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  • Hey all, just changed over the backend after 15 years I figured time to give it a bit of an update, its probably gonna be a bit weird for most of you and i am sure there is a few bugs to work out but it should kinda work the same as before... hopefully :)

Hollywood Camera Work's "Visual Effects for Directors" Released!

michael zaletel

michael zaletel

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Hollywood Camera Work Visual Effects for Directors Released!

http://www.hollywoodcamerawork.us/vfx/index.php?src=blast

I can't say enough good things about their Master Course in High End Blocking and Staging so I'm sure this course is going to be all the rave.

7 DVD's Normal price will be $329 (worth three times that!)

Save 40% if you order in the next 3 weeks.

Every single person on this forum can benefit from at least something in this set and $197 is a steal. I am not affiliated with this company in any way but I think everyone should order a copy of this while it's on pre-order sale.

VOLUME I: 3D PRIMER

1. Introduction
2. Shading And Mapping Part I
3. Shading And Mapping Part II
4. Simple Lighting
5. Advanced Lighting
6. Modeling Tools
7. Modeling Objects And Characters
8. Image-Based Modeling
9. Basic Animation
10. Character Rigging
11. Character Animation Part I
12. Character Animation Part II

VOLUME II: MIXING AND MATCHING

1. Overview
2. Compositing Primer
3. Node-Based Compositing
4. Pulling A Matte
5. Garbage Matting / Rotoscoping
6. Compositing Without A Matte
7. 2D Tracking
8. How Trackers Work
9. Planar Tracking
10. How To Shoot For Planar Tracking
11. Camera Matching

VOLUME III: MIXING AND MATCHING

1. Matchmoving
2. How To Shoot For Matchmoving Part I
3. How To Shoot For Matchmoving Part II
4. Motion Control
5. Matching Lighting And Shadows
6. Casting Shadows Into Live-Action
7. The Double-Shadows Problem
8. Receiving Shadows
9. Casting And Receiving Reflections
10. Casting And Receiving Light
11. Matching Camera Look
12. Interaction Part I: Live-Action Affecting 3D

VOLUME IV: MIXING AND MATCHING

1. Interaction Part II: 3D Affecting Live-Action
2. Virtual Props
3. Motion Capture Primer
4. In-Shot Motion Capture: Body Tracking
5. In-Shot Motion Capture: Face Tracking
6. Object Removal Part I
7. Object Removal Part II
8. Crowd Replication

VOLUME V: GREEN SCREEN INTENSIVE

1. 2 Kinds Of Green Screen, 3 Kinds Of Shooting
2. Green Vs. Blue
3. Color Sampling
4. Back-Drop Green Screen Part I
5. Back-Drop Green Screen Part II
6. Renting And Prepping A Cyc Stage
7. Building And Painting A Green Screen Cyc
8. Lighting A Green Screen Cyc
9. Keying Part I: Solids
10. Keying Part II: Transparency
11. Keying Part III: Preventing And Handling Spill

VOLUME VI: GREEN SCREEN INTENSIVE

1. How To Place Tracking Markers Part I
2. How To Place Tracking Markers Part II
3. Matching Lighting
4. Matching Direction, Quality, Ratio
5. Extracting And Faking Shadows
6. Receiving Shadows And Light
7. Casting And Receiving Reflections
8. Physical Contact
9. Directing And Blocking On A Virtual Set
10. Giant Green Screen
11. Warping
12. Cinematography Checklist

VOLUME VII: SIMULATION / COMPS

1. Physics
2. Particles And Fluids
3. Instantiation
4. Cloth, Hair, Demolition
5. Digital Stunt People
6 . Fusion Nodes
7 . Shot Analysis: F-16 Over Ocean
8 . Shot Analysis: T-Rex Chase
9 . Shot Analysis: Car Crash
10. Shot Analysis: Garden Shadows
11. Shot Analysis: Embassy Shootout

Sincerely,

-michael zaletel
(shooter)
 
Kwan said:
http://www.reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=27561
Click to expand...

Yes Kwan but they didn't send the email until about 20 minutes ago that it was actually ready for release with a link to pre-order.

-From that March 12th email:
Visual Effects For Directors is close to release!

