Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 23, 2018. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Above the Clouds…
Originally known as Elara in its beta phase, Athera is a completely cloud-based platform. It makes it possible to use a complete visual effects studio online with nothing more than a standart laptop and a simple internet connection. Virtual workstations, online software rental, rendering and collaborative tools and analytics are provided through the cloud.
The name change was implemented at this year’s NAB. Together with the registration date for trial versions: April 26, 2018.
Athera / Elara was already presented at NAB 2017.
Then as Now?
There have not been many fundamental changes since last year’s announcement at NAB 2017. However, this new service is no longer intended to target large companies and corporations, but instead to orient the service more towards freelancers and indie studios. For them, the new Athera can be extremely valuable. After all, it saves them the permanent rental of expensive software and the maintenance of temperamental hardware.
What About M&M in Athera?
While the cloud software already has big names such as Houdini, V-Ray and Blender on board and, of course, all Foundry products (Nuke, Modo, Mari, Katana), two well-known M&Ms are still missing: 3ds Max and Maya. No date has yet been given for when the two will be available in the future.
According to the announcement, however, Shotgun will be included very soon after release. But there has been no sign of Autodesk so far.
Prices or pricing modules have also not yet been precisely determined. However, it should not be much longer before Foundry makes a precise statement on this.
