FUSION WORKFLOW / 07
Level: Intermediate workflowCreate Atmospheric Fog with 2D Nodes in Fusion
FastNoise becomes soft atmospheric haze, is placed into perspective, follows camera movement and is limited with masks without a particle or 3D setup.
Understand the task
This workflow adds believable low atmospheric haze to a landscape using only standard 2D Fusion compositing. FastNoise creates the irregular fog texture, Background defines tone and opacity, Corner Positioner lays the layer across the lake surface, and Tracker keeps it attached to the scene as the camera moves. Polygon and Matte Control restrict the effect to the intended area, Blur softens the original image inside that region, and Merge assembles the treated and untreated branches.
A flat procedural layer is more efficient here than particles or a full 3D scene. Distant fog does not need volumetric lighting, particle rendering or a Fusion 3D camera. Corner Positioner supplies perspective, Tracker compensates camera motion, and depth is suggested with a soft matte plus localized background blur. The graph stays fast, controllable and suitable for ordinary video clips.
Node graph
Zoom into a branch, select a node and inspect its incoming connections.
Select a node to inspect its connections. Drag to pan; Ctrl/Cmd + wheel or + / − to zoom. Arrow keys move the view; Home fits the graph.On a touch screen, enable Move to pan and pinch the graph.
| From | To | Input |
|---|---|---|
| EffectMask | ||
| Input | ||
| See the graph and walkthrough | ||
| Background | ||
| GarbageMatte | ||
| Foreground | ||
| Input | ||
| EffectMask | ||
| Background | ||
| Input |
Assembly order
Connect FastNoise to the blue Effect Mask of Background1. It breaks the flat fill into irregular translucent clouds. Background controls fog color and density; FastNoise supplies the natural structure.
Corner Positioner deforms the flat fog layer to follow the lake plane. Perspective compression makes the far side thinner and the near side wider so the layer stops looking like a flat overlay.
First analyze the original footage in Tracker and record a stable landscape feature. The illustrated CornerPositioner branch applies that saved track to the fog layer: a Tracker receiving only procedural haze cannot newly analyze the landscape. Check the direction in which the saved motion is applied across several frames.
Polygon manually separates water and low ground from sky, forest and foreground. It is used as an inverted Garbage Matte in Matte Control so the effect remains only where it is needed.
Feed the original video to Blur1 and use Matte Control as Effect Mask. Blur affects only the fog area and lowers local contrast in the distance, which is an important cue of real atmospheric haze.
Merge1 combines the treated branch with the source. The procedural haze adds visible atmosphere while Blur modifies the scene underneath it, helping the effect feel spatial rather than painted on.
MediaOut receives the final shot with tracked haze, locally reduced contrast and untouched detail outside the selected region.
Node parameters
The values below belong to this example. Use the descriptions to understand what each setting controls when adapting the graph to your footage.
FastNoise creates the fog texture and masks Background. Exact noise values can change with shot scale, but the structure should stay broad and soft rather than becoming fine digital grain.
Corner Positioner sets fog geometry. Match its four corners to the water or ground plane so the layer narrows toward the horizon instead of standing up like a vertical wall.
Record the high-contrast landscape feature on the original footage before using the illustrated fog branch. Tracker then applies the saved motion to that layer. IntelliTrack requires Studio; the classic Point Tracker can be tested on a suitable stable feature.
Polygon cuts the complex forest/water boundary. A soft edge avoids a visible matte seam, and Matte Control combines the tracked layer and Garbage Matte into one signal.
Blur affects the source only inside the fog matte. A translucent texture alone is not enough: real haze also reduces sharpness and local contrast in distant objects.
Merge places the translucent MatteControl1 fog in Foreground over the locally blurred Blur1 footage in Background. Adjust density with Background1 and Merge rather than pushing Blur too far.
Troubleshooting
Do not make FastNoise too fine or contrasty or the fog will reveal itself as a procedural texture.
Do not leave Background fully opaque; it will turn into a white plate and erase landscape detail.
Do not skip Corner Positioner. Without perspective, fog looks like a flat vertical layer over the frame.
Do not track water, clouds or the fog itself; Tracker needs a stable landscape feature.
Avoid a hard Polygon edge or the matte boundary will become visible along the forest or water line.
Do not blur the whole frame. Blur must be restricted to the fog region or the depth cue disappears.
Do not maximize both fog opacity and Blur at the same time or the scene becomes milky and loses natural contrast.
Check the composition
Tick each item after checking it in your own composition.
These references explain the tools and connections used in the graph.
Working in the Node Editor: Merge inputs and output-image resolution.
Bitmap Mask and Common Mask Controls: images as masks, channel selection, alpha and range.
Stabilizing and Matching Movement: applying recorded tracks, BG only and FG only.
Page 3: IntelliTrack AI Point Tracker — a Studio feature for tracking and stabilization.
