One of our most popular professors, Tim Clapham from HYPA.tv, will be returning to explore the use of Adobe After Effects for the production of Motion Graphics. His projects will be enhanced with the use of the Red Giant Trapcode Suite and Magic Bullet Looks plugins which will be available free of charge for non-commercial purposes during the term. Members of the course will receive a time-limited license for these plugins -- without any kind of limitation or watermark.

The classes will be mostly project based, with tips and tricks for creating stunning visuals. Clapham will demonstrate methods to facilitate an efficient workflow. As well as working in After Effects, working with 3D applications will also be discussed, specifically utilizing Cinema4D for mulitpass renders, After Effects integration and avoiding common gotchas. The course will encompass the use of expressions to speed up production and enhance creativity. Clapham be using After Effects CS3 (members can also use CS4), with some content being discussed in Cinema4D r11.

The classes will include the following subjects, plus much more:

Using 3D Multipass and exported 3D data to enhance and add elements in After Effects.
Creating an animated newspaper headline with 3D layers and Trapcode Form.
Colour Correction using Color Finesse and Magic Bullet Looks.
Incorporating a 3D Render with the Shatter Effect. Reproducing the bullet time effect.
Stop Motion type animation effects.
Using Expressions to speed up workflow.
Creating a Music Channel Ident, using audio to control parameters.
Creating a cardboard type theatre using 3d shape layers and lighting rigs.

Professor: Tim Clapham (hypatim)

Class 1: This class will take a 3D multipass render along with exported 3D data. From this, elements will be isolated using Object Buffers as mattes. Creating a fake blurry reflection. Adding extra content using After Effects 3D layers combined with Object Buffers. Creating text animation using Track Mattes and Text Animators. Offsetting parameters overtime using expressions.

Class 2: Using scripts to generate a 3D Cube, then replacing the sides with graphic patterns. Introduction to Trapcode Form, using Layer Maps. Creating Layer Maps with Radio Waves, Trapcode Particular. Looping keyframes with a simple expression.

Class 3: Overview of alternative effects that work with layer maps, including Card Dance and Particle Playground. Animating a camera using parenting. Animating Illustrator artwork in 3D space. Working with AE Text, per character 3D feature, combined with range selectors and using wiggly selectors for randomizing characters and text colour.

Class 4: Part 1 of 2. This week we will be taking a layered Photoshop file and breaking it into sections to displace over time. We will be adding an expression to control several parameters over many layers at different points in time, then linking them together with expression sliders. We will also use Trapcode Form to create an animated halftone effect.

Class 5: Part 2 of a 2 week class. This week we will complete the project, using Form for the halftone and then distributing the particles in Z space. Adding in text elements and linking the parameters between comps. Adding independent wiggle to XYZ position on the camera using expression controllers.

Class 6: Taking a green screen shot and pulling a key using Keylight. Combining mattes to key out tracking markers. Tracking and Cloning to clean up skin. Isolating skin areas for smoothing.

Class 7: Continuing from last week. Stabilizing the keyed footage. Creating a light wrap effect. Adding in a shape layer background and some type. Trapcode Starglow and Particular for enhancing the shot. Grading in Magic Bullet Looks.

Class 9: Part 1 of 2. This week we will look at creating assets by combining several photographs or scans to give a stop motion stuttering type effect. Creating vector artwork from photos and autotrace. We will then start to assemble a series of shots using continually rasterising vector art and 3D layers. Using expressions to tint the layers based on distance from camera.

Class 10: Part 2 of 2. Using Particular to create a journey through a forest of trees. Finishing the final shot and editing all shots together with transitions.

AFX207 - After Effects: From the Archives

We’ve had a lot of great courses in After Effects over the years at fxphd, but the problem is that we don’t have the capacity to run all the courses all the time. Also, as features in the software evolve, some classes become a bit out of date with the current release.

That being said, there are many classes which are timeless and have a ton of great information and techniques. So we’ve selected some our member’s favorites and brought them together in a single course. Some classes are even two parts -- made up of two individual classes from a previous course. We’re hoping it makes this course accessible to members who might have taken one of the previous offerings.

The first three classes are from designer Mark Coleran, who breaks down creating UI graphics for feature films. You've seen Coleran's work on screens and UI in such films as The Bourne Ultimatum, The Island, AVP: Alien vs. Predator, and The World is Not Enough. He’s also on the development team for GridIron Software’s Flow, lending his “fake UI” skills to a real UI.

Other highlights include Danny Princz’s breakdown of a cool project he did for the MSG network, creating a hockey rink in 3D. Mark Christiansen gets artists up and using expressions quickly in AE as well as works through a spec tv promo project. John Montgomery shows how to use scripting in AE to automate tasks and also provides insight into how, as a one man band, he created the entire graphics bed for the ESPN New Year’s Eve broadcast from Times Square in just over three weeks time.

Professor: John Montgomery (johnmont)

Class 1: UI Graphics Overview: Mark Coleran. A special extended length overview of UI/screen graphics in films and commercials with Mark Coleran (afx302 class 1)

Class 2: Creating Screen Graphics, Part 1 of 2: Mark Coleran. How to set up files for fast and efficient creation of making graphics for screen animations. (afx302 class 5)

Class 3: Creating Screen Graphics, Part 2 of 2: Mark Coleran. How to set up files for fast and efficient creation of making graphics for screen animations. (afx302 class 6)

Class 4: Hockey Night Live, Part 1 of 2 : Danny Princz. Breakdown of the show package for Hockey Night Live on MSG. We go through the design phase of project and then an in depth look at some of the techniques used to build a 3D arena entirely in After Effects. (afx302 class 3)

Class 5: Hockey Night Live, Part 2 of 2 : Danny Princz. We look at creating the elements needed to build a scene from the style frames, different methods for creating 3D type, sharing elements between artists, and using Magic Bullet Looks to complete the package. Danny Princz (afx302 class 4)

Class 6: Expressions Overview: Mark Christiansen. Key points for working with expressions (afx202 class 6)

Class 7: Multipass Compositing: Tom Green. Basic compositing work flow in after effects. Using pre-comps, compositing 3D multipass renders, importing camera data from Maya, and use of Trapcode's Form, Particular, and Shine. This class was a favorite of the previous afx204 motion graphics course. (afx204 class 10)

Class 8: Javascript Tutorial: John Montgomery. Scripting is key to reducing errors when rendering different versions of titles such as end frames of commercials or lower third titles. This class shows the creation of a script that changes lower thirds in composition and fires off renders. (afx221 class 6)

Class 9: The Disappeared: Mark Christiansen. Creating a TV promo for a fictional series “The Disappeared”. Christiansen works through the brief from illustrator Rose Draper, building the hero scene in 3D space. Members of the course will get access to the artwork used in the classes. Class contains two classes from the previous course. (afx221 classes 8 and 9)

Class 10: ESPN NYE Project: John Montgomery. The behind-the-scenes story of creating the entire graphics package for an ESPN New Year's Eve telecast. In part 2, Tips and tricks used in building the animated open using a virtual world with a 3D camera. Class contains two classes from the previous course. (afx204 classes 1 and 2)

AFX222 - After Effects Broadcast Design

This course is one of the most popular ones we've ever run at fxphd, and we're excited to be presenting an encore presentation of the offering. Tim Clapham, one of our most popular profs at fxphd, will be running the course. Tim owns and runs his own Motion Graphics and animation company, www.HYPA.tv, which is based in Brighton, UK.

After Effects is one of the main weapons of choice when it comes to producing Motion Graphics for Broadcast. Our new design-based course will be based around the principles and techniques of creating broadcast graphics with After Effects. Some of the lessons will be project based and explore different techniques to create animated sequences from beginning to end. Other lessons will look at specific areas of After Effects, such as the included particle systems and some 3rd party solutions. We will look at the interaction between 3D applications and After Effects, specifically compositing the different render passes and applying 3D data to the AE camera and effects. Other aspects of the course that will be covered include expressions, parenting, project management and workflow, working with type, shape layers and masks.

Professor: Tim Clapham (hypatim)

Class 1: Taking a client storyboard through to the design stages and then building the project in After Effects, creating an infinite type zoom with vector artwork, incorporating client changes and then preparing the file for output

Class 2: A look into Particle systems available in After Effects, their features and some examples. Creation of a 5 second animation using some of the particle systems discussed, and a look at creating fake 3D reflections and building a simple camera rig

Class 3: An exploration of some of the features of Trapcode Particular. This is a project based class where we look at using animated custom particles, attaching particles to lights, using expressions and creating motion paths for the particles

Class 4: This lesson looks at techniques for cutting up bitmap images and animating them, including using expressions to make a walk cycle

Class 5: Exploring 3D multipass rendering, and how to use them in After Effects. First a brief explanation of the types of passes that can be output from most 3D applications. Then a look at some real world examples. Finally a look at using 3D passes with Trapcode Form and Particular

Class 6: Part 1 of 2. In this class we will build a 5 second bumper/ promo for a TV show. We'll track some camera motion to add a handheld feel to the AE camera. Then we'll take this and animate some moves in 3D, adding in copy and some extra elements

Class 7: Part 2 of 2. In this class we finish building a 5 second bumper/ promo for a TV show

Class 8: Part 1 of 3. We will look at some methods of using 3D renders and exported data in our After Effects comps. Taking multipass renders and enhancing them. Using the camera data from the 3D application to match our AE 3D layers to the 3D render. Also, pasting multiple paths into shape layers, animating shape layers and adding effects

Class 9: Part 2 of 3. In this class we continue building the project we started last week. We look at using mattes combined with continually rasterising layers and shape layers to draw on a logo

Class 10: Part 3 of 3. In this class we finish building the no logo project. We composite a 3D render onto After Effects 3D layers. Add in some extra details and finally prepare the animation for final output, looking at correcting unsafe colours

AVD101 - Avid for Indie Film and Commercials

In this course, we cover the new Avid Media Composer 3 software, available on both Mac and Windows platforms, with a focus on Independent filmmaking and new media projects. In the first few courses, we take you from Final Cut - the standard tool for most Independent Filmmakers - into Avid - the standard in Hollywood. We will focus on the similarities and differences, with many, many examples.

