“I’ll remember this when I come back to it later.”

This is one of the easiest lies to tell ourselves when we’re compositing. Here are a few techniques for turning that lie into the truth when you (or whoever touches this shot next, see Rule 4) come back to your script.

The reality is, even if we do continue the work hours, days, or even weeks later, we won’t remember the details of what we were doing. If we haven’t left ourselves any notes, we’ll have to spend time figuring out what all this stuff is and what it’s for all over again. That’s time wasted.

Or maybe we do still remember the details. But holding them in memory was not the best use of our brain power during that period. In Getting Things Done, David Allen describes the mental effort of keeping our to-do list in our head and how carrying that list leaves us less capacity for addressing the problems at hand. That’s brainpower wasted.

Writing things down in a place where we’ll see them again is Allen’s key tool for unlocking productivity. We can’t bring our full attention to bear on our current problem until we get that list off our mind. But we won’t be able to get that list off our mind unless we know it’s in a place where we’ll see it again when we need to. Luckily, Nuke comes with some built-in labeling tools that are perfect for writing down that information in exactly the place we’ll need it later.

Node Name

Node names are editable. There’s even a keyboard shortcut for it. Select the node, hit n,and type. It only takes a few seconds to turn Roto11 into Roto_redDress, making it so much easier to remember the next time we see it.

Nuke will even let us remove the node’s class from the name, but be careful. We get very used to having it there. It’s frustrating to have to open the properties panel to tell whether that orange node is a Blur or a Defocus.

Node Labels

Every Nuke node has a Label knob with a text box where we can type anything we want. This is the perfect place for a quick comment about the purpose this node serves in the comp, about where it came from, or any other piece of data that may be useful later. 

Labeled Dots

Dots stick the label text out the side to increase readability. Labeled Dots are really useful for labeling the output point of a section of our script, such as an assembled AOV build, or the group of nodes that create our background.

We can even make the label text really big, so it’s still readable even while we’re viewing the entire graph. (Extra points for stepping down the label sizes as you move into smaller and smaller subsections of your graph. These will get hidden and revealed automatically, maintaining readability as you zoom the Node Graph in or out.)

Sticky Notes

A big, yellow StickyNote makes an eye-catching reminder of something that’s unfinished or will need refinement before final delivery.

They’re also a great place to hold a to-do list. Place it close to the main Write node and give it three sections: “done,” “to-do,” and “questions.” When notes come up in reviews, make them new entries in “to-do.” As you address each note, move it to “done.” Having that to-do list written down frees us up to focus on one task at a time.

As we work, there will be things that we see that will need to be addressed for final, but will need to wait for later because the shot isn’t yet at that level of scrutiny. Add a to-do item so you don’t lose track of it.

Similarly, issues may pop up that need a lead’s or supervisor’s input. Add them to “questions” so whoever’s reviewing can respond.

All this note-taking seems like a lot of work at first. But the magic of keeping these running lists is that when it’s time to publish and send for review, we can copy this whole thing and paste it into the submission comments. Now anyone who views our work knows exactly what we did since the last version, has a list of the problems that we know need to be solved in later versions, and can clear up any questions we asked. This tells them way more than a cryptic “improved integration” note ever would. Clear and open communication builds trust (Rule 3) and makes your working life easier.

Pro tip: Start the text with <alignl> to get nice, left-justified lists instead of centered ones.

Backdrops

The Backdrop is the least useful node for organizing and labeling, even though it was designed for, and is commonly used for those purposes. 

Why? 

It is harder to select a Backdrop than the nodes it contains, especially as it gets bigger.

Backdrops do not expand automatically as the portion of the node graph that they contain grows. Ever tried to grab the bottom-right corner of a big Backdrop when zoomed out in the Node Graph? Such a pain. So fiddly and slow. And no setup ever got smaller as it got closer to final. Everything grows,all the time.

Finally, the default behavior adds bright, random color to your node graph, making it more difficult to see subtle color differences in your Viewer. 

Okay, so what should we do instead?

Arrange each chunk of nodes so it can be easily selected in a single swipe, without also selecting unwanted nodes. This replicates the organizing feature of the Backdrop while avoiding the selecting and resizing problems.

Then, use a Dot to label the chunk’s output. Make the text size appropriate to the size of the chunk. Large labels will still be visible when viewing the entire Node Graph, and smaller ones will become visible as we zoom into smaller sections of the graph.

Using these two techniques (as in the script in Labeled Dots, above) gives us a script that’s more flexible and easier to refactor as the shot evolves. The easier rearranging our Node Graph is, the more likely we are to do it, giving us easier to read scripts with much less time spent tracing pipe paths and figuring out what feeds where.

Wrapup

Labeling things pays dividends when we come back to our scripts and can get right to work. It pays back double when our script gets handed off to someone else before we get back to it. That person will be able to find their way around just like we did thanks to our handy labels. They’ll think we’re pretty nice to work with.

And what about that day your supe has to hop into one of your scripts? (You know they’re the ones who fix any last-minute issues in our comps once we’ve rotated onto other shows, right?) That day is going to be a stressful one for them. If they find a conveniently-labeled, organized script, they’ll be able to get right to work and fix the issue. Easy-peasy. And they’ll also remember how nice your stuff was to work with the next time they’re requesting people for their crew. Being easy to work with puts you at the top of the list.

