Thursday, May 29, 2014

Gamma Correction - Nuke - Open Color IO

Hot topic. I cloud write a lot about this but the information available on the net already. I started to examine this topic because I wanted to have a solid understanding Nuke's color management.

So I found two very useful articles about it.
The first one is especially about gamma correction:
Gamma Correction

For me the most important thing to understand is the following:

Human eyes see as linear - perceptually linear
Computers / cameras see as linear - value linear


The second one is a brief overview about Nuke's color management and there is an explonation how Nuke uses gamma correction:
Color Management In Nuke (By Steve Wright)

Okay, you went through and now you understand gamma correction. So here it is the next lesson:
Since VFX industry utilize different softwares with different color management there is a need to make a standard for VFX studios. Read more about this here:
Cinematic Color

Okay, you went through the first couple of pages and you really understood the topic is quite complex. Don't panic I felt the same.
But the solution is here as the PDF says: Open Color IO


Friday, May 16, 2014

Blender For Feature Animation Film

Recently I have been thinking about Blender. Because I never used it I considering things as a professional who might want to learn and / or switch to Blender.
I think to get a job as a professional Blender user is not an option currently especially in my home country Hungary.
I have a lot of personal projects which involves CGI and VFX as well and I definitely don't want to spend money to buying softwares for those. So this motivation is pushing me toward open source softwares like Blender.
To compare 3D softwares and discuss about differences between them is a never ending story. I think it is a very complex thing to claim which software is better then the others (if it is possible).
I started to collect information about Blender and watched films like Big Buck Bunny and Tears Of Steel. For me these shorts prove that Blender can produce decent quality full CGI and VFX. I can't say those are cutting edge like VFX that ILM or other major facilities can do. But it is not just about the softwares they use.
Because I'm involved preproduction of a feature animation I raised the question (for myself): Can Blender be a choice for full CGI feature animation? I know there are current project around the world. At the Blender Conference 2013 "father of Blender" Ton Roosendaal mentioned few of them.
Worth to mention Blender community is now working on an open (online) feature animation project: Project Gooseberry