Tracking softwares (and compositing)

# 1 19-02-2009 , 02:57 PM

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Hey Guys

Bit of a question here.

What softwares do you use for Tracking and compositing?

Currently I use Boujou, but I know theres a lot of alternatives out there that are a lot cheaper, such as syntheyes, anyone had any experinace of em? If so what are the differences, if any, advantages/dsadvantages?

Also at the moment I use after effects but I'm thinking of getting my feet wet with another software, such and Fusion or Nuke, anyone have any opinions/views on the advantages/disadvantages of the two (or any other)?

Cheers

Steve

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# 2 19-02-2009 , 04:40 PM

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Steve.

I have used Fusion...

It is the most simple system I used for Compsiting... The TARDIS Scene was composited with Fusion and I didnt know what I was doing and still got a good result.

Fusion FTW...

I have heard shake is really really good, but never used it.

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# 3 19-02-2009 , 04:49 PM

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Cheers man,

Used Fusion myself TBH, nice software, just loking at the overall trends etc,

Shakes lost it IMHO, its a top bit of kit but dropped by its parent company, shame really as it was top of the market, and now is showing its age, leaving, again, IMHO, Fusion and Nuke.

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# 4 19-02-2009 , 04:52 PM

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I've not tried Nuke TBH.

I must hunt down a demo and have a wee play I think.

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# 5 19-02-2009 , 05:09 PM

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There is the one that I keep getting rammed down my throat that is Toxic (thats probably spelt wrong) Though, and I do say that this is hearsay, that Toxic is a "bit of a joke". So not really thought of it, especailly in my job as turnarounds and knowlage are pretty fast,. so ease and learnig curve are a factor.

Cheers

Steve

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# 6 19-02-2009 , 05:44 PM

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PfTrack is good for tracking, its not as fast a solve as boujou but its good... I think there is a chance to win a license in this months 3dworld mag.

i use shake but i think i will try to learn nuke as a lot post houses are switching over.

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# 7 19-02-2009 , 06:11 PM

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I tried Toxic and it is total nonsense tbh...

I removed it within an hour of installing it

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# 8 19-02-2009 , 09:33 PM

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Cheers guys,

I'll give PFtrack a go me thinks.

As you say hammer and chris, shakes the shit, though its been dropped, god knows why considering, maybe apple are concentrating on other things, and its now geting long in the tooth, so nuke and fusion are biting at the heels for the crown.

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# 9 19-02-2009 , 09:58 PM

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apple sold shake ages ago, but said no one can develop it. thats why its still ver 2. something on pc and 4. something on mac.
I think most places make their own plugins for pulling keys and what not.

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# 10 20-02-2009 , 09:08 AM

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Originally posted by hammer.horror
apple sold shake ages ago, but said no one can develop it. thats why its still ver 2. something on pc and 4. something on mac.

Originally Posted by

Did they? I thought they just stopped supporting/developing it and said that you could by a licence for the code at a hefty price? So its still apple's?? OR who did they sell it too?

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# 11 20-02-2009 , 10:19 AM

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perhaps you are correct user added image

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# 12 20-02-2009 , 12:16 PM

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For tracking i love boujou personally,

If your doing alot of roto work the new AE has a big advantage as it now comes with mocha built in which is a region tracking roto system which is a massive time saver for certain types of roto track.

My fave compositing system is generally Fusion, its relatively easy to use and has some fantastic features. However i have found Nuke slightly more intuative when your doing alot of work with aux channels like world tangent space etc.

Although Shake is on its last legs it still makes up the backbone for alot alot alot of companies, so its worth learning. Keep in mind that big companies like dneg that use shake as their main compositing tool modify it heavily, they built their own 64bit version and have given it a massive face lift. Its worth learning simply because its still widely used.

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