It’s been a long time coming. Originally scheduled for release in 2023, Jerry Seinfelds’s Unfrosted will come to screens on 3 May 2024. I can’t wait. I learned so many things working on this show. Our crew was experienced and collaborative — the best kind of crew — and I’m excited for our (invisible) work to be shared with the world.

One of the challenging parts of compositing is that there are always multiple ways to do anything. How do we know which way is best? Use these Comp Rules.

Rule 1: Keep it simple.

Nothing in VFX is ever simple. But that doesn’t mean your work should be complicated.

The minimum viable product is an idea from business development. Apply this idea to compositing. When starting a new comp, only build out as much of the comp as is necessary to get the feedback you need.

As you get that feedback and respond to it, keep simplicity in mind. Organize and label things clearly so that your comp is easy to understand (because Rule 4.) Keep building the minimum viable product in the context of that new feedback. Sometimes the process will lead to complication. Don’t stress. (Rule 6).

Rule 2: Faster is better.

Compositing is an iterative process. Each time you go through the review cycle (make a change, render, review, plan the next step, repeat), your work gets better. The faster you can get through the cycle, the faster you can get to final. Consider how your choices affect both render speed and interactivity in the GUI.

Picking up someone else’s work? See what you can do to make it run faster. If all else fails, precomp the parts you aren’t actively working on. Don’t wait for anything that you’re not adjusting.

Rule 3: Build trust.

This rule has nothing at all to do with compositing practice — it’s all about people skills. Having the trust of your immediate supervisor and teammates will make your job easier and help you final faster.

How can you build that trust? Be predictable. Communicate early and often.

You’ve been assigned some work, and probably a deadline to finish it. If you don’t have the time, materials, or anything else you need to finish the work by the deadline, that’s a problem.

Don’t ignore the problem. Sing out about it. Do it as early as possible. You may be reluctant to pass along bad news or be seen as a complainer. But you might be the only person in your team that is aware of the problem right now. If you stay quiet, other people will find out about the problem eventually. But by then it’ll be too late to fix it easily. Raising an issue early means you and your team have more options.

Problems arrive for so many different reasons. Maybe you misunderstood the brief. Maybe there’s a bottleneck somewhere upstream in the pipeline. Maybe the client changed their mind about what they want. Each one of these is only a problem until it’s acknowledged and solved. So speak out, get it solved, and get back to work.

Hiding problems destroys trust. Revealing them — especially if you can offer possible solutions when you do — builds it, and makes your work life better.

Rule 4: You won’t be the last person to work on it.

Don’t assume that nobody else is going to see the mess you are currently making in your comp script. Picking up work from other compositors is a regular part of the VFX process. Chances are that you won’t be the last person to touch the comp you’re doing now, even if you do take it to final. Did you know that your comp supe will be the one who opens up your script to hit a last-minute client note that comes in after you and the rest of the compositors have rotated onto new shows? Your supe may not be in the most forgiving mindset while they wade into your mess, and might still have that in mind the next time you’re on their crew. It’s a sobering thought, no?

So make your work easy for someone else to pick up, whether it’s your supervisor, your crewmate, or even you if you have to go back to something after some time has passed. Work in single-purpose sections that have clear inputs and outputs. Label things. Leave notes about what’s done and what still needs attention. Clean up your messes. Do it because your script is a representation of you, and because you remember Rule 3.

Rule 5: Check your work.

Have you ever sat in dailies and watched a render-mangled version of your shot loop on the big screen? It’s not fun, is it? You missed an opportunity to get feedback on your work and wasted the time of everyone in the room. That happened because you didn’t check your work.

Check every render, every time. Difference your output against the plate and make sure there are only changes where there are supposed to be changes. Check your frame edges. Check your grain.

Checking your work doesn’t only apply to your comp’s output. How do you know the track you just made is good? Check it. Reversing a matchmove yields a stabilize. If the feature you just tracked jumps around in the stabilize, that track is no good. Redo it.

Picking up a new matte painting or an AOV build for your CG monster? Check the new work against the previous version to make sure that nothing changes that wasn’t supposed to change.

Build a reputation for finding and fixing errors before someone else points them out. Do it by checking your work.

Rule 6: Every rule has an exception.

No simple heuristic will always work in every situation. Production shots have a way of blooming in complexity. It’s not always easy to contain the chaos. Don’t worry. But also, don’t give up on the rules entirely. Stay focused on getting your shot to final. Keep going where the process leads.

Rule 7: Facilitate changes.

Change is inevitable. You are working to someone else’s specifications. Don’t fight it, flow with it.

Make your life easier by building structures that are easily modified. Make edits at source resolution when possible. Make sure each section of your comp has a single function and that it has clear inputs and outputs.

Responding to last-minute changes becomes much easier when you’re prepared for it. And being able to respond with, “Okay, will do.” instead of, “That will take three days.” helps your supervisor relax. (See Rule 3.)

That’s it.

What do you think of these rules? Have a bone to pick? Did I miss something? Please let me know! In the spirit of Sister Corita, “There should be new rules next week.” Stay tuned.