SWDFX News | Nuke6 CGWorkshop, VFX Stereo Bootcamp, Nuke Tuts Win Tellys

SWDFX Newsletter June 2010

OP ED: THE INDIAN EXODUS

There is much concern in the VFX industry about our jobs being outsourced to India, and even China. Indeed, India is rapidly booting up a visual effects industry and has a vast pool of low cost artists to staff it with. Since I have been to India five times to conduct VFX training (the most recent being a two-month visit to two different facilities) I am often asked about the "lay of the land" there. While India has much potential, they do have some systemic problems to overcome. Read more of The Indian Exodus!

NUKE 6 @ CGWORKSHOPS

Steve’s next CGSociety Nuke workshop will feature Nuke6, the most recent release from The Foundry. The big new features in Nuke6 are an awesome new RotoPaint node to replace the simple Bezier node, the addition of the Academy Award winning Keylight keyer, plus the NukeX enhanced version of Nuke. Information is available and enrollment is now open for the 8 week online workshop that starts July 12th! Open enrollment closes on July 9th.

STEVE WINS TELLY AWARDS

Steve has recently won two Telly Awards in the Web Education category for his Nuke training videos on CGSociety. They were recorded at high resolution using ScreenFlow and edited by Diane Wright using Final Cut Pro and Sound Track Pro. Since 1978 the Telly Awards have honored the very best local, regional, and cable television commercials, programs, film, video, and work created for the web.

VFX SUPERVISOR & STEREOSCOPIC BOOTCAMP

Steve will be one of the featured instructors at the VFX Bootcamp in Los Angeles, June 25-27. This bootcamp is all about stereo 3D production specifically for VFX supervisors. There will be a dual RED stereo rig plus the new Panasonic AG-3DA1 stereo HD camera recorder. Attendees will walk away with a hard drive full of the stereo footage they have shot. Steve will be demonstrating stereo greenscreen and visual effects compositing workflows using Nuke and Ocula.

Contact Lee Stranahan by email or by phone at 505.217.3910 to sign up and mention "Steve Wright sent me" to get a $300 discount! Payment plans are also available if needed!

ROTO WITH MOCHA

Steve has been retained to develop an advanced Rotoscoping technique training program using Mocha for a company that will use it in a Mocha/Nuke 3D stereo conversion pipeline. The objective of the roto technique training is to improve both the productivity and quality of the roto staff since roto is such a huge part of the 3D stereo conversion process.

INTERVIEW ON VFX FILMMAKER

Listen to the podcast of Steve's interview by Lee Stranahan on what’s new in the just-released 3rd edition of Steve’s book PLUS what’s going on in visual effects in India. With Steve recently returned from two months in India, Lee could not resist asking some very pointed questions about the future of visual effects.

REMOTE LEARNING WITH STEVE!

You can now get unique one-on-one or group personal training from Steve anywhere in the world utilizing the latest desktop sharing technology. If you have a high-speed internet connection you can sit virtually side-by-side with Steve as he demonstrates visual effects compositing techniques on your workstation.

He has conducted such personal training in Canada, Great Britain, Germany, France, Spain, Italy, India, China and across the United States on whatever topics the artist requested - compositing with log images, Nuke’s unique color management, exotic 3D compositing techniques and stereoscopic compositing, or powerful bluescreen and greenscreen keying techniques. Steve has even conducted “virtual lectures” at colleges and universities such as Syracuse University and the Rochester Institute of Technology. Visit vfxio.com to contact Steve if you would like to arrange some personal training.

NUKE WEBINAR ARCHIVE

If you missed the “What’s So Hot About Nuke?” webinar because it was sold out then you can still get the hot info by accessing the recorded archive. Learn why Nuke is the compositing program of choise at ILM, Weta Digital, Framestore and others. Bonus - get the FAQ podcast too! The "What's So Hot About Nuke?" webinar archive is now available at New Media Webinars.

GREENSCREEN WEBINAR ARCHIVE

If you missed the Greenscreen webinar you can now access the recorded archive. Steve gave an overview of best practices for lighting, shooting, and compositing greenscreen shots. Bonus - get Steve’s “Greenscreen Tips” FAQ. The "Working with Greenscreen Shots" webinar archive is available at New Media Webinars.

STEVE WRIGHT'S VFXIO.COM: WHO WE ARE

Master Trainer, Steve Wright, delivers visual effects compositing, Nuke and Shake training to the VFX industry around the world. With curricula developed by this senior visual effects artist with over 20 years of production experience and excellent teaching skills, these programs are designed to be very accessible and cost effective.

Steve not only teaches online and in the classroom, but he also travels to VFX facilities around the world to train the studio's VFX staff in skills & compositing techniques gleaned from those years of production experience as well as to improve the facility's 2D/3D production pipeline productivity. Visit vfxio.com today to learn about our VFX compositing training opportunities!

3RD EDITION NOW AVAILABLE!

We are just pleased a punch to announce the availability of the third edition of Steve’s very popular “Digital Compositing for Film and Video”. Reflecting important new trends in the visual effects compositing industry, major new sections have been added on stereo compositing, multi-pass cgi compositing, and 3D compositing. Since many compositors are strictly 2D folks, there is also a primer on 3D animation to help with key terms and concepts. Order your copy today at Amazon.com.