After that, we will cover three different projects and how they'd be edited in Avid:

An episode of That Media Show, shot in 4k on the RED One, against a green screen.
A commercial, shot for a San Francisco client, shot on the Sony PMW-EX1 (1080p 24p)
Several scenes from a feature film, shot on three JVC GY-HD200 series cameras.

By the end of this course, you will have been provided the knowledge and the footage to have completed a popular video podcast, edited a commercial for a real California client and edited several scenes from an upcoming feature film. You'll have created gunshots, fixed audio problems with Avid and have a working knowledge of Avid Media Composer, the standard in Hollywood feature films and television.

Professor: John Flowers (jflowers)

Class 1: In this first class, we go through an overview of Avid and Final Cut, with a focus on resources for Avid. We also begin our project by pulling in footage and starting the edit, which we will continue in the next class, where we go into much more detail around editing and these two systems.

Class 2: Avid Media Composer 3 for Final Cut Pro editors, Part 2 In this second class, we explore the Avid P2 Drive Trick. Then we take a look at a scene from a film shoot using a JVC GY-HD Series Camera, as shot in 720p/24. This scene is first shown in Final Cut Pro, then we move into Avid and start digging into the timeline and editing the footage, with a focus on the scene and assembly. All the footage and the script are provided, along with a P2.zip file.

Class 3: Importing footage into Avid Media Composer. We start by looking at RED footage, then move into Sony XDCAM EX formats, then talk about DPX files and finally we import footage from a Canon HV30 camcorder. Several software packages, including Shake, are mentioned, along with a number of links and resources to help with finding example footage and importing it.

Class 4: we take a look at the alternate, offline footage distributed in Class 03, then finish our "Bar Scene" rough cut. We re-edit the scene using Multi-Camera Editing, then show how to export the scene for for offline review, then talk about a few submissions. And, finally, there's an overview of what is coming in Class 05.

Class 5: Editing That Media Show, Part 1 In this class, we will review the high-quality greenscreen footage provided, along with backgrounds, graphics, a script and audio files. We explore the script for the show, then import the footage, sets, graphics and audio files. After that, we begin Part I of our multi-part edit of the complex footage, which requires editing, keying, effects, audio clean-up, lower thirds and more.

Class 6: Editing That Media Show (Part II) - In this class, we continue the edit of our show, we discuss Avid and Red Giant's Primatte keying solutions, then talk about combining footage and graphics seamlessly and some tricks I use for doing so, we explore resize and blend effects a little more and continue learning about the Avid and its features. A single, high-quality XDCAM EX file from the show is included for advanced keying. A Pro Res version is also included if you cannot use XDCAM.

Class 7: Creating Titles In this class, we discuss the Avid Title Tool, Avid's Marquee tool, Apple's Motion and how they all work. We create custom titles, lower thirds and images using all three of these tools, moving between Avid, Motion, the Avid Title Tool and Marquee

Class 8: Color Correction Starting with "bit" depth, Gamma and Chroma, then moving into monitor calibration, then discussing background colors. We talk about color correcting in Final Cut Pro, then compare it to Avid Media Composer. We briefly discuss Red Giant's Colorista and Magic Bullet Looks. Sample 1920x1200 desktop background images are provided.

Class 9: In this class, we talk about Audio. The first part goes into how things work in Final Cut Pro, as a point of comparison, then we get into Avid Media Composer, focusing on levels, gain and "audio plugins" (which are really more like filters). SoundSoap is covered briefly, with a focus on removing background hum from an air conditioner. We use footage from one of the earlier classes.

Class 10: In this class, we cover Avid Media Composer timecode, Final Cut Pro timecode (with some tricks in both), Selecting left and right, various other "need to know keys" and Mapping your keyboard in both Final Cut and Avid. The class download includes a keyboard mapping for Final Cut. Lastly, we discuss drive speeds for editing video and measuring those drives for throughput.

BKD213 - Background Fundamentals July09

Over the many terms of fxphd, the Background Fundamentals course has illustrated and explained the background concepts that affect day to day production, as well as flag new technologies that are just emerging. This term we will continue with this magazine style approach of bringing you a new topic each week from the world of visual effects and post-production. After over 125 classes over the years, this term is really a back to fundamentals.

We have several key small test shoots planned for this term, for example we will be shooting a short sequence on Super 8 and analyzing the characteristics that make the Super 8 look. We will explore the issues with shooting Super 8 but also how to replicate that look in post-production. We will be covering material from around the world including the latest from Siggraph 2009 held in August in New Orleans.

In addition, we will continue to offer two major challenges a term for members to submit work for video review. These fxphd wide challenges have proven a real key way for you to gain individual feedback and see how your work can be improved, helping as always for you to take your career to the next level.

Professor: Mike Seymour (mikes)

C4D101 - Introduction to Cinema 4D

The Cinema4D 101 course will be a practical approach to learning Maxon's Cinema4D. The course will cover everything needed to obtain a solid foundation in using the application. From understanding the interface, to modeling using the built in primitive and NURBs objects. An exploration of lighting and material creation, through to animation techniques, use of expressions and rendering possibilities. Specifically aimed at new users to the application, some experience of 3D would be advantageous, although not essential. After completing this course, you will have an in-depth understanding of the workflow and techniques required to work with Cinema4D in a production environment.

Based in Sydney Australia, Tim Clapham is a multi-disciplinary animator and compositor. Evolving from a solid foundation in traditional animation using both Film and Video, Tim soon transitioned into the digital domain and has forged a solid career in the world of Motion Graphics. With over 11 years of industry experience, Tim is accomplished with many 3D animation and Digital Compositing applications.

This knowledge has been the bedrock of his many successful training courses as a Professor for fxphd and a continuing relationship with Maxon Computer where Tim has worked as a beta tester for many years, and also contributes tutorials to their online learning resource cineversity. As a Company Director of HYPA, Tim is hands on with every project that the company produces. With a history of working with many global Advertising and Broadcast companies, the work HYPA produces is both technically challenging whilst maintaining innovation and high quality

Professor: Tim Clapham (hypatim)

Class 1: Getting Started with Cinema4D. This class will take you through the basic skills needed to work with C4D. We will explore the layout, viewports and menus. After this class you should have a solid understanding of the different managers that we will use throughout the course and the general workflow required to work with the application.

Class 2: Basic Modeling. This class will be used to create a basic scene using primitive objects and NURBs objects. We will also explore the use of deformers and generators when modeling.

Class 3: Polygon Modeling. In this class we will explore modeling using polygons / edges and points. Including sub-division surfaces using HyperNURBs. You will be introduced to the most useful tools and functions available.

Class 4: Materials, Shaders and Textures. In this class we will create several materials using a combination of 2D and 3D shaders, plus imported images and graphics. We will look at how to apply these materials to objects and the different projection types available.

Class 5: Lights, Cameras, Action! An exploration of the different light types available in Cinema4D and the results you can expect from each type. Creating a simple 3 point light setup, framing your scene with a camera object. Concluding with scene objects to complete the scene.

Class 6: Multipass Rendering and Object Buffers. Introduction to the power of multipass rendering. Using multipass render output to enhance and colour correct your renders in an alternative application such as Bodypaint 3D, Adobe Photoshop or Adobe After Effects.

Class 7: Introduction to Xpresso. Although considered by some to be a more advanced area of the application, gaining an early knowledge of Xpresso will open up automated workflows that will not only enhance your workflow, but also allow for more creative opportunities.

Class 8: An Introduction to the MoGraph Module. Perhaps the most popular module available for Cinema4D, this class will introduce you to the MoGraph module. Including practical examples of how the MoGraph objects work, using the effectors to control the results of MoGraph objects and a look at the MoGraph specific shaders.

Class 9: Creating an animated Logo. Importing artwork from Adobe Illustrator to model a 3D Logo. Lighting and creating materials. Using Deformers. Animating the logo and the camera to create a 5 second animation. Creating extra elements to compliment the logo animation. Outputting the finished animation.

Class 10: Continuation of class 09

C4D203 - Cinema4D and AE in Production II

Taught by Tim Clapham, this is the third Cinema4D course that we've held at FXPHD. Tim runs a Motion Graphics company, HYPA, which is based in the UK and has been producing animation for the broadcast and advertising industries for over 10 years. This term we will expand upon earlier courses by covering subjects previously unexplored and delving deeper into the core of the application and the tools it has to offer. FXPHD has teamed up with Maxon Computer to offer a VPN version of Cinema4D release 11 to subscribers of the course. This will allow you to fully unleash the potential of the application and give you the opportunity to work with every aspect of the classes.

