The Smoke Learning Blog

HOT TIPS: Ordering ConnectFX with Grid Snapping

Ultimate_Smoker* — Fri, 03 May 2013 11:34:06 UTC

Hi All,

I hope that you are all well!

I have posted another hot tip video showing how to keep your ConnectFX node trees tidy.

There is no actual "tidy up" button however being able to use a grid and snap nodes into place can help keep things a bit more in order as your node trees grow in complexity.

Be aware that in some small cases this will cause minor issues with auto-linking since the nodes snap to the grid and not connections.

Since this video is about general operation, there is no need for downloadable media.

Ordering ConnectFX with Grid Snapping
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn1rMG6Tou4&feature=share&list=PLFA011CBC88150592[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

The videos are also available on the Smoke Learning Channel on YouTube or as podcasts on iTunes.

Comments, requests and feedback always welcome.

Have a great week and see you soon!

Regards

Grant

More Paint Training - Painting on Alpha Channels with Smoke

Ultimate_Smoker* — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 14:51:56 UTC

Hi All,

I hope that you are all well!!!

I have returned from my two week stint visiting Las Vegas (NAB of course!) and visiting my team in Montreal. Great bunch of guys! And yes, there are alot of things brewing in the background in our Canadian office... An exciting year ahead... Thats all I can say.

As part of my return I have kicked back into gear to producing high-quality training for everyone and I did promise I will keep adding to paint and I will keep that going. So without any more delays, here are some new paint videos!

Painting on Alpha Channels!

Two new videos showing the different workflows using Desktop Paint and ConnectFX Paint.

Painting on an alpha channel is actually pretty straight forward. There are a few little buttons and keyboard shortcuts that are worth knowing but I guess the key takeaway I got when making these videos was being aware of exactly what I was painting on when using the brush.

Standard comment, I do know there are a ton of other methods to solve issues like this but the focus was on paint. Smoke has so much to offer and my endless list of upcoming videos suggests that too.

Enjoy these videos and I hope you find them useful.

Desktop Paint: Paint on Alpha
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzgM6OUwQ70&list=PLFA011CBC88150592&index=2[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

ConnectFX Paint: Paint on Alpha

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkWeiSxPpLg&list=PLFA011CBC88150592&index=1[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

The videos are also available on the Smoke Learning Channel on YouTube or as podcasts on iTunes.

Comments, requests and feedback always welcome.

Have a great week and see you soon!

Regards

Grant

HOT TIPS: Action Media Extraction

Ultimate_Smoker* — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 12:15:31 UTC

Hi All,

I hope that you are all well!

NAB 2013 is now done and there were some amazing announcements including a collaboration between Autodesk and BlackMagic. Hopefully interesting things will be coming as the year progresses.

I have posted another hot tip video showing how to deal with the two types of media loading in action. In-direct loading and direct loading of media. You might wonder what I am going on about but depending how you work, you might be using the different loading tools and not even know it!

The video will illustrate the differences, how they happen and how to deal with them. I hope you find this useful.

Since this video is about general operation, there is no need for downloadable media.

Action Media Extraction
[video]http://youtu.be/wyeXpXn0Nlo[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

The videos are also available on the Smoke Learning Channel on YouTube or as podcasts on iTunes.

Comments, requests and feedback always welcome.

Have a great week and see you soon!

Regards

Grant

HOT TIPS: Perspective Free 3D Renders

Ultimate_Smoker* — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 14:32:24 UTC

Hi All,

I hope that everyone has had a great week so far!

I have posted a quick 3 minute hot tip showing how to set up the front view as a render output. This allows you to create perspective free 3D renders which are very useful if you do motion graphic design.

This is based on requests and user feedback.

You can follow along by downloading the ConnectFX set available via the YouTube description or the link will be displayed in the video for you to enter into your browser.

Perspective Free 3D Rendering
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haOjbh6c_ps&list=PLFA011CBC88150592&index=1[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

The videos are also available on the Smoke Learning Channel on YouTube or as podcasts on iTunes.

Comments, requests and feedback always welcome.

Have a great week and see you soon!

Regards

Grant

Digital Intermediate Conforming with EDLs and DPX

Ultimate_Smoker* — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 09:10:49 UTC

Hi All,

Happy Mid-Week Wednesday!

