Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/28735
Autodeskat NAB with 2010 tools bits & pieces M ONTREAL — Back in February, Autodesk (www.autodesk.com) invited some press to Montreal for a sneak peek at what they would be introducing at the GDC show in March and showing at NAB in April.The news included releases of the company’s digital entertainment creation software and tion, increased stereo capabilities, and made multiple core software development kit additions. Mudbox 2012 delivers enhancements to the painting toolset, new UV and topology-independent workflows, practical posing tools and improved large dataset handling. MotionBuilder 2012 provides a new in-viewport stereo display and camera rig, a unified inter- face and solver for Autodesk HumanIK 4.5 or 2012 middleware, as well as new tools for virtual moviemaking. Autodesk has also made enhance- ments to its creative finishing tools. Flame Premium combines high-end 3DS Max 2012 offers more sculpting tools and painting enhancements. middleware.The 2012 versions are designed to enable it- erative workflows, help users manage complexity and pro- vide new creative tools. The 2012 Autodesk Entertainment Creation Suites give artists and production facilities access to a range of the company’s creative toolsets, allowing artists to extend their 3DS Max or Maya software workflow with tools for sculpting and texture painting, realtime character anima- tion and effects. And there is single-step interoperability and more consistent UIs in the 2012 software. 3DS Max 2012 offers a new accelerated graphics core, mRigids for dynamic rigid-body simulations in the viewport, and new sculpting and painting enhance- ments. Maya 2012 hosts significant enhancements to the viewport, offering full-screen effects, editable motion trails for animation editing in the viewport, and new sim- ulation options. Softimage 2012 has updated its proce- dural ICE modeling tool, integrated Syflex cloth simula- visual effects and finishing tools with real- time color grading.The 2012 release fea- tures new tools that help artists integrate realistic 3D lighting effects into compos- ites, as well as a set of effects tools for finishing stereoscopic 3D projects. New tools have also been added for making 3D compositing as fast and inter- active as traditional 2D compositing. Smoke 2012 software offers a time- line-based solution for finishing on the Mac.The Smoke toolset spans color correction, composit- ing, 3D visual effects and stereo 3D, and features an effi- cient complementary workflow with Apple Final Cut Pro. There is also a redesigned 3D lighting system. Flame FX is a new set of creative and technical tools for common finishing tasks.Tools include Damage, De- form, Edge Detect and Pixel Spread. Autodesk Beast 2012 global illumination middleware features an enhanced application programming interface that allows developers to integrate the eRnsT interactive lighting preview tool into custom game level editors. The HumanIK 2012 character animation middleware now supports the next generation portable entertain- ment system (NGP) from Sony Computer Entertain- ment, as well as the Apple iOS mobile platform, enabling more realistic character animation on the latest mobile gaming devices. Also new is Project Skyline, aimed to put more game development in the hands of creatives. Quantel’sQTube allows for global collaboration N EWBURY, UK — Quantel (www.quantel.com) is at NAB this year with a range of new and en- hanced post and broadcast solutions. The company’s addresses file-based workflows, enhancing integration, and boosting stereo 3D productivity. QTube is a new “workflow over IP” product that will allow for collabo- ration from anywhere. Media assets ingested into the solution can be quickly and securely accessed from anywhere there’s an Internet connec- tion. Users connected to the solution will be able to view media, edit meta- data, download high-quality media and even perform frame-accurate editing. Quantel will show QTube working with assets stored thousands of miles away. On the stereo 3D front, Quantel will show improvements to its iQ and Pablo systems.The new GeoFix tool uses advanced image analysis to auto- matically fix camera geometry differ- ences, helping to boost productivity. Disparity Checker provides realtime measurement of stereo disparity, helping customers meet 3D channel content specifications. Both tools will now be standard on all products, in- cluding eQ in V.5 software. Enhancements to eQ, iQ and Pablo finishing systems also include Arriraw support for Arri’s Alexa and D21 cameras, two-way native DNxHD file interchange and 16 channel audio I/O. 4 Post • April 2011 www.postmagazine.com