Autodesk Flint

 

Advanced visual effects system for post-production and broadcast graphics.

Design stunning motion graphics and interactive visual effects for broadcast and post-production with this cost-effective system. Build killer promos, station ID packages, commercials, and brand graphics in a real-time creative environment.

 

 

 

 

Autodesk® Flint® 2010 visual effects and motion graphics software features significant creative, performance, and interoperability enhancements. Improvements include 3D text and Modular Keyer enhancements, extended format support, and new productivity tools for creating post production digital effects.

New Creative Tools

Displacement Map Tool
The Displacement Map Tool is now available as an independent object to enhance workflow and extend the range of control when using displacement maps in the Action 3D compositing environment. Displacement mapping can also be applied to 3D geometries including 3D text, extruded geometries, or objects created with 3D applications.

Enhanced 3D Text Tool
An enhanced 3D Text Tool with character-focused animations enables you to animate letters individually and cascade an animation across letters.

Modular Keyer
The Modular Keyer, a comprehensive Autodesk keying tool, has now been incorporated into Flint to provide an extensive and flexible toolset for solving keying problems. Keyer algorithms are available in the Modular Keyer. This tool also features keyer presets that enable artists to work faster in challenging keying situations.

Expanded Format Support
Autodesk WiretapCentral Enhancements
The Autodesk® WiretapCentral^TM application provides parameters for optimizing import properties and color management settings, enabling an easy and efficient way to import RED ONE R3D^TM format files directly into storage. Import RED files as isolated files or in a batch, using an EDL file or an Apple® Final Cut Pro® application program XML file to dramatically enhance efficiency. Use WiretapCentral to:

Import multichannel OpenEXR files.
Import and export Avid DNxHD codec in an Apple® QuickTime® wrapper to extend the range of collaboration with the offline editing applications Avid Media Composer.

Workflow and Productivity Enhancements

Floating-Point Processing Support
Flint 2010 offers extended support for floating-point processing in Batch nodes. This enhancement enables greater control over the 16-bit file formats, such as OpenEXR® image files. It enables more realistic integration of CG content into complex scenes in the Action 3D compositing environment.

Faster File-Based Conform Workflow
The redesign of the Recapture module provides more effective recursive searches of directories, the list of recaptured media, and found media.

Features 

Action
Intuitive and interactive 3D visual effects design environment is ideal for in-context, creative decision-making and brainstorming.
16x9 user interface enhances workflow. Object node bin and Object menu make it easier to add and control elements in the scene.
Supports media layers at many image resolutions or aspect ratios. Quickly copy layer effects from one layer to another.
3D particle systems enable realistic effects ranging from rain and snow to smoke and explosions.
3D deformation, meshes, displacement mapping, and extended bicubics enable control and manipulation of 2D surfaces and 3D models.
Precise control of the Displacement Maps tool allows you to manipulate the position, scale, rotation, and animation parameters of a displacement map.
Duplication of animations by applying settings to other objects.
Multiple cameras with true-to-life, user-definable lenses and camera properties, such as depth-of-field. Animate and switch between camera views. Each layer offers independent camera placement and animation for sophisticated effects.
Import 3D geometry, including NURBS objects, lights, and camera data from 3D animation packages using Autodesk® FBX® technology interchange format. Export camera data, axis positions, and 3D point clouds via FBX.
Multiple animatable light sources.
Integrated tracking and stabilization.
Texture mapping with material property and shading controls. Map or project textures onto objects.
Integrated 3D character generator for advanced text creation.
Import Adobe® Photoshop® software PSD files directly into Action while maintaining layers, blend modes, and transparency.
Interoperable with DVE setups from Autodesk® Smoke® editing and finishing systems.
Multitrack clip support builds an Action setup from the video tracks of the clip.

