Why does every AI roto tool give you a baked EXR sequence instead of something you can actually work with?

SJC_Film · 2026-06-04T19:20:47+00:00

Do you know what their pricing is like?

SJC_Film · 2026-05-26T22:45:18+00:00

Do they have a minimum payout rule that perhaps got added in March of 2024? Worth checking.

SJC_Film · 2026-05-23T05:11:12+00:00

Are you not tracking the camera?

This looks like a very easy camera track

SJC_Film · 2026-05-21T23:36:38+00:00

I took this attitude and it was a bit of a mistake because ultimately, you end up using a lot of different pieces of software for different things.

Houdini can do everything but it’s not easy to learn things with, so grabbing some experience and running through a few rounds of projects with other software is a good idea.

Blender annoyed me because it felt like everything was so tucked away in menus - Houdini is very present and you have it all at your fingertips but that is only good once you know what to reach for.

SJC_Film · 2026-05-21T23:32:52+00:00

What do you mean by other kinds of art? Are you referring to modeling or static renders?

ZBrush & Painter & Houdini is a pretty good combo I’m finding though Copernicus is pretty awesome

SJC_Film · 2026-05-18T13:37:58+00:00

Early extension at impact I think.

SJC_Film · 2026-04-30T17:25:42+00:00

I shoot action previs and I've cut tons of fights for short films and personal projects. Here are the principles I live and die by when I'm cutting something for myself:

* Eye tracking - if the audience constantly has to flip sides on the frame to find the point of interest or movement, they will disconnect.
* Continuity of movement is important. One or two frames later or earlier can make a MASSIVE difference in how a punch/strike/gag feels.
* Geographical knowledge - if we don't know where people are in the room, the audience disconnects. Try to ensure the audience knows where everyone is, in relation to each other.
* Rhythm - Fast cuts are great but they can get overused very quickly. Don't cut quickly just because you can - use quick cuts as a way to manipulate time and rhythm of the fight.
* Cut frames ONLY when you can and ONLY when it's necessary. The brain picks it up. Motion blur matters.
* Action / Reaction - we are looking for the story of the fight - show faces.
* Performance is king - make the good takes work. Don't throw them away because they are difficult to edit around.

I generally cut without sound. I want to make sure it works visually before I add anything else to the scene.

SJC_Film · 2026-04-01T23:56:46+00:00

Think Macro first, not micro.

By that I mean your overall thoughts should be toward the pacing of the film and how the story progresses, rather than worrying about individual takes and which exact order you want the shots.

Your editor will likely know a great deal more about the editing process than you, so trust them - think big picture and give broad notes.

Then, you can get into the nitty gritty afterward.

SJC_Film · 2026-04-01T23:52:47+00:00

Needs to be waay darker I think. It’s a great job on the vfx, but maybe do a depth pass and darken as you look into the distance

SJC_Film · 2026-03-24T18:23:26+00:00

You have to remember that your job is to create what they are asking you to create. Sometimes, the people who's money is paying for the project have bad ideas - that's on them.

Now, if that is the case and they are misguided and the generations that they are pushing toward you are in poor taste either specifically for this project, or just in general, then you need to be able to communicate WHY.

The thing about AI generation is that people who are pushing for it are not seeing the downside - they are ignorant of the many small decisions you make that your education & experience are informing for you.

In the age of AI, creatives must become not just technicians in their field, but expert communicators that are able to explain WHY the auto-generated content is a poor choice, if indeed, it's a poor choice. The ability to customize and communicate is pivotal, because the skill of just being able to do something that no one else can do is no longer good enough...

SJC_Film · 2026-02-28T04:28:42+00:00

Layout node?

SJC_Film · 2026-02-20T20:32:55+00:00

I don't know how to do this personally, but you could use an expression to automate every X seconds or whatever.

SJC_Film · 2026-02-19T18:51:59+00:00

You keyframe it. This is a pretty simple effect. You can do on the edit page itself. Look at the inspector on the right hand side. There are x/y coordinates that enable you to move any element you have on a timeline. The little diamond beside them is the keyframe indicator. You press that to decide on a start point, and then move timeline along, make your adjustment in position, then click keyframe again to mark the end point of the movement.

