Finally! A VFX Workflow With Less Guesswork

Free tutorial assets: inlightvfx.gumroad.com/l/zeyufi
My Patreon Page: / inlightvfx
In this tutorial, I share my VFX workflow to accurately recreate the lighting of a real world scene in a 3D program like Blender. As VFX artists, we want to do as little compositing work as necessary to get VFX elements integrated seamlessly with live action footage. This workflow will help you do exactly that! I explain the best way film your footage, capture and create an HDRI, and use a color reference chart for precise results and easy compositing. I hope this video helps you take some of the guesswork out of your own workflow!
LINKS FROM THE VIDEO:
Setup ACES in Blender: • Setup ACES in Blender
ACES RGB Color Converter: acescolorspace.com/rgb
Color Checker Graphic: tinyurl.com/y83bsurv
InLightVFX ►
Instagram: / inlightvfx​
Twitter: / inlightvfx
Thanks to user "ziwerliz" on Blendswap for the amazing Dodge Challenger model: blendswap.com/blend/4046
And yes, I realize that somehow in my mind I decided it was a Dodge Charger and not a Dodge Challenger and made the mistake the entire video. My deepest apologies to the car community!
#blender #vfx #ACES

[@gordontarpley]

Man, this video is great. I've done this type of work for a long time but have stepped away for about 5 years. Some of the new techniques are SO handy! Thanks for the video!

[@ian.jo_]

you’re a king and i want you to know that

[@randoguy7488]

11:20 Instead of guessing the shadows, you can use the Sun Position plugin (Built-in) which allows you to match the Sun based on the Longitude and latitude, date and time, as well as pair it with the HDRI texture

[@DingoAteMeBaby]

genius!

[@pinpointping6175]

Oooo. I was thinking HDRI Sun Aligner but with the metadata you can pull this info! This is actually pretty smart!

[@constantinosschinas4503]

He guessed everything in general. Horrible workflow. Might as well not use an HDRi at all. Especially with this clear day sky, it will not make a difference.

[@poopiecon1489]

@@constantinosschinas4503 "With Less Guesswork"

[@constantinosschinas4503]

​@@poopiecon1489 With no "less guesswork"! Subscribe now!

[@artofjhill]

great video!

[@mauriciolee7349]

Thank InLightVFX for such a DETAILED & EFFECTIVE visual effects video.

[@Qbanpensil]

This tutorial is very accurate .THis is the way we work in vfx at Framestore studio. Always lighting our scene with hdri's and matching color from the plate. Good job for the video.Really good

[@InLightVFX]

Glad to hear that, thanks!

[@cooperclelan9761]

insane how much information is available on youtube, thank you so much for this video its so easy to follow

[@DucatiKozak]

Thanks for making this overlooked but vital component!

[@rajendrameena150]

Now this is my good to go channel for blender VFX learning.

[@mr_sheen6942]

ive seen a lot of tutorials and people talk about hdris and this is THE most in depth in terms of colour correction

[@OnMars3D]

This was such a fantastic easy to watch tutorial. I was just researching this topic about color matching and compositing for VFX so I'm glad I came across your channel. Keep it up!

[@jjochum]

Thanks for yet another awesome VFX tutorial, cheers man!

[@williamlacrosse9389]

This is pure gold bro! Thx for sharing.

[@TheDragoy]

Very detailed process, thanks for sharing this.

[@jordaocsar]

This is gold, great work!!

[@sheraixy]

You are just simply stunning amazing!!! Best tutorial ever!!!!

[@abbyrodebaugh6634]

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise!!

[@lgab]

This is really a vast simplification on how to use a Macbeth chart, you're only using white balance. It's also doing it in an unnecessary complicated way. There are tools available for Nuke that will analyze a chart and give you a proper 3D LUT which is what you want ideally. Also, it's a much better workflow to render out a new HDR with adjusted colors and use that in your 3D scene, no need to keep track of those gray scale values. Lastly, fine-tuning the final % is best done in comp using cryptomattes and such, not in the shaders, it's just not WYSIWYG enough.

