The unknown to know how Hollywood manages to generate those effects when watching those films where it seems not to notice the slightest sign that it is something computerized will be solved here because those who know a little more about editing programs will point to Premiere and After Effects or similar. However, although in a certain way they are used (but not to generate effects at such a level) these programs go into the background and are used for more specific things or when it is required to make a project that can really be used. Let’s see how Hollywood edits its movies.
Nuke, How Powerful is It?
In the case of visual effects, the software par excellence has been Nuke, if not, just look at what projects it has been involved in and if you know of any of these films, you will be able to get an idea of its potential. Nuke has been used in productions such as Avatar, Mr. Nobody, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, King Kong, Jumper, I, Robot, Resident Evil: Extinction, Tron: Legacy, Alice in Wonderland, and Black Swan. What better record?
Just having Avatar listed on the list already takes us to the top, for those who did not have it in mind Avatar was awarded the Best Film in Visual Effects at the 67th edition of the Golden Globe Awards, and if you are one of the few who have not seen the film, we suggest you watch it and in high quality, as it is worth noting every detail of the edition.
How Hard is It to Be Able To Manipulate It?
When you decide to start learning a VFX (visual effects) and motion graphics program, there may be some questions about whether you will be able to use the software properly. You don’t have to worry. There are different programs for special effects, as we mentioned before, one is Nuke and then you have others like After Effects. There are many tutorials where you can learn to handle them and you must choose the one that is most convenient for you. The difficult degree will depend on your skills.
Nuke was an in-house developer at Digital Domain (a VFX company founded by James Cameron, Stan Winston, and Scott Ross) to render high-resolution blueprints from Flame on demand. After being bought by The Foundry it became the standard songwriting program in the film industry taking the lead from Apple’s Shake.
Nuke uses a node system and you can work in a real 3D environment, i. e., you can import 3D models and work with them. In its Studio version, you can edit videos, expanding the creative possibilities it offers. Undoubtedly one of those professional programs that is worth learning, especially if you consider that the Personal Learning Edition is free.
More Software
As we said early, Nuke is not the only program used for this purpose, let’s see some more:
After Effects
A true veteran in this world and one of the Adobe standard-bearers, although it was not really developed by them, but was purchased in 1994 by acquiring the Aldus Corporation, which had previously purchased the program from the Company of Science and Art. and Art) in Providence, Rhode Island.
Its reign as the most used program when making motion graphics is indisputable and its use is widespread in almost all areas of video, from advertisements, animation pieces, video games, headers, series, movies, etc. The plugin support is huge and communicates perfectly with the rest of Adobe programs. As a weak point, it says that it lacks “real” 3D natively (although you can solve this through plugins) and that when you have many layers, it is difficult to maintain a certain order.
Fusion
Fusion is an old acquaintance in the sector because at first, it was in a pack with Maya when it was called Alias -Wavefront Maya marketed by Eyeon and acquired by Blackmagic Design in 2014. This program, like than others, it uses a very versatile node system and incorporates real 3D. And if you are not convinced, I will tell you that it has a free version, which you can use commercially, and a paid one, called Studio, which differs in stereoscopic and networking tools.
So money is no longer an excuse to incorporate this professional program into your tools and learn to manage it. And if you continue with the doubt, there are many people who suspect that BlackMagic is going to merge, never better said, Fusion with DaVinci (its color editing and retouching software), comparing it to programs like Nuke Studio, Smoke and Flame.
Smoke
This program is one of several that Autodesk has for video composition (they have had many throughout its history). Smoke’s philosophy is to be a tool for everything without needing other programs since you can edit video, make visual effects, motion graphics and 3D without leaving it.
Come on, an all-in-one Adobe Creative Cloud, except it costs more and only works on a powerful Mac Pro. It has a high demand for professionals who know how to handle it. I forgot to comment that it also works with nodes (overcome your fear of nodes and you will see that they are the best!).
