Tracking & Compositing VFX for Film & TV by Zachary Goodson

Preview: Need shots done fast without looking cheap? This workshop shows you how TV and film artists actually pull it off with Nuke and SynthEyes, from 2D tracking eyes to solving a full 3D camera track.

🎯 What you’ll learn

• 2D track and rotoscope eyes for a realistic glow effect
• Fix motion blur, build gradients, and restore speculars with Luma Key
• 2D track points in SynthEyes and solve an accurate 3D camera
• Orient, scale, and export a SynthEyes scene to Nuke
• Stabilize plates and set up an efficient 3D track workflow in Nuke
• Do paint-outs and sign replacements with projection and UV scanline render
• Place 3D cards, match color, and integrate new signage cleanly

✅ Requirements

• Skills: Basic familiarity with Nuke interface and 2D compositing concepts
• Tools: Nuke, SynthEyes
• Hardware: Workstation capable of running Nuke and SynthEyes with project footage

📝 Description

This is about speed. Zachary walks through the exact workflow used on real shows to get tricky shots out the door. No theory overload, just track, prep, paint, and comp.

You start with the eye glow. You 2D track each eye in Nuke, rotoscope tight shapes, then build the look with color correction and gradients. He also covers the small stuff that sells it — handling motion blur and pulling the specular highlights back with a Luma Key so the eyes don’t look pasted on.

Then you switch to the sign replacement shot. You learn how to pick good points in SynthEyes, keep your 2D trackers from drifting, solve the camera, clean up the curves, and set orientation and scale for export. It’s tedious work, and he shows how to do it right the first time.

The payoff is in Nuke. With one 3D camera track and one giant 3D scanline patch, you stabilize, build a clean plate, paint out the old signs, and drop in new logos. You’ll use projection nodes, 3D cards, and smart color matching to get it done without extra roto or re-tracking every element. Project files included — Nuke scripts, SynthEyes files, plates, and logos — so you can follow along click for click.

🧑‍🎓 Who this course is for

• Junior compositors who want practical tracking and cleanup tricks for tight deadlines
• Matchmove and comp artists moving from basics into film and TV production workflows

🧑‍🏫 About the Author

Zachary Goodson is a working VFX artist focused on fast-paced work for film and television. He specializes in 2D / 3D tracking and Nuke compositing, including eye effects, paint-outs, and sign replacements done under real production pressure. He teaches the same efficient methods he uses on the job.

🏁 Final Result

• Two finished, portfolio-ready shots: a 2D eye-glow comp and a stabilized 3D-tracked street shot with painted-out signs and new replacements, plus reusable Nuke and SynthEyes setups.