Compositing Visual Effects, Second Edition: Essentials for the Aspiring Artist [Paperback]

Steve Wright (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 25, 2011 | ISBN-10: 0240817818 | ISBN-13: 978-0240817811 | Edition: 2

Put the essential concepts and techniques of digital compositing to work for you without the need of a single mathematical equation. Compositing Visual Effects is lavishly illustrated with hundreds of film shots, figures, illustrations, and diagrams to help the visual reader gain a valuable vocabulary and understanding of the full range of visual effects, in which digital compositing plays a key role.

Beginning with an inspirational tour of the scope and magnitude of digital compositing, you get a solid overview of the kinds of digital effects routinely executed today. See how CGI is composited with live action, how set extensions are done, and what a match-move shot is. Following that you learn each of the key applications of digital compositing, which include bluescreen compositing, bullet-time shots, motion tracking, and rotoscoping. The subsequent chapters dig down into each of the major digital compositing applications, introducing the fundamental concepts, and processes behind them. Learn what is easy and hard, possible and impossible, and what to expect when working on a job that entails digital compositing. New to this edition are 4 new chapters on: * 3D compositing, with lessons on what camera tracking is, how it is used to put CGI into a live-action plate, as well as live action into a 3D scene. * Stereo compositing, with descriptions of key stereoscopic terms and concepts, lessons on compositing shots that were filmed in stereo (both bluescreen and CGI), as well as the stereo conversion process when a flat 2D movie is converted to a stereo 3D movie * RED and Digital Capture with Log Images, including log image formats. This is a very hot topic these days. Colleges hang around video because it is cheaper. Film is still big in the real world of production. * Tracking an entire project from start to finish This is in addition to robust updates on topics such as: * planar tracking, Z compositing, working with Anamorphic HD formats, mocap, and more

This edition also includes a companion website with images from the book for you to work with in your own compositing exercises.

• An accessible introduction to a complex subject for novice and aspiring compositors, from experienced author and compositing whose compositing credits include Night at the Museum 2, Shutter Island, Solaris, Traffic, and more
• Full color presentation illustrating the art and techniques of the practice, provides inspiration along with instruction
• New to this edition is a companion website, new chapters on 3D compositing, stereo compositing, RED and digital capture with log images, and more will have you understanding the latest in compositing technology in no time

• An accessible introduction to a complex subject for novice and aspiring compositors, from experienced author and compositing whose compositing credits include Night at the Museum 2, Shutter Island, Solaris, Traffic, and more
• Full color presentation illustrating the art and techniques of the practice, provides inspiration along with instruction
• New chapters on 3D compositing and stereo compositing will have readers understanding the latest in compositing technology in no time

• Companion website, compositingvfx.com features sample videos and other bonus materials

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Steve Wright has hit it out of the ballpark again. After his wildly successful book Digital Compositing For Film and Video he tackles digital compositing anew, but this time from the perspectives of the curious beginner all the way to industry professionals. In easy to follow terms he leads the reader through the entire process and techniques used to create blockbuster effects, but makes the journey easy for the lay-person. This is a MUST HAVE book for anyone who wants to know just what is this digital compositing magic."
-- Jeffrey Jasper, VFX Compositor, New Deal Studio (The Good Shepherd, X-Men 3, Pirates of the Caribbean 3)

"Steve Wright is the master of clarity. His new book Compositing Digital Effects is easy on the brain and on the eyes, as he deftly explains fairly complicated computer graphics and digital effects in a way that is so easy to follow, augmented with hundreds of color pictures. It is the perfect textbook for students who are just becoming familiar with computer graphics and filmmaking. I'm excited to begin using it for my animation and special effects courses."
-- Larry Elin, Associate Professor, Television, Radio, Film, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University

"Every time I come out of a conversation with Steve I know a lot more about how visual effects are done than I did before and am more confident that I can handle whatever the movie I'm working on is going to throw at me next. Reading Compositing Visual Effects is nearly as much fun as talking to Wright in person because he writes just like he speaks: entertainingly, concisely and accurately. Now when we can't get him on the phone we can pull him off the shelf."
--George Merkert, Visual Effects Producer (As Good As It Gets, Total Recall, In The Line of Fire, Starship Troopers) --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Steve Wright is a visual effects compositing veteran with 70 broadcast television commercials and over 60 feature films credits. He's developed video games at Atari, done 3D animations for Robert Abel and Associates, and was senior compositor and 2D technical director at Kodak's Cinesite. Steve is now a freelance, digital-compositing guru, who teaches, trains, writes, and develops on-line training programs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 344 pages
• Publisher: Focal Press; 2 edition (August 25, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0240817818
• ISBN-13: 978-0240817811
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #392,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For Video, Film, and Animation (Not Photography), November 25, 2011

By 

V. Hutson (Duluth, MN) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Compositing Visual Effects, Second Edition: Essentials for the Aspiring Artist (Paperback)

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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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun way to get a solid foundation in compositing visual effects, July 28, 2008

By 

T. Church (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Compositing Visual Effects: Essentials for the Aspiring Artist (Paperback)

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!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars High level and comprehensive, December 17, 2011

By 

JoAnne Goldberg (Silicon Valley, CA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Compositing Visual Effects, Second Edition: Essentials for the Aspiring Artist (Paperback)

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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.