Advanced Compositing – Keying & Creating 2.5D Projections by Meliza Fermin

This workshop walks you through a complete VFX compositing pipeline in Nuke, from raw plate to final render. Meliza Fermin, a Senior/Lead Compositor with over 20 years of experience, shares the exact workflows she uses on high-end film and TV productions. You’ll learn how to handle color space, track a camera, build a 2.5D environment with projected matte paintings, and pull a clean key from tricky greenscreen footage. It’s a practical, no-fluff look at solving real problems compositors face every day.

🎯 What you’ll learn

• Work in linear color space without breaking your original log plate.
• Perform a 3D camera track in Nuke for accurate scene reconstruction.
• Build convincing 2.5D backgrounds using projected digital matte painting layers.
• Execute professional keying techniques for challenging green and blue screen footage.
• Integrate 2D elements seamlessly to enhance storytelling and realism.
• Create depth mattes and match focus for photorealistic depth of field.
• Add appropriate grain matching for final shot integration.

✅ Requirements

• Skills: Working knowledge of Nuke and basic compositing principles.
• Tools: Nuke (not supplied with the course).
• Hardware: Minimum 16GB RAM, dedicated GPU recommended for Nuke.

📝 Description

This isn’t a theory-heavy lecture. Meliza jumps straight into a real production shot, showing you how to comp an astronaut on an alien planet from start to finish. She starts with the boring but essential stuff: setting up your Nuke project correctly, managing color space, and prepping your plate. You’ll learn why working in linear matters and how to degrain footage without losing detail.

Then comes the fun part. Meliza walks you through a 3D camera track in Nuke, using garbage mats to isolate static elements and keep solve errors low. Since the camera movement is minimal, she shows you how to build a 2.5D background by projecting a layered digital matte painting onto cards in 3D space. It’s a smart, efficient technique that saves you from building a full 3D environment.

The keying section is where this workshop really shines. Meliza demonstrates a multi-layered approach that separates edge preservation from the main matte. She uses 3D tracking for dynamic masks and combines different keying methods to get clean, professional results on a difficult greenscreen plate. No quick automatic fixes here—just solid, repeatable techniques.

Once the background and key are locked, she integrates 2D elements from Action VFX to add life to the scene. You’ll see how to project elements in 3D space, use diffusion blur for natural atmospheric blending, and add animated, reactive lighting. The final lessons cover depth passes, matching focus with Z-defocus, and adding grain to sell the composite. Meliza also shares her thoughts on the difference between a client-ready render and a portfolio-ready presentation.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

• Mid-level and experienced Nuke artists who want to refine their production workflows.
• Compositors looking to tackle complex photorealistic VFX shots with confidence.
• Junior artists aiming to level up their skills with industry-proven techniques.

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

Meliza Fermin is an Emmy Award-winning visual effects artist with over two decades of experience in film and television. She currently works as a Senior Matte Painter at Onyx Visual Effects. Her career includes key roles as a Lead Digital Matte Painter and Senior Compositor at studios like Koala FX, Stargate Studios, FuseFX, Encore VFX, Method Studios, Powerhouse VFX, and Mavericks VFX. Her credits include Stranger Things, The Vampire Diaries, Grey’s Anatomy, and The Walking Dead. Beyond her artistic work, Meliza has developed pipeline tools that streamline workflows for digital matte painting and compositing.

🏁 Final Result

• A fully composited, photorealistic VFX shot of an astronaut on an alien planet, complete with a projected 2.5D background, integrated 2D elements, matched depth of field, and proper grain.