The course will concentrate on the creation of motion graphics using Maxon Cinema4D and it's integration with Adobe After Effects. The recent announcement of release 11 and the addition of many great new features has provided us with a new toolset which will greatly enhance our creative opportunities and vastly improve general workflow. However, rather than concentrating on only the newer features of the latest release, this course will also include many tips and tricks that have been part of the core application for several releases and are relevant to users of earlier versions too.

Some of the classes will span over several weeks and will involve the creation of projects from concept to completion. Taking an initial idea and working through the modeling, lighting, texturing and animation involved, through to the final compositing and output in Adobe After Effects. Workflow will be a high priority, with techniques to ease production such as expression driven animation. Other classes will be workshop based and will concentrate on specific features, examining the techniques available, methods to ensure quality output and avoid pitfalls.

Subjects covered will include many MoGraph features, particularly effectors and objects that have not been covered in the previous classes. We will delve into Thinking Particles and look at more opportunities this module offers. Of the newer features available in release 11, we will be exploring the Non-Linear Animation that has now been added. This will cover working in the timeline with Motion Clips and the use of Animation Layers. There will be dedicated classes to ensure you understand the full potential of the new global illumination system. Looking at image based lighting, managing materials for GI and understanding the physical sky and all it has to offer. Other more general subjects will include organising and understanding the render settings. A further look into use of Xpresso within your projects, with several classes based solely on the use of Xpresso for driving animation and easing workflow. We will work with several features available in the character and hair modules, use of deformers, including joints and weighting. Rigging for animation and the use of constraints.

Within Adobe After Effects, we will look into using our Cinema4D multipass output combined with the After Effects export feature and how these applications can be combined to create fantastic workflow and incredible opportunities for project manipulation and enhancement. Use of the After Effects 3D space combined with your 3D renders. Using effects to enhance your projects and the inclusion of some third party solutions such as the Trapcode suite of tools.

For subscribers that have already completed the previous Cinema4D course this will offer an additional set of skills to compliment their knowledge, and new subscribers will be armed with an arsenal of techniques that will allow them to harness the power of Maxon Cinema4D combined with Adobe After Effects.

Professor: Tim Clapham (hypatim)

Class 1: This class will create and animate a carousel. This will be achieved by using the core version of Cinema4D without use of any extra modules. All the animation will be controlled by two keyframes and the use of Xpresso and Tags.

Class 2: The first part of a two part class. In this class we will model some letters as part of a inflatable object. Then using Xpresso we will connect and orient each object to the next by attaching the axis to specific polygons. Finally we will create a glossy reflective material.

Class 3: The second part of a two part class. In this class we will continue from last week. We will use morphs to animate the POP letters and then we will set up a rubber hose that uses Xpresso and constraints so that it stays connected to the letters but also moves around in a rubbery way.

Class 4: This class will look at the new Global Illumination system that was released with version 11. Tips to help speed up renders and also ways to increase quality.

Class 5: The first of two classes. This class will create a disco type mirrorball using MoGraph. We will texture the ball and add some effects using effectors. This class will also feature an introduction to motion clips, part of the new animation system for r11.

Class 6: The second of two classes. In this class we finish the 70s Discoball animation. Using Cloner and Effectors to wipe on text. Exporting multipass to After Effects. Adding in disco type rays using AE effects and simulated discoball reflection using Trapcode Form.

Class 7: In this class we look at several methods of animating cameras. We will also look at a technique to create automatic banking on your camera animations.

Class 8: In this class we look at another method of animating the camera using a rig I will supply. We will use animation layers and also make use of the matte object parameter of the compositing tag.

Class 9: This class will look at using Thinking Particles. We will generate a particle, add geometry. Then use an event collision to trigger fragmentation. Finally adding in some particle dynamics.

Class 10: Bonus 1 hour class! This class looks into the Sketch and Toon Module. First analyzing the Render Settings and then creating a custom Sketch material.

CLR101 - Introduction to Apple's Color

Professor: Lorne Miess (lmiess)

Class 1: Setting up a project, Primary In, Secondary Rooms, Color FX, Primary Out, Geometry, Still Store, Final Print, Transferring FCP Projects to Color, SD and HD, Frame Rates, Project Frame Sizes, Broadcast Safe Settings, and Preventing Illegal Video Signals

Class 2: Understanding the Waveform, Parade and Vector-scopes, Legalizing video with Broadcast Safe filter, contrast, Primaires, Curves, intro to Secondaries, artistic B&W look

Class 3: Creating and recalling grades, switching between grade banks, dragging and dropping grades, groups, checking continuity and the still store, questions from the forum, and calibrating a CRT monitor (separate mov)

Class 4: Bleach by-pass look, 8mm look, basic secondary correction, using hue, saturation and luma curves, eyedropper, Colour keying, HSL Selectors, fixing skin tones, and questions from the Forum

Class 5: Using Vignettes: secondary correction, to isolate regions, inside and outside vignettes, multiple vignettes to achieve a grade and relighting, and key-framing secondary controls

Class 6: Applying Effects and creating looks: Color FX room, commonly used grading effects, presets, using Nodes, Bleach bypass, dream sequences , edge vignetting, saving and recalling your favorite effects

Class 7: old film look, pan and scan, XML, keyframes, repos, custom-shaped vignettes, clipping saturation and the Primary Output room, final adjustments and corrections

Class 8: Creating a 3 Vignette look, saving shapes in the Color FX room, using trackers, advanced tracking techniques, organizing shortcut folders, thoughts on a demo for Autodesk Smoke and Flame

Class 9: 4 grades to the Render Queue, a look at the Color XML file, saving a JPEG Still, manual project saving and Archiving, questions from the Forum

Class 10: Colour grading for continuity using FXPHD Lexus Commercial

CLR202 - Grading with Apple Color II

The objective of this class is to continue exploring the limitless boundaries of the Color software program we began to address in Color 201. In this class we will attack current issues of workflow while handling different types of media, and creating images relating to color theories we began to discuss in the previous course.

Each class will begin by discussing the workflow of a specific type of imagery captured. We will complete the job from import to export, and create a unique look simultaneously. In addition, we will look at how to address and troubleshoot issues such as under and over exposed film, problems with lightening, etc. and turn poorly shot film into pieces of art.

Each class will look at an individual project as a unique job, emulating an actual session. We will discuss the footage, how we want it to look, load and correct, and output a finished project - as if clients were in the room with us. After each class, I will expect each student to address each image in their own unique way, bring their creative ideas to the table and submit their vision of each week's spot over the course of the following week.

In the final class, it is my hope to obtain the help of an outside editor and composer and culminate the course by creating a "worldwide color project" with scenes from everyone in the class. Theme: Peace. Start thinking of an image you'll submit now!

Professor: Kelly Armstrong (Kellyarmstrong)

DOP210 - DSLR Cinematography

Every day more and more productions are exploring the use of high end DLSR for HD video. Stu Maschwitz rejoins the team and the guys in Tokyo to give the most comprehensive guide to the new phenomenon of DLSR cinematography. In this course we will cover:

What it takes to shoot cinematically with camera such as the Canon 5D MkII

How to shoot for post

Tricks and techniques for camera control and camera movement, including the Red Rock Micro and the Mini-Steadicam

Compression and camera settings recommendations, covering 24P, Manual settings, Tricks of compression etc.

Rules of thumb for evaluating what camera and lenses you need

Color grading DLSR video footage for Hollywood professional looks

Sensor and optical 'behind the scenes' including rolling shutter

reviews of 720 P with the Nikon D90, Full HD with the Olympus PEN, Panasonic GH1 and the Canon 5D MkII

Mostly shot in Tokyo and Kyoto, but as a special event later in the term, we will go on base with the US Army 55th Combat Camera Unit to look at the Canon 5D Mk II in war zone correspondent use, an unparalleled and unprecedented chance to see how these cameras are used in the most dangerous and unforgiving environments imaginable. Literally, we hope to have Stu and John putting the camera through its paces with Blackhawk helicopters and some of the bravest cameraman and women in the world with the US Army's Canon 5D Mk II specialists. A rare honor, and one we are most appreciative to have the chance to bring you.

Professor: Mike Seymour (mikes)

EDT201 - The Craft of Editing

In this class, hosted by senior editor Liz Tate, we will investigate the theories and workflow of editing in the world of advertising post-production. Students will learn techniques for enhancing their editing skills in dialogue editing, sound design, pacing, and FX/design. By following a project from start to finish, the class will focus on the role and responsibilities of the editor in the post-process.

For the first time at fxphd, individual projects and critique will be integral to a course. Students will be given two editing projects to accomplish and critiques will be given as part of the classes. It's a great way to learn and we hope that a large number of members will take part in these assignments.

Liz Tate graduated from Northwestern University with a B.S. in Radio/TV/Film. In her 20+ year career in editing, she has mentored more than a dozen assistant editors to help them polish their skills to become editors. She recently partnered to start her own post-production company, Hootenanny, in 2008. Past and present clients include American Express, Southwest Airlines, Crate&Barrel, JCPenney, and Reebok.

Professor: Liz Tate (liztate)

Class 1: The basics of Editing We discuss what is entailed in being a commercial post-production editor. A breakdown of the various aspects of the job are detailed, and we talk about some of the problems an editor encounters being in the chair. The second part of the class presents basic film editing theories, and provides filmic examples of the main styles of editing: continuity and emphatic.

