ENDA Episode 134→ The time when ENDA figured out how to comp for the first time (Part 2)
Every operation in your node graph is driven by binary decisions: 1 or 0, yes or no, information or absence. Once you accept that, you stop chasing tutorials and start thinking through the problem
In Part 1, I teased a breakthrough that flipped my switch from “button-pusher” to a compositor’s mindset. Here’s what really happened:
I spent days endlessly tweaking Mocha Pro, hoping the software would miraculously solve my matchmoves. But comp isn’t magic, it’s pure logic (and yes, a bit of math).
Every operation in your node graph is driven by binary decisions: 1 or 0, yes or no, information or absence. Once you accept that, you stop chasing tutorials and start thinking through the problem:
1️⃣ Embrace the logic
Instead of smearing splines everywhere, I asked myself, “What is this spline telling the solver? Where is it missing data?” Understanding that each control point influences the “knowledge” Mocha has about camera motion turned my approach upside-down.
2️⃣ Tweak with purpose
When the perspective still wobbled, I didn’t throw more points at it. I stepped back, visualized the binary flow (data in, data out), and nudged individual handles until the result clicked. Suddenly, the TV screen snapped perfectly into place.
Did this make me the top student overnight? Hardly. But it turned on the lightbulb: comp problems aren’t mystical, they’re puzzles built on logic gates. From then on, every new shot felt like cracking an equation, not chasing ghosts.
Of course, the next hurdles still chewed me up and offered even richer lessons. What type of lessons? Well… that’s for another episode.
The journey continues…
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