I have posted a new 2-part video series regarding a request from long term as well as new Smoke Artists!

Digital Intermediate Conforming
with EDLs and DPX Image Sequences

The big focus these days is on rebuilding sequences using XMLs and AAF with a range of Quicktime and MXF media.

However there are still a large percentage of places that still use EDLs and DPX image files.

It doesn't matter whether the original material came from traditional film celluloids or digital acquisition formats like RED or ARRIRAW. The mediums are converted into DPX to make it a much more workable format in all genres of post production. Feature films, television series, commercials and so on.

Smoke has always been incredibly strong in performing DI conforms with image-based file sequences. The previous versions of Smoke were a strong testament to this and Smoke 2013 is no exception. The only difference is that the workflow is new but relinking should still give you the same results you have always expected.

I created a two part series, with the assisted advice from a few of you, which covers the process of performing the DI conform as well as performing an off-line to on-line continuity check.

I hope you find this series useful and here's to many conforming successes...

Digital Intermediate Conforming - Part 1
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu5SDyiDlnc[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

Digital Intermediate Conforming - Part 2

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O-aXCuUlQ4[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

The videos are also available on the Smoke Learning Channel on YouTube or as podcasts on iTunes.

Comments, requests and feedback always welcome.

Have a great week and see you soon!

Regards

Grant

Getting to Grips with Paint

Ultimate_Smoker* — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 18:05:19 UTC

Hi All,

I hope that you are all well and just under a month away from NAB 2013 in Las Vegas! How exciting!!!

I am delighted to let you know that I started work on the paint videos everyone has been asking for. I have paid close attention to what people have asked on AREA and I have tried to come up with a system that works for both Desktop Paint and ConnectFX Paint folks alike :)

Getting to Grips with Paint!

This is the first set of videos that focus on workflows using both Desktop Paint and ConnectFX Paint.

I decided to start with an introductory video to the paint tools in general to give you an idea as to what's available and how the tools work.

Next, I have create two paths you can follow.

You can choose to follow the Desktop Paint videos or the ConnectFX videos.

Each video set will give you a good overview of both paint tools.

For the practical example, I have done the same work just using the different paint tools. This will give you an idea as to how to use each tool in this scenario and how to achieve the same result but with different paint workflows. If this way is successful than I will continue this trend when there is an overlap between ConnectFX Paint and Desktop Paint.

Please dont worry about all the other things you can do with Paint such as motion graphics, automated brush strokes, etc. This will all happen in good time but I thought this is a good start.

Let's get cracking!

Paint Introduction
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diAzStmAKgw[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

Desktop Paint: Basics & Concepts

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya1X9QRp5Q8[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

Desktop Paint: Clone Me Out!

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BiaiAVUz3M[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

ConnectFX Paint: Basics & Concepts

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyJsVsijMjc[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

ConnectFX Paint: Clone Me Out!

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueSkHX2PdLg[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

The videos are also available on the Smoke Learning Channel on YouTube or as podcasts on iTunes.

Comments, requests and feedback always welcome.

Have a great week and see you soon!

Regards

Grant

Back 2 Basics - Selecting in the Sequence

Ultimate_Smoker* — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 18:20:00 UTC

Hi All,

Happy Tutorial Tuesday!

I have posted a new video in response to a repeated topic on te AREA forums for Smoke 2013.

Selecting in the Sequence

There are a variety of methods of selecting segments in the sequence. Some obvious and some not so obvious with the correct default keyboard shortcuts.

This is just to help you get the most out of making selections in the sequence.

Selecting in the Sequence
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca9pqL9r0ng&list=PLFA011CBC88150592&index=1[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

The videos are also available on the Smoke Learning Channel on YouTube or as podcasts on iTunes.

Comments, requests and feedback always welcome.

Have a great week and see you soon!

Regards

Grant

HOT TIPS: Editing with Sync Locks

Ultimate_Smoker* — Wed, 27 Feb 2013 17:16:31 UTC

Hi All,

I hope that everyone has had a great week so far!

I have posted a quick 2 minute hot tip showing how the sync locks work with insert editing and keeping your sequence in sync.

This is based on requests and user feedback.

