Autodesk Smoke for Mac combines familiar tools for non-linear video editing with powerful features for digital compositing and visual effects creation, all within one seamless application. Busy post-production professionals can streamline effects-intensive projects by editing, compositing, and finishing within a single environment. Learn to harness these myriad capabilities with Autodesk Smoke Essentials. This practical book walks you through the fundamentals of the Smoke toolset with basic lessons, step-by-step instruction, and professional video footage covering each area of Autodesk Smoke functionality. It includes downloadable, hands-on project files drawn from Alexis Van Hurkman’s narrative short, “The Place Where You Live,” so you start doing and learning right away using real-world examples.

Autodesk Smoke Essentials covers every aspect of Smoke you need to acquire a solid foundation of the software:

• The Smoke interface inside and out, including all key tools
• Managing media with the MediaHub and Media Library
• Editing and trimming clips in a timeline to assemble and polish an edit
• Creating transitions, adding dissolves, and using Timewarp
• Building basic composites using the Axis effect
• How to use ConnectFX (CFX) and the Action Node for advanced compositing
• Working with audio clips, and adding and mixing audio, music, and sound effects
• Techniques for color correction and styling titles and credits

Chapter 1 Before You Begin 1

Before You Open Smoke 1

Opening Autodesk Smoke 5

The Startup Screen 5

Choosing Your Storage Volume 6

Creating and Managing Projects 7

Creating and Managing Users 12

Opening a New Project 13

Important Preferences 13

Audio Playback 14

Broadcast Monitor 14

Input Devices 16

User Interface 16

The Essentials and Beyond 17

Chapter 2 The Smoke Interface 19

The Four Tabs 19

Importing Projects Using Conform 20

Understanding the MediaHub and Media Library 24

Working in the Timeline Panel 26

Using the Viewer 26

Using the Timeline 33

Resizing the Media Library 37

A Quick Look at Timeline Effects 38

About the FX Ribbon 39

Accessing Custom Editors 40

Getting a Glimpse of ConnectFX 41

Using the Tools Panel 43

The Essentials and Beyond 45

Chapter 3 Importing Your Project’s Media 47

Importing Media into a New Project 47

Importing Media with the MediaHub 48

Organizing Media within the Media Library 50

Organizing Clips Using Folders 52

Using Folders with Thumbnails 54

Closing Libraries and Locking Clips 55

The Essentials and Beyond 56

Chapter 3 Editing a Rough Assembly 57

Creating a Sequence 57

Editing with Thumbnails 59

Setting Thumbnail In and Out Points 59

Creating Subclips 61

Drag-and-Drop Editing 63

Dragging and Dropping an Insert Edit 66

Basic Trimming in the Timeline 68

The Essentials and Beyond 73

Chapter 4 Editing Dialog and Advanced Trimming 75

Editing Dialog with the Source/Record Viewers 75

Using Source-Sequence Viewers 76

Trimming for Continuity 81

Trimming to Create Split Edits 87

Adding Cutaways with Three-Point Editing 90

The Essentials and Beyond 94

Chapter 5 Adding Transitions and Timewarp Effects 95

Importing the Opening Scene 95

Adding and Editing Dissolves 96

Creating and Customizing Wipes 104

Retiming a Shot Using Timewarp 108

Rendering Slow-Motion Effects 110

The Essentials and Beyond 112

Chapter 6 Using Axis Effects 113

Creating a Picture-in-Picture Effect Using Axis 113

Editing Superimposed Clips with the Source-Destination Controls 114

Using the Axis Effect 116

Stabilization and Motion Tracking 120

Editing and Keying a Superimposed Greenscreen Clip 124

Pulling a Greenscreen Key 127

The Essentials and Beyond 136

Chapter 7 Introduction to ConnectFX 139

Applying ConnectFX to a Clip 139

Understanding the CFX Editor 141

The Viewport 141

FX Node Bins 142

The I/O Node Tab 143

Node Parameter Editor 144

Looping and Extending Clips Using the MUX Node 146

Dealing with Log-Encoded Media in CFX 147

Assembling a Process Tree 149

Match-Moving with the 2D Transform Node 154

Rotoscoping with the GMask Node 159

Changing the Blend Mode and Adding Blur 166

Playing the Effect 170

The Essentials and Beyond 170

Chapter 8 Using the ConnectFX Action Node 171

Moving Timeline Effects into CFX 171

Introducing the Action Node 173

The Action Node Structure 173

The Action Environment 175

The Media List 176

The Object Editor 176

Priority List 177

The Action Schematic 178

The Modular Keyer Schematic 179

Node Preferences for Action Nodes 180

Basic Compositing in Action 181

Adding a Fake Wall 181

Adding a Garbage Matte to the Key 184

Simple Color Correction to Match Layers 188

Building the Door 191

Cutting a Hole in the Wall 191

Building a Dynamic Door Open 194

Putting It All Together 198

Adding Plasma Shimmer 199

Creating ConnectFX Clips 201

The Essentials and Beyond 203

Chapter 9 Working with Audio 205

Importing the Opening Scene 205

Refining the Production Audio 206

Using Audio Effects 209

Adding Music and Sound Effects 211

Setting Clip Levels 215

Mixing with the Audio Desk 216

The Essentials and Beyond 218

Chapter 10 Color Correction 219

Importing the Hallway Scene 219

Finishing Log-Encoded Media 222

Using Each Clip’s Pre-Processing Options 222

Adjusting Each Clip Manually 224

Applying a LUT Using CFX 225

Adding a Color Correction and Setting Up Your Environment 225

Navigating a Sequence while Grading 228

Using the Colour Corrector 229

Shot Matching Using the Colour Warper 235

Colour Warper Primary Adjustments 238

Copying Color Corrections 240

Colour Warper Secondary Adjustments 241

Applying Color Corrections as Gap Effects 246

Applying One Look to a Whole Scene 247

Limiting a Color Correction Using a Wipe 250

The Essentials and Beyond 251

Chapter 11 Adding Titles 253

Adding Text Effects on the Timeline 253

Saving and Reusing Titles 257

Arranging and Styling Text 260

The Essentials and Beyond 263

Chapter 12 Exporting from Smoke 265

Preparing to Export 265

Exporting Your Project 266

Exporting an EDL or AAF File 267

Exporting a Movie 268

Exporting a File Sequence 268

Exporting Audio 269

Archiving Your Project 269

Archiving a Project or Sequence 269

Restoring an Archive 272

The Essentials and Beyond 273

Appendix Answers to Additional Exercises 275

Index 285