VFX Terminology Guide
VFX Terminology Guide
VFX TERMINOLOGY
Have you ever heard or read a VFX term on the internet and
you didn’t understand what that term means? I have been in
this situation too. That is why I decided to put together this VFX
terminology guide which will help you understand what are all
those people on the internet talking about.
W E ARE B U IL D IN G OU R WE B S ITE
ABOUT
I REN A S MITAKOVA
ST E P 1
SET YOUR GOAL
ST E P 2
BE HUMBLE
ST E P 3
BE DEDICATED
ST E P 4
BE CONSISTENT
ST E P 5
LOVE THE PROCESS
D IS COV E R M OR E
LEARNING PROCESS
I thought I would include a little advice which could help
you with learning new skill set. This is something that helped
me as well as my friends, but remember you may want to figure
out your own way, your own habits that suit you.
Learning process we usually go through is almost every time
the same. If you look at any successful artist or even people
from outside of creative industry, they all have something in
common.
They all LOVE THE PROCESS, not only the final result. What a
lot of people struggle with is insecurity and a fear of failure. You
know, when you get that hype ’’I CAN DO THIS’’, you start but
after first, second, third practice you still don’t see the result
you wish it to be. You start feeling like you have failed or you
keep failing and you stop believing your ‘‘I CAN DO THIS’’.
But let me tell you something. You know when you or someone
asks someone ‘‘How long did it take him to create this piece?’’
and their answer is ‘‘I don’t know, probably like 2 days!’’ and
your mouth just stays open because you do not understand how
someone could create this piece in 2 days, how is that possible.
Let’s be straight. No matter who is your icon, whose successful
artist’s work you look at and you are amazed by, the work which
you see and you think it was done in 2 days...it wasn’t made in 2
days.
In reality, what they mean is ‘‘I have been learning and
improving my Matte Painting skills since 2013, so it took me 7
years to actually create this. Got it? It really takes a long time to
build up skills, so keep going even you are failing all the time.
That is part of the process
TIP
Give yourself at least 4-6 hours every week to learn something
new. Small steps can lead to big results.
ALPHA B R U S H ACA D E M Y
Nam et eum quia et
DAVI D LUONG
CO MM O N TERMS U SED
IN MATTE PAIN TIN G
GLOSSARY IN ACCORDANCE WITH VES’(VISUAL EFFECTS SOCIETY) TERMINOLOGY
[REF: VISUAL EFFECTS SOCIETY HANDBOOK (LAST PRINT: 2010) ]
A ALPHA CHAN N EL
AMBIEN T OCCLUSION
AMBIEN T LIGHT
For computer graphics (CG), a directionless light source that
uniformly distributes light in all directions, illuminating objects
equally regardless of their surface orientation. CG ambient
lighting is used as an inexpensive way to simulate the indirect
illumination that occurs in the real world when light bounces off
of other objects in the environment.
AN IMAT IO N
Moving imagery that is created on a frame-by-frame basis. This
may be accomplished via the use of computers or with more
traditional cel animation techniques.
AN T IALIAS IN G
APERT URE
(1)In a lens, the size of the opening that light passes through
(usually given in terms of its f-stop or t-stop). (2) In a camera body,
the mask opening that defines the area of film that will be exposed
on each frame. (3) In a projector, the mask opening that defines
the area of the frame that will be projected.
ART IFACT
AS PECT RAT IO
AT MOS PHERE
A DD I T I ON AL
JACE K PI L ARS KI
B BACKGROUN D
BAKE IN
BAN DIN G
An artifact that appears in areas of a color gradient where the lack
of sufficient color resolution causes noticeable bands instead of
a smooth transition. Also known as contouring. See also Mach
banding.
BATCH CO MPO S IT IN G
A method of compositing that entails the creation of a script or set
of instructions that will be executed at a later time, without the
need for a graphical user interface.
BEAUT Y PAS S
(1) In multiple-pass photography, the pass of the object that
contains the most color and detail, as compared with the matte
pass, reflection pass, or shadow pass. Also called the color pass.