Please note that this is one scenario where the sync locks will work. They also function when trimming a cut when all the cuts line up.

Editing with Sync Locks
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFPEkNQr8cE&list=PLFA011CBC88150592&index=1[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013

The videos are also available on the Smoke Learning Channel on YouTube or as podcasts on iTunes.

Comments, requests and feedback always welcome.

Have a great week and see you soon!

Regards

Grant

The Modular Keyer Demystified!

Ultimate_Smoker* — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 11:09:59 UTC

Hi All,

I hope everyone is well and had a great week in post!

First some good news! It looks like I will be attending NAB this year in Las Vegas. Rumour has it that I might also be given a theatre spot to do a Smoke Learning Channel Live! This will certainly be interesting and I am already thinking of a few ideas but I am always open to suggestion.

Smoke's toolset is quite vast and there are loads of areas to cover.

One such area which is an every day task is keying. This is something I have been working on for a while and I am happy that it now ready. The modular keyer is indeed very powerful but there are a few bits and pieces which can easily be misunderstood.

With that in mind I decided to go all the way back to the ground roots and take a journey with the Modular Keyer which will show some great working practices as well as explain things more clearly. I hope you enjoy!

THE MODULAR KEYER

In this video series we dive right into the modular keyer.

I explain workflows, processes, how to set things up for a better experience as well as some of the workflow questions and "gotchas" that you may run into.

This is a 6 part video series.

All materials used in the video can be downloaded from this link.

PART 1 - Introduction
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X44vQ8ApngA[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013

PART 2 - Basic Example
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl1GnvIe2IE[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013

PART 3 - Dealing with a challenging key
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M_E9qpXCp_4[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013

PART 4 - The Matte Blend Node
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=09WZiUYEw4c[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013

PART 5 - Colours, Edge and Pixel Spread
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JZtb6P-Uajo[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013

PART 6 - Workflow "Gotchas"!
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQBxFvWHBOw[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013

The videos are also available on the Smoke Learning Channel on YouTube or as podcasts on iTunes.

Comments, requests and feedback always welcome.

Have a great week and see you soon!

Regards

Grant

Upscaling your RED sequences - New Smoke training video series!

Ultimate_Smoker* — Fri, 08 Feb 2013 12:16:36 UTC

Hi All,

I hope everyone has had a great week in post!

Congrats to all our users who worked on the superbowl ads. Very creative, I suggest you check them out for pure inspiration.

And also congratulations to all the VES AWARD winners! A fabulous testament what can be achieved with human imagination and the VFX tools of today.

I am always surrounded by swirling ideas everywhere and I do try prioritise what I make first but this little user request caught my eye and I am sure that most people in post have come across this or will come across it at some point in their careers.

I am talking about RED media.

Its a really great format and it offers loads of flexibilty on set as well as in post. One of its great properties is the debayering functionality. In very generalistic terms you can choose the size of the picture for your production needs.

So I saw a request from people on AREA asking how to perform a typical RED workflow in Smoke.

UPSCALING YOUR RED SEQUENCES

This workflow came about from the flexibility of the format. People have worked out that with the same media, they can perform alot of work with a small image version of the RED media and ultimately, they would upscale to the biggest image they need using the same media to finish their production.

This presents alot of issues for dealing with timeline metadata. The sequence needs to be made aware of the upscaling, the RED media needs to be told what actual size it must be and any treatments to the picture must be dealt with in a specific way.

I would normally take an editorial sequence with basics effects and upscale it. I also deal with the issues that arise from adding ConnectFX composites before and after upscaling the sequence.

Now I cant point out every potential case but I set out to give you the general scenario which would work for the majority.

This is a 2 part video series.

The first part deals with the concept of taking an editorial piece with basic effects that was edited at 1/4 debayer and it needs to be upscaled to 1/2 debayer. We go through the whole workflow of unlinking the sequence, reformating the sequence to the new resolution, instructing the RED media to be 1/2 debayer and finally relinking and merging the RED media back with the timeline.

The second part dives into the challenges that occur when adding ConnectFX composites to the sequence before upscaling. I show the areas that need to be manually adjusted as well as show you how to recitify them.

