Sky replacement

[DJMartin]

Hello! I have done some investments lately, and I have decided to learn fusion. I have worked in AE for a coupple of years, but now I am looking forward to learn a node based program too. My choice fell on fusion.

My first exersice is an sky replacement and I am now looking for some feedback on how I can improve it. There are some trouble-areas in the horizon and the trees are really difficult, what should I do about them?

Thanks

[Kyo]

you have some problem with lightning, but it looks good ..



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[MrSlash]

looks good overall, but you should check your mask along the horizon. you are losing a lot of detail in the trees above the horizon line.
the second thing that bothers me is the horizon on the right side. you got kind of a bright line in there. if you got heavy rain in distance that would be covered by it.
On some of the trees you can still see where you got the dark edge of the mask. You need to mask out the tree tops accurately so that you can cc the BG separately.
And then I feel like your highlight in the foreground trees is still a bit too warm.

hope that helps, you're getting close though.

[psycho_jay]

I agree with Slash. Right side needs a lot of fine tuning. One thing which i noticed is that the tree and the mountain on screen right appears gradually over a period of time(especially one branch which is quiet annoying).
I would use a luma key and combine it with rotos to get a clean edge of the horizon.
And even the trees in the center have gone a little flat. Try do some cc altering the ranges.
Hopefully this helps.

J

[DJMartin]

Thanks guys, I will give it another shot when I got some time. But do you think it's necessary to use rotos? It's quite big contrast between the trees in the foreground and the sky in the background. Just a thought, which I havn't got any luck with so far.

[DJMartin]

Thanks! Conserning the traveling mask on the right, I don't know why it's like that. I didn't set any keyframes, but I will have another look at the comp later.

And I understand what you say about the illumination of the skies, I will try to expose the surrounding skies a bit more. But this isn't at night, so I don't think it would be to bright either. I can try something in between

[DJMartin]

Okey, this is my 2nd try, with sound!

I started all over and used another technique this time, insted of the luma keyer, I used the luma values to create a track matte. I also used less mattes, most of the mattes you can see in the comp now is garbage mattes on the skies.

I am more satisfied with this one, but I want it to be as close to perfect I can get it.
If you have any comments, I would be very happy!

[hiphopcr]

I like it! I think the main problem is that the trees are so static (not blowing in the wind), but that's out of your control.

[Matt P]

Visually - the main issue I have is that a lot of the elements in the shot are noticeably static - the clouds, the trees. Some subtle mesh warping and animating of elements position would go a long way in selling this shot.

I like it! I think the main problem is that the trees are so static (not blowing in the wind), but that's out of your control.

Don't be so defeatist - you're a visual effects artist. Very little is beyond your control!

This is definitely improvement on your original. The Tree tips sit in more nicely and the horizon line feels smoother/better fitted. Plan to keep working on it?

-Matt

[DJMartin]

Maybye, or insted I think I will use some footage instead, then I can implement it with tracking etc. But thanks, I also saw the very little movement in the trees. But that was not the focus for now

[Gentle Fury]

want a nifty little tip to make the sky seem more realistic. Apply a grid deformer to the sky and slowly animate the top line of the grid but leave the bottom static. It will look like the clouds closer are moving faster than the ones farther away. You could also techncally make the trees sway that way.

Special thanks to FXGuide.com for that one

[psycho_jay]

hey nice one buddy....this one looks way better than the earlier version. One thing which i found a little distracting are the white areas (eg. the white edge of the roof). I think u have have tried to color correct the ground part together. It would be great if u can separate out the white areas and than color correct it.

btw gentle that was a nice tip that u gave.

J

[DJMartin]

Okey, last version. It's more things that could be done, but i'll wait to I get some footage.

I have CC the white areas to be a bit more darker, and I applied a basic grid warp on the skies. The sound is a bit off on this one.

I was thinking about how I could have made the trees and bushes to be more alive. Would it be possible to use a particle generator to create particles flowing to the left and used that as a displacement map and masking out the background in some way? If so, how would I set up the nodes for that?

Thank you for your feedback, I have learned much inside fusion on this task

[Gentle Fury]

yeah man, the grid warp made the sky look way more alive.....that is looking way better.

[Akiva]

Maybe try warping the trees a little to get the tops swaying as a simple solve...it only has to be subtle to convey the impression of movement., although you could isolate seperate branches for the main tree screen right to give it a more detailed motion than the rest of the trees to really sell it.

And i'd add a change in density to the distant rain. Not so much movement downwards, but a sweeping motion back and forth accross the sky as some of the clouds release less rain and others increase. I hope im being clear.