Autodesk Streamlines Flagship VFX Software With Flame 20th Anniversary Edition

At the International Broadcasting Convention 2012 (IBC), September 7 to 11, 2012, Autodesk, Inc., (NASDAQ: ADSK) will demonstrate the powerful new Flame 20th Anniversary Edition software. The new software is part of Autodesk Flame Premium 2013, a high-end software toolset that integrates visual effects, editorial and real-time color grading. The new edition streamlines complex tasks and improves speed with a new creative workspace, top-level editorial timeline integration and an enhanced GPU pipeline.

Autodesk Flame 2013 New Creative Environment: A new tightly integrated creative environment brings together the Desktop, Timeline and Batch, enabling artists to more easily find and aggregate source material, move between creative toolsets for editing and 3D VFX creation and output finished products. Image courtesy of Che Revolution Post

“As an integral tool for the highest-quality visual effects for film and television, Flame has been used on numerous Super Bowl commercials, top-rated TV shows and blockbuster movies from ‘Titanic’ to ‘The Avengers.’ Flame artists are often called upon to ‘do everything.’ With changes to the industry, they required an evolved toolset that would allow them to oversee entire projects; the Flame 20^th Anniversary edition is that tool,” said Marc Petit, senior vice president, Autodesk Media & Entertainment.

New Creative Workspace

The new release of Flame Premium brings core post-production tools into a unified creative environment where a full editorial timeline is now closely linked to the popular Flame Desktop, Batch and Action. The redesigned workflow also features improved access to media and a new task-based workflow with one-click access to the main finishing tasks and creative tools.

Al Jazeera Media Network broadcasts to more than 260 million households across 130 countries worldwide. “Working on a 24-hour news cycle with over 70 bureaus around the world, Al Jazeera requires a post-production tool that’s fast, efficient and flexible. Viewers across the world constantly rely on Al Jazeera as their source for news and current affairs. As news events unfold worldwide, it is our job to cover breaking news stories with a fast turnaround. For this we rely on Flame Premium, a tool that provides us with a new task-based workflow that makes our job much easier,” said Al Jazeera Creative Division Director Ramzan Alnoimi.

Integrated Editorial and Effects Timeline

Now available at the top level of the application, the redesigned timeline allows artists to more easily work within the context of the timeline. Artists can now build timelines from scratch or match an offline cut without leaving the desktop. With this new integration, artists can more easily accomplish editorial tasks and move seamlessly between creative and editorial functions.

With an impressive resume that includes multiple Emmys and work on “Modern Family,” “Entourage” and “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” CBS Digital in Los Angeles has a distinguished history of pushing creative boundaries. The studio currently relies on a robust Autodesk creative finishing pipeline of two Flame Premiums, two Flames and two Flares. “For me the great thing about Flame Premium is that everything works seamlessly. It’s the same language — the way they all live together in the same universe is its greatest strength. Now with an integrated editorial timeline that will further streamline our workflow, we’re even more thrilled with the evolution of the product,” said CBS Digital Visual Effects Supervisor and Head Creative Director Craig Weiss.

Enhanced GPU Pipeline

Flame Premium now features a re-engineered GPU/CPU processing pipeline for faster compositing and visual effects development in Batch and Action.

Glassworks, a multiple award-winning commercial post-production boutique, recently upgraded their Flame Suite to better compete in the competitive global marketplace. “When a world-class director is looking over your shoulder and requesting new backgrounds, changing day into night or retiming a commercial to new music, you have to be able to make those adjustments in real-time and make it look easy. My hero Flame suite makes those kinds of ‘impossible’ changes possible. Now with the improved GPU acceleration, I’m ready for the next killer deadline,” said Glassworks Head of Engineering William Isaacs.

Flame Premium 2013 20^th Anniversary edition also adds native support of the 16-bit, 4K-capable Sony F65 digital cinema camera format, using the necessary color transforms to bring the RAW format into the ACES compliant color space.

Product Information and Availability

Customer presentations and product demonstrations will be streamed live from the Autodesk IBC booth to the AREA — Autodesk’s digital entertainment community. Flame Premium 2013 20^th Anniversary Edition and the 2013 Extension releases of Autodesk Flame and Autodesk Flare software are anticipated to ship later this autumn. The 20^th Anniversary edition and extension releases will be available exclusively to Autodesk Subscription customers. For features, Subscription benefits and video tutorials, visit the Flame Premium product center, join the Flame Community on AREA or friend us on our new Facebook page.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries — including the last 17 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects — use Autodesk software to design, visualize and simulate their ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software for global markets. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, Flame and Flare are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Emmy is a registered trademark of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and service offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

© 2012 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

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