Storm FX Blog

Register your details for Adobe Creative Cloud for Teams

Give your team the world's best tools and services to help them collaborate, create, and publish with Adobe® Creative Cloud™ for teams.* Gain access to centralized purchasing and administration, so you can easily reassign seats as the team grows and changes.

As an organization, your needs differ from that of an individual consumer. You want to be able to easily manage and scale your software investment, apply centralized purchasing and use license management tools to assign, add or redeploy seats.

Creative Cloud for teams offers one affordable, simple-to-manage membership that gives each person access to every Adobe Creative Suite® 6 app, as well as additional tools that aren't part of CS6—like Adobe Muse,™ Adobe Acrobat® XI, Adobe Photoshop,® Lightroom® 4, and Adobe Edge Tools and Services—all with no-cost upgrades as they become available.

Your business needs mean you need the capabilities to share large files and collaborate with colleagues. Adobe has a solution to meets these important needs with the introduction of Creative Cloud for Teams.

Your team can easily publish websites using Adobe Business Catalyst® hosting service. And with Adobe Digital Publishing Suite, Single Edition, they can deliver stunning digital publications to iPad devices without having to write code.

Creative Cloud for teams makes collaboration easier than ever. Each of your team members receives 100GB of cloud-based storage, sharing and collaboration capabilities, device syncing, and access to Adobe's expert support organization.

Want to find out more? Contact the Storm FX team by This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , call us on 1300 061 007 or register your details.

VFX, animation and design studio Iloura showcased their creative talents for the film Ted directed by Family Guy-creator, Seth MacFarlane, using the full capabilities of Vray to bring the comically crude teddy bear to life.

Storm FX client, Iloura are highly regarded for their character animation work. Having worked on films such as Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and Charlotte's Web, the studio also produces outstanding results in matte painting, compositing, FX animation and motion design for the film, television and advertising industries.

For the film Ted, Iloura required a physically accurate renderer to capture lighting measurements (HDRI) to recreate the same lighting environment in 3D. This was crucial in helping light Ted convincingly. Vray not only met all these requirements, it also proved to be flexible, fast and easy to use.

Glenn Melenhorst, Visual Effects Supervisor at Iloura says, "We have new lighters arriving all the time and the common sense workflow in Vray yields good results from the get go as well as providing a not too steep learning curve for people new to the software."

V-Ray is the core development product of Chaos Group, which allows users to quickly and easily create realistic images while giving them full control over the 3D production process.

VRay and VRay RT were used in the movie Ted to create initial lighting setups quickly and easily, and also used to generate baked indirect lighting and GI that matched what was shot.

"In Vray, lighting and materials are easy to set up and it has become our go-to tool for our lighting pipe. " says Glenn.

"Being able to create separated render elements out of Vray means a lot of the image can be easily tweaked in compositing without having to re-render."

On a shot by shot basis, quality vs speed is very easy to adjust so render times can be controlled while keeping quality high.

For more on how Vray was essnetial for brining Ted to life check the video below.

The Media Composer® 6.0.3, Symphony™ 6.0.3 and NewsCutter® 10.0.3 maintenance releases are now available for download from the Avid® Download Center (login and password required). These updates are full installers and are available at no charge for all Media Composer 6, Symphony 6, and NewsCutter 10 owners.

The Media Composer® 6.0.3, Symphony™ 6.0.3 and NewsCutter® 10.0.3 maintenance releases are now available for download from the Avid® Download Center (login and password required). These updates are full installers and are available at no charge for all Media Composer 6, Symphony 6, and NewsCutter 10 owners.

These new software updates include:

• Tons of software improvements and fixes based on customer feedback
• Support for Mac OS X "Mountain Lion" (supported on local storage only at this time)
• No charge update for existing Media Composer 6.x, Symphony 6.0.x and NewsCutter 10.0.x customers

What's New in Media Composer 6, Symphony 6, and NewsCutter 10?