"You can’t order yet, but in the second week of April, we’ll send out a blast with sample clips and instructions."


Thanks,

-michael zaletel
(shooter
 
Absolutely right Micheal...
Thanks for info, Just placed my order.
 
Wow, thanks!
 
The fx look cheesy, but I really need to know how to shoot for fx, so my dad and I just ordered this, should be good.
 
The visuals on the High-End blocking and Staging DVD's are a bit cheesy as well but the fundamentals, the instruction and the concepts are top-notch. My guess is that Hollywood Camera Work could only budget so much for the demos (as you know, there's a lot more to putting a set like this together than the visuals) and probably could not afford any high-end directors, DP's and etc. so I'm actually impressed by preview because they obviously still spent a lot to illustrate the concepts rather than just teaching them with theory slides.

However, I agree with you that visuals should be a priority. I've always hated how top Photoshop or Shake instructors use the crappiest source images and footage to demonstrate the coolest techniques and concepts.

But I'd pay $200 for a slide show from them so I'm super happy!

-michael zaletel
(shooter)
 
Agreed...
 
Received this update email from them a couple of days ago.

Hi Everyone!

We've just uploaded over an hour of sample clips from Visual Effects
For Directors. There's also still a 40% pre-order discount, see below.

You can watch the sample clips at
http://www.hollywoodcamerawork.us/vfx/index.php?s=b

1.) HOW TO PLACE TRACKING MARKERS PART I & II: These two chapters
talk about everything you need to know about tracking markers and
matchmoving on a green screen. We first talk about color, size and
shape of tracking markers, then about photogrammetry and
depth-placement, and finally we walk through an entire Virtual Set
process from start to finish. Then we wrap by talking about how to
prevent emergencies, and what to do if a shot ever fails. This is
almost a half hour of training, so bring a cup of coffee!

2.) CROWD REPLICATION: Crowd replication seems so simple, but it's
actually a science. Many people rely on difference keying, which is a
terrible method. This chapter talks about how to do crowd replication
that is easy to composite, how to maintain station-points and crowd
continuity, how to use motion control, and how to do massive crowds
with a million people using Particle Instancing.

3.) RECEIVING SHADOWS AND LIGHT: This is one of many chapters on
matching lighting, which is a critical aspect of visual effects, and
it has to be done right on the set -- it can't be fixed in post. This
chapter covers a very difficult situation, which is having shadows
fall on a live-action person on a green screen. It would be dangerous
to shoot a plate like this without careful thought, because an
unusable plate could mean a reshoot.

4.) HOW TO SHOOT FOR PLANAR TRACKING: Things like corner-pinning and
replacement used to be done with 2D tracking, which was really an
awful way to track. But a Planar Tracker tracks the whole surface
instead of just points, and that results in a whole new set of rules
for how you have to shoot inserts and elements that have to be
replaced -- which is all the time. This chapter covers in great detail
exactly what to do on the set for this to be easy and safe.

40% Pre-Order Discount:

And for those of you who didn't get the original blast email, Visual
Effects For Directors is less than two weeks from shipping, and until
then, there's a 40% pre-order discount, bringing the price to $197.
But it's ONLY for the pre-order period, and the code will be turned
off when we release. Instructions are at
http://www.hollywoodcamerawork.us/vfx/index.php?s=b

I hope you will enjoy the clips!
 
Hey Darren,

4K challenge event would be great. Your city or mine? ;)

-michael zaletel
(shooter)
 
Got some cool Plans in my city at the moment, but Mike will be involved also, this new 4K challenge plan is going to be pretty epic. If your game for coming to Chicago for a bit, it will be tons of fun. BTW, I got in's with all the clubs here in Chi-town, shoot like Gods at day play like play boys at night. heheheh.....
 
I just finished watching all seven DVD's. Good stuff, worth the money.
 
very good

very good

agreed, very worth my money. Informative, clear and in-depth tutorials, everything one needs, from the very beginning to the end of the shot. Don't expect guide on specific software, this is a concepts training, shows how things must be prepared so that one spends less time in post.

I don't care about whatever graphics quality, I care about the information given. And provided resulting videos imo show clearly that concepts presented work well.

:cool:
 
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