Apple Shake 4 Tutorials - Manual (Page 92)

92 Chapter 3 Depth Compositing
Simulated Depth and 3D Compositing
In this tutorial, you’ll use various methods to create the illusion of depth in composites.
You can simulate 3D transformations by positioning, scaling, and rotating the images in
the composite. Shake can also perform Z channel operations to filter and mask
elements, according to the perceived distance from the “camera” or viewing plane.
The MultiPlane node provides another method by compositing elements in 3D space
(with x, y, and z axes). Animated camera moves simulate the change in depth and
perspective. You can also import animation data from third-party software, and utilize
the “camera” and point cloud data in the MultiPlane 3D compositing space.
The images for this tutorial were produced by Adonic Film, Los Angeles.
Setting Up the Depth Composite
Start by reading in the images for the first project. You’ll use these images to review
basic information about compositing for simulated depth.
To read in the images for a Z channel composite:
1 In a new Shake script, insert an Image–FileIn node.
2 When the File Browser appears, navigate to $HOME/nreal/Tutorial_Media/Tutorial_03/
images/depth.
Shift-click to select balloons.iff, city_bg.jpg, and city_bg_depth.jpg. Then click OK.
You’ll see the following nodes in the Node View. The balloons.iff image has the Z
channel embedded in the file.