[Nuke] question on compositors and DMP - finishing touches

#1

Hello guys,
Im an aspiring mattepainter and therefore big part of my self-educating is working with nuke, especially because of 3D projections. They are not a problem, however while I develop my showreel, I want to deliver best possible shots, which includes also some kind of finishing touches. Im not sure whether those are part of the compositors or mattepainters job, but I think understanding them might be an another step forward.
So, my question is what kind of finishing touches (i.e. grain, chromatic aberration, dof…) you guys use and when? All I know all of these support that natural feeling from the final shot, but often I fing myself struggling about using them correctly and in right amount to make it look just right. For example the grain. I use the grain node and it atomatically chooses some Kodak preset for me… how do I choose the right one? Also similar question on chromatic aberration - sure its easy to divide the shot to the separate channels via shuffle nodes, but how do I determine the correct color combination (I mean that outline that it creates - red/blue green/blue etc…)

So I would appreciate if anybody could share his knowledge and tips for this and finishing touches generally. I believe Im not gonna be only one who may find these informations useful.

Thanks in advance :slight_smile:

#2

grain or nowadays digital noise, dof and chromatic aboration has to match the original footage. most of the time you get some real life plates and have to insert a DMP into it to extend the scene.
then you see all that in the plate and have to match the DMP to it. this also covers colors and levels.

if its a full CG shot then you probaly have real life shots with matching camera lenses and then you can use them as reference

if its something which has no relation to anything real: you or some supervisor/director will make an artistic decision how it has to look.

#3

Yeah, this is a bit of a shot in the dark… Usually a DMP is a set extension, not a standalone. So all your finishing touches will be about matching your DMP to the plate (DOF, grain, light flicker, distortion, aberration, bloom, etc).
If you’re just showing off your DMP skills, your reel should perhaps show off the painting itself and the layering (bonus if it’s projected onto geo).
Check out this reel by Dylan Cole: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ffqtg6gljpk