PART 1 - Upscaling Your Edit
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ6B2H4bx18[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013

PART 2 - Upscaling and ConnectFX
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzKjpx6-DBc[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013

The videos are also available on the Smoke Learning Channel on YouTube or as podcasts on iTunes.

Comments, requests and feedback always welcome.

Have a great week and see you soon!

Regards

Grant

New Mocha Pro to Smoke Interoperability Video Series

Ultimate_Smoker* — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 17:00:15 UTC

Hi Everyone,

GREAT NEWS!

I have posted a new 3-part video series showing the interoperability between Imagineer Systems Mocha Pro and Autodesk Smoke.

I created this series in collaboration with Imagineer Systems and the guys were extremely helpful and we learnt a thing or two about each other's tools.

This series shows Mocha Pro and Smoke but it's also insightful for those of you who do not use Mocha Pro. Definitely worth a watch!

If you like what you see and you would like more Interoperability videos with other apps than please let me know.

Right! On with the show!

Mocha to Smoke

Interoperability Series

This 3-part video series shows how Mocha Pro and Smoke interact with each other.

You will see 3 examples all working towards building one composite

Tracking data for 4-corner pinning
Masking data for rotoscoping and repairing an image
3D Camera Tracking Data to help integrate elements into a moving shot

PLEASE NOTE: - If you want to learn how to use Mocha Pro than you need to go to Imagineer Systems website and they have some great training and learning videos. I am only showing how to set Mocha Pro up to export data to be used in Autodesk Smoke.

The files for this video are AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD.

Enjoy!

PART 1 - TRACKING DATA
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KER-V1SKaOE&list=PLFA011CBC88150592[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013

PART 2 - MASKING DATA
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5prATD4I4H4&list=PLFA011CBC88150592[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013

PART 3 - 3D CAMERA TRACKING DATA
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJU4c919GMs&list=PLFA011CBC88150592[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013

The videos are also available on the Smoke Learning Channel on YouTube or as podcasts on iTunes.

Comments, requests and feedback always welcome.

Have a great week and see you soon!

Regards

Grant

Creating Rolling Backgrounds with Action

Ultimate_Smoker* — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 16:27:48 UTC

Hi Everyone,

I hope that everyone is well.

January 2013 is approacing its end already and the year is off to a flying start! The snow is finally melting here in London (probably from the heat from all the render farms in Soho... busy busy busy!)

Also we have released Smoke 2013 SP1 - Go get it now as it fixes a crucial bug with proxies.

I have quite a few projects in the works and I have been collaborating with a few of you which I am truly grateful. If you want something covered or feel you can contribute to the direction of the training from the Smoke Learning Channel than please drop me a line.

In my next upcoming big series, I will show interopability with another product used in the industry and I hope it will be of use to everyone... Watch this space.

While the big projects are slowly simmering away, I still try get the little ones out and here is the video for this week!

Create Rolling Background

with Action

This is kind of a classic case that definitely happened to me in the past and perhaps yourself.

The client walks into the room with a single photoshop file and expects you to bring it to life. Now admittedly depending on what you're given will inspire your creativity but it is something pretty subtle, it is difficult to go crazy creative!

So I decided to show a really cool technique which uses the texturing tools in Action to create a rolling texture to give a static image a bit more life.

While making the video I realised that it would be valuable to include a bit of explanaitions, animation and a few tips.

The files for this video are AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOAD.

Enjoy!

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2QtMXcEO8o&list=PLFA011CBC88150592&index=1[/video]

Recorded using Smoke 2013

The videos are also available on the Smoke Learning Channel on YouTube or as podcasts on iTunes.

Comments, requests and feedback always welcome.

Have a great week and see you soon!

Regards

Grant

White Balancing Your Shots

Ultimate_Smoker* — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 14:11:40 UTC

Hi All,

I hope that everyone is well. It's been a busy week for Smoke with so many tutorials and resources coming on-line. Thanks to the ever growning on-line community.

As always I want to contribute and I picked up on a comment on the Smoke Learning Channel where someone had asked if I had done a video to white balance footage in Smoke. Admittedly I had done one a while back but I realised that it needed modernisation. So here it is!

WHITE BALANCING YOUR SHOT

In this video, you will learn to white balance shots in the sequence using the colour warper and vectorscope in ConnectFX.

