Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 16, 2012. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Since Apple’s Shake debacle, quite a lot has been happening in the high-end market for finishing tools. After Smoke’s direct competitor, IFX Piranha, is currently also being offered for only 1,000 dollars, Autodesk now appears to be following suit with the latest Smoke version. Most recently, Smoke for Mac was still available for 10,000 dolars; a price reduction of 6,500 dollars for this version is considerable.
Alongside this extreme price reduction, however, the software is by no means intended to be junk, but rather to have been expanded with important basic features. According to Autodesk, Smoke Version 2013 is an all-in-one application that no longer requires a round trip.
The editing workflow is now intended to be track-based, and ConnectFX is intended to enable node-based compositing for high-end effects and advanced compositing in the timeline. According to Autodesk, users no longer have to switch to another compositing program or a grading suite for this.
According to Autodesk, Smoke 2013 includes Creativ Tools for true 3D compositing and for stereoscopic 3D editing and effects. Added to this are a Colour Warper for grading and color matching and a Master Keyer for one-click chroma keying. In the redesigned user interface, Autodesk is said to have placed particular importance on Final Cut and Media Composer editors finding their way around Smoke very quickly.
Low system requirements are also expected to be added, so Smoke 2013 is said to run on most Apple iMacs and MacBook Pro systems in conjunction with Thunderbolt storage and I/O. One disadvantage is the long period until Smoke 2013 is delivred; until fall 2013, quite a bit of patience is still needed.
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