Metadata Nodes

Metadata Nodes Common Controls

Nodes that handle metadata operations share several identical controls in the Inspector. This section describes controls that are common among Metadata nodes.

Metadata Nodes Settings Tab

The Settings tab in the Inspector can be found on every tool in the Metadata category. The controls are consistent and work the same way for each tool.

Use Object/Use Material (Checkboxes)
Some 3D software can render to file formats that support additional channels. Notably, the EXR file format supports Object ID and material ID channels, which can be used as a mask for the effect. These checkboxes determine whether the channels are used, if present. The specific Material ID or Object ID affected is chosen using the next set of controls.

Correct Edges
This checkbox appears only when the Use Object or Use Material checkboxes are selected. It toggles the method used to deal with overlapping edges of objects in a multi-object image. When enabled, the Coverage and Background Color channels are used to separate and improve the effect around the edge of the object. If this option disabled (or no Coverage or Background Color channels are available), aliasing may occur on the edge of the mask.

Object ID/Material ID (Sliders)
Use these sliders to select which ID is used to create a mask from the object or material channels of an image. Use the Sample button in the same way as the Color Picker: to grab IDs from the image displayed in the view. The image or sequence must have been rendered from a 3D software package with those channels included.

Comments
The Comments field is used to add notes to a tool. Click in the empty field and type the text. When a note is added to a tool, a small red square appears in the lower-left corner of the node when the full tile is displayed, or a small text bubble icon appears on the right when nodes are collapsed. To see the note in the Node Editor, hold the mouse pointer over the node to display the tooltip.

Scripts
Three Scripting fields are available on every tool in Fusion from the Settings tab. They each contain edit boxes used to add scripts that process when the tool is rendering. For more details on scripting nodes, please consult the Fusion scripting documentation.

About the Author

Justin Robinson is a Certified DaVinci Resolve, Fusion & Fairlight instructor who is known for simplifying concepts and techniques for anyone looking to learn any aspect of the video post-production workflow. Justin is the founder of JayAreTV, a training and premade asset website offering affordable and accessible video post-production education. You can follow Justin on Twitter at @JayAreTV YouTube at JayAreTV or Facebook at MrJayAreTV