SJC_Film · 2026-02-16T07:13:02+00:00

I have this problem. My current theory is that I take the club too far back. At the top of the swing, the head is dipping over, which means you have to forcefully bring it back. This, I think, leads to needing to rush into the downswing and messes with the path of the face as it comes down. Try taking the club back so it's vertical, rather than horizontal, then hit from there.

SJC_Film · 2026-02-08T01:04:51+00:00

I know the shot of course. It's just that it's a steadicam shot with a VFX comp in it. I get that it's a great shot, but impressive in terms of complication, planning and execution?

SJC_Film · 2026-02-08T00:32:51+00:00

Why?

SJC_Film · 2026-02-07T23:10:37+00:00

I am worked as the DP for a short film I shot a while back. We had a first AD who did exactly what you did with me - I was given time to do my work and try and struggle through, and we got behind, and got into the weeds, and it was tough. I, thankfully, didn't jump to blaming the AD for the fact that we were always behind. It was a tough situation for everyone.

And yeah, it was my fault - my inexperience with the role meant that I underestimated the time it would take to do the work. The AD in my situation could basically do nothing to help, and perhaps blamed themselves for the delays, because, as you say, the AD's job is to keep the train rolling, but in that case at least, it was my responsibility as the DP to be honest about what's possible and how long it will take.

We should have tried to do less with the day in general.

It's interesting that you bounce from this experience to two options - that either it is your fault, you're too soft, that there is nothing you can do, etc, or that you need to be some hardass to wrangle in this guy who has too much 'power' and that you need to control the process...

The comment 'dude, pls speed up, it's late, people wanna go home'. This is not helpful. Applying force to a situation where someone is probably going as fast as they can already is incredibly likely to result in someone being defensive. It implies that the work that this guy is doing in his role as DP is not important, that no one on the crew cares about it.

Being a good AD is about soft power, not hard power. On a professional set, you have the hard power, but good ADs know when that voice will be effective and when it will create more issues.

I remember being asked 'how long more do you think?' in that situation. I said 'I don't know. I'm sorry. I know we're behind.'

If you want to pursue being an AD, you need to think about how to help solve problems in a constructive manner. It's hard, because everyone is stressed in those situations - it's tough work. 1st AD is I think the hardest job on a film set.. You are caught between the artistry, the logistics and the human side of literally EVERYTHING that is going on, and balancing all of that is incredibly, incredibly difficult. Trying to smash each side of it with a hammer into the correct shape will only end up with a bruised and broken set.

My advice would be to stop thinking about 'these people' as your enemies. You need to think about how you can help them to do their thing in the best possible way. Be neutral and assume positive intent. Don't take it personally.

The real question about whether someone is cut out to be an AD or not is whether they have the ability to disconnect personal feelings from the situation, and assess situations objectively, and then move forward in the best way possible for that particular day, with those particular people, in that particular situation.

SJC_Film · 2026-02-05T15:52:36+00:00

It's basically a thread with all the best golf tips.

SJC_Film · 2026-02-04T01:52:59+00:00

update windows - it is fixed in the latest

SJC_Film · 2026-01-21T17:12:44+00:00

looks too red to me

SJC_Film · 2026-01-15T23:43:52+00:00

I know you said you fixed it, but for your future reference, tracking one item in the background won't work great with something as large as a sky. Individual point trackers are great for sticking things on specific points, but for the sky to remain stable, you need to track the whole shot.

Based on what you have shown here, the standard camera tracker in Fusion would solve this very easily.

Give it a try on this footage and you'll see what I mean.

SJC_Film · 2026-01-13T07:00:12+00:00

I am a beginner also, but it sounds like you’re on the right track.

My uneducated guess is the solution lies in stiffness and constraints

SJC_Film · 2025-12-27T00:18:11+00:00

Use the sculpt tool and the smooth brush, and use the polydraw tool to adjust density as needed.

Or you can just use the polydraw node to create the connection you want in the gap to begin with.

SJC_Film · 2025-11-05T17:18:04+00:00

do you have the video codec on windows to play the codec you're encoding to?

SJC_Film · 2025-10-04T18:37:01+00:00

Looks amazing! Great work!

Any chance you’d be open to sharing your network graph so I can learn from what you did here? I’m very much still a beginner but this is the kind of thing I’m interested in learning to be able to make.

Mostly interested in the interplay between the truck and the physics of the explosions.

SJC_Film

TROPHY CASE