Finally! A VFX Workflow With Less Guesswork
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2025
- Free tutorial assets: inlightvfx.gum...
My Patreon Page: / inlightvfx
In this tutorial, I share my VFX workflow to accurately recreate the lighting of a real world scene in a 3D program like Blender. As VFX artists, we want to do as little compositing work as necessary to get VFX elements integrated seamlessly with live action footage. This workflow will help you do exactly that! I explain the best way film your footage, capture and create an HDRI, and use a color reference chart for precise results and easy compositing. I hope this video helps you take some of the guesswork out of your own workflow!
LINKS FROM THE VIDEO:
Setup ACES in Blender: • Setup ACES in Blender
ACES RGB Color Converter: acescolorspace...
Color Checker Graphic: tinyurl.com/y8...
InLightVFX ►
Instagram: / inlightvfx
Twitter: / inlightvfx
Thanks to user "ziwerliz" on Blendswap for the amazing Dodge Challenger model: blendswap.com/...
And yes, I realize that somehow in my mind I decided it was a Dodge Charger and not a Dodge Challenger and made the mistake the entire video. My deepest apologies to the car community!
#blender #vfx #ACES
you’re a king and i want you to know that
This tutorial is very accurate .THis is the way we work in vfx at Framestore studio. Always lighting our scene with hdri's and matching color from the plate. Good job for the video.Really good
Glad to hear that, thanks!
11:20 Instead of guessing the shadows, you can use the Sun Position plugin (Built-in) which allows you to match the Sun based on the Longitude and latitude, date and time, as well as pair it with the HDRI texture
genius!
Oooo. I was thinking HDRI Sun Aligner but with the metadata you can pull this info! This is actually pretty smart!
He guessed everything in general. Horrible workflow. Might as well not use an HDRi at all. Especially with this clear day sky, it will not make a difference.
@@constantinosschinas4503 "With Less Guesswork"
@@poopiecon1489 With no "less guesswork"! Subscribe now!
great video!
Not only is this one of the most in-depth tutorials, but it's also so well done and edited. I am an idiot when it comes to color and I was able to follow along! Keep up the solid content!
That's great to hear, Brocton! I'm glad you can take some helpful things away from it!
you can match the grey patch quite a bit faster by picking the values in the grade node. I can go more into detail if you want.
@@traderz13 th-cam.com/video/EM1EeUCuY4k/w-d-xo.html
Just use the grey patch u want to match as your whitepoint and then use the target values as your gain. U can pick both superquick with the colorpicker tool in the grade node. No need for writing down values and matching them channel by channel.
ive seen a lot of tutorials and people talk about hdris and this is THE most in depth in terms of colour correction
This was such a fantastic easy to watch tutorial. I was just researching this topic about color matching and compositing for VFX so I'm glad I came across your channel. Keep it up!
This, together with your ACES tutorial, is hands down the best explanation of how color and light works I have ever seen! Both in the context of CG work and for understanding how light and color works in general! Thank you so much for these great videos!
I'm very happy to hear that, Simeon. Thank you!
think twice.
insane how much information is available on youtube, thank you so much for this video its so easy to follow
Now this is my good to go channel for blender VFX learning.
Gray and mirror balls are extremely useful for light reference, especially if you do not have a reference object filmed.
As a beginner, this is insane, i can't believe the amount of skill and precision it takes to be good at VFX, i have really underestimated this field. I'm excited to learn more!
Yeah me too. The more we learn the more we know that we understand nothing
@@fadhil4008 at least now we're on the right side of the Dunning-Krueger curve :)
Get out while you still can.
This tutorial was vastly more complicated than it needed to be to achieve the desired result, so don't be discouraged! Look at this tutorial as a demonstration of very high-end concepts and do what works for you.
was that good vfx? the result was horrendous, and while he advertised ACES workflow, at the and was simply guessing and eyeballing with a fake sun.
Definitely deserves a like and subscribe! Excellent tutorial from Lagos, Nigeria
Great video. this channel deserve more subs
Master Yoda is back again great quality work. Thanks for the knowledge.
The explanation is so detailed my brain cannot comprehend
I'm saving this video, I need to watch this multiple times.
Thank InLightVFX for such a DETAILED & EFFECTIVE visual effects video.
This is really a vast simplification on how to use a Macbeth chart, you're only using white balance. It's also doing it in an unnecessary complicated way. There are tools available for Nuke that will analyze a chart and give you a proper 3D LUT which is what you want ideally. Also, it's a much better workflow to render out a new HDR with adjusted colors and use that in your 3D scene, no need to keep track of those gray scale values. Lastly, fine-tuning the final % is best done in comp using cryptomattes and such, not in the shaders, it's just not WYSIWYG enough.