Before you watch this video, you might be inclined to ask me why I didn't use a soft colour correction effect in the sequence. Well I stumbled on something which has been reported but I still found a way. It's still just as fast in the grand scheme of things and you can always save these corrections as presets and apply them to other shots coming from the same shoot with the same unbalanced camera.

Enjoy!

This videos series was recorded using Smoke 2013:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sYymKl2BQRc&list=PLFA011CBC88150592&index=1[/video]

The videos are also available on the Smoke Learning Channel on YouTube or as podcasts on iTunes.

Comments, requests and feedback always welcome.

Have a great week and see you soon!

Regards

Grant

Fancy taking Smoke on location during your shoot?

Ultimate_Smoker* — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 22:04:51 UTC

Hi All,

Happy New Year to you all. May this 2013 be very prosperous in Post for all of you!!! And may Autodesk Smoke grow from strength to strength.

I thought I'd kick off the first blog of the year with a request that I have been asked for quite sometime.

"I would like to take my Smoke system on location with me so that I can start working straight away and getting my edit into shape. Perhaps even trial some VFX during the shoot! Than I want to carry on with the job when I get back to work with my main storage. Is it possible to do this with just a small portable drive as my portable storage?"

The answer is YES!

This is very possible to do and all you need to do is set up the new storage volume for Smoke and off you go! But to expand on this workflow, you could also get back to your studio, copy the media to your main storage and carry on working.

There are a few items to consider which I cover in the videos but the main topics covered are:

Setting up a new storage volume
Switching between storage volumes
Copying media between storage volumes using the MediaHub

This videos series was recorded using Smoke 2013 and has been broken into two parts:

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=srBtDAXyIOE&list=PLFA011CBC88150592&index=1[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMXj1dO__iI&list=PLFA011CBC88150592[/video]

The videos are also available on the Smoke Learning Channel on YouTube or as podcasts on iTunes.

Comments, requests and feedback always welcome.

Have a great week and see you soon!

Regards

Grant

Smoke 2013 is here! Happy Holidays!!!!

Ultimate_Smoker* — Thu, 20 Dec 2012 22:25:22 UTC

Hi Everyone,

Well we finally made it! Autodesk Smoke 2013 for Mac has been released and it has been an amazing journey.

But we're no where near finished.

There is still so much more to achieve and so much feedback to digest. That's all in the hands of the development team who never stop.

As for the Smoke Learning Channel, I am taking a short break to recharge my batteries to come back focused in 2013. Loads of plans underway including feature training as well as workflow training just to mention a few things.

I just want to take this opportunity to thank all who have helped us get Autodesk Smoke 2013 to where it is today as well as wish everyone a happy holiday break.

Even though we're on a break, all the videos are still available on the Smoke Learning Channel on YouTube and iTunes.

All the very best and I look forward to a productive and prosperous 2013 for everyone!

See you in the New Year!

Regards

Grant

Everything Alpha in Autodesk Smoke

Ultimate_Smoker* — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 10:00:00 UTC

Hi Everyone!

I hope that you all had a great weekend!!!

I have been extrememly busy helping out with the Pre-Releases of Autodesk Smoke 2013 on the forums. But I have also been gathering as much information from all of you to help guide the direction of the Smoke Learning Channel.

With all that said, I'm delighted to announce one of the new series based on your feedback and requests.

The Alpha Series

Everything Alpha in Autodesk Smoke. This 12-part video series deals will all aspects of working with alpha in Autodesk Smoke.

Alpha introduction
Importing with Alpha
Matte Containers
Layer Compositing with Alphas
Compositing in ConnectFX
Straight Alpha vs Premultiplied Alpha
Exporting with Alpha
and much more!!!!

ALL VIDEO PRODUCED IN AUTODESK SMOKE 2013

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6rlFFEepZk[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R088K6OGheY[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvDWxvcFRQo[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cnOXqgNm-xU[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ik-1joFYnno[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ibdB2z72Qo[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPfucEKHb2c[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIw2GfInkT8[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-dK71TVrBLM[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=svddutB-sOU[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=olRpSVE14Rs[/video]

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lx3smpebm5k[/video]

Available now on the Smoke Learning Channel on YouTube and iTunes.