• Rebuilt from the core on an entirely new, open, 64-bit architecture that raises the bar for performance, flexibility, and productivity to handle complex editing
• A sleek, new user interface designed to speed workflows while simultaneously preserving the same functionality that so many Avid professionals have built their careers on
• Work with the Avid or third-party hardware you want—with Avid Open I/O, third-party manufacturers can now make their I/O hardware work with the Media Composer family of products
• Manage and edit stereoscopic 3D projects with a comprehensive set of editorial tools and workflows
• Take hands-on control of all color correction and grading functions with Artist Color
• Create 5.1 and 7.1 surround mixes directly within Media Composer, or import from Pro Tools®
• Work more creatively with audio with new mixer features and support for additional Pro Tools hardware
• Get full native ProRes support on Mac (encode and decode) and Windows (decode only) for easy integration into any ProRes workflow
• Instantly access, screen, and edit AVCHD clips and RED EPIC footage through AMA
• Accelerate your RGB 4:4:4 workflow with Avid DNxHD® 444, which delivers exceptional image quality in a low bandwidth format
• Conveniently purchase stock footage, plug-ins, and more through the Avid Marketplace
• Get direct access to user guides and documentation from within the interface
• Access additional ancillary data when working with XDCAM HD material
• Gain new audio enhancements, including individual "Track Metering" in the audio mixer, Direct Out export to file, and Surround to Stereo Down-Mixing
• Get more choices with new Media Composer 6 and NewsCutter 10 hardware bundle offerings, new Symphony standalone software option, and two Symphony bundles (Symphony Artist package and the turnkey Symphony System)
• New consistent upgrade pricing across all products

Product Compatibility: HP Z220 Systems Qualified with Media Composer, Symphony and NewsCutter

The Avid is pleased to announce qualification of the HP Z220 Tower and the HP Z220 Small Form Factor workstations with Media Composer, NewsCutter, and Symphony.

Key points

• Only Media Composer, Symphony, and NewsCutter software-only configurations are qualified
• ISIS is both supported and qualified for these HP systems

Availability

The HP Z220 Tower and the HP Z220 Small Form Factor workstations are available through HP directly or from HP resellers.

Requirements

The new MVN Live Plug-in for Maya 2013 for Xsens MVN will allow 3D artists to view live or pre-recorded motions in real-time on character in Maya. Now an artist can quickly review a character during the design phase. An animator can bring his character to live in minutes and review the motions in real-time in Maya. This plug-in allows artists to create, rig, skin, animate and render a character all in Autodesk Maya.

"We are excited to launch this new plug-in, as it will improve the efficiency of creative decision making and speed up the production pipeline of 3D artists," explains Hein Beute, Product Manager, Xsens.

MVN Studio can also stream its motions to the MVN Live Plug-in for Autodesk MotionBuilder 2013, which is better suited for larger virtual scenes, as used for virtual production. At SIGGRAPH 2012 this setup was demonstrated for the first time by The Third Floor at the Autodesk booth.

The Maya and MotionBuilder plug-ins receive motion data from the 'Network Streamer' in MVN Studio. The Network Streamer is capable of streaming motions over a network to other applications in real-time. Examples are software for human factors analysis and VR, like Siemens PLM Software. In addition game engines like Unity and UDK, used in the setup for Grammy Award winner Skrillex, can receive MVN motion data in real-time.

Listen to Hein Beute talk about Xsens solutions used in industry, and their new plug-in.

A patch is now available for ZBrush 4R4

(If you do not yet have 4R4, please follow these instructions instead: https://www.pixologic.com/zbrush/downloadcenter/instructions/)

This patch addresses the following:

• Fixes inconsistent behavior of customized UI buttons and palettes.
• Updates HD geometry read/write functions.
• Adjusted 'Simple Brush' rendering of applied alpha.
• Option to turn off LightBox 'Open at Launch' setting is now enabled.

How to Update

1. (PC Users, Only) Browse to your ZBrush 4R4 folder and delete updater.exe, if present. Do NOT delete ZUpgrader.exe!
2. Run ZUpgrader or launch ZBrush and click Zplugin>Auto Update>Check new updates.*
3. Follow the on-screen instructions.
4. When update completes, launch ZBrush and activate. The ZBrush title bar will now say "ZBrush 4R4 P2".

*Note: For some users, depending on user permissions and network security, the "Check new updates" button may return a script error. If that happens, simply run ZUpgrader in your ZBrush 4R4 folder.

