Re: 2008 page back up

There is a great interview with the compositors from CafeFX who worked on Spiderman 3 and they talk about their pipeline:

http://www.vfxtalk.com/forum/vfxtalk-interviews-cafefx-spiderman-3-t11438.h...

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You mention that Fusion is your main compositing application. Which parts or scenes did you use Fusion in and how was it used ?

ED: Fusion was our main compositing package on Spider-Man 3. We used Fusion to pull blue screens with the Primatte plugin, tracked plates, import 3D cameras, added backgrounds, and paint fixed plates and elements. We used it to integrate our CG and live action plates together. Fusion has an extensive set of color correction and layering tools that allow us to integrate all of the CG elements seamlessly.

You also have access to Combustion, AE, and Shake. Did you use all or only some in this film?

ED: CafeFX has several tools at hand for the artists. In production you will find certain packages will give you an effect or look others can't or would take too long. In general, we used Combustion for paint, AE was used for its vast plugins and grain match. Shake we used for its tracking and smooth move plate stabilization. Fusion was our main compositing package where we put the shots all together.

How do all of those packages fit into your pipeline? For instance, is Combustion used more as a paint package and Shake or Fusion used as the main compositor?

ED: Yeah you got it, Combustion is our main paint package, but some artists paint in Fusion. Shake and AE we mostly just used for their plug-ins, and Fusion is our main compositing package.

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Sounds like I need to diversify, but as a one-man-shop, I can't afford Fusion and/or AE..

The plugins available to AE (like the Trapcode stuff, that Particular and Form look awesome) are vast, and almost make up for what AE totally lacks..

But from what I read above, it sounds like you should always use the right tool for the job, even if it's from *gasp* another software vendor..

A friend said on this forum awhile back to be familiar with other packages, I guess it's time to download that learning edition of Fusion..

-Matthew