Archive notice: This article was originally published on August 4, 2006. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Following the advance announcement at the NAB in the spring of this year, Eyeon has now shown version 5.1 of its Fusion compositing tool at Siggraph. The new version runs under both Windows and Linux. At the stand, Eyon also explained that Fusion 5.1 also runs on the new Intel Macs, even though there is not yet a release date for the version for this platform. Another special feature of the new release is that Fusion 5.1 supports the After Effects plug-ins not only under Windows, but that they are also intended to run under Linux.
Several changes concern Fusion’s 3D environment: It is now possible to import OBJ files here, and Eyeon has also further improved the import of FBX and 3ds files. In the 3D environment, the user can now create a “Projector” which, as the name suggests, projects image sequences onto another 3D object. This function is particularly useful for virtual set extensions, for example.
The Fusion user can deform the imported objects three-dimensionally with “Bender”. Another method of deformation is 3D Displace, which moves the mesh points up or down on the basis of a bitmap. The new Distort effect can be used to deform 2D elements on the basis of a bitmap. The effect resembles a warper, except that the distortion does not take place with mesh points, but is read from a bitmap file. The “Multiple Paths” are particularly useful for rendering on a network: For all bitmaps, Fusion users can now specify multiple paths at which Fusion searches for the bitmaps in the composite.
According to the manufacturer, the new version is to be available immediately after Siggraph. The update from version 5.x to 5.1 is free. Eyeon has compiled prices and further details on the company website.
Further Links:
- Eyeon
