Autodesk Matchmover and Composite

As we learned about his unit and how it works, we went through a tutorial on how the process is made when making Visual Effects in film.

To start off, we first needed to record some video footage. Using a high quality camera, such as the Nikon D3100, we filmed a few short clips primarily turning at an angle, to get the 3D feel later on in our test project. With the footage gathered, we compiled the clips into a sequence of frames, using Adobe Premiere Pro, and imported the sequence on Autodesk MatchMover. one the sequence is imported, we set up an automatic tracking, using the 2D tracker menu, and the software will delete all the soft tracks, track every frame in 2D and create a possible render for the camera movements. some points made in each frame might need manual adjustments during or after the process. this is due to how the video quality varies on the recording, so it is best avoid any fast or jerky movements with the camera.

Once the process is complete, we saved it as a file for Maya, so we can use the footage to add any features we want in the scene.
Using the 3D objects we want for the scene, we had to angle them in the right position so they move in the right place with the film footage we've just recorded and tracked on MatchMover. Once the outcome is approved, we altered the Render Settings so it is saved as a frame-by-frame OpenEXR file, while also using Mental Ray. Then once the Mental Ray is selected, we can choose what passes we want in the scene, while creating a pass contribution map for the associated passes to be linked with. Once the map is selected on the Master layer of the Render, we can start a batch render. The process of the batch render could take over a day, depending on the amount of frames in the scene.

Once the render is done, we can import the EXR files onto Autodesk Composite. This software enables us to create layers of different feature over the film, using only selected parts we want to add as visual effects. The program shows a map where we can connect which path to each section, such as the input, mask or matte, and everything should be connected to the end which is the Output. There, we could add glowing effects, brighter or darker aspects, and any 3D moving objects having their own effects without tampering the video footage.