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VFX · Compositing

ShadowField Pro

VFX shadow extraction utility — deterministic ratio-based shadow fields from plate photography, frequency separation, Gemini Vision auto-calibration, Nuke/Fusion export.

ShadowField Pro is a high-fidelity VFX utility for the deterministic extraction of multiplicative shadow fields from plate photography.

Professional VFX Workflow

The suite provides a mathematically grounded approach to lighting reconstruction, enabling the seamless removal and addition of interactive lighting components.

Key Technologies

  • Deterministic Ratio Extraction: Based on the multiplicative law of light ($S = O/C$), allowing for physically accurate shadow reconstruction without absolute thresholding.
  • Fringe Choke (Halo Suppression): Soft-morphological dilation of sampling exclusion zones to eliminate bright "outlines" caused by aliased mask boundaries.
  • Frequency Separation (Contact vs. Soft): Automated splitting of fields into high-frequency (Contact) and low-frequency (Penumbra/Ambient) components.
  • Gemini Vision Integration: Real-time lighting analysis via Gemini 3 to auto-calibrate extraction parameters ($S_{min}$, intensities, penumbra width).
  • Shot Package Pipeline: Robust JSON serialization including per-entity shadow, highlight, and smoothed alpha maps for Nuke/Fusion integration.

Getting Started

  1. Master Plates: Provide an Original Plate (with subject) and a Clean Plate (environment only).
  2. Entity Definition: Create alpha masks for scene objects.
  3. Smart Match: Invoke the AI consultant to calibrate intensities based on observed contrast.
  4. Export: Grab the .json package for downstream compositing or 3D lighting reconstruction.

Precision Tools for Professional VFX.

Runtime Integration

  • Point VITE_RUNTIME_BASE_URL at your image runtime (default http://localhost:8000) to enable runtime tooling support.
  • The "Runtime Detect" action beside Scene Objects calls /v1/image/subject/detect and imports runtime artifacts to seed masks.