Macbook+Syntheyes+Shake= Enough at work?

[exequielthas]

So I've been wondering something. What if I make syntheyes and shake my absolut favorite tools(and become really good at them) and put them inside a good macbook pro so I can take them to work. If the company i'd be working for....if they have Boujou, am I really forced to use it then instead of syntheyes? What if I don't know anything about Boujou at all?? Is it so that there is a workflow where some people use Boujou, so I also have to use it? Or is it so that if the job can be done with syntheyes, is it ok to use it?
And is it the same with the applications like Shake? I might think that if working with huge node trees to send them over to the next guy while the coperation is using Nuke, then if i'd try to open a Nuke file with Shake, then I might seem pretty silly. But if people don't send the script around, is it ok to work with Shake then? Or is there a chance that people will need to use my script, or change it and maybe they don't know how to use Shake, then i'm doomed?!

It's just that syntheyes and shake are cheap and i'd gladly buy them to a macbook which isn't cheap, if it's okay to use them, otherwise it feels like i'm buying a macbook plus those 2 applications for nothing! I'm still a student so I don't know how it is out there in the wild.
It's just that if the boss expects me to be responsible for a image sequence, then I might as well do it my way?

[menthor]

hi
i work with a MBP with shake & PFtrack and it's work fine.
A boujou project isn't compatible with syntheyes. But you can do the same things with syntheyes (and cheaper).
if you work with shake, it's will not compatible with nuke.
it's the same sort of program at the same place in the production workflow(nuke= compositing/shake= compositing. boujou= tracker/ syntheyes=tracker) so they don't make any compatibily btw them.

Look at shake node and nuke node. They aren't the same and the operation aren't the same. I work with Shake and actually i learn Nuke it's not the same thing.

[exequielthas]

so working with only shake and syntheyes in a company where they are using a workflow with nuke and boujou, wouldn't bother anyone? as long as i finish the job? If that's the case, then i'l learn syntheyes to the really advanced level and just take a small 101 course on boujou/compositing programs.

[menthor]

That depend where and how you work.
if they just want a result and you can use what you want, YES ! no problem !
it's that i'm doing, they call me have send me the shot i can track and compose how i wish because i'm not really IN the company workflow, i only have to give a final result.

but in other case, you'll probably have to share your work with some other artists and if you'll have a lot of problem...
especialy with your compositing software
when the track is ok, no way to open it in other software. But if you wnat, maybe you can. in PFtrack, i can import track in this format:
“feature name”
< number of frames >
< frame number > < x > < y > < residual >

but to send a comp from shake to nuke (or nuke to shake) i think it.
you can read on my blog a little comparaison btw shake and nuke (auto traduce by google) here (http://blog.menthor-skillz.com/en/archives/119/)

[exequielthas]

"it's that i'm doing, they call me have send me the shot i can track and compose how i wish because i'm not really IN the company workflow, i only have to give a final r"esult."

Is this when you jump in to a company as a freelancer or when you've been working with a company for maaaany months or years (not a freelancer).
I mean, wouldn't the people go like " Hey man, you can't work with other softwares, we share the scripts here, even if you're not that great with nuke, you still have to use it, besides, shake is getting old!!!" and then i get puppyeyes and go to a corner and cry a little because apple don't care about shake anymore :P.

[menthor]

i work as a freelancer.
we can't really answer to you because every company are different.
at dreamworks you can use a lot of software but not in all condition (maya, houdini...) you must have to know the company pipeline.
Shake is again use in a lot of production ;) it's ever an amazing software !
Look batman the dark knight: Shake compositing (in 8k Oo' )

[Gravy]

Dark Knight probably isn't the best example; Framestore was on nuke by then I think. The IMAX stuff was 5.6k too not 8k. It was scanned at 8k but only worked on at 5.6k. I have read the article about it been 8k before though.

Is a very cool VFXshow and fxguide episode on it.

Star Trek was a huge Shake project though. :thumbsup: It's still probably the app used the most however Nuke is taking over. We just saw a couple of weeks a go ILM brought a site license.

For personal use Shake is definitely the way to go for the price though. Guess it's what your doing as a freelancer too. If say your a prep artist and you've only got to deliver mattes and/or clean plates isn't going matter what software your in.

[Matt P]

Dark Knight probably isn't the best example; Framestore was on nuke by then I think.

Framestore are still using Shake, but have a small Nuke team of 10 or so people I think.
-Matt

[Gravy]

Framestore are still using Shake, but have a small Nuke team of 10 or so people I think.
-Matt

Ah ok; when I went in I just saw paint/roto (who were on shake) and was told they were using Nuke down in comp'ing. Lies!!!!! haha

[zoostory]

My two cents: you can use whatever you are good at to get the job done, when it's your gear... but when you work at a place that has a farm, TDs and a workflow, odds are they are going to want you to use their software and their system.

Thus, I recommend the number one thing you know is - compositing. That is, the math under the hood. Get a grasp on that and all node based programs will be quick learns. And as someone who has done a lot of hiring myself, I have always preferred the people who are hungry to learn and adapt then the people who are set in their ways with a very limited scope of knowledge related to just one or two programs.

That being said, Shake/Synthesis isn't going to help much for any motion graphics, if you are into that kind of thing, so you might want to toss in CS4 for asset design and motion. I've found that nuke can be really good for motion graphics, too, if you're good at scripting. You can build lots of gizmos and use the 2.5D workspace with some simple objects made in C4D or something to do some really cool HUD type work.

[exequielthas]

My two cents: you can use whatever you are good at to get the job done, when it's your gear... but when you work at a place that has a farm, TDs and a workflow, odds are they are going to want you to use their software and their system.

Thus, I recommend the number one thing you know is - compositing. That is, the math under the hood. Get a grasp on that and all node based programs will be quick learns. And as someone who has done a lot of hiring myself, I have always preferred the people who are hungry to learn and adapt then the people who are set in their ways with a very limited scope of knowledge related to just one or two programs.

That being said, Shake/Synthesis isn't going to help much for any motion graphics, if you are into that kind of thing, so you might want to toss in CS4 for asset design and motion. I've found that nuke can be really good for motion graphics, too, if you're good at scripting. You can build lots of gizmos and use the 2.5D workspace with some simple objects made in C4D or something to do some really cool HUD type work.

Oh I see. I've been planning on learning the basics on compositing programs by myself(nuke,fusion,combustion,after effects and flame) to fit more easily(?) in to companies who accept new comers looking for internchip. I'm doing this to prepare myself because I don't know how fast or good i'll learn a new program, from experince I've never been good at school, lol. But I have no plans for being a freelancer, so I might as well learn the basics of those other compositing softwares instead of buying myself a macbookpro+syntheyes+sake. I might buy myself a dog instead!