4 stars cause no one or nuthing is perfect. thanks kelly.
bA very Precise and perhaps Overfocused Reference Being relatively new and in self education of digital compositing, this was one of the first books I purchased. Based on the way the context goes, this book will either be your bible or a dust gathering reference on the shelf. For me this was the perfect way to get started and learn exactly and truly in depth on how many different things can be acheived.
However, it may be too precise. Unless you have the high-end programs Commotion, Digital Fusion, or After Effects, this will probably be a waste of your time. The projects it focuses on are very common to the field, but there isn't enough of the creative aspect, or case studies on how problems are fixed. Also, I found it very useful that the book went into how to do each effect in various programs, but others have said this was a relative waste of space.
Overall, the book stretches into every basic realm of the field and career, giving numerous case studies and information to help people develop their demo reels etc.
If you already have a job in the field, or are relatively experience, then this book is a good reference on the basics and common problem solving techniques. For others, this book is good to open your horizons... if you have the right software that is.
I give this book four stars, mainly because of how much it helped me.
This wouldn't be so bad if it weren't for the fact that a great majority of the time (particularly in regards to Newtek Aura), you are told that if you want to do such-and-such compositing task, you'll need to "use another program" that does because " doesn't support it". It's so recurring that it almost seems like a joke whenever you get to the Newtek Aura section of each tutorial, and the book basically tells you that you're screwed if you want to do that particular compositing task in it.
As other reviewers have mentioned, there is a heavy bias towards Eyeon Digital Fusion in this book. However, even as a heavy After Effects user, I didnt mind this at all, since its the *concepts* and techniques that matter to me more. If you understand these basic concepts, you can apply them to *any* compositing application. This is the book's main virtue. The in-depth discussions of Matchmoving, bluescreening, tracking and "cleanup" are very good, and haven't really been practically discussed at length in any other book, AFAIK. Theres also a lot of good information about the unglamourous side of CGI work--the "business" of selling yourself and getting work.
If the author would have just narrowed his scope, application-wise, this could have been an absolutely killer book. The inclusion of Chalice and Shake in this book are particularly puzzling, since it would seem to me that anyone who is in a position to be actually /using/ these products is already doing high-end film compositing to begin with, and probably wouldn't need a book like this. The fact is that the vast majority of digital compositors who would even *need* a book like this are most likely using more common applications like Digital Fusion, After Effects and Commotion. If this book just concentrated on these apps, more space could be used to discuss each of thier strengths and weaknesses relative to the compositing task at hand, and in the end, it would make for a much more practical and useful book.
All that being said, I still think this book is worth getting if you aren't already a battle-scarred veteran of digital compositing. Just be prepared to wade through a lot of chaff to get to the real useful bits. I would still recommend buying Brinkmann's "The Art and Science of Digital Compositing" first, though. Thats as close to a "bible" as you'll get right now. "Digital Compositing in Depth" is *almost* there....
