Maya and Compositing

# 1 11-12-2002 , 10:34 PM

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which compositing package works best with maya?
like combustion works well with max cos it can export data directly
but which compositor can do it with maya? or which is closest to full integration?
i no there have been things said about AFX, but is this the only one? please tell me it isnt! ive used AFX before and personally, well, i dont like it user added image

- Simon

My Website: www.Glass-Prison.com

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# 2 11-12-2002 , 10:40 PM

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Well I don't know much about the different compositing packages out there, but I know After Effects is able to some sort of import from Maya. I think it had to do with the camera, I'm not sure but there is a free video tutorial on Adobe's website about that.

Steven C.

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# 3 11-12-2002 , 10:56 PM

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AFX = after effects
just to clarify sum stuff user added image

yeah ive heard about the camera thing, that actually sounds pretty useful, but i dont want to use after effects cos of a rough time with it in the past (on my friends pooter) now i refuse to buy it user added image

- Simon

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# 4 11-12-2002 , 11:35 PM

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The most popular like you said are Combustion and After Effects. Maybe there's a plugin for Combustion but I don't know. For more info on the AFX/Maya import feature, you could check these how-to's out:

https://www.creativecow.net/articles/.../maya_cam_imp/

or watch a Quicktime movie of it in action on adobe's site:

https://www.adobe.com/products/aftere...ovie_maya.html

You should give AFX another try though...the learning curve is steep but it's like Maya, once you learn the tools you can create and create.

"Terminat Bora Diem, Terminal Auctor opus."

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# 5 12-12-2002 , 12:06 AM

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ill hafta check out those, ints a bit slow so cant watch any vids user added image

if AFX can import camera data, that would mean you can apply things like 3D fog and depth of field easily right?

well if you had 2 incompatible programs like combustion and maya, but you still wanted to add depth of field and 3D fog, how would you do it? theres no 3d work space for you to work in, just 2d plates

- Simon

My Website: www.Glass-Prison.com

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# 6 12-12-2002 , 12:56 AM

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If you're looking for Mac OSX compositing programs, you've really only got 3:

After Effects
Combustion
Shake

I've used AFX regularly, and I like it because of the simple interface. Not a lot of clutter to get in the way. As has been mentioned, there is a bit of a learning curve, but it's worth it. It's especially nice to use, because a lot of terminology is the same as Photoshop's. AFX does a particularly nice job of handling alpha channels.

I have used Combustion a bit, and while I like the interface better than AFX's, I don't know it well enough to be really productive. The interface is quite streamlined and is pretty to get used to once you start working. I actually stopped learning Combustion a while ago, because we use AFX at the school I teach at. Combustion has incredible integration with 3ds max, but that's not terribly useful here. There is a MEL script that will move camera and object animation data to Combustion.

https://www.fido.se/mtoc/index.html

Not sure it still works or if it even works with OSX, but it's worth a shot (I haven't tried it in a while).

@Nem,

Both Combustion and AFX have 3D workspaces. You don't really have 3D objects to manipulate, but you can move the 2D layers in all three dimensions.

To add depth of field in AFX (for instance), you could set up an expression that adjusts the amount of blur on a layer depending on its distance from the camera. For 3D fog, you could try a particle system on a layer with some sort of blending mode.

Just remembered another program: Commotion Pro. While it's not marketed as a compositing program (more on the video painting and effects end), it shares a lot of features with AFX. It actually handles alpha channels and chromakeying a lot better than AFX, but it can be on the slow side sometimes. I usually use Commotion Pro when I have to clean up alpha channels or do a lot cleanup on individual frames.

Danny Ngan
Animator | Amaze Entertainment
my website | my blog | my job

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# 7 12-12-2002 , 01:10 AM

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I'm not exactly sure as I haven't really gotten into it other than an overview. I think there are some more compositing tutorials in the works here at SM as per a conversation between me and Izzy (https://forum.simplymaya.com/showthre...&threadid=2378). As far as the incompatible programs go and if you haven't seen this before, you might want to check this tutorial out on breath vapor simulation: https://www.digitalproducer.com/2001/...mayabreath.htm. You would probably output the original movie clip as a sequence of images then load them into an image plane as an animated sequence.

"Terminat Bora Diem, Terminal Auctor opus."

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# 8 12-12-2002 , 01:22 AM

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yeah ive seen the vids on this site, theyre pretty good user added image

shame they dont go into all that much detail, the free ones i mean

thx for the script dannyngan if that lets you export camera data to combustion, and after FX can import camera data, then does that mean both packages are now as integrated with maya as each other?

- Simon

My Website: www.Glass-Prison.com

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# 9 12-12-2002 , 02:03 AM

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@Nem,

Hard to say how integrated with Maya either program is. Most of my 3d work is for games, so I dont' usually try to take 3d data into AFX. Wouldn't hurt to try out though.

Danny Ngan
Animator | Amaze Entertainment
my website | my blog | my job

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# 10 12-12-2002 , 10:29 AM

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it would hurt my wallet quite a bit tho :S are there demo versions of these programs?

- Simon

My Website: www.Glass-Prison.com

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# 11 12-12-2002 , 10:39 AM

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Shake is (or at least was) the most partnered compositor for Maya in the big ish studios, but its hardly a cheap purchase. Pretty sure version 2.5 is the last windows version. Silicon Grail's RayZ was another one that played nice with maya, but alas Apple gobbled them up too.
Digital fusion(again not cheap) or After Effects then I suppose. Personally i dont like Combustion, though I've not used it since verision 1.1

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# 12 12-12-2002 , 06:58 PM

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well ive got a demo of digi fusion 4, lookin very nice, steep learning curve tho, but im im gettin there
actually i think id like to try out AFX, is there a demo anywhere of the latest version? cos i havent seen it on the adobe site, or mayb im not lookin hard enough

- Simon

My Website: www.Glass-Prison.com

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