Graphics Programs Reference
In-Depth Information
together in
compositing
, or the process of bringing together scene elements that were
created separately to form the final scene. Maya makes this process easier with Render
Layers, which you'll experience in Chapter 11.
Compositing programs such as Maya Composite, Nuke, Digital Fusion, and After
Effects allow you to compose CG elements together and give you some additional con-
trol over color, timing, and a host of other additions and alterations you can make to the
images. Compositing can greatly affect the look of a CG project and can be an integral
part of CG creation.
Many new animators try to generate their final images in a single rendering of their scene,
but you don't need to do that. Realizing the component nature of CG is important; you can
use components to your advantage by rendering items separately and compositing them
together in the finishing stage. This gives you a lot of control in finishing the images to your
satisfaction without always having to go back, change the scene, and re-render it.
Editing
The rendered and composited CG footage is collected and edited together to conform
to the script and boards. Some scenes are cut or are moved around to heighten the story.
This is essentially the same process as film editing, with one big difference: the amount
of footage used.
To make sure they have adequate coverage for all their scenes and to leave extra
room for creativity in editing, live-action filmmakers shoot quite a bit more footage
than is needed for a film. The editor and the director sift through all the scenes and
arrange them to assemble the film in a way that works best with what they have shot
and with the performances they prefer. A typical film uses a fraction of all the film or
video that is shot.
Because creating CG is typically more time-consuming and expensive than shoot-
ing live action, scenes and shots are often tightly arranged in preproduction boards so
not much effort is wasted. The entire production is edited with great care beforehand,
and the scenes are built and animated to match the story, almost down to the frame.
Consequently, the physical editing process consists mostly of assembling the scenes into
the sequence of the story. This is also why a good preproduction process is important.
When you plan out what you want to get, you're much more likely to get it.
Sound
Sound design is critical to CG because viewers associate visuals with audio. A basic sound-
track can give a significant punch to a simple animation by helping to provide realism,
mood, narrative, and so on, adding a greater impact to the CG.
