News Archive for 05/04/17

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Apple's Shake 4 features 3D multi-plane compositing

04/17, 8:00pm

Shake 4 due in June

  Apple today announced Shake 4, a major upgrade to its compositing software used by independent artists and visual effects studios for film and television. Shake 4 features 3D multi-plane compositing, cutting-edge optical flow image processing and integration with Final Cut Pro 5. Apple says that artists can now composite live action and 3D CGI layers with added realism using Shake’s new OpenGL-accelerated 3D multi-plane compositing node. "Seamlessly integrated into the node view, 3D compositing works with the same flexible user interface as every other operation and is as fast and high quality as 2D operations. Shake 4 presents an entirely new dimension by offering the ability to position, rotate and animate unlimited layers and cameras in 3D space." Shake 4 for Mac OS X with unlimited render licenses will be available in June for $3,000. The cross-platform version is $5,000; upgrades are $1000.

DVD Studio Pro 4 supports latest HD DVD spec

04/17, 7:55pm

DVD Studio Pro 4 debuts

 Apple also updated DVD Studio Pro 4, the company's professional DVD authoring program, which it says is "the first" commercially available DVD authoring software that lets users burn their HD projects to high definition DVDs based on the latest HD DVD specification. DVD Studio Pro 4 will be demonstrated at NAB with a prototype consumer HD DVD player from Toshiba set to debut later this year. DVD Studio Pro 4 also features distributed encoding tools to harness the power of networked Macs, which can dramatically reduce encoding time for high definition projects. DVD Studio Pro 4 also includes support for mixed formats and advanced scripting for the most sophisticated commercial titles. It will be available in May for $500 with upgrades priced at $200.

Apple unveils Motion 2

04/17, 7:50pm

Apple unveils Motion 2

Apple today also debuted Motion 2, the latest version of its realtime motion graphics software that allows editors to add motion graphics to projects in either DV, SD, HD or film formats. Apple says that Motion 2 is the world's first motion graphics software with GPU accelerated 32-bit float rendering for "true" film quality output. It also features Replicator, a unique new automated design tool to enable editors to easily animate any number of duplicated movies or graphics along user defined grids and patterns. Motion 2 also includes over 130 accelerated filters such as 3D rotation, vignette and caustics, and more than 50 new particle effects that automatically generate animations such as sparkles, bubbles and space clouds. Motion 2 will be available in May for $300 or as a $100 upgrade.

Apple launches "Soundtrack Pro"

04/17, 7:40pm

Soundtrack Pro

  Apple today introduced Soundtrack Pro, a new professional audio editing application. Soundtrack Pro features a waveform editor with flexible Action Layers that allow users to instantly re-order, bypass or change any edit, effect or process. Find-and-Fix features quickly identify and repair common audio problems such as background noise, pops, clicks and hum. With full multitrack editing and mixing, over 50 professional effect plug-ins from Apple’s award-winning Logic Pro 7, and more than 1,000 professional quality sound effects, Soundtrack Pro provides the most intuitive, yet precise way to create stunning audio. Soundtrack Pro comes with over 5,000 Apple Loops.

Apple unveils Final Cut Pro 5, Final Cut Studio suite

04/17, 7:30pm

Final Cut Pro 5

Apple today unveiled Final Cut Studio, a new HD video production suite that features Final Cut Pro 5, a major upgrade its editing software for DV, SD, HD and film. Final Cut Studio also includes Soundtrack Pro, a new audio editing and sound design application that makes video projects sound as good as they look; Motion 2, "the first" real-time motion graphics application with GPU accelerated 32-bit float rendering; and DVD Studio Pro 4, "the first" commercially available DVD authoring software that burns high definition DVDs to the latest HD DVD specification. Final Cut Studio will be available in May for $1,300; upgrades from any previous version of Final Cut Pro can upgrade are $700, while Production Suite customers can upgrade for $500. It is available for pre-order at the Apple Store.