Operations

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Production Tips

Toggle Postage Stamp

Use ALT + P to toggle a node's preview, but note that it is power-consuming, so use sparingly. Also accessible via Properties > Node > Postage Stamp.

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Connection Dots

Add dot to re-route connections. CTRL + LMB drag yellow diamond or . (Period) to add new dot after currently selected node.

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Quick Node Connection

Quickly connect nodes with Y shortcut. Verify sequence of node selection. The first node selected is intended to be the downstream node. The second node selected (CTRL for multi-selection) is identified as the primary input connection, followed by other nodes being selected. Note in the example below, selecting a node without inputs first and then another node does not allow for the Y shortcut to generate a connection because it was selected first and lacks inputs.

This is particularly useful when attempting to connect nodes that are far from each other and can be challenging to drag a connection from one to the other.

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Copy/Paste Node/s To/From Plain Text

Selected nodes can be copy/pasted to text editors and back for quick relay and communication. The copy/paste operations includes the node's parameter values.

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Edit keyframe value in Curve Editor

Select keyframe and double-click to access the keyframe value field for editing.

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Enlarge color selection panel

Selecting the color wheel with LMB expands to reveal detailed color selection. Selecting the color wheel with CTRL + LMB expands it to a new, larger panel.

This option can be set to default under Preferences > Panels > Control Panels > Color Picker Button Opens Floating Color Picker.

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Hidden Inputs

Nodes have the option to hide input under the node's Node tab. This hides the input wires. But be cautious about hiding them and not recalling linked nodes when making edits.

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Read From Write Directory

Quickly Read new content by accessing the directory to which the selected Write node output to. Select the Write node and press R key to generate a new Read node that opens to the specified directory.

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Merge Strategies

Alpha channels

Verify alpha channels are between 0 and 1.

If alpha values are shown to be over 1, namely int multiples, check that alphas are not being aggregated via merges.

With CG breakdowns and rebuilds, verify alpha channel is reinstated, if applicable at the end of the stream. If so, use a Copy node to transfer alpha channel from original Read/input to out stream.

DOF Mask

DOF pass merged with CG smoke/fog using Grade node with DOF pass serving as mask.

Reformat CG smoke/fog to match DOF shot animation.

Optimization Strategies

Mitigate Duplicate Read Nodes

Use Postage Stamp nodes to reference Read nodes so that they can be used in other parts of script visually independently, but also still referencing the Read node.

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Crop

Investigate the source/s of extraneous pixels and isolate the crop/s at this point/s to mitigate need to crop further downstream.

Bloom & Crop

After applying a bloom, use a crop to crop out pixels that were spread out by bloom effect. This removes unnecessary pixels from being processed.

Bounding Box

The bbox defines the limit of the image.

Pixels outside of the format range but within the bbox of specific nodes will still be processed even if they are not visible. This extra information should be removed to optimize workflow.

Pixels located beyond the frame extents can be viewed in the Viewer by right-clicking and enabling Show Overscan.

Single-channel vs. Multi-channel EXR

Use single channel EXR files for comp rather than multichannel EXR since the single channels are significantly smaller than the packed multichannel ones. This allows for quicker access to them over networks and for playback in Nuke.

Remove Extraneous Read Nodes

Delete Read nodes that are not being used or applicable to the project.

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Colorspace

By default, colorspace is set to rec709, but needs to be converted to sRGB.

Properties > Read > Colorspace > color_picking (sRGB)

Fade In/Out

RMB over audio track and add fades with Editorial > Add Transition > Fade In

Blend Modes

For layers intended to be blended with layers below, enable blend modes by accessing them on the specified track.

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Audio

File Format

Import .wav file, not .mp3.

Fade In/Out

RMB over audio track and add fades with Editorial > Add Transition > Audio Fade In & Audio Fade Out