Optical Flares Nuke 14 [verified] Today
Focus: Compares traditional image processing (like the manual flare tools in Nuke) against machine learning techniques for production-ready workflows.
Imagine the climax of Terminator 2 or the nuke test in Twin Peaks: The Return. The screen washes white, followed by an explosion of angular, cyan and magenta anamorphic streaks that obliterate the background. optical flares nuke 14
- Duplicate the source for layered elements: core, bloom, streaks, ghosting.
- Core: Blur small duplicate lightly (GaussianBlur 5–15) and Grade up exposure.
- Bloom: Larger blurred duplicate (Box/Gaussian 50–300), lower opacity, add Gain or Grade for warmth.
- Streaks: Directional Blur or MotionBlur on thin elongated roto shapes; composite with Add or Screen.
- Ghosts: Offset duplicates along lens axis (use Transform to shift and Scale to simulate lens elements), apply chromatic shifts via HueCorrect or Roto > ColorCorrect.
- Iris/Anamorphic: use a thin elongated mask + directional blur for streaks; add lens blades by multiplying with a polygonal Roto and feathering.
- Chromatic Aberration: use Reformat or Shuffles per-channel offsets, or LensDistortion > Chromatic.
Edge Glow / Obscuration by Alpha
- LensDistortion: warp slightly to match lens curvature.
- Vignette: subtle darkening around edges to focus attention.
- Bloom/Glare: combine Glow node(s) with soft thresholds; use Mix (screen/add) to blend.
- Flare color grading: use ColorCorrect/Grade to tint highlights (warmer toward center; cooler ghosts).
Quick node recipe (concise)
- Read (plate) → Tracker/CameraTracker → OpticalFlares (linked to Transform or 3D Card) → Grade → Merge (plus/screen) over plate → Depth/Matte attenuation → ScanlineRender (for 3D) → ColorCorrect → Grain → Write.
What sets Optical Flares apart is its dual nature: it is both a massive library of presets and a powerful construction kit. Limbic Accuracy: Duplicate the source for layered elements: core, bloom,
A Warning: What Doesn't Work
- Nuke 14.0v1 had a Python 3 quirk that broke the Brightness pop-up slider. This was fixed in 14.0v2 and later. Update Nuke.
- The "Auto Animate" button (random motion) sometimes lags on Apple Silicon. Use keyframes instead.
Add the plugin path to your Nuke search path so it loads on startup: nuke.pluginAddPath( ./path/to/OpticalFlares Use code with caution. Copied to clipboard Update your Create a menu item to access the node easily: = nuke.menu( = toolbar.addMenu( Video Copilot OpticalFlares.png ) of_menu.addCommand( Optical Flares nuke.createNode('OpticalFlares') OpticalFlares.png Use code with caution. Copied to clipboard Key Compatibility Notes Python 3.9 Edge Glow / Obscuration by Alpha