San Francisco - dvGarage has announced that Conduit version 1.5, a nodal compositing plug-in, is now available for Apple Final Cut Pro 5.1.2 and Motion 2 users.
Conduit version 1.5 utilizes Apple’s FXPlug technology to combine high-end nodal compositing with high-performance Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) acceleration, providing Apple Final Cut Pro and Motion 2 users with a powerful variety of visual effects compositing tools that render in real time. In addition, Conduit version 1.5 is bundled with a free three-month Pixel Corps membership (a USD $200 value), an hour of video training and a quick start guide.
“Conduit fuses the entire compositing process into an efficient GPU program,” says Alex Lindsay, dvGarage founder and chief architect. “As a result, when you build an effect in Conduit, you’re actually getting better performance and color precision than Final Cut Pro offers on its own.”
Developed in partnership Lacquer’s Ben Syverson and Pauli Ojali, Conduit relies on the GPU, which powers graphics boards and is often much faster than the computer's own Central Processing Unit (CPU) when calculating visual functions. This provides blazing fast render speeds to augment the power of an "open-ended" compositing environment. As a result, users can do complex effects, even to HD frames, without incurring much or any delay.
“Conduit is an essential element in the production of MacBreak,” says Ben Durbin, technical lead on MacBreak. “Conduit provides many of the functions of a high-end compositor but contained inside the FXPlug within Final Cut Pro or Motion. We’ve moved all the greenscreen composting for MacBreak into Final Cut Pro and Conduit. Now the rendering times are nearly the same as outputting the raw footage, saving us valuable time.”
Conduit’s interface allows users to build complex composites while watching their results in real time. A list of Conduit’s key features is as follows:
* Real-time HD performance
* Advanced color correction capabilities
* Film-class color precision
* Flexible node-based workflow
* Artifact-free color manipulation
* Blazing speed
* Easy to use
* Superb keying capabilities of both HD and DV footage
* Multipass and visual effects compositing capabilities
* Compatible with High Dynamic Range images
Conduit is available for download from dvGarage’s website at: www.dvgarage.com. Priced at USD $149 MSRP, download contents include: Conduit for Apple Final Cut Pro 1.5.1 or Motion 2, a three-month membership to Pixel Corps, over an hour of video training and a quick start guide. Conduit system requirements include: Apple Final Cut Pro 5.1.2 or Motion 2 and the related Apple Final Cut Pro 5.1.2 or Motion 2 hardware requirements.