Tinder, Keylight, and Furnace for Nuke updated
[permalink] 28.04.2008
VFX software specialists The Foundry Visionmongers Ltd. updated Tinder (1.2v4), Keylight (2.0v3), and Furnace (4.0v4) plug-in suites for their compositing platform Nuke. These are maintenance releases to support Nuke 4.8 and Nuke 5.0. [source]
www.thefoundry.co.uk

Wacom to introduce a touchscreen technology innovation
[permalink] 28.04.2008
Japanese graphics tablet manufacturer Wacom announced an innovation in capacitive touchscreen technology, called Reversing Ramped Field Capacitive (RRFC) touch, that will be publicly unveiled at the International Society for Information Display Exhibition in Los Angeles, California. Wacom's patent-pending technology employs newly designed low-power circuitry and revolutionary reversing ramped electro-static fields to deliver pinpoint precision and drift-free performance to touchscreen users. Compared to touchscreens with resistive capacitive, an older touchscreen technology, Wacom's RRFC touch offers superior optical performance, while having increased sensitivity and durability. [source]
www.wacom.com

SOFTIMAGE to distribute Qube!
[permalink] 24.04.2008
Softimage Co. announced that it has signed a global distribution agreement with PipelineFX, makers of Qube! render farm management software. Softimage plans to offer PipelineFX products and services to Softimage customers through its reseller channel in Q2 2008. [source]
www.softimage.com

New training DVDs from Digital-Tutors
[permalink] 24.04.2008
Digital-Tutors, providers of video-based training, released several new tutorial DVDs: mental ray Workflows in Maya: Caustics (sample lessons: Understanding caustic photons in mental ray, Adding complex color variation to caustic patterns, Saving and re-using caustic photon maps), Animating Next-Gen Characters in Maya (sample lessons: Painting weights on the hip, Animating the peak position of the run, Adding follow-through to the back hoses, finishing the run cycle, Creating arm jiggle to show the weight of the weapon), HDRI Workflow with XSI and Photoshop (sample lessons: Applying image adjustment effects to your HDR images, Assigning materials to the 3D objects in XSI), and Real-Time Shaders with XNA (sample lessons: Creating our project, Rendering with basic effects, Shading with textures, Combining specular highlights.) The videos cover mental ray, Maya, Softimage|XSI, Photoshop and Microsoft XNA workflows, respectively, and cost between $55.99 - $69.99 US. [source]
www.digitaltutors.com

Bjork's Wanderlust in 3D exclusively on Wired.com
[permalink] 23.04.2008
Wired.com has released a 3D anaglyph video of Wanderlust, Bjork's recently released music video. For more information, read our previous news update. [source]
www.wired.com

Aperture 2.1 SDK released
[permalink] 23.04.2008
Apple has released the Aperture 2.1 SDK enabling developers to write plug-ins that provide custom export and image editing capabilities for Aperture users. Export plug-ins can submit images to stock agencies, store images on-line, provide users with custom export presets, etc. The Edit type of plug-in can display a custom interface, request an editable versions of an image, add metadata, manipulate image data for images in the Aperture library, and import result images back into the Aperture library. See Extending the Aperture Workflow for more information. You must be an Apple Developer Connection member to download the SDK. [source]
developer.apple.com

DAZ Studio 2.1 with enhanced GUI
[permalink] 23.04.2008
DAZ Studio, a free 3D figure posing and animation tool, has been updated to v2.1. The update boast an Auto Magnetize feature (when loading a piece of content, the application checks to see if the figure has magnets assigned and automatically applies them to the piece of content being loaded), QuickStart Interface (a new, user friendly interface taking users through the application step-by-step), display optimizations (faster Viewport display refresh etc.), and Content Manager (a database engine allowing to categorize and search for content). See the What's New page for more information on new features. DAZ Studio 2.1 is compatible with both Windows and Mac OS X-based workstation and can be downloaded free of charge at this location. [source]
www.daz3d.com

Neumann ships a digital version of its TLM 103 microphone
[permalink] 22.04.2008
German microphone legend, Neumann, shipped TLM 103 D, a 'digital version' of its well established, large-diaphragm microphone for home recording and project studios. It is a marriage of a successful TLM 103 design and the digital Solution-D microphone technology, featuring the Neumann A/D converter built into the microphone and integrated, fast peak limiter (Feature List). The TLM 103 D is available in nickel and black, with a stand mount. Starter kits are also available, consisting of the microphone, an elastic suspension and a connection kit for direct connection to an AES/EBU or S/PDIF interfaces. See the product's PDF Brochure for more information on its features. [source]
www.neumann.com

Quadro FX 5600 SDI empowers Autodesk effects and finishing systems
[permalink] 21.04.2008
NVIDIA announced that Autodesk offers NVIDIA Quadro FX 5600 SDI graphics cards in its newest '2009' products for effects and finishing. Quadro SDI graphics solutions provide two channels - fill or key - of 8-, 10-, or 12-bit uncompressed SDI in 2K, HD, or SD formats, and analog and digital house synchronization. They support both Microsoft Windows and Linux operating systems, and can be easily integrated within a broadcast or video editing application through the NVIDIA API. [source]
www.nvidia.com

Autodesk launched 2009 releases of its VFX systems
[permalink] 21.04.2008
Autodesk announced the 2009 releases of the Autodesk Inferno, Autodesk Flame and Autodesk Flint visual effects systems, and the Autodesk Smoke 2009 finishing system. The company also announced Extension 1 for Autodesk Toxik 2008 software for digital compositing.
The Flint / Flame / Inferno line now features new creative tools such as high-quality blur and glow tools, enhancements to the 3D tracking toolset for faster match moving, and auto-stabilization capabilities; expanded format support incl. the ability to import Panasonic P2 MXF files and QuickTime codecs; timeline enhancements; OpenEXR workflow enhancements; new productivity and troubleshooting tools, such as WiretapCentral, which allows users to browse the Autodesk systems' clip libraries and encode media using a network-connected web browser. Read more on new features of: Flame 2009, Flint 2009, Inferno 2009.
Autodesk Smoke 2009 delivers a new tree-based compositing workflow, called Batch FX, which is designed to provide increased visual effects capabilities by marrying the Smoke system's editorial timeline with 3D compositing environment; and expanded format support as well as productivity and troubleshooting tools (described above.); and more. Autodesk Toxik 2008 Extension 1 software brings user-requested visual effects functionality, including: a Warp Image tool for non-linear image warping; Pixel Expression Language (PXL), a new programming language that allows compositors to quickly create many common effects, such as warping, blur, transitions, and more; and upport for video previewing, which streamlines the compositing workflow by enabling artists to make informed color decisions. The 2009 releases of Inferno, Flame, Flint and Smoke will be available in April 2008, Autodesk Toxik Subscription will be available in Spring 2008 and Autodesk Toxik 2008 Extension 1 will be available to members of Autodesk Subscription for Toxik with a valid subscription contract. [source]
www.autodesk.com/me