Compositing for Visual Effects (evening - online)

Apply Now Open days Taster days

courses /

short courses /

compositing for visual effects evening online

Compositing for Visual Effects (evening - online)

Female character shouting at an animated cat and mouse

Apply Now

Course details

Location

Live online

Start date

4th March

Duration

20 weeks

Mode of study

Part time (Tuesday and Thursday evenings: 7pm-10pm)

Fees

£3,250

Course overview

Compositors, also known as Finishing Artists, are the masters of make-believe, responsible for creating the illusion of reality. They compose the final image in a VFX or motion picture sequence, creating VFX that make the impossible, possible! Without them, we’d all be looking at the wires that support actors during action sequences, or shots lacking in atmosphere or composition. It is a Compositor’s role to make a shot look believable. You’ll need an artist’s keen trained eye for photo-realistic details to always create exceptional imagery.

This intensive evening course will teach you the fundamentals of compositing, from understanding the VFX pipeline, to mastering rotoscoping and integrating the final shot.

This course is popular with students who need to manage study around work or family commitments. You’ll be hands-on in the studio two evenings per week. You'll be taught by a tutor who has worked, or is currently working in the industry, so they can share their real-world tips and techniques and help you connect with studios.

The course follows the same principles as our full-time 12-week course. You’ll gain sought-after VFX production skills, through industry-recognised Nuke training. We cover everything you need to start working on your showreel and in the final weeks, you’ll work on a project that brings all the techniques together.

Why choose this course

Ranked 2nd in the UK - and 10th in the world for Visual Effects Excellence by The Rookies
Industry briefs - work on industry-standard briefs and experience real-life scenarios, just like in a professional studio
Professional input - our advisory board of experts, from the likes of DNEG (Avengers: Endgame and Oscar-winning Dune) and MPC (The Lion King and 1917), help keep this course relevant
Successful alumni - join our community of thousands of Escapees, many of whom have gone on to work at some of the world’s top studios. 47 Escapees worked on Avengers: Endgame, 36 on No Time to Die and 16 on Stranger Things
Aftercare package - we'll help you polish your showreel and find the right job, with access to our studios and showreel clinics for 12 months
Industry-standard facilities - study in a studio environment that mirrors current industry practice, using professional software such as Nuke and Silhouette
Fast-track learning - studying a short course allows you to learn new skills quickly, in a fast-paced environment, so you can start applying for jobs as soon as you’ve completed the programme
Intensive training - we pack a lot into a few evening classes, and we recommend that you work outside of classes for an extra few hours per week to complete your assignments
Flexibility - study live online and in the evening to fit the course around your professional and personal life and other commitments
Strong portfolio - along with an Escape Studios Certificate of Completion, you'll leave with strong creative and technical skills and great pieces for your portfolio
Small class sizes - a convivial environment allows students to assist and inspire one another and benefit from personalised feedback from tutors.

Course modules

The VFX pipeline
The Nuke interface
Project settings and formats
Read and write nodes

Pre-multiplied images
Image and channel blending
Generating masks, alphas and mattes

Understanding tracking and stabilising
Curve editor
Multi-point tracking

Corner pinning
Planar tracking

Roto and tracking
Rotoshape breakup
Human motion vs objects

Silhouette rotoscoping (SFX)
Tracking in SFX
Working with motion blur
Project: roto a shot in SFX

Painting in Nuke
Marker removal procedures
Generating clean plates

Film grain management
Warping and morphing
Retiming techniques

SFX paint cleanup
Wire removal painting

Luma keying and the keyer node
Primatte keying
Compositing outside the keyer

Colour difference keying: keylight node
Nuke’s IBK keyer
Pre and post processing: refining the matte

The despill process
Keying motion blur
Edge treatment and luminance

Colour management and LUTs
Float and linear light workflow
Density and colour matching
Mastering the colour correct node

Primary grading: grade node
Exposure, gamma and curves
Depth queuing and atmospherics

Introduction to the 3D interface
Projection types and 3D displacement
Projected mattes

Lens distortion
Solving the camera
Utilising camera data

Projection cleanup workflows
UV and camera projections
Optimising 3D motion blur

Multi-channel workflow
Rebuilding the beauty pass
Utilities passes

CG grading
Applying convolve filters to CG
Interactions and depth of field

Final project submission

More information

Minimum requirements

We welcome and encourage applications from students with a variety of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.

To study this short course, you must:

Be over 18
Have a good understanding of written and spoken English
Feel comfortable using a computer.

If you’d like to discuss your circumstances before applying, contact us!

We can provide remote access to our workstations during teaching time. Due to availability restrictions, we highly advise you to have your own set up at home to study in your own time.

More things you’ll need:

A strong internet connection
Cloud storage or external hard drive to back up your work, 1TB+ recommended
A three-button mouse or graphics tablet. Please note, the Wacom Intuos Pro range of tablets have the best support for our remote desktop software and provide the best experience.
A computer microphone (and optionally a webcam)
Note-taking materials.

If you have any questions about learning online or if you need help with what to buy, get in touch at hello@escapestudios.ac.uk.

To apply, complete the relevant online application form below:

Study online

Our Admissions Team will get in touch to take you through the next steps.

If you have any questions about your application or our entry requirements, get in touch!

As part of the application process, you will need to agree to our terms and conditions for your place on the course to be secured.

Fees

Live online: £3,250

Payment plans

We offer payment plan options for all courses. Following an initial deposit at registration stage, your chosen payment plan will break down your remaining fees into up to three instalments, to be paid before the end of the course.

Visit our admissions page for any questions about fees, funding and payment plans.

We pack a lot into each class of our evening courses, to be able to offer a learning option that is more flexible and fits in with your personal and work life. This means that contact time with your tutors will be intense learning and hands on. To make the most of this course, we recommend that you spend at least 10 hours working on your projects or practising your new skills in your own time each week.

Nuke

"In compositing we have the unique pleasure of coming at the end of the pipeline. That means everything we do directly appears in the finished product on screen. That combined with the perfect balance of creative contribution to the finished product and technical problem solving, means that the scope of work is broad and no two days are ever quite the same." Chris Fryer, Digital Compositor at Industrial Light & Magic

You’ll leave with an Escape Studios Certificate of Achievement, along with strong creative and technical skills and some great pieces of work for your portfolio, which you can add to with help from our Aftercare programme. Ready to apply for jobs in the industry!

Some of the opportunities you can consider once you’ve finished your studies include:

Runner
Prep Artist
Roto Artist
Production Assistant
Production Coordinator

Compositors often start out in junior roles or as Rotoscope Artists to then rise to mid-level and senior roles such as Compositors and Compositing Supervisors, opening the path to becoming a VFX Supervisor.

Our students have gone to work as both specialist and generalist artists in creative studios, across TV shows, films and commercials, at companies including Industrial Light & Magic, Cinesite, Pixomondo and Milk VFX. Read some of our VFX Escapee success stories.

Check out our Careers Guide for more information about career opportunities and progression routes.

Why Escape Studios?

Meet our industry-experienced tutors

They all have industry experience and are experts in their fields. They are certified trainers for Autodesk and Houdini. They’ve worked at studios including DNEG, Framestore and Industrial Light & Magic, on credits including Fantastic Beasts, Gladiator, Kingsman and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.

Meet your tutors