Happy ZBrushing :)

Make the move to the latest release of Autodesk commercial software before October 17, 2012 to benefit from a wide range of new features and enhancements, and save up to 15%.

Price changes are coming.

Upgrade now to help protect your software investment, and help maximize your return with the many benefits offered through Autodesk® Subscription and Autodesk® 360 cloud based services. Autodesk currently anticipates changes to its upgrade options next year, so take advantage of existing upgrade pricing and paths today to move to the current release – and you could additionally save up to 15% on selected upgrades when you act before October 17, 2012.

MTI Film has added Storm FX Distributions Pty Ltd, a Sydney, Australia-based distributer of design, modelling and finishing solutions, to its international network of value-added resellers. Storm FX will represent MTI Film's full product line, including its newly-introduced Cortex family of products, throughout Australia and New Zealand.

"We are very pleased to announce our new relationship with Storm FX," said MTI Film Director of International Business Development Belinda Merritt. "Storm FX is very highly regarded in the Australian film and television industry and has an excellent track record for introducing new technologies. They also share our commitment to customer service and support. They are an excellent representative and advocate for our products."

MTI Film debuted Cortex at NAB 2012 to great acclaim. The family of products is designed to address the migration of files from digital capture of production elements to editorial and post bringing coherence and portability to the process of managing digital assets from the set to the screen.

MTI Film currently offers three Cortex products, Cortex::Capture serves as a viewer that can playback camera files for any production, you can set your looks, add LUTs and preview what your material will look like when your post is done. Cortex::Convey, is a transcoding application for both on set and in the editorial room after assemblies are completed daily, and Cortex::ControlDailies the fully featured application that in addition to all the above, allows you to sync audio to picture, apply color, add metadata, and create all the deliverables you need for dailies.

The three Cortex products allow users to manage media from most popular cinema cameras, including those made by ARRI, Sony, RED, Canon and Panasonic. They support RAW, R3D, native DNx and ProRes recording , other high resolution imagery, as well as the latest color management workflows, and will include ACES support in the first release. Cortex also features an intuitive user interface that allows it to be operated with a minimum of technical expertise. Templates permit users to quickly encode formats required for editing and review.

About Storm FX

Storm FX are leaders in providing design, modelling and finishing solutions, including software, hardware and technical services, to the DCC and DEC markets. With an aim to help clients push the boundaries of creative possibilities, Storm FX's holistic approach means they can develop the right cost effective solution for clients, no matter where they are in the production pipeline.

For further information, please contact us online or call us on 1300 061 007

About MTI Film LLC

Since 1997 MTI Film has provided award winning software applications to the post-production industry with a focus on technology for digital film restoration and digital dailies. With strong ties to our customers and an in-house services arm providing real-world, real-time development experience, MTI Film offers the most advanced, efficient and user-friendly applications on the market. MTI Film products include Correct DRS™, Control Dailies and Convey, and introducing the Cortex family - a simple, powerful and coherent digital workflow solution from pre-production through post-production.

For more information visit http://www.mtifilm.com

Blackmagic Design has announced the release of DaVinci Resolve 9 public beta, a major new update to the world's most advanced colour correction tool featuring a completely redesigned user interface to optimise workflow speed. DaVinci Resolve 9 public beta is now available for free download to existing full featured DaVinci Resolve customers, as well as the free DaVinci Resolve Lite! Find it after the jump.

This significant user interface overhaul has been created to harness the power of multiple new technologies added to DaVinci Resolve in the last few years, including automatic 3D eye matching, multi layering timelines, XML support plus more camera and file type support. The new user interface is extremely fast to use and eliminates unnecessary clicks and settings to get working fast. A job can be up and running in three clicks: one to log in, one to drop media into the project and the next to grade.

Check the free lite version here, or for the full version contact us online or call us on 1300 061 007

ZBrush 4R4 continues to expand on creative freedom with a focus on model topology and detail creation. These new features were developed to let you be an artist first and foremost, giving you more freedom to explore new ideas!

Major Features

IMM Insert Multi Mesh Brushes combine entire libraries of objects into a single brush. Select from any object within the brush, then insert it into your model. Easily convert any Tool to an Insert brush with a single click. If your Tool has multiple SubTools, an Insert Multi Mesh brush will be created, allowing you to select from any of its objects at

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