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In the June issue, I provided the statistics for the numerical explosion of nonlinear technology at this year's NAB convention. And in my "First Impressions" article in May, I explained that (surprisingly) the Sands Expo Center was where-it appeared--conventioneers felt the action was. I do believe that one of the hottest new postproduction products could be found in this center in one of the most popular booths at the show, so let's start with the Discreet booth.
Discreet combustion'
In my opinion, the Discreet combustion* software was the hottest new product at the show this year. A VIDEOGRAPHY Editors' Choice Award-winner (see June issue), Discreet combustion* (available for either the Mac or NT platform) is an integrated paint, animation, and 3D compositing/effects package that has an interface very similar to a flame* or inferno*. Features include: powerful keying capabilities, four-point motion tracking, impressive colorcorrection tools, vector-based non-destructive paint/animation capabilities, network rendering, and true 3D digital effects and compositing. The features are so similar to Discreet's high-end products that this low-cost ($3,495 MSRP) can be used for training to become a flame/inferno* operator. With tremendous metadata compatibility, combustion* can be used for offlining projects that are destined for onlining on those high-end Discreet products.
More importantly, since it is resolution-independent and capable of networked rendering, it can be an online effects/compositing system in its own right! It will also be interfaced with edit* v6.0, and since Discreet is evangelizing the new Advanced Authoring Format (AAF) standard, it will surely fit in with future postproduction environments.
Discreet flame* and smoke*
Discreet's flame* and smoke* appear to be a popular choice for nonlinear rooms in postproduction facilities. The 4.0 version demonstrated at their booth made it clear why this was the case. This workflow method of vertical editing appeared to be a hit with the crowds. The demonstrations featured complex compositing, powerful color-correction tools, and their new Soft Effects implementation where you do not need to leave the timeline for a sub-system window. Soft Effects includes Axis, Wipe, Color Correct, Timewarp, and Blend. They also demoed their Containers feature, a new variant on the "Timeline Nesting" concept. But the concept they were most enthusiastic about was "Create Once-Use Anywhere," which promotes streaming output capabilities as well as traditional...