Blackmagic Forum

I spent the last four months with training, trials, errors and some published 2D animations done in Fusion. I have learned quite a bit: things that are possible, and things that could be easier.

Fusion obviously excels in VFX for big projects, so using it for some puny 2D mograph projects may seem like overkill. Nonetheless BMD must have seen guys like me coming in when they opened the gate, and I committed myself to give it a spin, so here we are.

The one thing I missed most is an easier way of stacking together any number of 2D layers, with easy control over order, position and transparency. I tried (and used) the garden variety merge node, but found it too cumbersome to use, and too complicated to manage when complexity grew.

I ended up using 3D image planes, 3D merge nodes and orthographic cameras. Layers are stacked by small offsets on the z-axis, positions are changed via the other two axes, and transparency is controlled via the material. Nothing fancy, but it led me to the idea of a 2D "multimerge" node.

This node should have unlimited inputs, just like the Merge 3D node, and let users just change the stacking order and transfer mode. Everything else can be controlled via incoming Xf nodes or whatever is plugged in. It would take away some complexity and also some steps for setting up workarounds like the 3D approach.

What do You think?

Bryan Ray has developed a Multimerge Fuse.

Maybe you can try it and see if it fits your needs:

https://www.steakunderwater.com/wesuckless/viewtopic.php?f=6&hilit=multimerge&t=1516&sid=5a4ca21c45f6d36a3c6c0a65907ea77a

At some point I'd like to add per-layer blend mode controls. Quick reordering would also be a good feature, but it will take some thought to figure out how that might be done. A drag-and-drop interface would be nice, but I'm not sure it's possible within the confines of the available interface. "Move up/down" buttons should be doable, though.

Marin,
It's really wonderful that you've already spent so much time learning about Fusion.
Are you aware of the Fusion forum at www.steakunderwater.com ? In addition to this forum it's a wonderful resource on all things Fusion related and joining that community will surely accelerate your learning process.

Sorry, I don't get the layer approach in a node based software.
What's wrong with the merge node and put each layer into its own merge? Start with a background as canvas and then put each layer with a merge on top. you can also parent or "sub layer" images with a different merge which then goes into the main node tree
The merge node in fusion has already a size and position control for the incoming foreground

Adelson, Bryan, thanks for pointing out the already existing fuse. I just tried it and I like it. I'll eventually rebuild some of my existing comps and see how/if it speeds up my workflow. I'll also see how it works for future projects.

Sander, thank You, too. It is funny, but steakunderwater.com can not be missed if You dig around a little. Vito la Manna already suggested I look there for some specific information, so I already signed up a couple of days ago.

Michael, layers (stacking images on top of other images) are obviously a part of the node based approach even within Fusion. I just think that there are more elegant ways of dealing with many more than two 2D layers at a time. Bryans fuse looks to me like a real upgrade to the Merge node.

Michael,

What's wrong with the merge node and put each layer into its own merge?

I'm almost completely with you on this. I like having seperate merges for everything, since it's much easier to 'read' the comp for me. The only thing that's more convenient in layer based comp'ing is reordering your layers. In Fusion this takes a little more rewiring and clean-up to keep everything nice and tidy, but apart from that: seperate nodes all the way for me.