Archive notice: This article was originally published on September 9, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
These enhancements, available to subscription customers, provide numerous new features, including real-time results for mastering in multiple formats without rendering, an expanded floating-point toolset, more than 80 new particle-system presets in Inferno, Flame and Flint, and an improved editorial workflow for Smoke. The enhancements also provide additional support for compressed formats and stronger interoperability with the Autodesk Lustre digital color-grading system.
Highlights of Extension 1 for Smoke 2009
Editorial Enhancements
• Side-by-side source and record views: This allows Smoke users to build a narrative structure from the ground up. It includes side-by-side source and record playback, immediate access to basic editing functions, the ability to create subclips easily, and the ability to work with a source while recording a clip.
• Audio gain rubberbanding: Enables users to adjust audio levels quickly and easily in the timeline.
Workflow Enhancements and Expanded Format Support
• Real-time results: When multiple resolutions must be output from a high-quality master, this new mastering-to-VTR tool improves efficiency by enabling real-time up- and downconversion without prior rendering. It outputs source files of up to 2K 12-bit images to most video formats.
• Support for compressed media formats: Support for Apple QuickTime Animation with alpha and QuickTime Motion-JPEG, XDCAM and XDCAM HD codecs, as well as Panasonic P2 AVC-Intra media in 50 and 100 modes.
• Improved QuickTime metadata support: To improve interoperability with Apple Final Cut Pro, Smoke now uses timecode and reel-name information contained in Apple QuickTime files when importing or soft-importing QuickTime metadata.
• Enhanced Import Image Browser: Artists can work more efficiently with industry-standard digital acquisition formats. Clips in P2 and XDCAM directory structures can be browsed and scanned recursively more quickly and easily.
• Support for external proxies: When working with high-resolution images such as film scans, existing proxies can be imported so they do not have to be generated again.
• Full-resolution output to the broadcast monitor: A selected clip can be sent to the SDI output of the NVIDIA graphics card, providing clients with a full-screen view on the broadcast monitor.
OpenEXR Workflow Enhancements
• Floating-point processing in Colour Corrector and Colour Warper: Support for 16-bit floating-point processing has been extended to Colour Warper and Colour Corrector, providing better control over the full original color range of 16-bit file formats.
• Remote rendering for 16-bit floating-point Action setups: With the addition of NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700 support, artists can use the latest GPU-accelerated version of Autodesk Burn software to remotely render Action setups based on 16-bit OpenEXR files.
• New HDR Viewer: Provides a more precise and flexible view of logarithmic, linear and video images in modules that support multiple viewers. The player displays more image detail.
Highlights of Extension 1 for Inferno 2009, Flame 2009 and Flint 2009
New Creative Tools
• Animated GMask 3D Extrude*: This new tool extends 3D compositing with the ability to import free-form GMask geometry extremely quickly and extrude it to create textured 3D objects. GMask geometry can be animated to make graphic treatments easier to design.
• Improved auto-stabilization*: The precision of the new auto-stabilization tool has been enhanced to track an object automatically based on the desired region.
• Object tracking with the 3D Tracker*: This feature extends Flame’s fast, precise 3D Tracker by allowing artists to isolate moving objects in a complex scene. In addition to camera tracking, object tracking also provides tools that help integrate new elements into complex moving scenes.
• Pattern tool*: A tool for rapidly generating symmetrical patterns (kaleidoscope), which can be used to create textures quickly and easily.
• Exposure node: With support for 16-bit floating-point processing, the Exposure node enables artists to design both realistic and creative effects by adjusting the exposure and contrast of their images.
• Particle presets: More than 80 new particle presets give artists a fast and easy way to use the powerful 3D particle effects in the Inferno, Flame and Flint systems.
*Not available for Flint.
Workflow Enhancements and Expanded Format Support
• Real-time results: When multiple resolutions must be output from a high-quality master, this new mastering-to-VTR tool increases efficiency by providing real-time up- and downconversion without the need for rendering. It outputs source files of up to 2K 12-bit images to most video formats.
• Support for compressed media formats: Support for QuickTime Animation with alpha and QuickTime Motion-JPEG, XDCAM and XDCAM HD codecs, as well as Panasonic P2 AVC-Intra media in 50 and 100 modes.
• More comprehensive QuickTime metadata support: To increase interoperability with Final Cut Pro, Smoke now uses timecode and reel-name information contained in Apple QuickTime files when importing or soft-importing QuickTime metadata.
• Enhanced Import Image Browser: Artists can work more efficiently with industry-standard digital acquisition formats. Clips in P2 and XDCAM directory structures can be browsed and scanned recursively more quickly and easily.
• Support for external proxies: When working with high-resolution images such as film scans, existing proxies can be imported so they do not have to be generated again.
• Full-resolution output to the broadcast monitor: A selected clip can be sent to the SDI output of the NVIDIA graphics card, providing clients with a full-screen view on the broadcast monitor.
OpenEXR Workflow Enhancements
• Floating-point processing in Colour Corrector and Colour Warper: Support for 16-bit floating-point processing has been extended to Colour Warper and Colour Corrector, providing better control over the full original color range of 16-bit file formats.
• Remote rendering for 16-bit floating-point Action setups: With the addition of NVIDIA Quadro FX 3700 support, artists can use the latest GPU-accelerated version of Autodesk Burn software to remotely render Action setups based on 16-bit OpenEXR files.
• New HDR Viewer: Provides a more precise and flexible view of logarithmic, linear and video images in modules that support multiple viewers. The player provides an even greater level of image detail.