Class 2: We discuss how to go about creating your first cut. Tips are given on how to synthesize footage into manageable selects, and how to structure your cut depending on the type of project. Liz discusses a past editorial project, and traces its evolution from receiving the footage to the approval of its rough cut stage.

Class 3: Class 3 centers on deconstructing continuity and emphatic editing in practice. Examples are shown from various commercials, and the motivation behind the editorial process is described. Theories described in Class 1 are demonstrated: cutting on action, jump cuts, temporal discontinuity, the 180 rule, and various others. Project 1, an exercise is cutting dialogue, is handed out.

Class 4: Cutting dialogue scenes An example scene is created from dailies, with technique emphasis on continuity and pacing. Tips are given for keeping complicated sequences in sync, as well as how to change out a take in the middle of a scene while retaining the flow of the narrative. A dialogue edit that focuses on compositing is dissected at the end of the lesson.

Class 5: The role of audio in the editorial cut. Sound design is created for a spot, detailing music editing, sound effects placement, and dialogue finessing. Mix levels are discussed, as well as utilizing time compression. Dialogue replacement is examined in a scene from an independent feature.

Class 6: So now you're an editor The class will focus on critiques of Project #1. We will also visit with Jerem Sloan, an editor in his first year of cutting, to talk about his experiences transitioning to the first chair. Project #2 will be assigned (deadline: end of week #9).

Class 7: Class 7 continues the review of Project 1. In addition, tips for manipulating footage in the editorial process are given, such as flash frames, blurs and creating an iris on the image.

Class 8: Condensing a story We investigate condensing a story line and taking the air out of an edit. A :30 lift is cutdown from a :60 commercial, while paying attention to pacing and sync. In addition, emphatic editing techniques are discussed, such as jump cuts, color correction, speed changes, effect work, and repeat action.

Class 9: The process of finishing a project is dissected. Interviews with a colorist, sound designer/mixer, and smoke artist are conducted. The particular challenges of the ELCA spots are discussed, as well as general information about the workflow in each room.

Class 10: Wrap-Up Critiques are given on Assignment 2, focusing on pacing, music choices, voiceover timing, and shot selection. Tips for getting into the post-production industry are given at the end of the class.

FLM102 - Introduction to Flame

Our new introductory flame course is designed to get artists up and running in the software so they can be confident working on scenes and spots in the app. We get a lot of questions from potential flame artists asking if they should take the course even though they don't have easy access to a flame or flint system. The answer is an emphatic "yes". The course is designed with the understanding that your time might be limited on the system -- for instance, maybe you're a junior artist who can only get on the system at night or you will be doing an internship at a facility in the coming months. By taking FLM102, when you get time on a flame, you won't have to waste hours finding your way around the software.

Taught by fxphd co-founder and longtime flame artist John Montgomery, the course begins with an exhausting overview of the system and the UI. This is important considering flame doesn't follow many of the standard desktop conventions users might be familiar with. Once that is done, we'll quickly dive into the various modules with a project-based approach to learning them. Our goal is to have course members be able to execute entry to intermediate level jobs on the flame by course completion. At the end of the term, an online certification exam will be available in order for you to test your knowledge.

Professor: John Montgomery (johnmont)

Class 1: An overview of the flint/flame, including hardware, the software and UI conventions you need to know.

Class 2: The start of a multi-class tv ident project. A first look at action, paint, masking and more.

Class 3: Our first in-depth look at Action. Using the camera to create a 3D environment for the ident, layering types, creating the black/white city look and more.

Class 4: Continuing the indent, with a look at keying techniques in Action.

Class 5: Finishing off the ident. Premult v. unpremult action layers, adding graphics with reflections, cheating the 3D look with layering.

Class 6: Beginning an example tv commercial project, starting with an EDL assembly from videotape. A comparison between a standard NTSC assemble and using 24P mastering to make life easier.

Class 7: Timeline editing basics: trimming, sliding, swapping shots. Grading a shot and layering water effects on the scene to set the look of the spot.

Class 8: Batch, Pt 1 of 3 A simple batch tree, recreating the colour grading and layering done in the previous class, context viewing, and outputting. Also, a brief look at two timewarps.

Class 9: Batch, Pt 2 of 3 Beginning the opening shot using a mix of Action nodes and direct nodes in batch. A quick look at desktop paint to fix up a water drop for distorting.

Class 10: Batch, Pt 3 of 3 The Distort node, Text, Optics, and Sapphire Sparks all help take the opening graphic to completion.

FLM204 - Flame, Smoke, Expressions and More

Recent versions of Flame and Smoke have blurred the line between products, as Smoke gains BatchFX and Flame gains a more versatile editing timeline. This class is designed to be appealing to artists and editors alike, covering topics which are generally applicable across both products. The common thread throughout the term will be taking a look at expressions and how they can help you as an artist and editor. Professor and Dean John Montgomery will tackle a wide variety of workflow expressions -- ones any artist can use on a daily basis to simply changes to more esoteric, hard core maths which demonstrate both the power and limitations of the feature.

In addition to expressions, Montgomery will also be covering other aspects of the software such as infrastructure (Configuring for Open FS vs. Stonefs, Wiretap Central) and working with RED and XML/AAF.

This course will deal with some subjects and material that has been covered in other (now retired) fxphd courses such as the FLM201 expressions course. However, with changes in the 2009 and 2009X1 releases a lot has changed in the software, so we felt a need to retire the old create a new course. We realize many of you have taken our past offerings and will keep this in mind to bring new and useful material into this offering.

Professor: John Montgomery (johnmont)

Class 1: Expressions An overview of what will be covered in the course and then diving directly into creating expressions you can use daily. Also includes bonus material on how to maintain clean images in Action.

Class 2: BatchFX and the Timeline Flame artists find the timeline overwhelming. BatchFX is a new paradigm for Smoke editors. This class will find the common ground for both and show why the 2009 improvements are so powerful.

Class 3: BatchFX and the Timeline, Pt. 2A look at editing in batch with source and record clips, as well as more bfx features.

Class 4: Expressions A look at effecting Media layer blur through simple expressions and more complex positional expressions.

Class 5: Expressions Timing adjustments with expressions using the eval() function. Tips for building your expressions to be as flexible as possible.

Class 6: Expressions Using expressions to animate OpenEXR textures on 3D geometry to create a completely graphical spot.

Class 7: RED DPX from Avid Hints for working with RED footage in Avid, exporting DPX for EDL assembly, traps when assembling from images, and unlinking/relinking footage.

Class 8: DPX Soft Import and RED from FCP A look at soft import issues, using the spot from class #7. Also, converting a RED footage based sequence in Final Cut Pro into QuickTime-based XML for flame/smoke.

Class 9: Working with FCP XML Tips and tricks for getting XML sequences into flame/smoke. Covers custom Compressor scripts and a quick look at Tether.

Class 10: By Popular Request Expressions for animating a counter, blend modes, camera tracking. A brief look at batch scripts.

FLR201 - Getting up to Speed in Flare and 2010

At NAB there was a lot of buzz about Autodesk's new companion product for flame called flare. In this class I plan to do as much of the class as is practical using flare to really shake out what the differences are and how this works.

The other component of this "flare plus" class is to spend some time looking at the new features that have come into the products as a result of the rapid development cycle Autodesk has been on. Artists are squeezed more and more for time and are increasingly freelance, finding time to really dive into these new items is often hard. We'll look at features you may not be using and try to help you get jumpstarted into them.

While not ready to commit to an actual week by week course listing things that I know I want to explore are: Flare overview, new 3D blur tool for defocus as well as Z depth and motion blur (including revisiting Red Dwarf scene we did not use that on), Multichannel EXR, Camera and Object Tracking, relighting, normal passes, keying , 2010 UI Changes, Wiretap Central Workflow, XML Import, batch timeline...

The class will focus on executing actual shots wherever possible while exploring these new features and workflow.

Professor: Jeff Heusser (neonmarg)

Class 4: Camera Tracking

FUS101 - Introduction to Fusion

Matt Leonard leads our Fusion course at fxphd. His sphereVFX company has been doing Fusion training for years, including creating an intermediate level DVD for the app. Leonard has worked in the animation and visual effects industry for over sixteen years producing state-of-the-art work for feature films, broadcast and commercials in the UK and US markets.. He has set up and run animation divisions in five companies, overseen animators and compositors, worked as a CG Supervisor on various projects and has overseen live-action shoots.

Professor: Matt Leonard (mattdleonard)

Class 1: This class looks in depth at the user interface of Fusion 5.2 and shows how to create your first composite

Class 2: This class looks at replacing a sky in a scene along with adding a sign and video screen to the side of a building. We are mainly at Transform and Warping nodes within Fusion but we also cover some Colour Correction Matte and Effects Tools

Class 3: In this class we look at the colour correction tools inside Fusion 5.2, Depth Pixel tools for utilizing additional colour channels such as U, U and Normals, and a quick look at openEXR

Class 4: In this class we look at the Masks and rotoscoping tools, specifically Rectangle, Triangle, Elipse, Bitmap, Mask Paint, Wand, BSpline and Polygon Mask

Class 5: In this class we look at the Keying and Matte tools along with Light Wrap techniques and Macros

Class 6: In this class we cover Tracking, Stabilization and Corner Pinning

Class 7: In this class we cover Paint, and the time manipulation tools

Class 8: In this class we cover all the main aspects of 3D in Fusion

Class 9: In this class we cover more of the 3D functionality in Fusion, focusing on Point Cloud data, Camera Projections, and .fbx and 3rd part data importing

Class 10: Introduction to particles, and a bonus class covering 25 new nodes not covered in the other lessons, along with a more detailed look at Fusions Graph Editor

FUS202 - Intermediate Fusion 6

Professor: Matt Leonard (mattdleonard)

Class 1: New to Fusion 6 and Macros Building: Our first class we look at the new UI and 2D enhancements to Fusion 6 along with Editors and Displace View updates. We’ll also cover building and using Macros (Gizmos) inside of the software.

