What do you all use for compositing?

dory_breaux

dory_breaux

Todd Wannabe
Hey all, I have a question for you.

What is your compositing setup? I am using 3ds Max9 with AECS3 and have almost had it. There are too many seams in my workflow, and I would like to know what you all do. My main gripe is that AE doesnt support true 3d, only 2d planes in 3d space.

Does anyone know of a program that can import Max scenes/3d files and do live compositing?

Thanks for any ideas, I am really sick of using these two wonderfully powerfull programs together (like seriously its driving me up a ****ing wall).


Dory
 
Do you happen to know if it will import other stuff from Maya? I dont have Maya but a friend who is a professional game animator does so I have potential access to it.
 
It basically imports the whole scene. You create null locators in Maya that AE reads and tracks in 3d. It's for compositing 2d elements into 3d scenes. AE also supports z-depth info, although I've never really gotten that to work very well. As far as I know, it does not import 3d objects.
 
You might look at Boris Blue 2.0 from www.borisfx.com

It can import 3ds and obj files, do 3d titling / effects, and compositing. Don't know if that would fully support what you need or not, but worth a look. I use Boris Red4.2 from the same company for my compositing. They have 15 day full trials on all their products plus good integration with a lot of NLE's as well (but not for Blue- Red /FX /Grafitti only). Also, make sure to turn off any lights on things you import.
 
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I dont understand your workflow doing 3D in AE. Why exactly?
Depth mapping , DOF and refraction I can understand.
 
I use Nuke for compositing. Though to implement true 3D object on complex scenes you need to motion track. AE doesn't give you enough support in the 3D realm. Unless of course I am misunderstanding your question.

But implementing 3D within a live action environment requires a lot of work. Extensive motion tracking, matching cameras between your 3D environment and your live action plate. I mean, you could do some very basic compositing within AE - specifically in regards to any 2D composites. If you are looking into real compositing between 3D and 2D look into Nuke.
 
Thanks for pointing Nuke out to me man, I just downloaded the demo and am going to go play with it a bit. Muchos gracias.
 
I think blender allows for a certain amount of compositing as well. I use blender for my modeling an animation...

I'm trying to find a good workflow between blender and shake. I have shake, AE CS3 and Motion.
 
I def cant afford Vue, but Cinema 4D looks like a possibility. I got some other stuff to play with first but I am gonna see what I can do.

Thanks ladies, love you all :-D!
 
I was talkin bout the most expensive Vue package. Also I'd really love it if I could have a decent pipeline/workflow into AE.
 
The most expensive Vue package is xStream but the only difference in that and infinite is if you have other 3D programs like 3DS Max or C4D you can work on your files in those programs instead of the stand alone app.

BTW if you are a student you can get it for under $300. If you're not it might be worth it to sign up for a class at a community college ;)
 
I use After Effects and Flame for compositing, C4D or Maya for 3D, depending on the need.
 
Personally I recommend you to try Combustion for compositing... a kind of AE but made by Autodesk.
Combustion support importing 3D scenes from 3DStudio Max. You need to render those scenes as RLA or RLF format from 3D Studio Max.

Combustion is developed by Autodesk, the same company that is now developing 3DStudio Max.
Also many plugins for AE are compatible with Combustion.
 
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