Las Vegas - At NAB, Autodesk announced the 2009 releases of its Inferno, Flame, and Flint software for visual effects systems, along with the Smoke finishing system. The company also announced Extension 1 for its Toxik 2008 software, used for digital compositing.
New features and enhancements in the 2009 releases of Autodesk's visual effects systems include new creative tools, such as high-quality blur and glow tools, enhancements to the 3D tracking tool set for faster matchmoving, and auto-stabilization capabilities. The products also have expanded format support, including the ability to input Panasonic P2 MFX files and common professional QuickTime codecs, along with timeline enhancements, including support for the Smoke SoftFX in a multilayer timeline. In addition, they contain enhancements to the OpenEXR workflow, allowing artists to perform compositing operations using HDR files from applications, such as Maya and Toxik, and 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 to Smoke 2009 is a tree-compositing workflow, called Batch FX, which is designed to provide increased VFX capabilities by marrying the Smoke system's editorial timeline with the 3D compositing environment. The 2009 version also contains the same expanded format support as the VFX systems, along with the same type of productivity and troubleshooting tools.
Toxik 2008 Extension 1 sports a new Warp Image tool for advanced, nonlinear warping of an image with precise user control over transformations. It also includes support for video previewing, enabling artists to make informed color decisions, and support for the PXL programming language for quickly creating and customizing many of the most commonly applied effects, such as warping, blur, and transitions.
The 2009 releases of Inferno, Flame, Flint, and Smoke will be available this month. Toxik Subscription will be available in the spring, and Toxik 2008 Extension 1 will be available to members of the Autodesk Subscription for Toxik.