Class 2: 3D Project, Part 1: This is the start of a three class project going in-depth into the new 3D features of Fusion 6. We’ll be covering FBX I/O, Materials, Textures, Blend Modes, Mattes, UVW Mapping, Material and Object ID’s, Fog , GPU (openGL) Rendering and much more.

Class 3: 3D Project, Part 2: This is the second of a three class project going in-depth into the new 3D features of Fusion 6. We’ll be covering FBX I/O, Materials, Textures, Blend Modes, Mattes, UVW Mapping, Material and Object ID’s, Fog , GPU (openGL) Rendering and much more.

Class 4: 3D Project, Part 3: This is the final of a three class project going in-depth into the new 3D features of Fusion 6. We’ll be covering FBX I/O, Materials, Textures, Blend Modes, Mattes, UVW Mapping, Material and Object ID’s, Fog , GPU (openGL) Rendering and much more.

Class 5: Keying and Tracking Techniques: In this class we’ll look at a shot from the recent Red Dwarf: Back to Earth series. We’ll be covering keying and tracking in a couple of different shots and looking at various pitfalls and solutions.

Class 6: Stereoscopic: In this class we’ll be looking at Stereoscopic compositing inside of Fusion 6. We will not only be working with stereo live action footage and rendered material from Maya but also creating our own stereo source material from inside of Fusions 3D environment.

Class 7: Cleanup and Rotoscoping techniques: In this class we’ll cover background-plate cleanup, how to make a clean-plate , along with various rotoscoping techniques and problem solving examples.

Class 8: Particle Simulations: In this lesson we’ll take a closer look at the particle system inside of Fusion 6, the effects you can make in both 2D and 3D along with various production examples.

Class 9: 2.5D Matte Paint: This class looks at creating a 2.5D matte painting utilizing both 2D and 3D techniques. Also we’ll be working with 3D geometry, projections and other techniques.

Class 10: Motion Graphics, Fusion and Photoshop: In our final class we’ll look at building a typical corporate / network indent using both the 2D and 3D techniques but heavily utilizing Photoshop elements and layers inside of Fusion 6.

MOG201 - Creative Concepts in Graphics Design

Over the history of fxphd, we’ve expanded our design and motion graphics offerings through numerous After Effects courses. This term, we’re focusing on the art of design with our new craft-based course which isn’t centered in a single application. Professor Mark Bowey has a long track record as an Art Director and visual stylist working on features, broadcast design, and even installation projects.

The foundation of the course centers around a project focusing on promoting the 2015 Rugby World Cup in Japan. Starting from a brief, Bowey will work the project through completion over several classes during the term. He'll touch multiple applications, from logo creation in Illustrator to grading the footage to create the final mood. Material for the project will be distributed as part of the course so that members can create their own finished piece for their reel. Rounding out the course will be additional classes covering the art that is near and dear to Bowey's heart. This will touch on typography, movement, emotion, and even a bit of installation design.

Bowey was Videographics Art Director on two James Bond movies: "Die Another Day" and "Tommorow Never Dies", as well as Conceptual Graphics Designer on Luc Besson’s "The Fifth Element". After moving to Sydney in 2004, he joined Digital Pictures Sydney, and worked on TV channel SBS’s re-brand- as well as designing titles sequences for 'The Alice', 'Hell Has Harbour Views', and 'The Colony', As DP's Creative Director he oversaw the re-brand of Win News. He became Omnilab Media's Creative Director in 2006, where he directed and designed the titles for The Umbilical Brothers’ "The Upside Down Show", which won a Daytime Emmy Award for "Most Outstanding Titles Design" in 2007.

Professor: mark bowey (mark bowey)

Class 1: Introduction: A broad outline as to what we’ll cover; the approach and philosophy of design as espoused in motion and broadcast design- and the language of motion. A look around the world at some exquisite motion practitioners. A look around Illustrator- the place where many typographical ideas get started.

Class 2: Typography and Life: You can’t separate them, you just think you can. 30 second history of type; a look at what type is now- post digital revolution… Photoshop vs Illustrator type. A look around the world at the best typographers and foundries.

Class 3: So let’s put some of this into place... Japan Project #1A 'real world' project: Introduction and Reverse Brief- Japan RWC 2015 promo. Concepts. Boards. Illustrator typography and logo.

Class 4: Focus on Japan 2015 logo production for Motion, Japan Project #2: Breaking down the Japan 2015 logo. Where Illustrator came in, and where 'pre-design' came in. How this plugs in with the rest of the Adobe suite for motion production. Motion Components.

Class 5: Assets: shooting, collating, production. Japan Project #3 Designing any sequence is continuous: Conversations with the team in Japan shooting the footage. Boards versus reality. The production process.

Class 6: Assets Two: Japan Project #4 3D components and integration. 2D Motion integration: compositing and pre planning.

Class 7: Graphical Motion elements integrated: Japan Project #5 To finish: typographical sting and logos integrated. Grade, Audio and SFX. Review: original goals, completed product.

Class 8: "EZ TRIX" Design tricks and sleights of hand that must never be revealed to anyone you’ve never met before, on pain of death. Illustrator tricks and treats.

Class 9: More “real world” projects: Installational Typography #01 Following a project for clients here in Sydney: designing and integrating typographical messages into the real environmental urban sites. #1: Concepts, developments and Illustrator preparation.

Class 10: More “real world” projects: Installation Typography #02 Developing concepts through production stage to installation, execution [and] simulation. Wind-up and summary; key motion, design and typographical concept threads.

MSV101 - Introduction to Massive

This course, taught by Geoff Tobin, aims to give an introduction to the inner workings of Massive from the ground up, introducing core concepts such as fuzzy logic and how it relates to creating an AI brain for a Massive agent. In order to demonstrate each of the aspects of Massive we'll develop a vehicle agent and show how a simple traffic simulation can be created. Massive is the artificial-life crowd simulation software developed for The Lord of the Rings trilogy and used on major motion pictures, TV shows and commercials.

Tobin is a Lead Massive TD working at Weta Digital in Wellington, New Zealand. He started working in the industry in 1993 as an animator using SideFX Prisms, Alias PowerAnimator and Maya. Geoff has been working with Massive since 2000 and was involved with its early development in creating the crowd scenes for The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He has since used Massive in motion pictures such as I-Robot, King Kong, X-Men 3, Eragon, Bridge to Terabithia and The Day the Earth stood still.

Members of fxphd will have access to the full version of Massive software via the vpn. The software is only to be used for educational purposes or building shots for a personal (individual) demo reel.

Professor: Geoff Tobin (geoff_tobin)

Class 1: Getting started The first class in this Introduction to Massive course will give an overview of the Massive software. We will cover the theory of fuzzy logic and how that differs from conventional ideas of boolean or binary logic. I'll give a brief outline of the whole pipeline of creating a Massive agent, then go through the Massive user interface showing each section - the scene, body, brain and motion pages and how they work together. I'll finish by showing one of the ready-to-run Massive agents as an example of a production agent.

Class 2: Body Shop In this class we will look at the Body page in Massive where you define the physical characteristics of a Massive agent. We'll cover agent parameters and look at the various aspects that make up the body of a Massive agent. We'll take a detailed look at the body segments which comprise the skeleton and build a skeleton and collision-shape body for our car agent. A simple brain will be created which will allow us to drive the car around and we'll finish up with a brief demo of dynamics in Massive.

Class 3: Brains! Part 1 This lesson will be the first of a two-part set looking at brains in Massive. It will give detailed coverage of each of the brain nodes, how each one functions "under the hood" and the different ways they can be connected together. We'll discuss fuzzy logic in the context of a Massive brain and show how the brain nodes implement fuzzy logic to control the agent's behavior.

Class 4: Brains! Part 2 We will use what we learned last week to start building the brain of our car agent. We'll set up fuzzy logic networks to handle controls for turning the wheels based on the forward velocity of the car, steering the car by the amount the front wheels are turning left and right, acceleration and braking controls as well as simulating effects such as weight transfer - the way the car's body leans during turns and pitches forward and back when accelerating.

Class 5: Senses In this class we'll cover how a Massive agent uses it's senses such as vision, sound and a new feature of Massive 3.5 called agent fields to allow it to be aware of and react to other agents. We'll continue building the car brain by using the agent's senses to control the systems we set up last lesson such as speed and steering.

Class 6: Environment, Part 1 This lesson will look at how a Massive agent senses and interacts with it's environment and adapts its behavior to match the terrain. We'll also look at how a Massive agent navigates in its environment using flow fields, terrain maps and lanes.

Class 7: Environment, Part 2 We will use what we learned in the previous class to create a simple city environment for the car agents to inhabit. We will set up the lanes for our city environment and look at how to set up all the possible choices of which way to go at different kinds of intersections. We will set up the brain of the car agent to be able to decide which of the lanes to follow depending on which direction it wants to go and the available directions at each intersection.