Keying and Rotoscoping
Master Keyer-advanced keying technology. Intuitively refine the key by gesturally modifying the matte. Color spill removal and edge blending. Advanced grain removal, specifically tuned to blue and green screens.
Keyer-fast, accurate RGB, YUV, HLS, RGBCMYL, and custom keying. Linear and user-definable keying capabilities with luminance remapping, softness, shrink, and erode. Advanced spill suppression and edge color replacement capabilities.
Modular Keyer-customizable pipeline for advanced keying capability and control over the final result. Algorithms, such as RGB, YUV, RGBCMYL, HLS, and Channel, are available in the Modular Keyer. Support for 16-bit floating point processing.
Tracer-the accurate edge-keying tool. Based on GMasks, it's ideal for keying hair, fur, and other finely detailed object boundaries not necessarily shot on green or blue screen.

Paint
High-quality, integrated paint system for advanced motion graphics, digital matte painting, rotoscoping, wire removal, and image retouching.
Customizable, user-definable brushes.
Record and animate brush strokes. Create and animate color gradients, vector shapes, and cutouts.
Load mattes to protect areas of the clip during painting.
Paint node integrated in Batch for easy painting or touch-up of elements in a complex scene. Paint, blur, reveal, or clone layers or mattes and feed the result to downstream node while viewing in context. Change source clips without having to repaint strokes.
Back to top

Tracking and Stabilization
Precise motion analysis for 2D tracking of position, scale, and rotation-track up to 1,000 points in a single pass.
Advanced tracking features, such as editable tracking data, reverse tracking, keyframe locking, field-based analysis, and curve smoothing functions.
Tracked data can be applied to image layers, GMask shapes, Warper meshes, Distort splines, and Paint brush strokes.

Color Correction
Colour Warper^TM functionality performs primary and selective color correction, enabling precise fine-tuning with multiple levels of adjustment in a single pass.
Interactive adjustment of gamma, gain, offset, hue, saturation, and contrast. Apply animatable settings to channels or independently to R, G, and B.
Intuitive hue shift and tint color wheel for fast, accurate color balancing. Visual color sampling palette for color matching. Interactive Histogram and Curves editing modes for subtle, precision tweaking of color components.
Independent controls for color correcting the image's shadow, midtone, and highlight regions, with user-definable luminance ranges.
Match feature enables fast scene-to-scene color correction.
Selective feature enables sampling of up to three different color regions for isolated correction.
16-bit floating-point processing in the Colour Warper and Color Corrector.
User interface features include three pressure-sensitive trackballs, a high-quality RGB vector scope, and a 3D histogram for precise color monitoring.
Back to top

2D and 3D Text
Create title rolls, crawls, slates, text animations, text along a path, text effects, and more.
Support for Adobe Type 1 PostScript®, Microsoft® OpenType®, Apple® TrueType® fonts, Asian (CID) fonts, ASCII text file import, and extended Unicode font sets.
Formatting and layout capabilities, spell checking, custom dictionaries.
Easy generation of matte layers.
3D text creation and animation in Action module.
Character-focused animations allow you to animate letters individually and cascade an animation across letters.
Back to top

Warping and Morphing
Choice of mesh- or spline-based tools for intuitive, interactive warping and morphing.
Distort workflow enhanced for improved control of desired result. Animate multiple splines independently.
Warp and morph stationary or moving elements. Animate splines, mesh points, and axes with tracking data to automatically fit motion, scale, and rotation.
Lens distortion tool applies or removes distortion artifact to a clip for integration with other footage.
Open splines in distort transform image distortions quickly and more efficiently.

Image Processing: Plug-ins, Filters, and Optics
Filters include sharpen, soften, emboss, and glow, as well as user-customizable convolution filter matrices.
Lanczos filtering provides high-quality resizing when down-scaling images, preserving edge detail during image resizing.
Pixel math operators and blend modes enable compositing effects.
Motion analysis tool produces forward and reverse motion vectors. Motion Blur provides motion-estimated timewarps and motion blurs. Selectively set object blur based on relative motion.

