BOSTON – Venice, CA’s
D2 Software (www.d2software.com), a
subsidiary of Digital Domain, Inc., is showing new features for its Nuke
compositing software at SIGGRAPH. The upgrades are planned for release in
December and include a new, faster, more accurate tracker that is able to
detect and adjust to subtle changes in the values of a tracking source, along
with optical flow retiming, an updated floating point Primatte Keyer, UI
enhancements including an updated color picker, and support for popular file
formats, such as QuickTime, HDR and CRW. FrameCycler Professional 2006 will be
bundled with the new version, providing Nuke users with uncompressed playback
capabilities and a host of new review and analysis features.
Co-located with Digital Domain’s booth, D2 is also giving
attendees a look at how top VFX companies are handling compositing on major
projects through guest presentations and companion product demos. D2 is
offering visitors the opportunity to get hands-on experience with Nuke at the
Guerilla Studio.
The D2 Software main stage is featuring guest demonstrations
from top compositors, who walk audiences through high-end projects to show how
they created effects using Nuke, along with other tools. Visitors can also see
how Digital Domain created shots for My Super Ex-Girlfriend, how Reel FX created a complex sequence for The
Wild, and how DNA Productions used Nuke to
handle lighting and compositing for The Ant Bully.
“Compositing doesn’t happen in a vacuum,” says D2 Software’s
product and operations manager, Dominick Spina. “Artists need to know how Nuke
fits in with other tools they have or need. We work very closely with partner
applications to make sure customers have an efficient pipeline, and by taking
more of a workflow approach to demonstrating products, we’re giving artists a
feel for how they’ll work in their own environments.”