What Software Makes the BEST VFX???

A factory is generally made up of different departments, all working together to produce the final product. The VFX industry is similar, with many different departments, each with its own area of expertise, all working together to produce the final product. As you'd find in a factory, each department requires a different set of tools and machinery to complete their task. In the VFX industry, each department requires a different set of software tools to complete theirs!
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Rotoscoping.
This skill is when the VFX artist basically traces around an object to create a mask that can then be used to remove the object from the shot to use on a different background. This process is quicker and easier when the background is a green or blue screen because you can then create this mask using color hues or Chroma range, a process known as Chroma Keying.
The majority of Big VFX houses outsource their "Grunt work" (Matchmoving and Rotoscoping) to India or Asia but when they do do it, they tend to use either, Silhouette or Mochapro, and some rotoscoping will be done in Nuke by Foundry.

Matchmoving.
Matchmoving uses a variety of different techniques to track the movement of that camera that is filming a certain shot, this enables them to create a virtual camera that mimics these movements so that when they composite any 3D elements they've created back into the original plate, the scale, orientation, are perspective are perfectly matched. This process (much like rotoscoping) is laborious and time-consuming and is generally "Outsourced" but the most popular software in use is 3D Equalizer, SynthEyes, and PFTrack. 3D Equalizer is the most popular and has been in use since 1996.

FX.
This department is mainly responsible for creating natural effects, water, wind, fire, smoke, magical effects, and explosions. Unlike CG objects, characters, and animals, these effects are all too big, and too complicated to be animated by hand, so VFX Artists simulate them using Procedural Simulation Software. The two that are most widely used are Houdini by SideFX and Maya by Autodesk. Houdini is however very much the most widely used, so much so, that it has become the industry's standard.

Modeling.
Modeling artists create 3D models of characters, animals, plants and objects. Working from concept artwork, photographs, and other reference material, they begin by creating a wireframe, commonly referred to as a "Mesh" and then use digital tools to "sculpt" it. When ready, the 3D models can then be passed on to be animated, textured, and lit. There are a lot of software options out there but the main ones used are, Maya by Autodesk, 3D Studio Max by Autodesk, ZBrush by Pixologic, Mudbox by Autodesk, and MODO by Foundry.

Animation.
Animators use CG rigs to animate the objects previously created by the modelers. These rigs can be set up to control where the joints or pivot points of an object are, or how far an object can move or rotate. The animators must then use these controls not only to control movement but to convey emotion. whereas a puppet may just drop its head, an animated character will make you feel its sadness.

Texture and Shading.
The Texture artist is responsible for creating photorealistic textures to be placed on the gray 3D models that were made by the modeling department. Maya by Autodesk and 3D Studio Max by Autodesk are generally used for shading because both feature a Node-based shading system. Textures, however, are usually created with either Mari by Foundry, Substance Painter by Adobe, or Photoshop, also by Adobe.

Rendering.
This is the engine that is responsible for the final 3D image generation and is generally connected to the modeling and shading software. The most widely used are Renderman by Pixar, Arnold by Autodesk, and V-ray by Chaos.

Compositing.
Compositors take all the CG components from each department and combine them with matte paintings and live-action footage to create the final shot.
Nuke by Foundry is the most popular and the most widely used, a similar software is Fusion by Black Magic Design but it is far less popular.

Please give us a like if you enjoyed this video, don't forget the links to the music in this video are in the video description and be sure to let us know, in the comments, which movie VFX you'd like to see behind next!

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[AnimationDunk]

No software will make the best VFX, the best capable team will!

[nickblomgren]

I'm a heavy After Effects user: So I've gotten really good at working on things in other programs while I wait for After Effects to stop crashing.