Came to ask for neutral grade workflow, so interesting comment - any tutorial you know that covers the steps and best practices for it?
@@DavesplainingI’ve been looking into this as well. I found this th-cam.com/video/-LsSpV0ftCw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=qo7hfs_-O6QJq5Yc
Basically you color balance both footage and hdri. But using ACES and color checker is easy.
kudos to your Video, not many people share this knowledge for FREE👍👍👍👍👍
I love this step by step pipeline, and I hope it starts to become a big standardization across the board.
"begins with a careful filming process" = Instantly explodes when all my clients send me a smattering of random stock video, stuff shot from their iphones, or even more likely, things shot by other companies who didn't care about the post teams while filming at all.
They keep the mentality that "everything can be done in post". Even just small things from their side can save a lot , you can differentiate your package like the one who provide you all file properly and who don't by significant margin.
Wow, this video is literally perfect! I’m currently working on a short film with a few vfx shots. This is exactly what I needed. Well done Jacob!
Hey, Lenz! Thanks so much!
Straight to the point! Great video.
Holy....so much content for free... Thank you for that! I know it's not the right language, but I have some Matchmoving videos. May I can help your great work with those as well. I will definetly learn a lot from your channel. The next step in my journey is diving deeper into 3D. Good luck with your channel, I guess 1 of your Videos will take far over 50 hours to complete.
nice! good stuff. You lost me at Nuke but I kept watching anyway!
Haha, I appreciate you hanging in there. But don't let Nuke stop you! You can easily apply the general concepts of the workflow in many different programs.
this is the videos i open youtube for, you sir are a beautiful human being
keep'em coming and I'll keep tagging along +1
Bro all of this Studio Production Quality Content for FREE is kind of Awesome and Terrifying at the same time. So many Competition
Welcome back 🌞
Your videos are always on point! You never miss a beat or gloss over anything. This is awesome man, thank you for this!
Lol I'm finally not the only one to think Gamma = Grandma!
You are just simply stunning amazing!!! Best tutorial ever!!!!
I don't usually comment youtube videos, but this is well done !
You are very organized, Mr genius!
I suggest you rethink the use of the Macbeth chart as your reference and move to a chart designed for the camera standards the DSC Chroma DuMonde.
This amazing! I was so stoked to find your ACES workflow videos. I haven't tried things out yet, but this video answered pretty much all of my follow up questions regarding HDRI matching. Thank you
keep making videos bro one day your account will surely blow up.
This is the OCD, technically perfect way of doing VFX. However, in my experience the process is rarely this precise due to time constraints. For instance, you can usually eyeball the lighting (depending on the skill of the artist this can actually look better than the technically accurate version). Also color matching the CG is usually easier to just do in comp instead of doing in the 3D program as there is always some amount of mismatch. It is always cool to see the 'technically correct' way of doing things, but to me it doesn't seem worth the hassle when you could just get it close then fix the rest in comp.
This is pure gold bro! Thx for sharing.
-Make sure that- "Clamp result" -for that Multiply node for your HDRI in Blender is unchecked- ! -Otherwise your HDRI will be clamped to zero to one- Nvm, I misread and now see you already did it.
And for the Color Balance node, use the "Offset/Power/Slope" correction format instead of "Lift/Gamma/Gain" - that method also makes some clamping and color space assumptions, while "Offset/Power/Slope" works with your scene space.
Great walkthrough and steps! Love seeing others share their VFX workflow.
Hey Spencer! I think you're referencing the step at 8:23 correct? 'Clamp Result' is unchecked, and you're right, that is quite important. 'Clamp Factor' is checked which is a new setting on that node in version 3.4 I believe. Good to know about the Color Balance node, thanks!
@@InLightVFX My bad, I had misread - weird that factor is after result. And your result looked great, so I was confused. I'll update my comment, cheers!
Wooooooow! Thanks a lot! You're the Best! Keep it forward! 😍😍😍
Thanks for yet another awesome VFX tutorial, cheers man!
This was amazing. So much work went into this, and it shows! Best VFX guy on TH-cam!!
Aww, thanks man :)
Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise!!
industry standards approved!
Great tips! Though Im curious to the choice of comping in Blender when you have access to Nuke there lolol
I was gonna say the same...!! LOL Far more control in Nuke overall...but I guess not everyone is comfortable with Nuke or wants to learn it. But for work like this, I'd highly recommend at least giving it a go...for my money, it's simpler than Blender...!
Thanks for making this overlooked but vital component!
Awesome as always
Brilliant video breakdown, thank you.
G'day mate this is Bloody Legendary! thanks from Down Under!
:D That intro
this was mega help, need more
This is gold, great work!!
