ENDA Episode 160→ The time when ENDA talks about learning Compositing (Part 2)
Learning Compositing, without quotes, is about learning the why.
In a previous episode, we explored all the steps we need to take before we even start learning Compositing.
But that left an even bigger question hanging in the air:
What’s the difference between learning Compositing… and “learning” Compositing?
Let’s start with the latter.
“Learning” Compositing, with quotes, is about learning the how.
At the beginning, we often believe it’s all about the software. We follow tutorials, copy what the instructor does, and complete simple shots as we’re told. And honestly, that’s perfectly fine, most of us start that way.
We even pick up some key terms: paint out, roto, keying, integration…
But then we hit a wall. We don’t know why, but something isn’t clicking.
The quality just… feels off. The shots don’t look as good as the ones we aspire to create. We start to feel the invisible limitations of “just knowing how.”
That’s when the real journey begins:
Learning Compositing, without quotes, is about learning the why.
We begin to ask deeper questions, ones we hadn’t thought about before:
🔹 Why am I lowering the luma of this element, and not the saturation?
🔹 Why am I using this node instead of that one?
🔹 Why does my interactive lighting feel off?
🔹 Why doesn’t the colour of my character match the matte painting?
🔹 Why does my plate look lower quality than expected?
These questions pull us beneath the surface of the interface, past the comfort of the nodes and shortcuts, and into the world behind Compositing:
Lighting principles.
Physics.
Colour science.
Math.
Staging.
They may not sound glamorous or don’t look cool in a tutorial or a demo reel.
But they’re the keys to creating shots that stand out, the difference between “good enough” and “professionally polished.”
And once we begin asking these questions, we take our first real steps in the path of becoming a Compositor.
But that’s just the beginning.
How far does the journey go?
Well… that would be for a future episode.
The journey continues…
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