BIT
bit: The basic unit for representing data in a digital environment.
A bit can have only one of two values: 0 or 1.
BIT DEPT H
BLUE S CREEN
BLUE S PILL
BOUN CE LIGHT
C CAMERA APERT UR E
CAMERA/PROJECTION M A PPIN G
CHAN N EL
For a given image, the subimage that is composed only of the
values from a single component of each pixel.
CHRO MA KEYIN G
A keying technique that allows one to separate an object from
its background based on colors that are unique to either the
foreground or background.
CIN EON
A specific image file format used most often in film compositing
work
CLEAN PLAT E
A plate that differs from the primary plate only in that it does not
contain the subject(s) in the frame.
CLON E
CO DEC
COLOR CORRECT IO N
CO LO R MAN AGEME N T
CO LO R RES OLUT IO N
CO LO R S PACE
CO LO R T EMPERAT UR E
COMPOS IT IN G
CO N TACT S HADOW
CO N V ERS IO N
CPU
D DAILIES
E ELEMEN T
EYE LIN E
F ILE FORMAT
F IX IT IN POST
F LARE
FLAT
FLOAT
FLOAT IN G PO IN T
FO RMAT
The size, resolution, aspect ratio, etc., for a given image. (2) The
file format for a given image. (3) The physical medium (such as
film, video, etc.) used to capture or display an image sequence. (4)
A multitude of additional variations and subcategories of the first
three definitions.
F RAME
F RAME RAT E
F REEZE
F REEZE F RAME
M A X X B URMAN
G GAMMA
GRADIN G
Another term for color timing, used primarily in Great Britain.
GRAIN
The individual particles of silver halide in a piece of film that
capture an image when exposed to light. Because the distribution
and sensitivity of these particles are not uniform, they are
perceived (particularly when projected) as causing a noticeable
graininess. Different film stocks will have different visual grain
characteristics.
GREYS CALE
A completely desaturated image, with no color, only shades of
gray.
GREEN S CREEN
GREEN S PILL
HISTO GRAM
HUE
A DD I T I ON AL
P E TE R E L L ENS HAW
I ICC
ILM
IMAGE PROCES S IN G
The use of various tools and algorithms to modify digital images
within a computer.
IN -CAMERA EF FECTS
Visual effects that are accomplished solely during principal
photography, involving no additional post-production.
K KEY
(1) Another name for a matte. (2) The process of extracting a
subject from its background by isolating it with its own matte and
compositing it over a new background.
KEYER
A device or operation used for matte extraction or keying
KEY F RAME
Any frame in which a particular aspect of an item (its size,
location, color, etc.) is specifically defined. The frames that are
not key frames will then contain interpolated values. keyframe
animation: The process of creating animation using key frames.
KEYIN G
KEYLIGHT
LIGHT PAS S
(1) In multiple-pass photography, the pass of individual lights
striking the subject, such as the key or fill, for later use in
compositing. (2) In multiple-pass rendering, the CG element that
represents the effects of a particular light striking the object. See
also beauty pass, matte pass, reflection pass, shadow pass.
LOCKED-O FF CAM E RA
A camera whose position and lens settings do not change over the
duration of the shot.
LOG S PACE
LOO K UP TABLE ( LU T)
LUMIN AN CE
In common usage, synonymous with brightness. In the HSL color
space, luminance is the weighted average of the red, green, and
blue components.
M MACRO
(1) In the digital world, a combination of functions or effects that
are grouped together to create a new effect. (2) A specialized lens
that is capable of focusing at an extremely close distance to the
subject.
MAS K
An image used to selectively restrict or modify certain image-
processing operations on another image or the process of doing
so.
MATCHMOV E
The process of extracting the camera move from a live-action
plate in order to duplicate it in a CG environment. A matchmove is
often created by hand as opposed to 3D tracking in which special
software is used to help automate the process.