Thank you. You are an amazing teacher 🌟
wow, that was a fascinating workflow, i don't know if it'll work for me but wow that was interesting.
What amzing !!!..... Keep going with ur amizing work
You earned a subscriber man
Yes his level of video production is at another level
Hi! At minute 3:38 I see that you have the OCIO option checked, how could I make this work on a BRAW video? with the OCIO option checked I get an error all the time when choosing "Blackmagic Film Generation 5" in "Input Transform".
With the "Nuke" option selected it works, but the image is very dark, what happens if I check the box to the right of "Input Transform" called "Raw Data"? This way everything seems to work fine.
The truth I am seeing that working in BRAW is giving me quite a few glitches, I don't know if there is a better workflow for it, anyway I love how you explain, I have watched several videos and you are very talented, I am waiting for more videos!!!
Best regards!
Man, this video is great. I've done this type of work for a long time but have stepped away for about 5 years. Some of the new techniques are SO handy! Thanks for the video!
Thanks for this.
Wondering what's the point of the whole hassle of this workflow that's supposed to be precise if one ends up adjust it colors and shadows in post?
Bro, you are awesome ♥️
This is super epic....for sure to be a bookmark I'll come back to again and again. Well done, good sir!
This was a big help - the one thing you didn't make clear was saying "I will multiply these values with these other values" without explaining where you got those other values. Am I right in presuming you in fact divided the first set by the second?
Doing Gods work
It doesn't get any better than this does it! Great and very informative video. 👏
Incredible work my friend
That's a great tutorial. Visually I can understand all.
Excellent content and explanation
That was amazing
You are the best ❤️
It's remarkable how well you describe everything. Please continue making videos because are fantastic !
He describes remarkably well, a remarkably flawed workflow.
Very detailed process, thanks for sharing this.
Thanks. Your chanel is trully the most high quality CG content I have ever watched. Im very sad about the amount of work that you do and your viewers\subscribers amount. You deserve more, and you will have it!
Sorry for my English.
Thanks again, awesome job.
Thank you for the encouraging comment! I'm glad to have kind people like you watching and learning.
Well done. Most of us(your viewers) don't have expensive camera's; however, we do have smartphones.
any chance we can follow this tutorial with footage shot from an Iphone?
Amazing video!
I really love your videos i really want to get to that level
- Mentions he wants to avoid guesswork in compositing
- Makes a ton of unnecessary steps
- Proceeds to do guesswork in compositing
What resources do you recommend (no nuke)?
Ahah ! exactly.. Aces Workflow and color management in general is just a pain in the ass, we just need to deal with it as compositors :D
Thank you for doing this!
You have a dope teaching style!
This was very informative
I literally don't need to know any of this. It was very cool.
This is phenomenal tut! Thanks!
You are genius. really smart workflow
Thank you. Now just got to figure out how to apply this to C4D with redshift
THIS IS GREAT
huh, a blender tutorial that actually represents a feature film workflow with the tools we use. nice work. wouldn't be surprised if you work at a studio
Thks for this great tutorial! Why are you using Nuke? Can't you do everything inside Resolve/Fusion?
Tile: Workflow Without the Guesswork
VIdeo: Lot of guess work...
This is very helpful. Great job
yessssssssssssss you are a master , thanks guys
This was incredible, very well explained, why didnt you compsite everything in nuke?
This channel is hands down the best intro to 3D VFX workflows on TH-cam, great work!
I've been banging my head against the wall trying to get rid of the CG Sun step by using an ND for the lowest exposure bracket on the HDRI. But it doesn't give the right EV value in the metadata to properly auto merge in Photoshop with the other exposure brackets. Do you have any idea if there is a way to manually assign the EV value while merging HDRI brackets? This save so much time and make the results even more accurate.
Great question. Maybe this article can help: blog.polyhaven.com/how-to-shoot-the-sun/
Nice job!
Can this work on maya arnold as well ? 😮
Great video, man! Just out of curiosity, why did you use Nuke to transform the color space over Davinci Resolve?
Thanks, Tyler! The color management in Nuke is a lot more simple to keep straight from my experience. In Davinci Resolve I'm just not as confident when I'm converting between color spaces. Settings are just not layed out as nicely or clearly.
Actually downloading & learning nuke is a bit typical.
GREAT, clear information. Bravo
Thanks a lot for your great tutorial! It is really useful.
brilliant video - but it all looks compicated! crazy how much work is required in 2023 to match colours between different cameras and a render engine!
It is waay more work for one shot. But if you set it up correctly, most of the work is frontloaded during setup of your entire show (and a fair part intot he facility pipeline). So over 100s or even 1000s of shots it really does save a lot of time if setup correctly.
thanks for sharing the files
just, perfect