New Releases Blaze the Trail for a New Genre of Visual Effects
SIGGRAPH, NEW ORLEANS, July 25 /PRNewswire/ -- Discreet, a division of
Autodesk, Inc., today announced worldwide shipment of inferno(R) 4 and version
7 of flame(R), flint(R) and effect(R), the company's most pivotal releases of
its Academy(R) Award-winning visual effects and finishing solutions since the
revolutionary introduction of flame in 1993. The new versions of the Discreet
effects systems will be demonstrated at Siggraph 2000 in the 2D/3D integration
and film and video effects theatres at the Discreet Booth (#1037) of the
Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, July 25-28, 2000.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000518/SFTH083LOGO )
The new versions reflect artist-driven enhancements and new innovative
advancements including an industry-first Colour Warper(TM), integrated Motion
Estimation Timewarp and 3D Tracker, and expanded 2D/3D integration with
Discreet's award-winning animation solution, 3d studio max(R). Significant
speed acceleration and interactivity are achieved with new caching mechanisms,
offering even greater responsiveness for time-sensitive projects in broadcast
design and post-production. The new versions also offer an exciting new
cross-platform effects production pipeline through integration with
combustion(TM), Discreet's recent Macintosh(TM) and PC/NT-based effects
desktop software.
"The graphics and visual effects community originally embraced Discreet's
effects solutions for their revolutionary artistic interface, interactivity,
and return on investment," said John Miller, vice president of sales and
marketing, Discreet. "With these new versions, Discreet continues to give
visual effects and graphic artists an exciting new rich palette of
industry-first tools".
"The new Colour Warper brings incredibly fast color correction and color
matching tools to inferno -- including selective color correction," said
John Montgomery, senior inferno artist, Avenue Chicago. "I recently completed
a spot which in the past would have required re-transferring multiple scenes
in the telecine suite. We really didn't have the time to do this, but with
the new Color Warper I easily and quickly made the changes and blew the
clients away. Once again, Discreet has shown a great job of listening to its
customer base and providing the features that we ask for -- from day to day
workflow issues to new features in the software."
Discreet inferno 4 and version 7 of flame, flint and effect include
advanced features designed to inspire a new genre of film and video visual
effects. Discreet's industry-first integrated Colour Warper is a unique
software color corrector that provides fast, flexible master controls for
interactive color manipulation, scene-to-scene color matching, selective color
correction, as well as the ability to warp RGB space to produce unparalleled
effects. The new versions also include 2D/3D integration with 3d studio max,
where realistic animations are imported and integrated into live action
sequences seamlessly. New Batch Scripting capabilities are available to
perform highly specialized tasks such as remote render previews via email
notification, or automate daily jobs such as background rendering. Also new
to the Discreet effects systems is a new Texture Projector where 2D images are
projected on 3D models to simulate 3D for fast realistic effects.
In addition, inferno 4 includes the new 3D Tracker, new technology
following an object's movement through a scene from a 3D "camera's eye"
perspective while extracting original camera path and camera parameters. With
the accurate 3D tracking results, artists can integrate 3D models in
live-action scenes with greater realism and predictability, simplifying the
complex, iterative process of integrating 3D and 2D. inferno 4 also includes a
Motion Estimation Timewarp module for precision control over camera speed
selection, giving the artists expanded options for designing or modifying
motion effects. With the 3D Tracker and Motion Estimation Timewarp, inferno
artists can create never-before-seen motion effects and realistic CG
integration with greater control, flexibility and speed.
Pricing and Availability
Version 4 of inferno and version 7 of flame, flint and effect are
available for worldwide shipment. Customers and interested parties can
contact their regional Discreet Sales office (http://www.discreet.com), or call
800-869-3504 or 514-393-1616 for more information.
About Discreet
Discreet, a division of Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in digital content
creation, management, and distribution tools. Discreet develops systems and
software for visual effects, 3D animation, editing, and production used in the
creation of digital moving pictures for feature films, video, HDTV, broadcast
graphics, interactive games, and the web. Discreet products are used
extensively in film and video post-production, games and multimedia, broadcast
graphics, programming, and on-air event coverage. For more information,
contact any Authorized Discreet Reseller, call Discreet at 800-869-3504, or
visit http://www.discreet.com. Autodesk shares are traded on the Nasdaq national
market under the symbol ADSK.
Discreet is a division of Autodesk, Inc. 3d studio max, inferno, flame,
flint and effect are registered trademarks, and Discreet and combustion are
trademarks of Autodesk, Inc./Discreet Logic, Inc. in the USA and/or other
countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to
their respective holders.
SOURCE Discreet
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Related links:
http://www.discreet.com
Photo Notes:http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000518/SFTH083LOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org
PRN Photo Desk, 888-776-6555 or 201-369-3467
CONTACT:
Megan Prest of Edelman, Silicon Valley,
650-968-4033, ext. 2730, or megan_prest@edelman.com, or Karen
Jezdinsky of Edelman, Toronto, 416-979-1120, ext. 252, or
karen_jezdinsky@edelman.com, both for Discreet
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