News

Autodesk Launches New Versions of Visual Effects and Finishing Systems (25/4/2008)

Includes New Creative Tools, Expanded Format Support and Workflow Enhancements  

Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today announced the 2009 releases of the Autodesk Inferno, Autodesk Flame and Autodesk Flint  software for visual effects systems, and the Autodesk Smoke software finishing system. The company also announced Extension 1 for Autodesk Toxik 2008 software for digital compositing. The releases will be showcased at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) 2008 conference in Las Vegas, Nevada from 14-17 April 2008 at the Autodesk stand SL1420.

Autodesk’s visual effects and finishing systems have been used to create numerous blockbuster films, including all three Oscar-nominated movies for Best Visual Effects - The Golden Compass, Transformers and Pirates of the Caribbean 3. Autodesk solutions have also been used to create Emmy-award winning television programmes such as Prison Break, Grey’s Anatomy, Pushing Daisies and many of this year’s Super Bowl commercials such as Coca-Cola’s It’s Mine, Budweiser’s Clydesdale Team and Federal Express’ Carrier Pigeons.

“Viewers are demanding increasing visual sophistication,” said Stig Gruman, Digital Entertainment Group vice president, Autodesk Media & Entertainment. “In order to meet this demand, our customers rely on Autodesk solutions to differentiate themselves by delivering high-value content and extreme productivity. With our 2009 releases, we are introducing additional creative capabilities and new visual effects workflows, as well as expanded compressed media support at price points that make our solutions more accessible to mid-range post-production facilities and broadcasters.”

New Feature Highlights in Inferno 2009, Flame 2009 and Flint 2009

The 2009 releases of Autodesk’s visual effects systems provide digital artists with the reliable, flexible and interactive toolsets required to stay ahead of the competition. New features and enhancements include:

*New creative tools such as high-quality blur and glow tools, enhancements to the 3D tracking toolset for faster match moving and auto-stabilisation capabilities
*Expanded format support, including the ability to input Panasonic P2 MXF files and common professional Quicktime codecs
*Timeline enhancements including support for the Smoke SoftFX in a multi-layer timeline
*Enhancements to the OpenEXR workflow, allowing artists to perform compositing operations using high dynamic range files from applications such as Autodesk Maya 3D animation software and Autodesk Toxik software
*New productivity and troubleshooting tools, such as WiretapCentral, which allows users to browse the Autodesk systems’ clip libraries and encode media using a network-connected web browser

New Feature Highlights in Smoke 2009

Autodesk Smoke 2009 delivers an industry-leading creative toolset, versatile conform capabilities and production-proven performance. New features and enhancements in Smoke 2009 include:

*A new tree-based compositing workflow, called Batch FX, which is designed to provide increased visual effects capabilities by marrying the Smoke system’s editorial timeline with the powerful 3D compositing environment*
*Expanded format support, including the ability to input Panasonic P2 MXF files and common professional Quicktime codecs
*Productivity and troubleshooting tools, such as WiretapCentral (described above)

New Feature Highlights in Toxik 2008 Extension 1

Autodesk Toxik 2008 Extension 1 software delivers user-requested visual effects functionality. This extension release includes:

*A Warp Image tool, which delivers advanced, nonlinear warping of an image with precise user-control over transformations
*Pixel Expression Language (PXL), a new programming language that allows compositors to quickly create and customise many of the most commonly applied effects, such as warping, blur, transitions, and more
*Support for video previewing, which streamlines the compositing workflow by enabling artists to make informed colour decisions   Product Availability and Pricing

Autodesk anticipates that the 2009 releases of Inferno, Flame, Flint and Smoke will be available in April 2008. Autodesk Toxik Subscription will be available in spring 2008 and Autodesk Toxik 2008 Extension 1 will be available to members of Autodesk Subscription for Toxik with a valid subscription contract.

Autodesk’s “Explore Your Options” campaign at NAB introduces its 2009 releases to professionals who are not familiar with Autodesk solutions, and are interested in exploring affordable, innovative toolsets.

*Only available in Smoke 2K.

www.autodesk.com/me  

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