Support for many third-party Autodesk Developers Network (ADN) Sparks® plug-ins.
Advanced flowchart representation of the compositing workflow and clip history to display operations performed on a clip, allowing for easy editing of complex visual effects.
Monitor downstream results with in-context viewers. Show the result at selected nodes while modifying others.
Batch nodes support 16-bit floating point processing. Custom node bins save effects that you create so you can reapply them.
Node grouping with user-definable group display settings. Cleanly organizes the schematic display while permitting rapid switching between node menus.
RGB Blur to create Box, Gaussian, Radial, and Directional blurs.
Integrated editing timeline with multiple video and audio tracks offers in-context editing, time warping, and synchronized audio. Vertical timeline editing with nested containers and multiple layers for complex visual effects. Render soft effects in a clip from Autodesk® Smoke® software. Create new Timewarp, Resize, Blend, and audio soft effects in the Batch timeline.
Improved source and record timeline editing workflow.
Segment FX enables visual effects to be dropped into edited timeline segments.
Proxy processing allows for fast interaction even when working at high resolutions.
Intelligent caching and bypassing functions enable automatic or user-defined pre-rendering of parts of the composite, increasing interactivity.
Script with the power of UNIX® operating system. Use scripts to automate tasks ranging from email notification of render completion to generating Apple® QuickTime® application program movie previews.
Batch Log and Queue Management handle workflow by setting up and prioritizing multiple-render jobs at once and monitoring progress on a web browser.
Unified channel editor allows display and modification of animation curves for different effects in Batch.
Digital notepads to annotate nodes and provide reminders and instructions for further work.
Enter Batch to apply effects to a single timeline segment before SoftFX® filters are applied (pre-segment) or to the result of a vertical compositing /soft effects (post-segment).
Batch navigation view mode provides a visual representation of the entire Batch effects tree resulting in a given Batch effects segment.
Designed for a procedural compositing environment, Batch paint has settings to define how paint strokes are applied to the image sequence, the ability to slip the reveal frame offset, as well as the ability to adjust the scale of paint strokes.

Infrastructure
Autodesk® Stone® Direct storage solution-high-speed fiber channel storage solutions for real-time access to high-resolution media.
Autodesk® Stone® FS software-advanced file system helps to provide performance and reduces fragmentation risks.
Autodesk® Wiretap® technology-application processing interface (API) provides convenient access to Stone FS file system by third-party applications.
RAID 5 protection from data loss of audio and video media, and nonobstructive background healing.
Supports Autodesk® Backdraft® Conform software-an assistant utility for project and media management, I/O, conform, and editing.
Autodesk® Wire® software networking for visual browsing and high-speed transfer of clips. Support for InfiniBand® networking protocol delivers faster-than-real-time transfer of clips up to 2K 10-bit resolution.
Supports standard file systems. Multiple Autodesk systems can connect to and share the same storage, such as a SAN or NAS, resulting in significantly faster media access and reduced media duplication (Linux® operating system only).

Motion Estimation Timewarp
High-quality timewarping for speeding up or slowing down the frame rate of a clip.
Minimizes the telltale ghosting, softening, and stepping artifacts typical of traditional frame-averaging timewarping.
Powerful optical flow algorithms track changes in image pixels from frame to frame and interpolate movement for crisp, clean rendering of extreme slow motion.
Enables interaction with onscreen motion vectors to improve accuracy. Speed curves facilitate setup and animation of speed changes.

 

Animation: Channel Editor
Easily create and manipulate animations in the ubiquitous Channel Editor.
16x9 user interface is standardized across Autodesk editing/finishing and visual effects systems applications.
Animation capabilities include auto-keyframing, motion paths, expressions, and editable spline curves with choice of interpolation and extrapolation modes.
Convert expression and extrapolated curves into keyframed curves for additional manual control.
Track Editor lets you view and slide individual keyframes on a track with multiple tracks or keyframes selected.
Automatic and user-defined filters organize channel display for improved usability in large, complex setups.
Back to top

Expressions
Create accurate animations based on user-programmed parameters.
Library of functions including mathematical, logical operators, conditional operators, vectors, and constants.
Parameters can be linked so that an object's rotation varies as a function of its distance from a light source-as you animate the object's position, its rotation is calculated.
Back to top

Desktop Editing
Gestural, picture-based editing interface for easy viewing and intuitive clip manipulation. Cut, splice, trim, and play clips with fast, simple strokes.
Prepare, preview, and compare clips in many resolutions and formats.
Transition effects and timewarping tools with animatable speed curves, as well as adjustable interframe mixing and trailing.

