Head over to Video Copilot to read what Andrew Kramer calls PERFECT Compositing!

It’s a really good quick guide for all you beginning Compositors out there. And details what to focus on, think about, and watch out for when working on a shot.

LINK: PERFECT Compositing

As we get closer to launching Action Essentials 2, I have been developing a simple guideline for better compositing that is broken down to 7 key points.  This is by no means a ‘complete’ guide for for every scenario but it should be a good place to start. I plan on detailing many of these techniques in the future but here is a basic overview.

Perspective:
When compositing a scene, you want to consider the perspective of your plate (raw footage) and carefully mix elements that align with your shot. A major perspective conflict can be a give-away that your shot was poorly composited.

Esthetics (aesthetics):
Make it look cool. Keep an eye on your composition and balance the elements in your scene evenly. Look at the composite as a whole and not just the area you are working on.

Randomize:
The world is unpredictable so you want to use variations in your compositing work. One example is when creating an army of soldiers from a small group of extras.  It is important to offset the individuals by time and space so they do not look mechanically duplicated. This is also important when adding muzzle flashes and ricochets. Don’t just reuse the same muzzle fire or ricochet, use multiple clips and alter the size and rotation so that your mind doesn’t pick up on the pattern of similarity.