Featured Image Credit – https://natrongithub.github.io/about
The last (and also first) article in this series covered Fusion by Blackmagic Design, a node-based compositing program. Today as we consider Natron, you will notice some major similarities. First, we’ll take a quick look at what exactly Natron is, and then we’ll consider some major similarities and differences between it and Fusion.
Natron is a node-based compositing program which is not only free but also open-source. This means that unlike programs like After Effects and Fusion, anyone with an internet connection and some coding skills can find and edit the source code of the program. This comes with some pretty cool implications as we’ll see in a moment
Firstly, it is important to understand that I haven’t used Natron in a while. At the same time, it is equally important to understand that at least one of the visual effects shots displayed on the banner for the videos section of this site was produced using Natron. The main reason that I don’t use Natron as my main compositing system is that it lacks some of the speed and features of a professional piece of software like Fusion. Let’s look at this in greater detail.
Natron is Free (and Open-Source)
Like Fusion, Natron is free for anyone with a decent personal computer to download and start using. They have great documentation including
- User Guide
- Reference Guide
- Developer Guide
That last item is one that is super interesting for us. Natron being an open-source project means that anyone can download the code and start tinkering to their heart’s content. This means that Natron is packed with similar features to your classic compositing program but on top of that, it also has led to some interesting add-ons. You can install OpenFX plugins to add extra functionality. This means that you aren’t limited to the nodes that come with the program, as Natron was built to grow.
Natron also supports direct imports of camera tracking data from the 3D program Blender in the form of CHAN (text files with 3D coordinates) files.
Natron being free and open-source means that many people contribute to the project in order to make sure that everything is working well.
Natron is (slightly less) Feature-Packed
I mentioned this in the previous point, but Natron is packed with all the features you need to make solid VFX shots. Some of the ones highlighted on the website include:
- OpenFX Plugin Support
- Industry-standard OFX plug-in support
- 2D Tracking
- Fast, pixel-perfect tracking toolset
- Roto
- Multi-layered rotoscoping toolset with per-vertex feathering
- Keying
- Industry-proven chroma keying and matte refinement tools
- Curve & dope-sheet editors
- Curve editor and dope sheet for complete control over keyframes
Some tools that I remember enjoying are the keying tools and the chromatic aberration effect. Chromatic aberration is an exciting way to either match footage to digital elements or add a layer of stylism to a shot.
One major reason that I wouldn’t consider Natron to be quite up there with Fusion and Nuke is the lack of a 3D interface. I would love to see many more features in this area. This would allow artists to do 3D camera tracking, import 3D models from other programs, and do 3D matte paintings for parallax. Earlier when I mentioned that I don’t often use Natron for projects, this is the main reason.
Natron is (somewhat) Fidgety
As much as the list of features I just mentioned sounds amazing, I have in my experience found that many of these tools aren’t quite as simple and straightforward as they may seem. Messing around with settings sometimes led to strange artifacts. That’s not to say that a better understanding of the program probably would lead to less of these issues, but if I’m going to invest time in learning a new piece of software, why not learn the program that is already being used on major blockbuster films (Fusion)?
With the money involved with the development of programs like Davinci Resolve and Fusion, you already know that everything is going to work and work extremely well. With a free, open-source project like Natron, stability won’t always be at 100%.
Fidgety doesn’t always mean bad, and I would actually recommend that you download Natron and check it out sometime. Give it a shot, and at the very least, you will have the benefit of having some small experience in a different but still largely traditional piece of software. This will help you to learn to adapt to new pieces of software (and besides, you might love it!).
Conclusion
In closing, I believe that the free and open-source project that is Natron is a fantastic tool for someone starting out or someone who just wants to try something new or different. I personally wouldn’t use the program for major projects, but there is a possibility that one day I’ll need some feature that Fusion or Nuke doesn’t have and I’ll end up turning to Natron with its large OpenFX library.