MAT T E
MAT T E CHAN N EL
MAT T E PAIN T IN G
A hand-painted image, usually intended to be photorealistic, that
is combined with live-action footage.
MAT T E PAS S
(1) In multiple-pass photography, a pass that is lit in some
high-contrast fashion so that it can be used as a matte during
compositing. (2) In multiple-pass rendering, a separate render
of the alpha channel of one of the objects in the scene for use
during compositing. See also beauty pass, light pass, reflection
pass, shadow pass.
MO CAP
Abbreviation for motion capture. A technique whereby an
individual being’s performance is captured and translated for use
in driving a CG being’s performance. Also known as performance
capture.
N N AMIN G CO N V EN T ION S
O O PAQ UE
The characteristic of an image that causes it to fully obscure any
image that is behind it. Opaque is the opposite of transparent.
O PEN EXR
A specific image file format designed for use with high dynamic
range imagery.
O RTO GRAPHIC
Representing a 3D object in two dimensions.
STE V E N MES S S I NG
P PARALLAX
PARALLAX ( ST EREO)
PERS PECT IV E
A term relating to the size and depth relationships of the objects
in a scene.
PHOTO GRAMMET RY
A method in which textured 3D geometry is created based on the
analysis of multiple 2D images taken from different viewpoints.
PHOTOREALIS M
A global term used to describe CG images that cannot be
distinguished from objects or scenes in the real world.
PIPELIN E
A well-defined set of processes for achieving a certain result.
PIXEL
Originally an abbreviation for picture element, although the term
pixel is generally considered to be an actual word nowadays. A
digital image is composed of a rectangular array of individual
colored points. Each one of these points is referred to as a pixel.
PLAT E
POST-PRODUCT IO N
Work done once principal photography has been completed.
POST V IS
Combines digital elements and production photography to
validate footage selection, provide placeholder shots for editorial,
and refine effects design. Edits incorporating postvis sequences
are often shown to test audiences for feedback and to producers
and visual effects vendors for planning and budgeting. Also see
previs, pitchvis, technical previs, and on-set previs.
PRECO MP
Abbreviation for preliminary composite.
PREV IS
R R&D
REAL T IME
(1) Displaying a sequence of images at the same speed as they will
be viewed in their final form. (2) Computational processing that
appears to be nearly instantaneous.
REN DER
The process of creating a synthetic image from a 3D data set.
REN DERMAN
RESAMPLIN G
RGB
Red, green, and blue. The three primary colors or a method of
specifying the colors in an image based on a mix of these three
components.
RGBA
Red, green, blue, and alpha, grouped as a single unit.
ROTOS CO PE
Originally the name of a device patented in 1917 by Max Fleischer
to aid in cel animation. Now used as a general term for the process
of creating imagery or mattes on a frame-by- frame basis by hand.
Also referred to as a rota
M I K E J OHNS ON
S SAMPLIN G
S EQ UEN CE
(1) A collection of images designed to be played sequentially. (2)
A group of related scenes in a film, usually set in the same time
and/or location.
S HARPEN IN G
The process of applying an algorithm that emphasizes the edges
in an image. The result is an image that appears to have increased
sharpness.
S HARPN ES S
The visual sense of the abruptness of an edge.
S HOT
An unbroken continuous image sequence.
S HUT T ER S PEED
RESAMPLIN G
FORM AT S
READ MORE
Many of you have been asking what is tracking, lookdev, rigging, etc... I have found for you great
video explaining all of the VFX core concepts, which you as a VFX artist should know before you
start working at any VFX studio.
WATC H H E R E
One of the most interesting contents on Youtube is produced by a group called Corridor Crew.
These guys are not only very entertaining, but also they do a very good job at explaining VFX
techniques or why certain CG (computer graphics) or VFX in general look bad or good in specific
scenes. I highly recommend to hit subscribe when you visit them and set a routine for every day
to watch at least one video.
S U B S C R IB E
GR E AT TO START, BUT YO U
HAVE TO STA RT TO BE
GR E AT.”
-Z I G ZI G LAR