[@Davesplaining]

Came to ask for neutral grade workflow, so interesting comment - any tutorial you know that covers the steps and best practices for it?

[@weeq326]

@@DavesplainingI’ve been looking into this as well. I found this kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y33WhKOMZcunedksi=qo7hfs_-O6QJq5Yc Basically you color balance both footage and hdri. But using ACES and color checker is easy.

[@the_devil_1230]

Great video. this channel deserve more subs

[@XmontyVFXx]

This is phenomenal tut! Thanks!

[@davidwarrenbiazon9291]

Thank you. You are an amazing teacher 🌟

[@alan-db3oc]

This is well explained. Thanks a lot.

[@rileyb3d]

Brilliant video breakdown, thank you.

[@charlesbrain5535]

Awesome as always

[@rossdanielart]

Thank you for doing this!

[@saadullah5583]

this was mega help, need more

[@mikepindara8478]

I love this step by step pipeline, and I hope it starts to become a big standardization across the board. "begins with a careful filming process" = Instantly explodes when all my clients send me a smattering of random stock video, stuff shot from their iphones, or even more likely, things shot by other companies who didn't care about the post teams while filming at all.

[@rajendrameena150]

They keep the mentality that "everything can be done in post". Even just small things from their side can save a lot , you can differentiate your package like the one who provide you all file properly and who don't by significant margin.

[@isnotexist]

Wooooooow! Thanks a lot! You're the Best! Keep it forward! 😍😍😍

[@madlookzvfx]

You are very organized, Mr genius!

[@sidalizaafoune8743]

What amzing !!!..... Keep going with ur amizing work

[@corentinprovost903]

Wonderful content ! Thank you

[@AndyTanguay]

GREAT, clear information. Bravo

[@jerrynkumu]

Welcome back 🌞

[@stim3on]

This, together with your ACES tutorial, is hands down the best explanation of how color and light works I have ever seen! Both in the context of CG work and for understanding how light and color works in general! Thank you so much for these great videos!

[@InLightVFX]

I'm very happy to hear that, Simeon. Thank you!

[@constantinosschinas4503]

think twice.

[@starlingvfx]

amazing tutorial thanks for sharing.

[@mahmoud_ali_963]

You are genius. really smart workflow

[@broctonnunns280]

Not only is this one of the most in-depth tutorials, but it's also so well done and edited. I am an idiot when it comes to color and I was able to follow along! Keep up the solid content!

[@InLightVFX]

That's great to hear, Brocton! I'm glad you can take some helpful things away from it!

[@user-th1hu2jq4k]

You earned a subscriber man

[@ethaisa1239]

wow, that was a fascinating workflow, i don't know if it'll work for me but wow that was interesting.

[@samcraftYT]

That's a great tutorial. Visually I can understand all.

[@hik.horticultures]

Your videos are always on point! You never miss a beat or gloss over anything. This is awesome man, thank you for this!

[@megustaonions5467]

Amazing video!

[@CG101]

That was amazing

[@Exilleron]

Holy....so much content for free... Thank you for that! I know it's not the right language, but I have some Matchmoving videos. May I can help your great work with those as well. I will definetly learn a lot from your channel. The next step in my journey is diving deeper into 3D. Good luck with your channel, I guess 1 of your Videos will take far over 50 hours to complete.

[@nikolaykirchev9672]

We love you!

[@fresnel8279]

Nice job!

[@slickrick37]

Great tutorial. Thank you.

[@InLightVFX]

You're very welcome! Thanks for watching.

[@cyrilswayz6920]

You have a dope teaching style!

[@darkdroide]

THIS IS GREAT

[@noobmaster998]

thanks for sharing the files

[@AyushBakshi]

Bro, you are awesome ♥️

[@Tatarusdesignpictures]

yessssssssssssss you are a master , thanks guys

[@stefanguiton]

Awesome!

