Archive notice: This article was originally published on September 9, 2006. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
British software manufacturer The Foundry (stand 7.638) is showing the fourth package of its Tinderbox plug-in collections at the IBC. The most important new features are:
• Bars generates colour bars
• Cartoon provides a flat, cartoon-like look in which lines overlay the edges
• Colourist enables automatic colour-balance correction
• Infinitezoom enables endless zooming into an image. From a certain zoom factor, it replaces the image with an image from the next higher level of detail
• Quantise reduces the number of colours in an image
• Security simulates the display on a surveillance monitor.
• Snow simulates 3D snow that can even settle and accumulate on objects
• Water simulates water running down a pane
In addition to these new features, The Foundry has completely “re-engineered” the Tinderbox 1,2 and 3 packages to use the new features of After Effects 7. These include automatic matching with the camera and lighting features integrated into After Effects, support for 32-bit float images, and acceleration of the algorithms. A new licencing system now also makes it easier to use plug-ins on multiple machines.
Tinderbox 4 is available from the end of September and costs 500 dollars or 275 pounds respectively. Until the end of December, the entire Tinderbox collection can still be purchased for only 1500 dollars or 825 pounds respectively.
Another important innovation is a further development of the Forge software, which automatically removes dirt, dust and scraches. Since this is only a command-line tool, there is no version number.
Forge is suitable for automatic digital cleaning of film material directly after scanning. For cleaning, the program uses the film scanner’s infrared pass, which makes it possible to identify dirt unambiguously. This ensures that parts of the imag are not mistakenly removed because they look like contamination.
The Foundry developed Forge in collaboration with Filmlight, which offers Forge as an option for the scanner. The tool is seamlessly integrated into the system and works transparently in the background under control of the scanner. However, it can also be combined with other film scanners.
Forge is available immediately and costs, depending on the number of licences:
One licence: 2,000 pounds/ 4,000 dollars
Four licences: 5,000 pounds/ 10,000 dollars
Eight licences: 8,000 pounds/ 16,000 dollars
Further Links:
- The Foundry