Class 8: Environment, Part 3 and Variation This lesson we will complete our city environment by creating a traffic light agent to control the flow of traffic at the intersections. We'll also add some rules to allow the cars to give way to cars already on the intersection and avoid collisions. Then we'll look at how you can use agent variables to modify an agent in order to create different kinds of vehicles that share a common brain.

Class 9: Pedestrians In this class we'll finish our simulation by adding pedestrians to our city scene and show how they can interact with each other and the cars.

Class 10: Detailing The final class in this course will cover attaching geometry to an agent and assigning materials to allow us to create a production quality render using Massive's built in hardware based Velocity renderer. We'll also revisit variation and variables in the context of geometry and materials. We'll look at how to create a complete render including shadows as well as separate beauty and shadow passes for compositing.

MSV201 - Massive in Production

Geoff Tobin returns to take this follow up to the introductory MSV101 course. While the 100 level course gave an overview of the Massive software, this course will cover the pipeline and workflow for setting up a typical Massive shot. From planning the mocap sessions and importing and processing the motion through to designing the brains, running the sims and finally rendering with a Renderman compliant renderer. It will also cover advanced features such as dynamics and cloth as well as integration with other software such as Maya.

Massive is the artificial-life crowd simulation software developed for The Lord of the Rings trilogy and used on major motion pictures, TV shows and commercials.

Tobin is a Lead Massive TD working at Weta Digital in Wellington, New Zealand. He started working in the industry in 1993 as an animator using SideFX Prisms, Alias PowerAnimator and Maya. Geoff has been working with Massive since 2000 and was involved with its early development in creating the crowd scenes for The Lord of the Rings trilogy. He has since used Massive in motion pictures such as I-Robot, King Kong, X-Men 3, Eragon, Bridge to Terabithia and The Day the Earth stood still.

Members of fxphd will have access to the full version of Massive software via the vpn. The software is only to be used for educational purposes or building shots for a personal (individual) demo reel.

Professor: Geoff Tobin (geoff_tobin)

Class 1: Introduction: The first class will cover the planning stage of setting up a typical Massive shot. Starting with a client brief we'll look at deciding what sort of actions are required for the shots. We'll cover the technical requirements of capturing motion for Massive agents, and use Massive to design an initial motion tree to assist with the capture process.

Class 2: Importing the motion: This class covers the steps required to import and process the raw mocap into a set of actions which can be triggered by the brain. We'll also look at creating IK controls for the actions so they can be adapted to the environment (eg. placing the feet on uneven terrain).

Class 3: Skinning Geometry: This lesson covers how to attach geometry to an agent using Massive's 'bones' skinning. We look at how to set up optional geometry such as different kinds of clothes as well as using blend shapes.

Class 4: Controlling Actions: This class shows how to trigger the actions both directly from the brain and via the motion tree. We'll also cover procedural adaptation using IK.

Class 5: Action! In this class we'll set up the brain of the agent to control its general behaviour as well as perform the specific action required for the shot.

Class 6: Dynamics: This lesson looks at the dynamics features of Massive including rigid body dynamics, cloth, springs, forces and wind.

Class 7: Running Sims: This class covers running the simulation and the various data which needs to be output in order to render the sim. We also look at running multiple pass sims, using the result of one sim as input to the next pass.

Class 8: Maya Integration: In this class we look at how Massive can integrate with other software such as Maya. We'll look at how Massive can import skeletons and motion, as well as cameras and lights from Maya, and export Massive skeletons and motion to Maya. We'll also see how to export particle data from Massive to enable us to import a Massive sim onto a Maya particle system.

Class 9: Advanced Rendering: This class will cover setting up a Renderman compliant renderer for rendering the Massive sim.

Class 10: Bonus: In this last lesson we take a look at some bonus features of Massive including spawning projectiles and getting the agents to paint onto the terrain (eg. for creating footprints)

MYA101 - Introduction to Maya

Taught by Matt Leonard, this Maya course is aimed at those who have little or no experience in 3D, or post-grads who know another system, such 3DS Max or Softimage|XSI but want to expand their software skills. The course is designed to cover almost all the main areas of Maya's vast toolset including modeling, animation, dynamics, shader building, lighting and rendering. The aim of the course is to keep it as project focused as possible and although we won't be producing a full animation every week the course is designed to get you full up and running and able to start producing greats shots for your reel as soon as possible.

Matt has been in the 3D and visual effects industry for 17 years and has produced work for feature films, commercials and large corporate projects. He has been involved in setting up post production departments, overseeing small teams of animators and compositors, along with acting as CG Supervisor on a number of projects. He has spoken at various events and shows on behalf of Autodesk and eyeon, had various articles published in magazine and journals and has beta tested Maya, Nuke and Fusion. He currently runs his own company in the UK.

Professor: Matt Leonard (mattdleonard)

Class 1: This first extended class looks at creating a 3D logo. We look at modeling, shading, animation, lighting, camera and rendering

Class 2: The first of two classes looking at Modeling. This class we cover Curves and Surfaces including: Revolve, Loft, Extrude, Planar, Birail and Sweep.

Class 3: In this class we continue to look at modeling. The week we cover Polygons, Sub-Division Surfaces and NURBS

Class 4: This class we look at the basics of keyframe animation, adding an object to a path, working with deformers, and the various tools for previewing your animation including ghosting, motion trails, turntables and Playblasts. The class also covers the two main animation editors, the Dope Sheet and Graph Editor

Class 5: This class will look at all the basics for setting up a character for animation including setting up a skeleton, skinning (having the skeleton deform the skin), animation deformers (for muscle bulges, etc), constraints and blend shapes. The class will also cover the use of Trax, Maya's non-linear animation editor

Class 6: This class will look at the different types of particles available in Maya and their uses, particle emitters, defining and editing the particles once created, and controlling the particles once emitted using various fields such as gravity, wind, turbulence, and particle collision events and instances

Class 7: This class will look at creating soft bodies, active & passive rigid bodies, rigid body constraints and collisions

Class 8: This class will look at shaders, textures and utility nodes

Class 9: This Class will look at 6 types of lights, 3 types of cameras and Projections Camera

Class 10: This class will focus on setting up a project for rendering, covering the main Maya software renderer, the hardware renderer, vector renderer, brief look at mental ray, and render layers. Bonus: Set Driven Key, Expressions and .MEL

MYA210 - Intermediate Maya III

Professor Matt Leonard is an fxphd favorite. He's taken a look at the previous Maya courses offered and will be filling in the gaps and providing more detail on subjects already covered. A key collaborative aspect of the course will be providing elements for the 'zombie' film Last Caress -- working with the character development class to provide support. Leonard has worked in the animation and visual effects industry for over sixteen years producing state-of-the-art work for feature films, broadcast and commercials in the UK and US markets. He has set up and run animation divisions in five companies, overseen animators and compositors, worked as a CG Supervisor on various projects and has overseen live-action shoots.

Professor: Matt Leonard (mattdleonard)

Class 2: Modelling Surface, NURBS, Subdivision Surfaces, Polygons

Class 3: Creating a 3D underwater environment

Class 4: Constraints and dynamics

Class 5: Paint Effects Making objects paintable, brush settings and attributes, painting

Class 7: Rigid Body Dynamics

Class 8: Updated! A look at the new features of Maya 2009

Class 9: Trax Maya's non-linear animation system Part 1

Class 10: Trax Maya's non-linear animation system Part 2

MYA211 - Maya Rendering and Lighting

Matt Leonard has been signed up again to lead a new Maya course... this one based upon popular requests from fxphd postgrads. Maya2008 will be provided for non-commercial use on the fxphd VPN, and with this comes the new mental ray 3.6 Core. It fits in brilliantly with the planned content this term.

Leonard has worked in the animation and visual effects industry for over sixteen years producing state-of-the-art work for feature films, broadcast and commercials in the UK and US markets. He has set up and run animation divisions in five companies, overseen animators and compositors, worked as a CG Supervisor on various projects and has overseen live-action shoots.

Professor: Matt Leonard (mattdleonard)

Class 1: Preparing to light, types of lights and their usage, lighting decay, diffuse and specular, light properties, light linking and gobos, speeding up tests.

Class 2: The first of two classes looking at mental ray shaders: general overview along with specifics such as mental rays Lamber, Phong and Blinn textures

Class 3: The second of two classes looking at mental ray shaders

Class 4: Mental Ray Render Settings, Global Illumination, Final Gather, Caustics, HDRI, HDR Shop, Sun & Sky environment, along with anti-aliasing quality, ray-tracing and shadows

Class 5: In this Maya class we look at render layers, mattes, openEXR and Command Line Rendering

Class 7: In this Maya class we look at Lighting Environments and Architectural Models: Lighting for daytime, sun light, sky lights, night time, practical lights, mental ray fog, window lighting, indirect lighting, and corners (negative lighting)

Class 8: In this Maya class we look at integrating 3D with Live Action

Class 9: In this Maya class we texturing and rendering particles, specifically particles render types including: MultiPoint, MultiStreak, Numeric, Point, Spheres, Sprites, Streaks, Blobby Surface (s/w), Clouds (s/w), and (Tubes (s/w), hardware rendering and the use of mental ray with particles

Class 10: Renderman for Maya: General Render Setup, Motion Blur, Depth of Field, Particles, Global Illumination, Subsurface Scattering, Deep Shadows, RenderMan Shaders, Secondary Outputs and Caustics

NUK102 - Introduction to Nuke

Taught by Sean Devereaux, this new introductory course will expand upon the Foundry Nuke tutorials produced by fxphd. Nuke version 5 software will be available over the VPN to fxphd postgrads for non-commercial use (OSX, Linux, and Windows versions). Devereaux has worked at Digital Domain, ILM, RhinoFX and other facilities as a freelance artist, working on films such as Transformers, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, I, Robot, Star Trek: Nemesis, and others. If you've viewed the Foundry DVDs, this course will cover the software in much more detail and is a great next step in learning the software.