[infiltradooo]

Industry Standard

Compositing : Nuke
VFX : Houdini and Maya
3d Modeling (Props) : Maya
Sculpting : Zbrush
Texturing : Mudbox, Mari and Photoshop
Tracking : Boujou
Tree generator : SpeedTree
Enviroment generator : World Creator
Rendering : Arnold Render, Octane Render, Render Man, Vray
Photogrammetry : Photoscan
Movie Editor : Avid
Color Correction : Davinci Resolve

Youtube Standard

Compositing : After Effects
VFX : Blender
3D Modeling : Blender
Sculpting : Zbrush or Blender
Texturing : Substance Painter or Photoshop
3DTracking : Boujou or Blender
Tree Generator : Blender
Enviroment generator : Blender
Rendering : Cycles
Photogrammetry : Meshroom
Movie Editor : Adobe Premiere or Sony Vegas
Color Correction : Adobe Premiere with Magic Bullet plugin

All the tools in the industry are within the reach of every professional, the problem is the generalization of YouTube tutorials.

Industry quality : Photoreal
Youtube quality : Like a render game.

[raktimjs]

Today I'm super happy. Cause, today I've sucesfully made my first and complete render in Blender!!

[sweiland]

"to India or Asia"

India is in Asia.

[BryanBrewer_BrewhouseArtStudio]

Something you forgot to mention Is Autodesk's Motionbuilder. It is the industry standard for dealing with dense motion capture data. It takes the data and solves or retargets it to the cg character and seamlessly stitches shorter sequences together into longer sequences so that the animation can be handed off to an animator who can either continue motion editing in Motionbuilder or move over to a DCC app like Maya to continue their edits. Not to mention it is used on set for seeing real-time feedback of the actors motions on their digital double. Motionbuilder is an integral tool in any pipeline that requires using motion capture data.

[thiyagarajank]

Hollywood - Maya and Nuke
Youtuber - Blender and after effects

[tooranimation]

It really depends on the artist preference, I personally use combination of many, most recently reallusion character creator and Iclone are taking over my work, but my final render is normally done in 3Ds max.. It really depends on the artists.. Seen artists produce epic work of art with free software and Hollywood quality production companies producing inferior CG although big budget is used (Not to mention names :))
Thanks for your channel

[gwendolynporter]

I love movies. At 72 I've seen the changes in the film industry but I don't know how it works. I really didn't want to know because it takes away the wow factor for me; but, this was great. The Matrix, Dune andJohn Carter aka Virginia are my early favorites. Thanks to all the smart people who make it work.

[ArnoldJupiterOfficial]

You guys make us learn and even see what’s behind stuff we watch

[dmitrylevitsky]

Yep, that's a cool description - but let's not forget that every VFX house has its own tools for VFX... based or created upon major software. nevertheless, if you want to dive into CG - just do it, it's not hard to convert from one software to another.. all the bells and whistles are the same, just in different panels! so just do your best!

[iwetstilcabele]

went through when I first started video editing, now it's taking a whole new switch and learning soft will only boost my courage for the

[nandusajithkumar]

comparing maya with blender is stupid
blender has a to z tools like modeling sculpting animation texturing compositing and its free
but autodesk have the best softwares for all and its a business
maya for modeling uv animation simulations rendering
max for hard surface modeling uv animation and rendering
mudbox for sculpting and texturing and lot other softwares too
the main diffrence is one is free and other is a business

[samuelchristopher]

I think you did not mention one
Blender it has all th e animation from compositing, sculpting, VFX, video editor, Rendering and so on

[auxcc]

Autodesk Flame is the best finish system for

[ozyekutiely]

Blender is great for all kinds of vfx! And it's free!

[JustWastedHoursHere]

Hard to believe that not too long ago early CG effects were done with software that is script based, including character object creation and animation. Animators today have it made in the shade compared to early works such as Toy Story 1 and Titanic.

[jebinjames]

In my experience maya is good for base modelling and zbrush is very advanced for sculpting .👍👍👍

[lawrencebrooks]

I'd love to see you do a video on set extensions involving water - lakes, rivers, the ocean.

[tadiwa]

Your narration is top notch... I'm a fan