Comments and feedback welcome!

Regards

Grant

NEW HOT TIPS VIDEO POST: Copying Animation Curves

Ultimate_Smoker* — Fri, 09 Nov 2012 17:25:08 UTC

Hi Everyone,

Happy Friday to you all!!! I hope that everyone is well and everything is great in post!

Here is your Friday Hot Tip!

HOT TIP:

Copying Animation Curves

This quick 2-3 minute HOT TIP shows you how to copy an animation curve between dissolves.

Normally you can select multiple transitions and adjust their duration and blending at the same time.

But this has never been the case with animation curves types like linear or S-shaped curves.

This top user tip shows how it is possible just in a slightly different way.

Please note this method works with transitions of the same length. Transitions with different lengths needs to be manually tweaked.

Video produced using Smoke 2013 Pre-Release 5

Available now on the Smoke Learning Channel on YouTube and iTunes.

Comments and feedback welcome!

Regards

Grant

NEW HOT TIPS VIDEO POST: Getting Context with ConnectFX

Ultimate_Smoker* — Fri, 02 Nov 2012 13:58:58 UTC

Hi Everyone!

I hope that you have all had a good week in production. I also want to take this oppotunity to wish all involved in the storms etc all the very best and I hope things turn out better once you're back on your feet.

I am delighted that we have released the Autodesk Flame 20th Anniversary Edition and I hope things keep moving up from strength to strength.

Here in Smoke world, things are still as busy as ever!

I am in the planning stages of so many videos that it's totally crazy... However, I still want to make sure that you get your fix of the Smoke Learning Channel as often as I can, so here you are:

HOT TIP:

Getting Context with ConnectFX

There are so many little tools in Smoke that you may not know are there until someone tells you about them. This weeks video deals with contextual views in Connect FX.

This is a powerful productive tool because it allows to keep an overall view of your composites but still allowing you to focus in specific parts. I'll let the video do the talking :)

Available now on the Smoke Learning Channel on YouTube and iTunes.

Comments and feedback welcome!

Regards

Grant

NEW HOT TIPS VIDEO POST: Saving a Node in ConnectFX and Action

Ultimate_Smoker* — Fri, 26 Oct 2012 13:40:33 UTC

Hi Everyone,

I hope that you are all well and looking forward to your weekend!

I thought it would be great to end off your week with another Smoke Hot tip!

This weeks Hot Tip shows you how to save individual nodes in ConnectFX as well as object in Action.

So its good to be able to save separate settings if you like them and want to reuse them as presets.

Also quite important here is where the buttons have been relocated to. I noticed in the forums that the "Load Node" and "Save Node" buttons stumped alot of people so I thought I'd save you the hassle and show you where they are.

This tip is always handy to know. Go check it out now!

Available now on the Smoke Learning Channel on YouTube and iTunes.

Comments and feedback welcome!

Regards

Grant

Smoke 2013 PR5 is released!!! Remember Official Training available on YouTube and on iTunes!!!

Ultimate_Smoker* — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 15:11:59 UTC

Hi Everyone,

I am delighted to announce that we have released Smoke 2013 PR5 for public download. If you have not already got it than please go get it now!!!

This build has a ton of fixes and stabilities addressed. There is still more to come but things are starting to be nailed down :)

Smoke 2013 - PR5

Well there is loads of fixes under the hood and well as stabilisations.

Please dont worry if a concern of yours has not been addressed yet. There is plenty to do and the team is working at warp speed!!!

I have released two new few videos on the Smoke Learning Channel today covering the pre-processing functionality in Smoke. I am talking about all those tiny import settings you set up when importing media and how you can change them in the middle of an edit and even when working in the connectFX node based compositor. Definitely worth a look!!!

I am always happy to receive feedback and comments and I try to answer everything. But if you are having issues with Smoke 2013, please post on the official AREA forum so that our support will see it and others who have had similar experiences can help too.

Good reminder as always:

Please keep requests and feedback coming and thanks for your participation!

Have a great week!

Regards

Grant

The Smoke Learning Blog

HOT TIPS: Ordering ConnectFX with Grid Snapping

Ordering ConnectFX with Grid Snapping[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn1rMG6Tou4&feature=share&list=PLFA011CBC88150592[/video]Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

More Paint Training - Painting on Alpha Channels with Smoke

Painting on Alpha Channels!

