Gnomon or CMIVFX DVDs?

[maynard]

i think im starting to understand where you are going with this conversation.

Hopefully i can shed some light on our methodology. We dont really take the user manual and turn it into a training video. there are plenty of those on the market. What we do is create custom tools for a pipeline using the latest breakthroughs in software development. We are launching an entry level series which includes covers a little bit of what your talking about (i think)

But for example:

OUr procedural roads series.... its quite incredible. I watched this last 3rd one during the edit... and it nearly brought a tear to my eye. Since i personally work on a BUNCH of tv car commercial spots... this road system takes the cost of producing a car commercial shot down to a simple set of steps.:

Import or paint a generic landscape
drag around curve points where you want your roads to be

THATS IT!

you can then use this over and over again on any kind of terrain you can imagine. Lidar scans, 3d modeled, even psuedo projected live footage based scenarios.

The detail in its impecible... where bridges automatically grow, or tunnels cut out a mountain, or crash barriers appear....

ties this into our digital cities video (and everybody has seen at least 10 movies that utilize our cities technology) and you have 100% digital assets and any type of camera move you could possibly want.

When it comes to doing volume amount of shots.... its a no brainer. use our premade OTLs our customize our setups to do what you want.

You cant get that anywhere else in the world, that i can assure you... and certainly not for the price we charge.

But regarding your live action stuff.....

We have 20+ videos that utilize live action and cg including film scans and red footage that comes with the video as a download. 4k greenscreens, sequences, etc...

So its important to me especially that i introduce this to you.

If anybody else also has some requests that you really need to help you move forward... our policy is simple:
"Ask and you shall receive". Its why we are here.

I hope this is of some help to you. And i would offer you to come take a free test ride.

caio for now

[Eagle1]

Okay, thanks for the Philosophy of cmivfx

Import or paint a generic landscape
drag around curve points where you want your roads to be

THATS IT!

Very easy

But I bet no one here is able to do this real Integration with Houdini in combine with Fusion or NUKE, so my conclusion is to make a 4th Part procedural roads series and SHOW IT - in the simple way.....

The difficulty begins after this asset - realistic!

Other example: Gnomon workshops makes ALL Mattepainting with Fantasy or SiFi Paints as Result - not any with natural Real Footage - why? Because they can cheat with colors, grain and Details and this workflow wouldn't work with Real footage.

And thats my general notice (not only for Houdini). The most Online Classes stops when it gets interesting - Detail and Realism that work!

[maynard]

we use matte paintings in our videos all the time. its my specialty actually. but all of them get 3d applications in the end. lots of flame, nuke and fusion.... but also a ton of c4d to make it happen. the houdini is for everything else the other apps CANT do.

[phoenix]

i thought i give my opinion as well.. I have bought Houdini trainings from all three DT, CMIVFX and Gnomon...

CMIVFX is really excellent..
as far as Gnomon goes its all self praise by the artist.
DT is good if you are a newbie...
also FXPHD (i heard from a friend ) is really sweet.

Regards

[Eagle1]

the houdini is for everything else the other apps CANT do.

Make the 4th Part Houdini procedural roads series with real Footage Integration in combine with Fusion or NUKE - i purchase it

[maynard]

Thanks pheonix for the kind words. Here is a much requested video item that nobody knows about officially yet. it gets launched on tuesday... but i added it up to the site early for you here:

Nuke Object Removal Techniques
http://www.cmivfx.com/productpages/p...val_Techniques

This should satisfy some of the requests of Eagle1 i think.

[phoenix]

maynard The new training looks good


Regards

[maynard]

thanks..... its a topic that i know everyone in the compositing arena needs to learn... and its a tough one.

but well worth watching it 3 times back to back.

[phoenix]

Hey why dont u guys release more on Softimage ICE ... CMIVFX has released two titles i think (will be ordering them pretty soon )

Regards

[maynard]

we can certainly do that. What kinds of things are you looking for? Mike is working on some of those now. But probably already locked into certain content.