Professor: Sean Devereaux (filmsoup)

Class 1: Everything you wanted to know about the nuke 5 interface but were not bored enough to ask! This class will give you all the in's and out's of nuke's workflow and layout.

Class 3: Pixel based image tracking including stabilization, match moving and motion blur.

Class 4: Awesome Keyers! The core keyer in nuke and the joy of rotoscoping!

Class 5: Super Awesome Keyers! Primatte, the IBK and the loneliness of keyng hair.

Class 6: Color Tools! An in-depth look at my favorites and an introduction to most of the others.

Class 7: Introduction to the magical world of 3D compositing! Requires nuke5.1v1 or later.

Class 8: An introduction to the 3D system in production. Importing camera and object data from various sources and an introduction to projections.

Class 9: Scene study: Using the 3D system to cleanup a shot and create monitor replacements at record speed.

Class 10: Wire/Rig removal. Nuke specific, but utilizing principles that can be used in any compositing software. Also, a brief introduction to gizmos.

NUK202 - Intermediate Nuke

Our new intermediate Nuke course picks up where the 100 level offering left off. Using Nuke version 5, professor Sean Deveraux will work through concepts in the app as well as lead several project-based classes. The 3D compositing environment of Nuke is one of its strengths, so several classes will dive fully into this feature with practical, real-world examples. Deveraux will also be covering the nuts and bolts of setting up Nuke for automation as well as taking a first look at Gizmos, Nuke's "macro" functionality. The focus is on the type of work that any compositor might run into while working at a facility.

Deveraux is our lead Nuke professor at fxphd. He has been using Nuke since 2000, working as a compositor at Digital Domain on Hollywood blockbusters such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas, I, Robot, and Star Trek: Nemesis. Using a variety of compositing packages, his freelance work has taken him to ILM (Transformers), Hydraulx (Rise of the Silver Surfer), and others.

Professor: Sean Devereaux (filmsoup)

Class 1: Warping Minds and Pixels. One of the key tools to any compositor's toolbox is image warping. This week we'll cover shape based warps with corner pin, the grid and spline warper and image driven warps using the iDistort node.

Class 2: Project Class 1 - 2D Photoshop in a 3D Nuke world. Using a massive layered Photoshop still we will build and animate a stylized forest to wow friends and influence recruiters.

Class 3: Gizmos for the geeks in all of us. The "macro" system in Nuke is called gizmos. We will create a "smart" gizmo utilizing expressions and user controls and learn how to add that gizmo to our nuke menus for others to access.

Class 4: Pimp my Nuke. Pimp my Nuke. Building on last week's course, we will further customize nuke by adding and setting default working resolutions on launch, setting up shot specific working directories and other tasks that nuke can automate.

Class 5: Project Class 2 - Set Building and Camera Projections. Some live action, some CG, some set geometry, some keying. All part of the fun in our second project based class of the term.

Class 6: Part 2 of a 2 part production class that covers keying, 3D Projections, color correction, cameras and much more.

Class 7: Another 2 part production class. Part 1 of 2 covers keying, 3D Cards, stabilizing and turning a still frame into multi-dimensional image using the 3D system.

Class 8: Part 2 of 2 covers advanced keying, setting looks and overall comp production tips as we finish our night balcony scene.

Class 9: Project Class 4 - Multi, Multi-Pass Compositing - Part 1 of 2 . A completely CG shot with many layers to comp and refine. Focusing on Multi-pass compositing, layer ordering and organizing your 3D assets.

Class 10: Part 2: A completely CG shot with many layers to comp and refine. More in-depth multi-pass compositing and making the best of your elements.

NUK210 - Nuke in Production I

Tahl Niran, one of our inaugural and most popular professors at fxphd, returns with a production-centric Nuke course. Beginning with material based around the research and development of the Nuke Masterclass in London, this course will be exploring Nuke's toolset as more than just a standard 2d/3d compositing solution. Niran will be demonstrating a variety of production techniques along with help from Matt Leonard(SphereFX), Frank Reuter (Digital Domain and OHU FX) and Ben Minall (the Foundry) This course will take you into some of the advanced concepts of Nuke and its 3d system.

This class will focus on three main projects which will be explored in depth over a number of lessons, each one developing into a more complex shot. Topics covered include.

Advanced concepts in 3d projections:

using the Scanline renderer to create plate and set extensions.
integrating Multipass composites with 3d sets in Nuke.
complex object and wore removal using 3d systems and projections
integrating paint and 3d animation to generate set extensions

Creating live action Composites with Nuke:

using panoramic projections to create back-plates for composited elements.
optimising live plates and 3d for better integration.
colour matching and grain techniques.

Understanding complex concepts in film compositing.

colour space management of multiple elements.
optimising your file and proxy setup for working with large files

and a whole lot more.

Professor: tahl niran (aneks)

Class 1: First steps into using Nuke's UV render mode to create "splat maps" to project 2D images onto geometry. Using .fbx exports from Maya to sync up the camera move in Nuke for the integration of pre-rendered elements. Dissection and extension of the original image to provide the full texture map for the scene.

Class 2: Thorough breakdown of creation of all the elements needed for the shot overviewed in class 1. Camera Projection and Scanline Render set up for each texture. Tips for texture editing for extending the initial image into a complete texture map.

Class 3: Personalization of Nuke by creating custom user menus and tweaking the interface by using Python within the Nuke system files. Also, how to create, export and then load in your own gizmos as menu items.

Class 4: General Nuke work flow overview in use with a background replacement. Discussing bi-cubics on cards for added depth of elements in the scene and correcting lens distortion. Creating the shot's elements with keying and roto, including using non-keyer nodes to produce different mattes.

Class 5: Continuing the comp from class 4. Reorganizing the background elements for aesthetic purposes. Further detail into the use of bi-cubics and the DisplaceGeo node for correction and enhancement. Final tweaks to polish up the composite.

Class 6: Dealing with lesser talked about issues, such as color space in compositing applications. How color is interpreted depending on the way the footage is presented (linear, logarithmic , floating point.) Creating your own default Nuke start up template.

Class 7: Working with 3D cameras and how to get the most out of importing 3d tracking data. Creating a TCL button within the menu to import Boujou tracks. Buffer trick to overlay your background onto your 3D point cloud. Using the Reconcile3D node to eliminate the need for tracking nodes.

Class 8: Using separate 3D passes embedded into an .exr, like z-depth and motion vector, for use in compositing. Applying depth of field and motion blur in Nuke. Explanation of render layers in Maya.

Class 9: The Robot Pt1 Using the Wndy House footage and the 3d Robot Character v02 together to show how create a complex live action and CGI integrated scene, as well as some tips on grading overexposed film plates and transferring .fbx data from Maya to Nuke.

Class 10: The Robot Pt2 A continuation and completion of the scene focusing on the use of multipass and 3D motion blur. Finally a quick discussion on a depth of field plug-in for Nuke.

NUK302 - Advanced Nuke II

Our latest advanced Nuke course is broken up into three sections over the course of the term. Professor Sean Deveraux will work through several projects in the app as well as focus on diving into detail on some of the tools. The first four classes will focus on one of the more difficult shots from Red Dwarf and integrating into a nuke pipeline, taking the shot to a completed state.

Next, the course moves into a current hot area in features: stereoscopic. With all the stereoscopic films slated for release there is no doubt that more and more of us will be tasked to create them. You may be surprised to learn that due to technical considerations, some of these films are shot single camera -- focusing the stereoscopic effect to be created in post. We will use this technique on a project which will leave you with a strong foundation in stereoscopic post no mater how it was shot. 3D glasses are required for this section of the course.

The final three classes will take a look at getting the most out of the power tools in Nuke. This includes a hardcore look at keying and some of the infrequently yet incredibly powerful nodes in Nuke. Finally, Deveraux will share tips for some of his favorite Furnace tools -- with Nuke X around the corner, it will be more and more likely that these tools will be available to many more artists. The term at fxphd will also include VPN licensing of Furnace for Nuke so that members can get their feet wet with these powerful image processing tools.

Deveraux is our lead Nuke professor at fxphd. He has been using Nuke since 2000, working as a compositor at Digital Domain on Hollywood blockbusters such as How the Grinch Stole Christmas, I, Robot, and Star Trek: Nemesis. Using a variety of compositing packages, his freelance work has taken him to ILM (Transformers), Hydraulx (Rise of the Silver Surfer), and others.

Professor: Sean Devereaux (filmsoup)

Class 1: Gathering assets and the ever important comp version one: This is the part of the process were we just have to not screw up by ruining the cg or changing the look beyond what the scene requires. Beyond the technical skills in this class there will also be some good tips on accelerating your nuke button pushing.

Class 2: Technique part I: In class 01 we worked quickly to just make sure we had all the assets. In class 02 we focus on the proper technique to assemble the shot and in some cases doing things over the right way. If all you're looking for from this class is knowledge of a proper nuke workflow then this is the class for you.