Desktop Paint: Paint on Alpha[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzgM6OUwQ70&list=PLFA011CBC88150592&index=2[/video]Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

ConnectFX Paint: Paint on Alpha

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkWeiSxPpLg&list=PLFA011CBC88150592&index=1[/video]Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

HOT TIPS: Action Media Extraction

Action Media Extraction[video]http://youtu.be/wyeXpXn0Nlo[/video]Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

HOT TIPS: Perspective Free 3D Renders

Perspective Free 3D Rendering[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haOjbh6c_ps&list=PLFA011CBC88150592&index=1[/video]Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

Digital Intermediate Conforming with EDLs and DPX

Digital Intermediate Conformingwith EDLs and DPX Image Sequences

Digital Intermediate Conforming - Part 1[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu5SDyiDlnc[/video]Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

Digital Intermediate Conforming - Part 2

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O-aXCuUlQ4[/video]Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

Getting to Grips with Paint

Getting to Grips with Paint!

Paint Introduction[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diAzStmAKgw[/video]Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

Desktop Paint: Basics & Concepts

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya1X9QRp5Q8[/video]Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

Desktop Paint: Clone Me Out!

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BiaiAVUz3M[/video]Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

ConnectFX Paint: Basics & Concepts

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyJsVsijMjc[/video]Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

ConnectFX Paint: Clone Me Out!

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueSkHX2PdLg[/video]Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

Back 2 Basics - Selecting in the Sequence

Selecting in the Sequence

Selecting in the Sequence[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca9pqL9r0ng&list=PLFA011CBC88150592&index=1[/video]Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

HOT TIPS: Editing with Sync Locks

Editing with Sync Locks[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFPEkNQr8cE&list=PLFA011CBC88150592&index=1[/video]Recorded using Smoke 2013

The Modular Keyer Demystified!

THE MODULAR KEYER

Upscaling your RED sequences - New Smoke training video series!

UPSCALING YOUR RED SEQUENCES

New Mocha Pro to Smoke Interoperability Video Series

Mocha to Smoke

Interoperability Series

Creating Rolling Backgrounds with Action

Create Rolling Background

with Action

White Balancing Your Shots

WHITE BALANCING YOUR SHOT

Fancy taking Smoke on location during your shoot?

Smoke 2013 is here! Happy Holidays!!!!

Everything Alpha in Autodesk Smoke

The Alpha Series

NEW HOT TIPS VIDEO POST: Copying Animation Curves

HOT TIP:

Copying Animation Curves

Video produced using Smoke 2013 Pre-Release 5

NEW HOT TIPS VIDEO POST: Getting Context with ConnectFX

HOT TIP:

Getting Context with ConnectFX

NEW HOT TIPS VIDEO POST: Saving a Node in ConnectFX and Action

Smoke 2013 PR5 is released!!! Remember Official Training available on YouTube and on iTunes!!!

Smoke 2013 - PR5

Ordering ConnectFX with Grid Snapping
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dn1rMG6Tou4&feature=share&list=PLFA011CBC88150592[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

Desktop Paint: Paint on Alpha
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzgM6OUwQ70&list=PLFA011CBC88150592&index=2[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkWeiSxPpLg&list=PLFA011CBC88150592&index=1[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

Action Media Extraction
[video]http://youtu.be/wyeXpXn0Nlo[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

Perspective Free 3D Rendering
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=haOjbh6c_ps&list=PLFA011CBC88150592&index=1[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

Digital Intermediate Conforming
with EDLs and DPX Image Sequences

Digital Intermediate Conforming - Part 1
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu5SDyiDlnc[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O-aXCuUlQ4[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

Paint Introduction
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=diAzStmAKgw[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ya1X9QRp5Q8[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BiaiAVUz3M[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyJsVsijMjc[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ueSkHX2PdLg[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

Selecting in the Sequence
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca9pqL9r0ng&list=PLFA011CBC88150592&index=1[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013 SP2

Editing with Sync Locks
[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MFPEkNQr8cE&list=PLFA011CBC88150592&index=1[/video]
Recorded using Smoke 2013