Start by identifying the light sources in the plate and what colour temperature and intensity they contribute. Build a grade on the CG element that matches the plate’s colour response, not just its look. Use colour checkers or reference objects in the plate if available. Work in scene-linear and grade in the same colour space the plate was acquired in. The goal is physical accuracy first, then aesthetic refinement.

Cover the standard pass reconstruction: beauty, diffuse, specular, subsurface, reflection, refraction, shadow. Explain how you combine them in linear space before display transform. Describe how you use the passes to make targeted adjustments — boosting the specular without touching the diffuse, darkening shadows without losing the ambient. The pass-based workflow exists so you have surgical control; show you use it.

Edge quality first — are the CG edges reading correctly against the plate? Then light direction and intensity — does the key light on the CG match the plate? Then colour temperature — is the CG in the same white balance as the plate? Then contact shadows and reflections — does the CG appear to exist in the same space? Invisible compositing fails when any of these are slightly off. Great compositors catch all of them.

Group related operations with backdrop nodes and colour-code by function — input plates, CG integration, colour work, grain and output. Name every node that does a non-obvious thing. Use dot nodes to keep long connections readable. Write a brief description in the node graph of what the shot required. A node tree that another artist can pick up in 15 minutes saves the show more time than any individual technique.

Use the roto spline for the hard edge and supplement with a luminance or chroma key for the fine edge detail. Break complex shapes into multiple overlapping splines rather than one shape trying to track everything. Hair and fabric are often finished in paint — define the clean geometry of the edge and treat the wispy detail separately. Know when a good enough roto with paint is faster than a perfect roto with no paint.

Analyse the plate grain using a grain extraction tool — separate luminance grain from chroma grain, measure frequency and amplitude per channel. Add matching grain to the CG element before the final output grade. The grain should be applied post-grade in display space, not in scene-linear where grain behaves differently. If the grain is inconsistent across the plate, match the grain in the area nearest to your CG element.

Document the problem with frame reference and the specific technical reason the comp cannot solve it. Comping around a bad light is almost always visible and creates technical debt. Escalate early rather than late — a re-render costs less at the start of a note round than after the shot has gone through multiple revision passes. Frame the request as “the shot needs this to reach delivery quality,” not as a complaint.

Use the depth pass to build a ZDefocus or FDefocus in Nuke rather than applying a flat blur. Match the defocus parameters to the plate camera data if available — sensor size, f-stop, focal length. Add atmospheric haze using the depth pass as a matte with soft gradients. The goal is for foreground, midground, and background to relate to each other in the same way across both the plate and the CG.

Look at live plates critically — real objects in natural light, how shadows behave, how specular highlights move, how subsurface reads in skin. Watch composited work critically and try to see where the CG is visible. Compare your work on a calibrated reference monitor and on a standard display — problems that hide on one show on the other. The most important habit is not becoming blind to your own work.

Check the range at full quality, not proxy. Scrub through the cut to and cut away to see whether the shot works in context. Check edges at 100% zoom. Look at the first and last frame of the handle. Check the technical output — correct bit depth, colour space tagged correctly, no clipping. Then look at it as an audience member, not a compositor. If you would notice something, fix it before submitting.

Triage by dependency — shots that block downstream departments first. Within equal priority, start the longest render time changes first so they are baking while you work on faster shots. Communicate clearly to your supervisor if deadlines cannot all be met; do not let a deadline pass quietly. Document what you submitted for each shot and the current state so the handoff is clean if another artist needs to take over.

Specific answer required. A specific technique, a tutorial that reframed how you think about colour space operations, a workflow from another studio that you adapted. Studios want to see you are actively learning. The format is: what you learned, where you learned it, and how you applied it to a real shot.

Nuke is the industry standard for compositing in film and television VFX. DaVinci Resolve Fusion is used at some smaller studios and is accepted for compositing tests. After Effects is used at studios doing real-time or pre-rendered game cinematics, though it is considered a step down from Nuke in film pipelines. Katana is used for lighting and look development work that feeds into compositing.

Compositing artist salaries range from $55K-$80K at junior to mid-level in smaller VFX studios to $90K-$140K at major VFX houses. Senior compositors at studios like ILM, DNEG, or Framestore can earn $120K-$180K+. London, Vancouver, and Sydney offer the most roles. Many compositors work on fixed-term project contracts with day rates of $350-$700 depending on seniority.

VFX is the broader discipline covering all visual effects work including simulation, motion graphics, and 3D. Compositing specifically refers to integrating different image elements — CG passes, plates, mattes — into a final frame. Compositors work at the end of the VFX pipeline, integrating work from lighting, FX, and rotoscope departments. All compositors are VFX artists; not all VFX artists are compositors.

Colour science is the most important — understanding colour spaces, transfer functions, and how to match plates across different acquisition formats. Nuke proficiency is expected. Knowledge of the render passes a lighting artist produces and how to composite them correctly. Strong observational skills to judge whether CG integrates convincingly. Python scripting for automation and pipeline integration is increasingly required at senior levels.

Build a reel showing CG integration, colour matching, and clean compositing work even if the elements are from free resources. Know Nuke to at least an intermediate level — the foundry offers free non-commercial licenses. Apply for rotoscope or prep artist positions at VFX studios as entry points into the pipeline. Junior compositor positions at smaller studios and in-house teams are more accessible than immediate entry at major studios.