December 18th, 2002
[ bussiness / artist works / Discreet Logic / Apple ]

by Erin Dean

Business

--Final Effects coming soon for OS X, $200.00 upgrade or $695.00 full
package, got rid of most time-related effects but have added new ones.
--January meeting--in conjunction with DV Expo, Jan 30-Feb 1. Meeting will
be held at the Expo, NYMG membership gets you 20% discount on seminars,
meeting is free and entry to the Expo is free.
--DV Expo--features include Apple, Avid, Boris, Zaxwerks, Digital Anarchy,
Discreet, Profound Effects, and MAYBE Trapcode.
--Make notes for the January meeting regarding what users would like to see
with regards to sofware/hardware/plugins.
--at the meeting we noted: we'd like to see Knoll Light Factory for OS X, An
easier 3D program than Maya or 3D Studio Max, AE approaching real-time (or
AE available on a machine capable of handling real-time editing, fx); paths
& mask splines drawn in 3D space, with x y z coordinates on each bezier
point; more customization/standardization of the AE interface--for example
the Maya interface allows user to toggle through windows using the spacebar,
in Photoshop the palettes can easily be located through the window menu.
--on the subject of real-time editing in AE, it was noted that because of
speed limitations, client management, project management, and good
communication is essential when working closely with a client.

Artist's Works:
The following artists showed their works at the December Meeting.

Carl Gordon
GV
Motion Graphics/Digital Compositing. Current/Future Projects, Station Identifieers and animated backgrounds. Film Pre-vis D1-D16
http://www.gordonvideo.com

DISCREET LOGIC COMBUSTION 2 -Alex Huddel

--Discreet Logic covers effects, editing, and animation in their product line:
Inferno, Flame, and Flint for effects, Smoke and Fire for editing, and 3D
Studio Max for Animation.
--Also for streaming, there's Media Cleaner (acquired from Media 100)
--Combustion is cross-platform with the same interface
--Caches at every layer in composite, instead of at the composite level.
this speeds ram previews and makes working/workflow more efficient.
--Effects, masks, text, particles etc. are referred to as operators.
--Compatible with AE plugins
--in masking, the user can draw/animate mask points and mask feather. Mask
feather is unique to each point along the path, and the feather can be
adjusted over the mask's edge using offset.
--Combustion has the same keyer as Smoke and Flame
--different viewports allow the user to see the composite, layer, and alpha
of a keyed layer at the same time.
--in color-correcting, the user can preset the shadows/highlights, and then
apply colorization from there.
--Combustion exports settings to Flame, etc.
--extensive particle systems include water, flames. 12 standard presets can
be modified (modify parameters include angle, density, range, color, size,
transparency, time, life, size, etc.) to create countless particle effects.
--layers can be placed in z-space, similar to AE, layer prioritization set
by stacking layers on the same plane.
--text can be created with an outline, with can be softened, placed over or
under the text, etc.
--text can be filled with solids, gradients, patterns
--variations on text include tracking, rotation, and scaling
--text can be placed on a path, and text reveals, rolls & crawls can be set.
--lights and cameras can affect layers, lights can cast shadows & shadows
can be adjusted.
--Combustion supports open-GL
--supports Photoshop multi-layers, including layer modes.
--tracker/stabilizer allows for ease of usage by users determination of
interior box (set to a good, high-contrast tracking point), and an exterior
box (set to how far the tracking point moves)
--mattes can also be tracked to object movement
--position and rotation can be tracked
--combustion takes full advantage of the dual-gig processor
--RLA files can be imported from 3D animation, which includes z-depth
channel. Sequence can be affected according to z-depth information (AE has
this feature though the 3D channel effects)
--Combustion & media cleaner together sell for $1,495.00

APPLE SHAKE --Dion Scoppettuolo

--Shake has been used for 5 years, it started as a film tool
--designed for compositing visual effects, works well with high-res images,
film, HD.
--simple interface made up of quadrants which display the viewer,
source/flow-graph, editable parameters, and a tab window for filters,
operators, and plug-ins. Quadrants are scalable and can go full-screen.
--keying & tracking are good for hi-res and HD.
--Primatte and Key Lite (CFC) are the keyers bundled into Shake.
--Widgets connect one layer to another for compositing.
--Primatte pulls a good key with one step, and this can be adjusted (spill,
etc.)
--User can paint/clone/reveal on a layer (based on a spline), and the
strokes can be interpolated over time--in fact everything is
animateable/keyframeable. User can also paint with filters.
--Flame plug-ins like Sapphire, Foundry are available in Shake.
--User can build Macros, which are combinations of different filters and
effects. User can then set which parameters are adjustable in the Macro, and
the Macro becomes a node in the user tab, which can be used on it's own.
--Expressions--every parameter can have a linked expression (ex. blur can be
linked to text kearning)
--Every tree in Shake is a script, and everything can be scripted.
--16 bit (over 65,000 gradient steps) vs. 8 bit (256 gradient steps) vs.
float (even more gradient steps / bit depth than 16 bit)
--Shake lets you adjust bit depth per node, to expedite workflow.
--with float, whites whiter than 1 and blacks blacker than 0 are prserved,
and contrasts & gradations in film are better
--can insert sources anywhere along the pipeline in the flow-graph view.
--compositing occurs as a flow-chart, not as layers, and all compositing can
be done by text scripting if desired.
--Shake has superior feild-interlacing & de-interlacing, blurs are more
sophisticated and resize is superior to most graphics tools.
--Apple's future development goals summarized as "real-time flame on a Mac!"
--Shake sells for $2,900 if you have Maya, or 4,900 without Maya.

DOOR PRIZES 

--set of training cds/manuals for Combustion
--Apple I-pod

[ bussiness / artist works / Discreet Logic / Apple ]