you have no interest in making movies or working in a VFX field, this will be a fun read to see the tricks the pros build upon to create some truly imaginative results. However, if you know what bluescreen compositing is, multi-plane compositing, premultiplication, etc., then this book might be redundant for you.

Once I'm done with this book, though, I'll be moving onto his other text and will be better prepared to absorb more detailed techniques.

I've gotten a lot of mileage out of the first edition of "Compositing Visual Effects". It helped fill in the blank spots in my otherwise self-taught education in visual effects. This second edition keeps all that information while adding and expanding to cover new developments in visual imaging.

The first edition of the book was a solid introduction to the basic principles of how film and video work and the processes of manipulating them. Things like frame rates, aspect ratios, bit depths, film formats and elementary compositing techniques. Topics you may have a working knowledge of, but don't know the finer points of it all. Wright explains everything at the most basic level, giving us a more solid foundation to build upon.

I can personally say now that knowing the actual math that goes into a certain blending mode is much more helpful than just trying them all out and guessing at which one I should use.

The big additions to this version are sections on planar image tracking and how HDR imaging works (Some of this can also be found in the author's more advanced book Digital Compositing for Film and Video, but it's nice to have an intro here), and whole chapters on stereoscopic 3D compositing, and the workflow needed to take a shot from camera to composite.

"Compositing Visual Effects" is a thorough beginners book. Even if you know the basics of visual effects and image processing, this book will help you know them better.

I first bought the other book from Steve Wright and I found it quite difficult. This book, 'Essentials' is just as it says. very clearly written with lot's of pictures. It covers every compositing aspect so it's very valuable.

Every structure needs a solid foundation. Whether it be a building or a career. Mr. Wright has provided the reader with what can only be described as the most solid of foundations for a career in Visual Effects. While it is geared towards future and current compositors, by no means be fooled.... this book provides essential information and technical knowledge that normally only sheer experience can provide on many aspects of the industry above and beyond compositing. If I had the benefit of a book like this when I started out, it could have shaved years off of my learning curve. I give this marvelous piece of instructional treasure the highest recommendation.

Steven M. Blasini
Visual Effects Supervisor
BFX Imageworks
Los Angeles, CA