Ben's Comp Newsletter: Issue 025
|
|
Hey,
It's hard to believe this little newsletter
project was started 1 year ago -- thanks for
your support and continued readership! If
you have any suggestions for how this
newsletter could provide more value to you,
please don't hesitate to reach out and let
me know.
At the end of every year, I like to take
some time to reflect on what I've learned,
how I've grown and whether I've come closer
to achieving my goals, or whether those
goals have changed completely. I encourage
you to do the same; if you don't track your
progress, you can't manage it!
This year I have met some incredible artists
whom I've learned from, have mentored a
handful of intelligent students via
Vancouver Film School &
Patreon (and will
continue to do so in the new year -- reach
out if you're interested),
and I've ultimately found a renewed sense of
enthusiasm and motivation for the work I'm
doing.
It's the end of the year, but definitely not
the end of us learning and growing better
together! Next year, I plan to make some
additions to this newsletter in an effort to
provide better content & more learning
opportunities for you!
As you might not have been subscribed from
the start of this year, I thought the best
way to wrap up 2018 would be to collate the
most popular items from Ben's Comp
Newsletter into one mega list! Hope you
enjoy.
|
|
The most popular item.
By far, the most-read item in this
newsletter has been my article titled, Create
Simple Python Scripts to Speed Up Your
Workflow.
Other notable, well-read articles include,
How
To Speed Up Your Nuke Scripts By
Compositing Efficiently, alongside
When
To Utilize A Different
Colourspace.
|
|
Speaking of Python.
Gianluca
Dentici's hilarious Python course
offers clear & concise explanations for
the basics of Python in Nuke, with an added
splash of humour to spice things up! This is
a great place to start if you've always
wanted to learn Python, but haven't yet
found a place to begin.
I appreciate that Gianluca doesn't bother
with teaching the basics of Python's syntax
-- instead he dives right in and teaches by
doing; by showing examples of things you'd
actually create/want to do using Python in
Nuke.
Once you've got the basics down, my quick
tutorial on how to Add
New Functionality to Default Nodes with
addOnCreate() is a great next step,
and teaches you how to customize Nuke,
without having to be a Python Wizard.
|
|
The most downloaded gizmo.
Every other week I share a variety of
gizmos, python scripts, knowledge via
articles, etc. Some are written by me, some
from individuals who are much more
intelligent. This community downloaded
bm_CameraShake
more times than any other tool I've
shared!
The aim of this gizmo is to produce a more
natural camera shake by splitting it into 3
components (Jitter, Shake & Float), and
subsequently gaining far more detail in the
shaky motion blur. Check it out, and
let me know about your improved results!
|
|
The most commented-on & requested
items.
I received many positive emails about the
article I wrote, titled Understanding
Despill Algorithms. It seems a lot
of people learned something new whilst
reading, and reached
out to let me know!
Outside of this newsletter, a lot of my
compositor friends have mentioned that the
ColorMatrix node confused the hell out of
them. It initially confused me too, so I
figured out how it worked, and wrote an
easily-digestible article titled, Understanding
The ColorMatrix Node.
|
|
My favourite tool this year.
Mads
Hagbarth Lund creates some really
interesting things. He found a GPU Buffer
exploit with Blinkscript, and accidentally
created Reaction
Diffusion. There's not really much
application for this for Compositors in a
production environment, but it's so damn
cool!
In terms of tools that I love and use every
day, my favourite creation has got to be my
own Backdrop
Node Defaults. I still use this
multiple times every single day, and my
scripts have never been neater!
|
|
Lastly, some inspiration.
Outside of Nuke, the most viewed videos I
linked to were Matthew
Encina's talk on Designing
Cinematic Scenes,
and GMUNK's
talk on 8
Secrets to Intergalactic Success. If
you haven't already watched these and need
some inspiration, I highly recommend you do
so!
|
|
Readership Growth.
My goal with Ben's Comp Newsletter
is to encourage open communication and
knowledge-sharing between the global
Compositing community; by keeping your
Compositing skill set at the forefront of
the VFX industry, you're prepared both
technically and creatively for any shot that
passes through your hands.
You are one of the many readers of this
newsletter, which has grown at an
average rate of 10.5% each and
every month! Help your friends to become
better Compositors, and recommend
they subscribe too.
Community contributions to
Charity:Water.
This newsletter is all about helping others.
By removing people's simple blockers,
they're free to seek out what they need to
ultimately live a more fulfilling life. In
parallel to this project, I have been
donating 50% of all Patreon pledges
to Charity:Water, who provides
clean drinking water to communities in need
in developing countries. Since the inception
of my Patreon campaign in September,
we have donated $150.00 USD to
Charity:Water
-- absolutely amazing!
I want to remind you that donations are
always appreciated, but not required to
continue receiving Ben's Comp Newsletter --
it will always be free! Although
if you gain value from the content I send
you every two weeks and are in the financial
position to do so, please consider
pledging a small amount to my Patreon
page.
Every dollar contributed helps to keep this
project running, and ultimately makes the
world that little bit better via charitable
donations.
|
|
Farewell, 2018!
As you're reading this, I'm getting some
rest & relaxation in New Zealand (if
you're located in Wellington, reply and
say hi!), and will be travelling
home to spend time with my family in
Australia for the holidays.
I hope you'll be taking an opportunity to
switch off, leave work behind, and enjoy
some quality time with your loved ones over
the holidays, too. To encourage this, Ben's
Comp Newsletter will be on hiatus, and will
return January 14th.
All the best for the remainder of 2018!
|
|
Did you find this
newsletter informative?
|
|
|
Thank you to the following supporters, who
help make this newsletter possible:
Premium Contributor: Seb
Tran
|
|
|
|
|