[@jalpranjal]

This was very informative

[@joshradmore]

This amazing! I was so stoked to find your ACES workflow videos. I haven't tried things out yet, but this video answered pretty much all of my follow up questions regarding HDRI matching. Thank you

[@hermandsamuel5261]

total respect

[@MylonasFilms]

G'day mate this is Bloody Legendary! thanks from Down Under!

[@dwibasukirahmat3796]

industry standards approved!

[@amswil3232]

I really love your videos i really want to get to that level

[@jonckyy]

I don't usually comment youtube videos, but this is well done !

[@GoofyToonz]

nice! good stuff. You lost me at Nuke but I kept watching anyway!

[@InLightVFX]

Haha, I appreciate you hanging in there. But don't let Nuke stop you! You can easily apply the general concepts of the workflow in many different programs.

[@adamfilip]

Thank you. Now just got to figure out how to apply this to C4D with redshift

[@PoiTorres]

The explanation is so detailed my brain cannot comprehend I'm saving this video, I need to watch this multiple times.

[@vijithasenadeera7576]

good teacher keep it up

[@andreybagrichuk5365]

Ssso Nice, thank U a lot for content

[@kadamin]

Maximum nice :) ThankU

[@johntnguyen1976]

This is super epic....for sure to be a bookmark I'll come back to again and again. Well done, good sir!

[@polljons9848]

Thank you for continuing to do this! It's insanely exciting.

[@Dk20Silver]

Thank you.

[@oGrqpez]

i got to try this

[@LenzGraphics]

Wow, this video is literally perfect! I’m currently working on a short film with a few vfx shots. This is exactly what I needed. Well done Jacob!

[@InLightVFX]

Hey, Lenz! Thanks so much!

[@akberruku2646]

MY GUY

[@StepanHKA]

:D That intro

[@VirtuallySerious]

This channel is hands down the best intro to 3D VFX workflows on KZbin, great work! I've been banging my head against the wall trying to get rid of the CG Sun step by using an ND for the lowest exposure bracket on the HDRI. But it doesn't give the right EV value in the metadata to properly auto merge in Photoshop with the other exposure brackets. Do you have any idea if there is a way to manually assign the EV value while merging HDRI brackets? This save so much time and make the results even more accurate.

[@InLightVFX]

Great question. Maybe this article can help: blog.polyhaven.com/how-to-shoot-the-sun/

[@Pouk3D]

I literally don't need to know any of this. It was very cool.

[@nicolaspojmaevich]

This was incredible, very well explained, why didnt you compsite everything in nuke?

[@thomasleclech2917]

Super simple explanations and great visuals, thank you!

[@bram_gunst]

This workflow is amazing and not too complicated. Thank you!

[@InLightVFX]

Absolutely, happy to share!

[@1polygonewithme]

Master Yoda is back again great quality work. Thanks for the knowledge.

[@ericfak]

Great tips! Though Im curious to the choice of comping in Blender when you have access to Nuke there lolol

[@TrigFX]

I was gonna say the same...!! LOL Far more control in Nuke overall...but I guess not everyone is comfortable with Nuke or wants to learn it. But for work like this, I'd highly recommend at least giving it a go...for my money, it's simpler than Blender...!

[@UHStudio]

brilliant video - but it all looks compicated! crazy how much work is required in 2023 to match colours between different cameras and a render engine!

[@sunyoucai]

This was such a fantastic easy to watch tutorial. Keep up the solid content!

[@romantenger2328]

Very well done tutorial! The quality of your content is amazing!

[@SpencerMagnusson]

-Make sure that- "Clamp result" -for that Multiply node for your HDRI in Blender is unchecked- ! -Otherwise your HDRI will be clamped to zero to one- Nvm, I misread and now see you already did it. And for the Color Balance node, use the "Offset/Power/Slope" correction format instead of "Lift/Gamma/Gain" - that method also makes some clamping and color space assumptions, while "Offset/Power/Slope" works with your scene space. Great walkthrough and steps! Love seeing others share their VFX workflow.

[@InLightVFX]

Hey Spencer! I think you're referencing the step at 8:23 correct? 'Clamp Result' is unchecked, and you're right, that is quite important. 'Clamp Factor' is checked which is a new setting on that node in version 3.4 I believe. Good to know about the Color Balance node, thanks!

