The concept behind this series is to cover the basic components and workflows when it comes to using 3D particles. Part 4 covers two particle types that can be used with particle generation. Quads and Squares. We go through each particle type as well as apply diffuse textures to particles. Great particle types for using 2D image textures as particle sprites which can be used for motion graphics and atmospherics.
Jul 01, 2016•9 min
This workflow allows you to replace shots in the sequence even faster without having to align up matching frames in order to replace media and keep the sync. For example, you matches out a segment in the sequence, performed some VFX work and now you want to replace it back in the sequence. Smart Replace analyses duration and timecode in order to intelligently replace synced media in the sequence. This functionality is not available for Swap Shot between clips. This is designed for replacing medi...
Jun 24, 2016•9 min
This video shows how to use the new Segment Connect in Flame 2017. This functionality allows you to have multiple copies of a segment that can be across a sequence or numerous sequences that are all synced together. For example if you are using the same clip or gap clip across multiple sequences, any changes you make can affect the clip or gap clip over all the sequences. This is a massive time-saver for loads of use-cases including versioning! Just so that you know, the Segment Connect is indep...
Jun 17, 2016•8 min
This video picks up from the previous video covering the Matchbox Texture Grid Shaders. In this video you learn how to create some easy HUD graphics by cusotmizing the GLSL code and XML files of the Matchbox Texture Grid shader. The changes are required in order to accommodate grids and tiles that are a different resolutions as well as increase the number tiles available in a grid image. The grid and tiles can be any resolution you want and filled with anything from graphic elements to text, tit...
May 20, 2016•12 min
This video expands on the concepts of the Matchbox Texture Grid Shaders. You may already have seen these with customizing lens flares with real lens elements but Matchbox Texture Grid Shaders are so much more. Learn to easily customize the texture within a Matchbox Texture Grid shader for so many different uses including branding logos, titles, graphic elements and more. This allows you to change elements in your flow graph with the click of a button instead of re-importing and manually replacin...
May 13, 2016•11 min
This short video discussing the adjusted functionality when it comes to displaying icons in Action. Instead of just toggling the wireframe icons on and off like previous versions of the Flame Products, the wireframe icon display is now on a cycle between showing all icons, only the selected icon or turning off icons. This means less time spent in the Action preferences menu to choose the selected mode. This also works when using the contextual views in Batch, BatchFX and the Timeline Context Vie...
May 06, 2016•4 min
This video covers Lens Flare Customization. The lens flares are very flexible through the use of procedurally generated textures to create tons of customizations. But did you know that you can also use real lens textures to give your composites accurate photo-realism when it comes down to the lens used on the shoot. We’ll cover diffuse map texturing as well as the new Matchbox Texture Grid shader to really push the customization of lens flares with real lens element textures....
Apr 29, 2016•10 min
This video covers the new Lens Flare Preset Workflow making it less disruptive to work with Lens Flare presets in Action. It is also so much easier to make your own custom lens flares and share them within your facility and Flame Community!
Apr 29, 2016•8 min
This video series covers the Connected Colour Workflow which is specifically designed for Colourists or Flame Artists who are in the middle of a grading session and may need perform VFX work such as a quick retouch, sky replacement, title or any VFX related work. This work may not need to be off loaded to another workstation or VFX artist. Part 4, we examine another common production scenario during a grading session where by you’ve been given an updated cut of the editorial and you need to upda...
Apr 18, 2016•7 min
This video series covers the Connected Colour Workflow which is specifically designed for Colourists or Flame Artists who are in the middle of a grading session and may need perform VFX work such as a quick retouch, sky replacement, title or any VFX related work. This work may not need to be off loaded to another workstation or VFX artist. Part 3 goes through each of the products to see how they handle the grade and VFX metadata that is generated by the Connected Colour workflow. In all instance...
Apr 18, 2016•8 min
This video series covers the Connected Colour Workflow which is specifically designed for Colourists or Flame Artists who are in the middle of a grading session and may need perform VFX work such as a quick retouch, sky replacement, title or any VFX related work. This work may not need to be off loaded to another workstation or VFX artist. Part 2 takes a closer look at the Lustre node in Batch and how it affects the SOFT versus BAKED state of the grade metadata after working in Flame....
Apr 18, 2016•10 min
This video series covers the Connected Colour Workflow which is specifically designed for Colourists or Flame Artists who are in the middle of a grading session and may need perform VFX work such as a quick retouch, sky replacement, title or any VFX related work. This work may not need to be off loaded to another workstation or VFX artist. Part 1 introduces the workflow between Lustre and Flame. This shows how you can take a shot in Lustre and launch into directly into the Flame (Flare or Flame ...
Apr 18, 2016•11 min
In this video, we are going to take a look at the shadow casting enhancements in the Action 3D compositor. We’ll discuss the improved shadow quality as well as the invisible shadow receiver and caster functionality. This will make things much easier to get a perspective accurate shadow matching the background plate in one Action. Useful for image integration and motion design work.
Apr 18, 2016•8 min
Part 2 of this set carries on expanding on the new CameraFX post processing pipeline. We’ll look at how the CameraFX work with all kinds of objects in the 3D scene including 3D geometry. We’ll also take a good look at the Stingray Matchbox shaders for some amazing post effects that are based on modern gaming technology.
