VFX Fundamentals: Visual Special Effects Using Fusion 8.0

This book is a comprehensive, introductory title covering concepts central to Visual Special Effects using the free Black Magic Design Fusion 8.0 software package. The book also provides foundational background information regarding concepts central to digital image compositing, digital video editing, digital illustration, digital painting, 3D, and digital audio in the first six chapters on new media theory, concepts and terminology. This book builds on the foundational concepts of digital image compositing, digital audio, digital video, digital illustration and digital painting.

VFX Fundamentals will introduce more advanced VFX concepts and pipelines as the chapters progress, covering topics such as Flow Node Compositing, Timeline Animation, Animated PolyLine Masking, Bluescreen and Greenscreen Matte Pulling (generation), using Primatte and Fusion 8 Ultra Keyer, motion tracking, 3D rendering and compositing, auxiliary channels, and particle systems and particle physics dynamics, among other topics.

What you’ll learn

• The New Media Components (raster, vector, audio, video, rendering) needed for VFX
• The Concepts behind the Digital Visual Special Effects (VFX) Content Production Workflow
• How to Install and Utilize Black Magic Design Fusion 8 and it’s Visual Programming Language
• Concepts behind Resolution, Aspect Ratio, Bit-Rate, Color Depth, Layers, Alpha, and Masking
• 2D VFX Concepts such as Animated Masking, Matte Pulling (Primatte V) and Motion Tracking
• 3D VFX Concepts such as 3D Geometry, Materials, Lighting, Animation and Auxiliary Channels
• Advanced VFX Concepts such as Particle Systems Animation using Real-World Physics (Forces)

Who this book is for

SFX artists, VFX artists, video editors, website developers, filmmakers, 2D and 3D animators, digital signage producers, e-learning content creators, game developers, multimedia producers.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Visual Effects: Set Up Your VFX Content Development Workstation
Chapter 2: The Foundation of Raster for VFX: Pixels, Color, and Alpha
Chapter 3: The Foundation of Motion for VFX: Frames and Codecs
Chapter 4: The Foundation of Audio for VFX: MIDI, Wave, and Sample
Chapter 5: The Foundation of 2D Vector for VFX: Point, Path, and SVG
Chapter 6: The Foundation of 3D Vector for VFX: Models and OpenGL
Chapter 7: Professional VFX Software: Blackmagic Design Fusion
Chapter 8: VFX Pipeline Composition: Using the Flow Node Editor
Chapter 9: VFX Pipeline Animation: Using the Timeline Editor
Chapter 10: VFX Pipeline Motion Control: Using the Spline Editor
Chapter 11: VFX Pipeline Pixel Isolation: Animated Polyline Masking
Chapter 12: VFX Pipeline Automated Masking: Matte Generators
Chapter 13: VFX Pipeline Pixel Tracking: Using Motion Tracking
Chapter 14: VFX Pipeline 3D Production: Compositing 3D Assets
Chapter 15: VFX Pipeline 3D Rendering: Shader, Material, and Texture
Chapter 16: VFX Pipeline 3D Modeling: 3D Text-Title Creation
Chapter 17: VFX Pipeline 3D Animation: 3D Text-Titling Modifiers
Chapter 18: Advanced VFX Pipeline Effects: 3D Particle Systems
Chapter 19: Advanced VFX Pipeline Physics: 3D Particle Physics
Chapter 20: Advanced Interactive VFX: i3D Content Publishing