[@SpencerMagnusson]

@@InLightVFX My bad, I had misread - weird that factor is after result. And your result looked great, so I was confused. I'll update my comment, cheers!

[@angosalvo5734]

Thanks for this. Wondering what's the point of the whole hassle of this workflow that's supposed to be precise if one ends up adjust it colors and shadows in post?

[@BongbokCG]

🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@sheraixy]

could you make an additional tutorial, how to read out the layers of the openEXR in NUKE?

[@investvfx]

Hi! At minute 3:38 I see that you have the OCIO option checked, how could I make this work on a BRAW video? with the OCIO option checked I get an error all the time when choosing "Blackmagic Film Generation 5" in "Input Transform". With the "Nuke" option selected it works, but the image is very dark, what happens if I check the box to the right of "Input Transform" called "Raw Data"? This way everything seems to work fine. The truth I am seeing that working in BRAW is giving me quite a few glitches, I don't know if there is a better workflow for it, anyway I love how you explain, I have watched several videos and you are very talented, I am waiting for more videos!!! Best regards!

[@IvormMedia]

Thks for this great tutorial! Why are you using Nuke? Can't you do everything inside Resolve/Fusion?

[@Mariocotorra]

It's remarkable how well you describe everything. Please continue making videos because are fantastic !

[@constantinosschinas4503]

He describes remarkably well, a remarkably flawed workflow.

[@charlesleroq932]

This was a big help - the one thing you didn't make clear was saying "I will multiply these values with these other values" without explaining where you got those other values. Am I right in presuming you in fact divided the first set by the second?

[@x17YDx]

Rlly good tutorial , I will use this workflow in my work . But can I request now a tutorial with a new blender lut , called agx ?

[@edh615]

I think the whole point of the setup is to not have to manually adjust in post, and the full color checker should be used to adjust the grade.

[@gadass]

Insta360 One X2 is not capable to make proper HDRI's - because exposure bracketing is locked at some point, 'darkest' photo in sun condition is already fully lighten. (you can't lower exposure to see sun shape) Also One X2 doesn't have any ND filters.

[@Skovidesign]

Onther banger

[@TheDucaChannel]

Hi InLightVFX, great tut! A question: do we make the operations made in Nuke (starting at 3:35) in another compositing software, like Natron, Fusion or at least in After Effects? thanks for a reply!

[@InLightVFX]

Hi there, you can certainly do those operations in a different software other than Nuke. The most important thing is to make sure you have the proper color spaces set for the working color space and the input color space (of the footage and hdri). Good luck!

[@Gasconauxolives]

Very impressive process and high quality content. Congrats.

[@user-db9do2hi7b]

Thanks. Your chanel is trully the most high quality CG content I have ever watched. Im very sad about the amount of work that you do and your viewers\subscribers amount. You deserve more, and you will have it! Sorry for my English. Thanks again, awesome job.

[@InLightVFX]

Thank you for the encouraging comment! I'm glad to have kind people like you watching and learning.

[@tyler.t.seaman]

Great video, man! Just out of curiosity, why did you use Nuke to transform the color space over Davinci Resolve?

[@InLightVFX]

Thanks, Tyler! The color management in Nuke is a lot more simple to keep straight from my experience. In Davinci Resolve I'm just not as confident when I'm converting between color spaces. Settings are just not layed out as nicely or clearly.

[@rajendrameena150]

Actually downloading & learning nuke is a bit typical.

[@BrownHuman]

Beautiful workflow man. Really simple and straightforward whilst also covering the most complex stuff. Quick question tho. How did you manage to remove all those unnecessary colorspaces when installing ACES in blender ? Like around 9:14 i see only a handful of useful profiles while in mine there's a huge list of over 50 lol.

[@carn1voor]

Look for aces simplified or buy the kit;)

[@titi-zh3xx]

drive.google.com/file/d/1YX-4_PGfeqOb4PCIS-wbTxejn4Yleuqt/view