Apr 18, 2016•13 min
Part 1 of this set introduces a new post processing pipeline in Action called CameraFX. This pipeline allows you to create all different kind of processing effects including Ambient Occlusion, Depth of Field, Motion Blur, Blooming, Reflections and the list goes on. This can all be done without leaving Action. We look at the pipeline as well as an example highlighting the workflow with a multi-layered 3D composite with 2D images.
Apr 18, 2016•14 min
In this video, we cover the redesigned Output menu in Action which now supports Render Layers and Render Passes. Similar to other Autodesk 3D Applications, you now define a Render Layer and assign multiple render passes to the Render Layer. Managing Render Passes is much more efficient compared to previous versions of the Flame Products. The types of Render Passes have also been increased and they are covered in detail in this video.
Apr 18, 2016•13 min
This video will cover a major new improvement to Action known as the Live Preview Viewer. This is a pixel-based “What-You-See-Is-What-You-Get” viewer and will give you accurate representations with all Action processing effects including Matchbox, Lightbox and the new post processing CameraFX tools. So even when working in Action, everything you see is actually the final render. This has major implications for all aspects of Action. This also allows for icons in the context view and timeline vie...
Apr 18, 2016•8 min
In this video, we’ll look at the workflow of the new Burn-In Metadata tool in the Flame 2017 Products. This replaces the old Burn-In Timecode which is no longer available in the application. With Burn-In Metadata, you have access to loads more information you can burn into an image and it’s also more customizable the the retired Burn-In Timecode. One final big benefit is that Burn-In Metadata is now available as a TimelineFX, as a node in Batch and BatchFX and as a separate module in the Tools A...
Apr 18, 2016•12 min
In this video, we are going to take a look at the new colour picker available in the 2017 version of the Flame Products. This functional tool is constantly used on a regular basis for anything colour related and has now received a well deserved redesign. The old colour picker is now officially retired and has been replaced with a new expanded colour picker that is modern and very flexible.
Apr 18, 2016•8 min
In this video, we’ll cover a range of improvements from Batch Group behaviors, new preferences and enhancements to Batch Iterations. These improvements are all based on user-feedback and hopefully they will be extremely helpful in production. This includes non-expanding Batch Group loading, copy vs move clip between groups, customising the Batch Setup and Iteration path, Iteration improvements and append original name. Just as a side node, we briefly discuss using Python to customise the Batch S...
Apr 18, 2016•15 min
In this video, you’ll learn about the new customisable Dual Monitor functionality in Batch and other tools. The secondary monitor can now display other views aside from the Media Panel. This is a really great way of maximising a dual screen configuration. We also look at some new interface customisation in Batch that allows you to hide the Batch controls to get even more screen space for working in the viewer. Finally, you learn about the new DESK and MEDIA PANEL nodes for fast gestural loading ...
Apr 18, 2016•8 min
This video covers a redesigned workflow brought back to the Flame 2017 products. New load buttons have been added to the Reels allowing you to load material from a free floating Media Panel. Depending on your working style, this is a quicker alternative to always manually swiping the Media Panel on and off screen when loading media.
Apr 18, 2016•3 min
This 3-part video series covers the enhancements to the Media Panel in the Flame 2017 products. In part 3, we finish off the Media Panel Enhancements by examining the improved advanced searching in the Media Panel. This includes doing a basic name search as well as advanced searching by criteria with specified parameters. Great searching tools to locate your media very quickly!
Apr 18, 2016•6 min
This 3-part video series covers the enhancements to the Media Panel in the Flame 2017 products. In part 2, you learn all about the sorting capabilities in Flame 2017. This includes clip sorting throughout the workspace as well as tree sorting. Tree sorting allows you to sort all the workspace components such as Desktops, groups, Libraries and folders. This video finishes with localised sorting allowing you to target sorting to a specific component or set of components in the workspace....
Apr 18, 2016•6 min
This 3-part video series covers the enhancements to the Media Panel in the Flame 2017 products. In part 1, you’ll look at the dual panel functionality, creation dates and avoiding duplicate entries.
Apr 18, 2016•7 min
This video covers some of the updates to the MediaHub in the Flame 2017 product line. These small but useful enhancements should improve your usability experience with media handling. This includes saved settings per project, the last valid file path, audio frame rates, and export settings including frame handles and new naming tokens.
Apr 18, 2016•8 min
The concept behind this series is to cover the basic components and workflows when it comes to using 3D particles. Part 3 carries on with the particle types covering the different types of 3D Geometry that can be used as particles. We’ll also cover using custom 3D geometry as particles using the ParticleDraw naming convention. As before the particle parameter settings react differently to each particle type so keep an eye on this.
Mar 11, 2016•12 min
The concept behind this series is to cover the basic components and workflows when it comes to using 3D particles. Part 2 starts going through the particle types starting with Lines and Points. We also cover the standard generator settings that can influence the particles in a number of ways. By the way, the settings react differently to each particle type so it’s worth taking a look.
Mar 02, 2016•11 min
The concept behind this series is to cover the basic components and workflows when it comes to using 3D particles. Part 1 gives a brief introduction and shows how to set an easy particle workflow. You also learn about the three types of object that are capable of emitting particles.
Feb 24, 2016•13 min
This 3-part video series covers the topic of Tracking using Exclusive Constraints. This is when foreground detail gets in the way of a 3D or Planar Track and foreground objects need to be excluded. In part 3, we examine how to set up the exclusive constraint with Planar Tracking. We’ll cover the workflow as well as tips and best working practises to get it right.
Feb 09, 2016•10 min