Class 3: Technique part II: Round two of the nuts and bolts of making the shot.

Class 4: Taking the shot to final: This builds on class 03 by adding compositing tricks to bring the shot to final. Refining edges, tracks and keys through blunt force hard work. This is often the most painful part of the process but also the part that brings your shot above the 90% mark in terms of quality. What most pros will tell you, 90% is easy, getting it over 95% is double tough.

Class 5: Single Camera Stereoscopic Compositing - 3D: In this class we will use single camera footage to create a stereoscopic comp while defining and maintaining all the depth of the scene. Most of this work will be completed using nuke's 3D system.

Class 6: Single Camera Stereoscopic Compositing - 2D: This class is similar to class 05 except our solution will be almost exclusively 2D. This work is quite a bit more difficult then the elegant 3D solution and will give you an overview of all the skills you need to make any shot stereoscopic.

Class 7: Single Camera Stereoscopic Compositing - 2D continued... After defining our depth planes and completing our roto in class 06, we'll now assemble our comp and check our stereoscopic work to see how much it "hurts"

Class 8: Proper Keying: Keying is not hard, it's time consuming, the scale of difficulty on pulling a process screen really is time. Telling me a screen is hard to key is really quite meaningless, telling me a screen will take you 3 days to properly pull tells me everything. We'll be looking at the right way to pull a time consuming key by deciding how to separate it into key-able chunks and knowing when to pull the roto trigger.

Class 9: Nuke's hidden power tools: There are several tools in nuke, that although powerful, we rarely cover so this class is dedicated to the nodes and tools that come up less often but are none the less key to successful nuking.

Class 10: Furnace Toolbox: A detailed overview of the furnace tools that save my butt most often and how to make sure you're setting them up in the most efficient way.

PFT202 - PFTrack in Production

fxphd's popular camera tracking specialist Victor Wolansky returns with a course using PFTrack version 5 in production situations. The reality of post production compositing and visual effects is that an artist is often called upon to use several tools over the course of a job. Even at large facilities where artists' work is incredibly specialized, being familiar with workflows and other applications is incredibly helpful -- knowledge is power. That's where this course comes in.

Throughout the term, Wolansky will cover tracking situations in the latest release of PFTrack. But in addition, for several of the shots, he'll not solve the camera, but spend several classes taking the scene into other applications and finish them off. This might include doing previs in Flame, compositing in After Effects, or using 3DSMax to model, animate, and render. One project for the term will be sharing work he did for a client, creating a fighter jet fly through a cloud scene. He started by tracking the camera in PFTrack and then took the track into Flame where he could quickly and interactively animate the jet during a session supervised by the director. Next, he exported that data and did the final rendering in 3DSMax before compositing the footage.

PFTrack version 5 also introduced new features such as stereoscopic tracking and reference frames, which will be covered during the term. Members will have access to stereo footage filmed specifically for this course -- and Wolansky will solve the camera and use that data to generate 3D renders. As always, The Pixel Farm has been kind enough to provide access to their software via our secure VPN. The software is only to be used for educational purposes or building shots for a personal (individual) demo reel.

The specific class outline and schedule is dependent upon the projects -- rest assured that members who have taken Wolansky's courses in the past have not been disappointed.

Professor: Victor Wolansky (victorw)

Class 1: Tracking of a hand held camera with some problems caused by motion blur and lack of parallax. Part 1 of 2

Class 2: Second part of first class, check for errors and make the end to not slide because of the lack of parallax. Edit fcurves to fix the camera path.

Class 3: Tracking of a shot from DV and interlaced, which makes it a good candidate for tracking problems. Tracking of the camera plus a moving object. Shot will be used later for integration with 3D elements.

Class 4: How to use reference frames to solve a nodelock shot and reconstruct the real position of the trackers.

Class 5: Tracking of a shot that need to be perfect because we are going to replace the roof, and there is problems to detect the right focal length. Part 1 of 2

Class 6: Continuation of class05, modeling based on tracking, texturing and compositing.

Class 7: Part 1 of tracking clouds for the Jet shot.

Class 8: Compositing tricks for the Jet shot

Class 9: Tracking of a stereo shot

Class 10: Finishing and compositing the stereo shot.

PFT302 - Advanced PFTrack II

Victor Wolansky's tracking courses have been perennial favorites at fxphd. In his new advanced course, he’ll be covering many high level issues which come up during production. For instance, he’ll take a look at dealing with lens distortion - a big problem which is sometimes overlooked. Bad tracks can often be attributed to a bad lens distortion correction and he’ll show you how to avoid these pitfalls.

The course will also include different approaches on how to set the workflow to work with lens distortion and CG, fixing the BG and tracking, fixing the FOV after tracking, and more. Rolling shutter is a big problem of many of the popular new digital cameras, and Wolansky will work through how to deal with the issue. The course will also work with stereo footage and look at the advantage of the extra parallax provided by this footage. He’ll also include some face tracking, object placing, and much more over the course of the term.

Victor’s classes have always been well received at fxphd and this one should be no exception.

Professor: Victor Wolansky (victorw)

PHD113 - this week @ fxphd July 09 Term

Professor: John Montgomery (johnmont)

PVZ201 - Storyboarding and Previz

Focusing on the next fxphd short film "Moving Day", professor Wai Chew "Chewie" Chan will go through several scenes to discuss the role of the storyboard artist in the pre production process. With a script that provides plenty of drama and action, there will be a terrific mix of styles and emotions to experience through the art of story-boarding. The course will show the evolution of character design and script by taking these pre production elements through the story-boarding process.

The storyboard artist’s role in developing and visualizing the script for the first time is a crucial step in pre-production. By allowing the artist to have freedom to experiment, the story can go in new directions that neither the writer nor director had imagined. For the vfx supervisor, this could be the roseate stone to translate "the battle ensues" into the 1st glimpse of what the heck that actually means.

Chewie as worked as a feature film storyboard artist and concept designer on films including Superman Returns & Happy Feet and is an illustrator for graphic novels.

Professor: W. Chew Chan (chewie)

Class 1: We look at the characters involved in the fxphd short film "Moving Day". Character design professor Suju Thomas returns to add his touch to a key character accessory - the 'wings'.

Class 2: Director Jason Wingrove and Chewie discuss how to approach the task of translating the script and directors reference into the storyboard artists vision for the film.

Class 3: Looking at basic story telling through boards, examine what the roll of the storyboard artist is and the simple things to work through to convey the right shots. Looking through location photography and character references, the images of the cast begin to take life.

Class 4: Part 1 of 2 Storyboarding drama. Translating traditional film language and devices to best tell the story, through lensing, composition and tone. Examining how to trigger emotions with a 2D form.

Class 5: Part 2 of 2 Storyboarding drama

Class 6: art 1 of 2 Storyboarding for vfx. what needs to be taken into consideration by examining the practical restraints of on set as well as pre visualizing to plan and save future costs.

Class 7: Part 2 of 2 Storyboarding for vfx

Class 8: Sitting down with the director to review and revise boards and examine the new story that has emerged from the script.

Class 9: Taking frames through to finals. Seeing the various levels of details and discussing what is needed to tell the story and what might be needed to present to the studio.

Class 10: Turning boards into animatic. experimenting with timing, music etc....

RED102 - Comprehensive Guide to RED Post Workflow

As more and more manufacturers add support for .R3D files in their products, the workflow becomes both easier and more complex. There's a lot of information about finishing in whitepapers, on mailing lists, manufacturer sites and elsewhere. But our aim in this course is to cut through all of this and provide a structured base of knowledge which you can use to more easily finish in RED....based on solid production experience.

The course begins with detailed look at the camera itself and how it is used on set. Having a strong knowledge base is incredibly useful for the post production artist, so that the correct decisions can be made regarding shooting and photographing greenscreen. After that, the course changes gear into post and looks at the variety of finishing options available -- from high end systems such as Scratch to the native support in the Adobe Production Suite. Application specific classes will examine the positives and negatives....and the compatibility with various offline products.

Professor: John Montgomery (johnmont)

Class 1: Camera overview and on-set production. Conventions, TC, RDM, etc

Class 2: Color and RED. A discussion of color space, LUTs, log-lin (Red Alert)

Class 3: RedCine, RedRushes, and RedLine

Class 4: An overview of Assimilate's Scratch.

Class 5: Final Cut Studio. An overview of the options available in Final Cut Pro and our recommended practices. Part 1 of 2.

Class 6: FCS workflow part 2 including using Clipfinder to aide conforming/re-conforming, and round-tripping to Scratch.

Class 7: Adobe Production Studio. Recommended ways of using the Premiere and After Effects combo. Also, FCP XML to AE using Premiere and Automatic Duck.

Class 8: Avid offline workflow, including a look at the first implementation of R3D support using MetaFuze.

Class 9: Finishing, Part 1. Prepping an offline in Final Cut for grading and finishing in high end systems.

Class 10: Finishing, Part 2. Prepping for Avid DS, Flame and Smoke.

RND101 - Introduction to Renderman

Professor: Manuel Kraemer (mkraemer)

Class 1: Introduction: Renderman@ is a specification, prman is the software : a brief history of this 20 years old software - quick tour of the prman software package and the various utilities - "hello sphere" : write a simp

July09 Term Courses Projected course outlines....subject to change

AFX205 - After Effects Motion Graphics II