Video effects and compositing with Natron

Veiled

Effects are added in the same way as described with the video. Right-click in the NodeGraph free space and then decide in the lower area of the context menu which effect to use. For example, to create a black and white film, add a node for color correction by clicking on Color | ColorCorrect . To keep the image black and white, the video has to run through the color correction node ColorCorrect1 . This node pulls saturation from the image and transfers the colorless result into the foreground.

Under certain circumstances, Natron will already have created the necessary connection. Otherwise, you will have to do this manually. Use the mouse to connect the Source of the color corrector by left-clicking and pulling the cable to the ReadFFmpeg1 video node (Figure 4). As soon as the mouse button is released, Natron connects the video with the color corrector. In the same way, you can also pull the source of the viewer to the color corrector ColorCorrect1 . The mouse wheel lets you navigate through the cables. The nodes can be moved by dragging and dropping them across the surface to make room for other connections. Images are centered by pressing the F key.

Figure 4: The ReadFFmpeg1 node reads the video from the hard drive and transfers it to the ColorCorrect1 node, which performs a color correction. The node then passes the result on to the Viewer1 node, which then shows the video in the preview.

Now the video runs through the color corrector to the preview. To the right, in the Properties box, Natron displays the properties of the color corrector (Figure 5). When you move the Saturation controller bar to the left, colors are pulled out, and only a black and white image remains in the preview. Additional effects are added in the same fashion. To remove a node, click on it to cause a white border to form around the node. Once this border appears, press the Delete key.

Figure 5: To set the color properties, either drag the small green controller or enter a value directly into the entry field.

Trading Places

Using yet another node, you can export the film by right-clicking in the NodeGraph area and selecting Image | Writers | WriteFFmpeg . In the new window, select the desired file format under File type (e.g., MP4 ) and give it a file name to the right next to Sequence . After clicking on Save , the new WriteFFmpeg1 node appears. Drag its Source to the color corrector node ColorCorrect1 .

A single output can be connected to multiple sources. In this example, the black and white image connects to the preview node and the output node that creates a file. The Properties box on the right shows all of the export settings. You can adjust the Format and Codec as desired, and you should specify the Format Type as Project format . Clicking the Render button then causes Natron to export the video.