Matchmoving (Nuke)

For this project, we were tasked with creating a VFX match-move video using NukeX and footage shot, as a class. In order to do this, firstly, I imported the footage into NukeX and began creating a 3D track using the built in tools available in NukeX, using the point track tools and 3D scene tools to create a coherent outline of the car and surrounding area.

Next, I used a 3D scene node to view the 3D rendition of the scene and remove any points that were not needed for the track. Then I rendered part of the track so that it would appear like the car in the scene node.

Then, I created a 3D cube node that I used to outline the back of the pickup truck so that when I would export the 3D scene into Maya I would be able to accurately see where the car would be and where to put the match-moved 3D model.

Finally, I made sure the cube was accurately aligned to the back of the car so the cube would give the most accurate size comparison possible.

After creating the 3D tracked car scene, I made a lighting sphere using edited HDR images in photoshop.

Firstly, in order to create the light spheres, I used three separate high definition images and the built in HDR creator in photoshop and used the editor to merge each of the images together.

Then, I used the stamp, lasso, eraser and blur tools to remove the people, tripod and sphere stand from the image, without drastically changing or obviously changing the appearance of the image.

After this, I followed the same process once again for the alternate side of the light sphere, making sure to colour correct the images so that they have the same brightness and contrast.

Once I created these light spheres, I imported them into a Nuke project and converted and merged them into a flat plane image that allowed for a 360 skylight rendition of the image in 3D space.

Though the complete project is not completed yet, overall I believe I did well on this part of the project because, firstly, the track was accurately created and allowed me to export the camera movement along with the cube into Maya, giving me a representation of where the van is and how the camera would move. And secondly, the HDIR skybox allowed for the appropriate lighting of models after being exported to Maya, making the models and Maya scene appear more realistic and fit into the final image more effectively.