Advanced Media Player
Player maximizes image display and minimizes interface clutter for ideal viewing conditions when playing clips.
Provides letterbox masking and safe title overlays for precise viewing of intended result.
Real-time playback of 8- and 10-bit 4:4:4 PAL, NTSC, HDTV, and 2K (2,048 x 1,556) resolutions at standard frame rates.
Display of SD and HDTV video to a broadcast monitor (platform specific).
Send a selected clip to the SDI output of the NVIDIA® graphics card to offer clients a full-image resolution output to the broadcast monitor.
Real-time 3:2 insertion and removal, as well as the ability to mark in/out points and set cue marks for improved interactivity, faster editing, and A-frame timecode setting.
HDR viewer provides a more accurate and flexible view of logarithmic, linear, and video images in modules supporting multiple viewers.

Film Tools
Import standard color lookup tables (LUTs) or create your own using the intuitive tools provided.
Grain management tools match the grain of different film stocks and maintain homogenous grain across disparate elements used in the composite (such as computer generated imagery and scans from different film types).
Tools for sampling, removing, and applying grain independently on each color channel.

Audio Tools
Audio tracks with 32 tracks of real-time playback.
Audio Gain Rubberbanding allows the artist to quickly and easily set audio levels in the timeline.
Support for AudioDesk® workstation software in player and Batch timeline, including tools for mixing and mastering audio.
Audio editing functions, including cut, slip, and timestretch with pitch correction control.
Audio mixing capabilities with control of audio levels, pans, and EQ.
Vari-speed audio scrubbing allows for precise work.
Display audio waveform for syncing effects to sound.
Dolby® E audio coding support.
Soft effects can be applied to audio segments in the timeline.
Import and export Broadcast Wave and MP3 files.

Input/Output (I/O)
Import RED ONE R3D^TM format files directly into storage using high quality debayering settings as isolated files or as a group using an EDL or Apple® Final Cut Pro® application program XML files.
New Real-Time Deliverables mastering-to-VTR tool dramatically enhances efficiency by providing real-time down conversions without having to render.
Direct ingest of Panasonic® P2 MXF files.
Support for AVC-Intra media at bit rates of 50 and 100 Mbps.
Soft import workflow and background proxy generation of soft-imported streaming media files.
Import existing proxies when working with high-resolution images, such as film scans.
Support for DV, DV25, DV50, and DVCPRO HD compressed codecs.
Support for XDCAM and XDCAM HD codecs.
Import/export Avid DNxHD codec in an Apple QuickTime wrapper.
Quickly and easily browse and recursively scan clips in P2 and XDCAM media directories.
Create, save, and load codec encoding profiles to quickly set up and launch encoding jobs.
Send encoding tasks directly to Autodesk® Cleaner® XL software for expanded Export Media format support.
Flint HD features serial digital interface for both ITU-R 601 standard (PAL/NTSC) and SMPTE 292M high-definition video.
VTR control capabilities via RS-422 support for real-time frame-accurate control of video devices.
Two tracks of ADAT digital audio I/O: 1 ADAT input, 1 ADAT output.
Analog and AES/EBU I/O audio connectivity via included converter.
Support for VariCam footage with automatic frame rate conversion.
File-based I/O for most popular graphics formats including TIFF, PICT, TARGA®, JPEG, Cineon^TM, DPX, SGI®, Autodesk® Softimage®, Autodesk® 3ds Max®, and Autodesk® Maya® software formats.
Import Adobe Photoshop PSD files with options to maintain layer structure or flatten image.
Import/export QuickTime files. QuickTime animation with alpha and QuickTime motion-JPEG. QuickTime metadata of the time code and reel name information is included when importing or soft-importing.*
Import 16- and 32-bit floating-point OpenEXR image files. Framestore storage, export, and editing support for 16-bit floating-point clips.

