VFX COMPOSITING

What is compositing?

Compositing is a vital part of the process in creating visual effects (VFX) for movies, TV, and animated productions. The Compositor combines elements filmed during production with Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) created by other artists to blend them together seamlessly. Compositors also fix problems in the footage that occurred during filming, and find methods to enhance VFX shots to better match the director’s vision. All of the final pieces are assembled by Compositors, who can transform a shot into something spectacular that initially was not possible. 

Insights from Our VFX Compositing Alumni: Their Journey & Success Stories

Our 5-month programS

The Intermediate and Advanced Visual Effects Compositing programs offered only at Campus VFX are specifically designed and continuously updated to provide students with a broad variety of real-world compositing tasks to sharpen and prove their skills on a demo reel.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN | INTERMEDIATE

These are some of the core concepts that will be covered in our Intermediate VFX Compositing program using Foundry’s Nuke Software. Our curriculum evolves and adapts to fit Industry needs.

GREEN SCREEN COMPOSITE

Digital compositors specialize in seamlessly blending separately captured images into a unified composition. A successful compositor must possess a keen eye for art, photography, and cinematography. Understanding lighting is crucial as it enables the compositor to employ various techniques for effectively keying together two live-action plates.

FULL BODY ROTO

Rotoscoping is commonly regarded as a fundamental component in compositing tasks. It involves the meticulous animation of roto shapes, also known as mattes or alpha channels, to precisely isolate or extract elements from a filmed sequence.

SET EXTENSION

Set extensions involve expanding a scene, which might entail enlarging existing buildings or adding entirely new ones. Occasionally, the task may be to enhance the urban feel of a city or to transport the scene back in time.

Digital Makeup

Beauty work has become increasingly prevalent in compositing, featuring prominently in numerous projects. It encompasses tasks such as de-aging characters, enhancing their appearance, or simply applying cosmetic fixes.

MULTIPASS AOV's

A CG element undergoes scrutiny to determine its integration into a live-action plate. Portions, if not all, may be individually manipulated before being combined to ensure they seamlessly blend into the plate.

LOGO REPLACEMENT

2D & 3D tracking enables the extraction of animation data from an image's position, rotation, and size. This data can then be directly applied to transform and match-move another element, seamlessly replacing an existing element on the plate.

WHAT YOU WILL LEARN |
ADVANCED

These are some of the core concepts that will be covered in our Advanced VFX Compositing program using Foundry’s Nuke Software. Our curriculum evolves and adapts to fit Industry needs.

Car COMP

Digital compositors specialize in seamlessly blending separately filmed images into a cohesive whole. For instance, they may create an exterior scene around a person filmed in a car against a green screen.

MUZZLE FLASHES

Enhancing a 'gun' sequence with muzzle flashes involves employing compositing techniques like layering and interactive lighting.

Ethereal Effects

We delve into crafting ethereal effects by merging green screen footage with elements from our practical effects library. Employing a variety of techniques, we aim to achieve cohesion and depth while harnessing the iterative freedom offered by Nuke's powerful toolsets.

SCREEN BURN-IN

The process involves designing motion graphics, which will later be composited onto a screen. Close interaction with the footage is crucial for seamless integration.

Digital Gore

A CG element, which the artist will animate, light, and texture, will be composited onto the scene and enriched with 2D elements like blood and mist.

Compositing CG

CG compositing involves assembling and modifying multiple images to create a final composite. Typically, compositing occurs after 3D rendering in a typical CG pipeline.

Fortunato Frattasio

VFX compositing instructor

Experience

Fortunato brings over 25 years of VFX production experience as an artist, supervisor and manager. He has over 100 feature film and television credits to his name on productions such as Mars Attacks (1996), Armageddon (1998), Mission Impossible (2000), Spider-Man (2002), The Hunger Games (2012), Oz: The Great and Powerful (2013), and Goosebumps (2015).

skills

As a Compositing Lead and Industry Outreach Specialist working for one of the leading visual effects schools in the world, he is able to parlay all of his skills as he continues to teach and mentor students towards a long-lasting career in this fascinating industry.

Industry involvment

As a board member of VES (Visual Effects Society) and Access VFX, Fortunato continues to be involved with the school outreach programs which are designed to expose students to the visual effects industry as a career option to all.

ALUMNI SUCCESS

We believe that progress toward our mission can be measured by the profound impact our graduates have on the visual effects industry. Our alumni continue to engage and shape the world of entertainment. Through our project-based learning and the unique curriculum of each of our veteran instructors, our alumni have proven time and time again that Lost Boys produce extraordinary artists ready to start on the ground floor.

ADMISSION INFO

Academic Start Date

Fall and Spring – See application form for further details.

The following criteria provides a general idea of what we look for in the personal letter and portfolio that you must submit in the application process. It is important to note that the quality of these items are considered together with the general requirements needed to apply to Campus VFX. 

Personal Letter

In your personal letter, we want to know about you as a person and your feelings towards visual effects, movies, film-making, art, design, or technology. Also, illustrate to us your ability to work independently. What do you plan to accomplish by being part of Campus VFX?

In your portfolio, include 8-10 pieces of your best work in any visual medium that demonstrates your artistic proficiency. Caption each piece of work and tell us about your process, how you came about this work, and why it is significant. 

Tuition Costs

Our Intermediate and Advanced VFX Compositing Programs continuously produce highly-sought out specialized artists which has given us an outstanding placement rate. To that extent, our tuition cost for this program is expertly calculated to both represent the quality of our program and the exclusive nature of what we offer here at Campus VFX. We are confident that the investment you make will be rewarding both in experience and to your clear future as a visual effects artist. 

Tuition Costs

(Intermediate program)

$18,499.00 CAD

(Taxes included in price)

Tuition Costs

(Advanced program)

$19,499.00 CAD

(Taxes included in price)

Interested in the program? Check out the admission process!

Ready to take the next step toward your career?