[phoenix]

Hey thanks for the response my friend well the thing is i am pretty new with ICE. so cant really tell... Lets see what Mike comes up with. i am sure that would be great to see


Regards

[maynard]

I now have the official press release ready for those who want to see it:



cmiVFX Launches New cmiDirect Nuke Object Removal Techniques
High Definition Training Videos for the Visual Effects Industry

Princeton, NJ (March 3rd, 2010) – cmiVFX launches its latest training video in the new cmiDirect series. This is the ultimate in object removal using The Foundry’s Nuke. Receiving rave reviews throughout the Visual FX community, the cmiDirect series is focused and to the point. Immediately learn crucial information on specific topics without slowing down your projects and taking up your time. Derk Ebeling takes you through a wide array of tasks to improve your work flow and efficiently remove objects. cmiDirect continues to deliver high level detailed content direct to the topic. When it comes to high end CG and VFX training, there is only once choice... cmiVFX! This video is available today at the cmiVFX store for a Special Introductory Offer Price!


Nuke: Object Removal and 3D Scene Management
http://cmivfx.com/productpages/produ...val_Techniques

Learn how to remove unwanted objects, reflections, stabilize 3D camera movement and much more. We have included footage shot on Red Camera with cooke lenses to provide the ultimate challenges for our training lessons.

Introduction
Start off by taking a look at the raw film footage and its problematic areas. The overview here is to remove the grey control box in the centre of the image and its reflection, one of the train wagons, and add an additional window to the front building.

Patch Projection – Removing Control Box
Discover how to integrate the creation of a clean patch to cover up the control box. Utilize the paint tool to clone the surrounding areas allowing the ability to conceal the box, while learning to project the result onto a plane in 3D space. Using 3D tracking data, match and integrate the patch to the general movement of the shot.

3D Geometry – Stabilizing 3D Footage
Film footage shot with a freely moving camera can be extremely difficult to work with and stabilize. Everything is shifting; nothing remains stable and there are very limited constant factors. Utilizing simple geometry and a projection camera, learn how to simplify this complex problem and create stabilization of the 3D footage.

Time Offset – Recovering the Wheel
Parts of the train wheels were covered by the control box, which was previously removed, creating a problematic issue. The need to identify a quick solution or method to recover the wheels is crucial to continue the project. Painting the wheels in place would be a daunting and tedious task; the best solution is to copy the wheels from an area where they are not covered. The wheels now can appear on the patch before the train arrives and the time offset is the solution.

Roto in 3D – Getting Rid of the Wagon
Learn in detail how the 3D environment can help with rotoscoping. The film footage has been stabilized from the previous work and now being able to exploit that footage, the process of rotoscoping out the train wagon can be conducted on the stabilized shot.

Bitmaps & CC – Removing the Box Reflection
Streamlining the project is crucial and if there is way to use a simple solution for a complicated task, then do it! Painting out the reflection of the control box from the moving train wagons could take uncountable hours. Assuming the removal will not have to be perfect, the best solution would be to map out the shape of the reflection and color it to match the rest of the train, this method proves to be much more efficient.

Adding Additional Elements
Using the 3D environment can really be a bonus to any project. Simply lining up images behind one another in 3D space can create convincing parallax effects. The use of simple 3D geometry or FBX meshes can be of even more benefit. Receive a quick overview of how a window with a view into the room could be achieved by utilizing this technique.

This video is available today at the cmiVFX Video Player Online Store

About the Author:
Derk started his career as a graphic designer for vintage merchandising products. Not being solely interested in pub signs, he shifted his focus to moving image and visual effects while studying visual communication in Aachen (Germany) and Birmingham. For the past four years he has delivered creative solutions for various corporate and independent projects. His expertise lies in the field of motion graphics and compositing. For more information on Derk, please contacted cmiVFX.

About cmiVFX
cmiVFX is the leader in High Definition Video Training for the Visual Effects Community. Register for FREE and receive hours of FREE content at cmiVFX: http://www.cmivfx.com/cmi_vod.html For additional information about cmiVFX, visit www.cmivfx.com. © 2010 cmiVFX | cmiStudios. All rights reserved.

[Eagle1]

Nuke Object Removal Techniques
http://www.cmivfx.com/productpages/p...val_Techniques

This should satisfy some of the requests of Eagle1 i think.

I have bought the Fusion Version Its okay, sometimes little confused.

Make more of this: Houdini to Fusion, NUKE - but go on with Real Footages Integration please, that are Visual Effects

[maynard]

can do

[jasonhuang1115]

Hi, maynard,
I am a bit confused by the design of your website.

Under Video > Nuke, there are 2 tutorials available (the object removal and matte extraction). I can view text description plus screen caps of both tutorials. But under Kits > Nuke, there are 4 tutorials available, and most importantly I cannot view the description of the latest Nuke 3D Tracking tutorial (even after registration). How can I decide if I should invest on it if I cannot even see the text description of it? Or, I miss some button or link that is obvious.