What VFX Software Do the Pros Actually Use?
Visual Effects is a term used to describe digitally produced images for films, commercials, music videos, games, and many other moving media.
It’s a very dynamic and expansive field. The entire work of Visual Effects isn’t limited to a single software.
We’ve experienced magical worlds that only exist in the cinematic universe. We’ve seen space, we’ve seen cities get destroyed by alien invasions.
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We’ve been given a glimpse of what a zombie apocalypse could look like and how to (maybe) survive it.
We’ve seen doctors’ and scientists’ experiments go wrong, unleashing unknown creatures that caused havoc across the world.
We’ve gotten up close with our beloved superheroes, all thanks to Visual Effects.
Visual Effects are the integration of actual live footage and digitally produced imagery to create an illusion of a realistic-looking environment.
Visual Effects are different from Special Effects. VFX are effects that can’t be done on set or are impossible to achieve in real life.
Since new worlds, superheroes, monsters, and magical powers are all being created and controlled digitally through computers, something powerful has to be driving it all. That’s the software. Nothing gets made without it.
VFX can be divided into modeling, animation, shading/texturing, effects, rendering, match moving, rotoscoping, and compositing.
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Today, we’re going to talk about the most used VFX software in movie production houses. Every studio is different, sure, but the software they rely on revolves around just a few powerful tools.
3D MODELING
3D modeling is the creation of a three-dimensional character or object inside simulated software. It can range from simple shapes all the way up to complex high-polygon models.
There are five (5) major software tools for 3D Modeling:
- Autodesk Maya
- Autodesk 3ds Max
- For 3D Modeling, Autodesk Maya and Autodesk 3ds Max have become the industry standard. Both are capable of building 3D characters, animating, rigging, creating particles, and more. Both are very powerful and come with a steep price tag. Autodesk has been the leading name in 3D design, engineering, and entertainment software.
- Pixologic ZBrush
- ZBrush is the industry standard for 3D Sculpting. 3D Sculpting is modeling a 3D object or character as if it were made out of clay.
- Autodesk Mudbox
- A powerful 3D Sculpting tool as well, and a direct counterpart of ZBrush.
- Modo
ANIMATION
Animation, in all its forms, still boils down to this: a method where shapes, characters, and objects are given life by digitally controlling them, creating lifelike, realistic, fluid movements. In 3D Animation, there’s only one name that reigns supreme: Autodesk Maya.
Autodesk Maya is the industry standard for computer graphics. It’s played a key role in the creation of Academy Award-winning films such as The Matrix, Spider-Man, Avatar, Finding Nemo, Up, Frozen, Pacific Rim, Jurassic Park, and so many more.
TEXTURE & SHADING
Texture and Shading add details to your models. Usually, whatever software you used to build the 3D model is the same one you’ll use for shading.
Autodesk Maya and Autodesk 3ds Max are popular shading systems.
Textures are images created through software like Foundry Mari, Substance Painter, and Adobe Photoshop.
EFFECTS
Simulations like smoke, fire, flood, rain, and other fluid elements are handled by 2 top-tier tools: Houdini and Autodesk Maya.
Houdini is the standard for effects simulation, and it’s much better at dynamic simulations compared to Maya.
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Houdini is a 3D animation and special effects application built for work in 3D animation and VFX for film, TV, video games, and virtual reality.
RENDERING
3D Rendering is usually the final phase of the 3D creation process. Your computer gathers the information from your scene and calculates the final result.
The output is usually a single image or a series of images compiled together.
This process is typically connected with the modeling and shading software, which handles the final 3D image generation.
There are three (3) software tools used by movie houses: Autodesk Arnold, VRay, and Pixar’s Renderman, which has been used 27 times out of 30 movies that won the Best Visual Effects Oscar.
MATCH MOVING
The process of extracting camera motion information from film footage. There are three (3) main software options. 3D Equalizer, the most popular and powerful, has been used since 1996. Then there’s SynthEyes and The Pixel Farm’s PFTrack.
ROTOSCOPING
It’s an old VFX technique that’s still used to this day. It’s the process of tracing over footage, frame by frame, to be used in live-action and animated films. Silhouette and Mocha Pro are the go-to tools for pros; both have advanced features built for VFX studios.
COMPOSITING
The final stage of Visual Effects. VFX Compositing is combining different elements from different sources to create an illusion that they’re all part of a single scene. This means incorporating the VFX into live footage and blending them together to build the final shot of the film.
The software used for compositing is Nuke. (Surprise! It’s not After Effects, nope.)
Nuke is a node-based compositing software, while After Effects is layer-based. Node-based compositing gives you much greater control over your composition, and working in a node-based system is much faster than layer-based.
After Effects is an amazing tool that lets you create almost any kind of animation and effects, but when it comes to compositing specifically, its layer-based system is too limited for complex tasks. Yes, it has been used in movies alongside other software, but not as the primary tool for compositing.
After Effects might work for TV commercials and films that aren’t effects-heavy, but it’s not really ideal for huge projects.
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Blackmagic Design Fusion is a less well-known compositing tool but is also used by some production houses.