Conforming and Archiving
Import/export standard EDL formats with cuts, dissolves, freeze-frames, vari-speed, reverses, split edits, and comments.
Advanced conform tools for EDL, AAF, OMF (with audio media), and Apple® Final Cut Pro® XML files.
Multilayer, multitrack, or container assembly from multiple EDLs.
Multilayer timeline that is compatible with the timeline in Autodesk Smoke and supports the complete set of Smoke soft effects. NEW
EDL Editor for tweaking and revising EDLs. Sort EDLs for fast capture (A-, B-, C-, and S-mode).
Convert EDL frame rates.
Media unlinking and relinking.
Automatic tape name assignation on file import.
Recursively scan file directories for streamlined file import.
Define search criteria to perform extensive directory and recaptured media searches, including information about found media.
Multi-Master Editing^TM functionality-create multiple formats from a single master, including archiving to 720p tape.
Project archiving for backup of selected clips, libraries, or the entire project in a single operation. Setups can be archived together with the media.
Store archives as files (on networked drives or external USB or FireWire drives), on data tapes (LTO, DLT, and DTF), or (multi) videotape (SD and HDTV VTR).
Create HTML/XML table of contents for fast browsing and retrieval. Selective restore from archives.

Interoperability
Interoperates with Autodesk® Flame®, Autodesk® Inferno®, Autodesk Smoke, Autodesk® Combustion®, Autodesk® Toxik^TM, and Autodesk® Lustre® software and effects systems. Provides extensive support for Autodesk 3ds Max, Autodesk Maya, and other 3D applications.
Clip compatibility between Autodesk editing and effects applications. Supports multitrack, multilayer clips with containers and gaps.
Soft-import image and audio files on shared storage without making a local copy. Then, publish results back to the open file system.
Open file system applications that support Wiretap (such as Lustre and Combustion) can read and write Stone FS clips directly from Autodesk Stone Direct storage.

Workflow and Productivity
Support for Autodesk® Burn® software background rendering solution in Batch and desktop modules, and in the Batch timeline.
Integrated Autodesk® Backburner^TM software monitoring of Burn background renders.
With the addition of NVIDIA Quadro® FX 3700 graphics card, remote render 16-bit floating-point Action setups using the latest GPU-accelerated version of Autodesk® Burn® software.
Project-based dual-view clip library provides media organization and sharing between separate Autodesk systems.
Clip history saves setups of rendered clips, providing a nondestructive way to access intermediate results and to make changes.
Extended search filters (search range of timecode, name, and comment).
Extensive hotkeys enable instant operation of commands and menu selections. Comprehensive hotkey editor enables flexible user customization.
Add notes to desktop clips that are also viewable in Autodesk Inferno, Autodesk Flame, and Autodesk Smoke.
Online help and button tooltips provide quick access to documentation and button descriptions.
Access Autodesk® WiretapCentral^TM software directly from the creative application to import and export a variety of codecs and file formats.
Import multichannel OpenEXR files using Autodesk WiretapCentral software. Channels are stored together as RGB clips and can be loaded individually or as a group into Batch.
Autodesk WiretapCentral software browses Autodesk systems clip libraries using a network-connected web browser for quicker reviews and approvals.
Autodesk® SystemCentral technology provides centralized diagnostic tools in a web-based application that simplifies the process of running diagnostic tests on your systems application.

 

< Prev		Next >

Article Index
Autodesk Flint
Flint Features
Colour Correction
Image processing
Animation Channel editor
Input/Output
All Pages