ShotGrid - Pipeline - Start here!

If you're new to the Netherlands Filmacademy and new to the VFX industry in general you might be wondering a few things:

• What is ShotGrid and why are the third and fourth years mentioning it so much?
• Everybody keeps using the word pipeline, but what does that even mean??
• How do ShotGrid and our pipeline relate to each other?

What is ShotGrid?

ShotGrid is a product owned by Autodesk that makes the whole process of VFX production much more streamlined. It's a combination of planning tools, review tools and software integrations that makes working on large projects much easier. In your first and second year at the Filmacademy you likely won't need it, as it only becomes truly useful on larger projects. The planning and review tools are available on our ShotGrid website: nfa.shotgunstudio.com. The software integrations are available when you launch programs through the ShotGrid launcher (see this page)page). 

ShotGrid was recently renamed to Flow Production Tracking. Nobody calls it that. It used to be called ShotGun, so some people might still call it that. 

What's a pipeline?

Pipeline is a word you'll hear a lot in this industry. You can think of it like a workflow; how does one thing flow into another thing during the VFX creation process? You've made a model in Maya, how does it end up in Substance? How do the textures get assigned and how does the shaded model end up in your render? It's a confusing word because it's used for both big and small workflows, a rigging pipeline refers to all the steps in the rigging process, a compositing pipeline will most likely refer to just the steps taken in Nuke. When talking about a studio pipeline we mean the combination of all of these smaller workflows that form the complete picture of how we get from zero to our final VFX shots. 

ShotGrid pipeline?

ShotGrid provides a platform that studios can use to automate a lot of pipeline steps. This platform is available inside software such as Nuke and Houdini when you launch them using the special ShotGrid launcher.