Week One: the Nuke Workflow
Starting with a grand tour of Nukes excellent user interface (GUI), we will see how to navigate the viewer and timeline, the node view, the property panels, and the tool tabs. There will be a sneak peak at the 3D interface, but the details are saved for the 3D classes. Next is a demonstration of Nukes workflow - how to load images, build node trees, adjust node parameters, and render to disk. There are also two handouts prepared by Steve, his personal Keyboard Shortcuts list plus his Tool Tabs list of every node and its function - unavailable in any manual.

Week Two: Transformations and Animation
The use of Nuke’s powerful Transform node for 2D images is covered, including motion blur. Following that is keyframe animation plus how to work with Nuke’s powerful animation Curve Editor. How to link parameters within and between nodes is covered including how to add simple math expressions to your animation. Special attention will be given to Nuke’s management of project formats (resolution and pixel aspect ratio), which is unique in the industry.

Week Three: Working with Color
An explanation of Nukes 32 bit floating point color space as well as its approach to color management, which is, again, unique in the industry. The subject then turns to the key color correcting nodes - the Grade node, the ColorCorrect node, and the ColorLookup node. Selecting colors from the screen with the Eyedropper and the workings of Nuke’s very robust Color Picker are also covered. Nuke’s Bezier node (the shape drawing node for masking) is examined in great detail due to its pervasive use in compositing, including its keyframing capabilities (and limitations) as well as how to use the Bezier node for masking operations.

Week Four: Compositing CGI
Another of Nuke’s unique design features is its channel management, where up to 1024 channels of image data are maintained for CGI compositing. How it works and why it is so cool are revealed along with how it affects proper node tree structure. We see how to organize and manage multi-pass CGI composites along with managing your premultiply/unpremultiply states. The Merge node is next which offers 30 different image-blending modes from the mundane Over operation to key Photoshop blending modes such as Overlay.

Week Five: Keying and Timing
Bluescreen and greenscreen keying are, of course, the bread and butter of visual effects compositing so Nuke’s proprietary IBK keyer and the Primatte keyer are given close scrutiny along with Nuke’s Keyer node which contains a list of useful simple keyers you will need to know about. How to use the HueCorrect node for spill suppression is covered as well as how to work with the all-important KeyMix node. An introduction to clip timing is included to address basic timing operations such as holding a still frame, shifting the timing of a clip, and selected a frame range within a clip.

Week Six: 3D Basics
This week starts the 3-week program of 3D compositing. In the Basics we see how to add 3D geometric primitives (card, cube, cylinder, and sphere) and apply texture maps to them. Next we add cameras and lights and see how to render 3D objects into the 2D world where they can join in the composite. This class assumes the compositor has a very basic understanding of 3D so it does not teach 3D itself. If you have absolutely no experience with 3D it is recommended that you become familiar with the basic terminology and concepts before this class.

Week Seven: 3D Animation and Shaders
Now that we can build 3D scenes and add cameras and lights, its time to start moving things around with animation. How to apply 3D transformations to the geometry, keyframe animation, deforming geometry, and the use of the Axis node (a null object). Nukes all-powerful bi-cubic card deformations are also covered in detail. The subject of Shaders are introduce where ambient, diffuse, and specular materials are applied to 3D geometry for sophisticated lighting effects plus how to set up environment lighting.

Week Eight: 3D Production Techniques
In the final week we will pull it all together to see how to apply the techniques learned to execute four classic types of 3D compositing production scenarios - the addition of a panoramic background for a moving camera, first using a texture map projected on the inside of a cylinder then the classic “Pan and Tile” technique. The third project is a classic camera projection shot where you will turn two still photographs into a full 3D shot with a moving camera, and the fourth project is a 3D re-projection where a clip is re-projected into a scene then re-photographed with the moving camera.

Level of Ability
This course is designed for compositors that already have experience with compositing programs such as Shake, Combustion, Flame, Fusion, Toxik, or After Effects. Compositors should also have at least a basic understanding of 3D vocabulary and core concepts such as XYZ space, 3D geometry, and surface properties such as diffuse and specular lighting.

This course is also ideal for 3D animators that want to get a great overview of the Nuke workflow and how it integrates into a modern 3D production pipeline. Many shops actually require their 3D artists to do “slap comps” in Nuke to make sure their rendered elements are suitable for the 2D department down the line.

Software/Hardware Requirements
This course is specifically designed to work with the free PLE (Personal Learning Edition) available on The Foundry’s website. Students with fully licensed versions can participate too since those few features only available to the fully licensed version are covered too. Nuke 5.0 and above is recommended for this course.

Nuke is available for all platforms - Windows, Linux, and Mac OSX. Be sure to download the version that is right for your platform. Nuke is a high-performance professional quality visual effects compositing program that requires significant machine resources. Be sure to check the System Requirements here to make sure your platform is suitable.

Other requirements

A broadband connection to the internet will be required to download the class videos as well as the substantial image files for the exercises. Some of the sample scenes are hardware heavy, so its recommended to have a minimum of 1 GB of RAM and a fast processor.

Students need to be familiar with web navigation and browsing, as well as email.

Students need to be familiar with using a bulletin board system (such as CGTalk.com) as well as how to upload attachments to postings for review.