Blender For Dummies, 3rd Edition

Chapter 15

Compositing and Editing

In This Chapter

• Taking a look at editing and compositing
• Editing video and animations with Blender's Video Sequence Editor
• Compositing images and video

In live-action film and video, the term post-production usually includes nearly anything associated with animation. Nearly every animator or effects specialist has groaned upon hearing a director or producer say the line, “We'll fix it in post.” Fortunately, in animation, post-production is more specific, focusing on editing and compositing.

This chapter is a quick guide to editing and compositing, using Blender's Video Sequence Editor and Node Compositor. Understand that these topics are large enough for a book of their own, so the content of this chapter isn't comprehensive. That said, you can find enough solid information here and in Blender's online documentation (http://blender.org/manual) to figure it out. I explain Blender's interface for these tools, as well as some fundamental concepts, including nonlinear editing and node systems. With this understanding, these tools can help turn your work from “Hey, that's cool” to “Whoa!”

Comparing Editing to Compositing

Editing is the process of taking rendered footage — animation, film, or video — and adjusting how various shots appear in sequence. You typically edit using a nonlinear editor (NLE). An NLE, like Apple's Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere, differs from older linear tape-to-tape editing systems that required editors to work sequentially. ...