Apple today announced the immediate availability of Shake 3, the next generation of its compositing and visual effects software featured in the production of over a hundred motion pictures, including Lord of the Rings, Finding Nemo, Matrix Reloaded and X-Men 2.

includes new Mac OS X only features such as Shake Qmaster network render management software that allows visual effects artists to easily distribute rendering tasks across a cluster. In addition, Mac OS X users of Shake receive unlimited network render licenses at no extra cost. Shake 3 also includes new features available to Mac OS X, Linux and IRIX customers, including film grain simulation and tracking on paint strokes.



"Shake 3 has made some of our most complex compositing projects much easier including our recent production work 'The Italian Job' for Paramount Pictures,” said Ricardo Torres, senior compositor, Blackbox Digital. "We’re extremely impressed with the quality we get from the Shake renders. Now that render licenses are free with Shake for Mac OS X and it comes bundled with Shake Qmaster render management software, we're moving Shake 3 to the center of our production pipeline."



Shake Qmaster network render management software for Mac OS X uses Apple’s Rendezvous networking technology to automatically identify available render nodes and clusters on a network while load balancing optimizes usage across each machine in the workflow. For compositors in commercial post-production, Shake 3 now includes powerful audio capabilities making it easier for artists to synchronize visual effects with audio, including the ability to automatically animate visual effects based on sound and view, slip or slide audio waveforms against animation curves. Shake 3 for Mac OS X also includes broadcast monitor support for previewing composites on a standard definition or high definition video monitor.




Shake 3 is available immediately for Mac OS X, Linux and IRIX through Apple Authorized Pro Film and Video Resellers. It is available for Mac OS X with unlimited render licenses for $5,000 and for Linux and IRIX for $9,900 with annual maintenance of $1,500. Existing Shake for Linux, IRIX and Windows customers will continue to be given the option to double the number of their existing Shake licenses at no additional cost by migrating them to Shake on Mac OS X.

by MacNN Staff