Leading visual effects and computer graphics software developer, The Foundry showed off its latest software releases at NAB this year, and announced a number of new revelations that will continue to add value to artists and designers around the world.
Assist for NUKEX
This brand-new NUKE innovation is designed to add value to the NUKEX proposition, giving users with up-to-date maintenance the opportunity to take advantage of what is effectively two complimentary NUKE licenses with a cut down, yet highly valuable feature-set.
Assist for NUKEX is in essence a feature of NUKEX and will enable facilities to allocate tasks such as paint, roto, 2D tracking and planer tracking to additional artists using the Assist licences in the familiar NUKE environment. This will prove particularly useful for facilities needing to ramp up operations during crunch times or simply for users that want to farm out these essential everyday tasks.
HIERO AND HIEROPLAYER 1.7
With the newly released HIERO and HIEROPLAYER 1.7 users will benefit from far greater editorial control and the functionality and toolset they expect from other editors. There are also playback and performance enhancements in this version and users of the NUKE compositing software will notice a much more familiar look and feel across the NUKE, HIERO and HIEROPLAYER applications.
The update brings a range of features and innovations that open up HIERO as a viable editing system for VFX and HIEROPLAYER as an ideal single seat review station.
MODO 701
In late March The Foundry and Luxology released MODO 701, a release jam packed with significant enhancements to the core functionality of the modelling, sculpting, animation, effects and rendering workflows. Exciting new features also include a brand new particles system. In addition there are also large scene performance improvements by as much as 175x. The Linux OS version is also soon to be released following the beta.
MARI 2
Earlier in March, The Foundry also launched MARI 2.0, a revolutionary version of its 3D digital paint tool that introduces a brand new, artist-focused layer system.
Staying true to MARI's roots this major release is focused on enhancing the painting experience for 3D artists. The addition of the new layer system means MARI is easier to use than ever before and will be a familiar working environment for users of Adobe® Photoshop® and other layer based paint tools.
Bill Collis, CEO of The Foundry comments: "2013 has already been a big year for The Foundry with major product releases, new innovations and lots of added value for our customers. We are thrilled to have overseen our first launch of MODO with 701 and are excited by the potential of this truly excellent creative package. Other developments like the Assist for NUKEX feature and the ftrack collaboration are designed to really open up the possibilities and make day-to-day working for our customers an easier and more productive experience. Moving forward as one company, we can't wait to show you what we're working on next!"
ftrack collaboration
The Foundry and ftrack are collaborating to introduce a next generation, ease-of-use workflow between ftrack and HIERO. This will allow HIERO customers to benefit from a modern asset and production management system from the outset. HIERO will continue to play well with other products on the market, but will be prepackaged with ftrack integration out of the box.
The initial fruits of this collaboration can also be seen with ftrackreview which will soon be available to HIERO and HIEROPLAYER customers. This provides shot-review functionality and lets ftrack users review shots both in the applications or in a browser.
The future advanced integration between the applications will be implemented in a later release.
One name, one company
Moving forward in 2013, following the merger between The Foundry and Luxology, the company will now be known only as The Foundry.
Brad Peebler, The Foundry's President of the Americas and Co-Founder of Luxology comments: "We have been working closely as one company now for some time and feel it's time to show our united front. We know it has been confusing for the public that we've had both the Luxology and The Foundry brands as part of one company. Going forward all the products will sit under The Foundry brand and everyone will work together as one team to keep innovating with our products and ensuring we keep customers front of mind. MODO's community is incredibly important to all of us. Not only do we plan to keep it alive but we are looking to grow that community approach across all of The Foundry's products. This will mean more resources for the MODO community and beyond."
This process will not be an instant one, but everyone will be working hard to bring everything together as soon as possible.