Storm FX Blog

Storm FX Adds Fusion-io to its Line Up of Channel Partners

April 10, 2013 – Sydney, Australia - Storm FX Distributions Pty Ltd, an Australia-based distributer of design, modelling and finishing solutions, is pleased to announce the addition of Fusion-io ioFX to its line up offerings. As a Fusion-io distributor, Storm FX will offer two core ioMemory products: the Fusion ioDrive for server environments, and ioFX for workstation environments.

The ioDrive platform combines Fusion-io’s Virtual Storage Layer (VSL) software with high performance flash memory to accelerate data centres, whilst Fusion ioFX brings the power of ioMemory to workstations, enabling artists to conduct real-time stereoscopic content creation, video and image editing and compositing, video playback and rendering, and other data-intensive digital production activities.

“In todays economic environment where studios and producers of graphic intensive work and applications can’t keep up or consistently afford to upgrade computer systems,” says Storm FX ManagingDirector, Martin Leibowitz. “The Fusion ioFX allows users to accelerate their pipelines in any environment at a very reasonable cost.”

Fusion ioFX connects 420 GB of flash memory via the PCI Express bus to provide studios and artists with a new memory tier that bridges the gap between creative potential and hardware performance in the production pipeline. With the ioFX, professionals can now view changes in real-time on their workstations, even when working with high-resolution stereoscopic content.

The ioFX is designed to accelerate video playback and rendering, video and image editing and compositing, encoding and transcoding as well as other data-intensive activities required in contemporary digital production.

Xsens releases new real-time character plug-in for Unity

Bring your Unity character to live in real-time with Xsens MVN

Enschede, the Netherlands – April 9th 2013 - Xsens, the creator of Xsens MVN, the leading inertial motion capture solution for the film and game industry, releases a new real-time character plug-in to give Unity  developers easy access to MVN motion capture data. The plug-in allows artists and developers to view live motions in real-time on character. Next to the real-time plug-in there is also a file based approach using the FBX format to import MVN motion capture data into Mecanim, Unity’s powerful and flexible animation system.

“The integration of Xsens MVN into Unity opens up new possibilities for developers who want to efficiently create custom animations or even bring their characters to live in real-time,” explains Hein Beute, Product Manager at Xsens. “The intuitive tools of Unity and ease of use of Xsens MVN provides developers with a powerful combination to produce prototypes or create games, this will be a huge costs saver for anyone who wants to create custom animations for their characters in Unity,” Hein Beute continues.

With the addition of the Unity Tools, Xsens expands its portfolio of plug-ins. Earlier Xsens released live plug-ins for Siemens PLM Software and Autodesk MotionBuilder and Maya.
The Xsens MVN Unity Tools will be released and demonstrated at all three locations during Unity Unite 2013 in Asia; Seoul - April 11-12, Tokyo - April 15-16, Shanghai April 20-21.

Xsens website: http://www.xsens.com
Unity Unite: http://unity3d.com/unite/

Press Release

Storm FX launches Technical Breakfast Workshop Series

Sydney, February 6th 2013 – Storm FX, the leaders in providing design, modeling and finishing solutions and services, are pleased to announce the launch of their Technology Breakfast Workshop Series commencing in March 2013.

With a distinguished line-up of Engineers presenting from leading technology companies such as  Arista, EMC, Citrix, VMware, Fusion-io, Spectralogic, Xenon and more, these workshops will offer a unique opportunity for attendees to gain an in-depth understanding on topics such as Archiving, Networks, Storage Systems, Data Security and Virtualization.

“This unique line-up of presentations as part of the Technology Breakfast Workshop Series is aimed specifically at digital content creators of all genres and educators. We wanted to move away from product focused sessions to create interactive and informative sessions for industry IT professionals.” Said Storm FX Managing Director Martin Leibowitz.

The Technology Breakfast Workshop Series will run once a month until June and will provide in-depth technical content, with a focus on current and future advances in technology.
More information on agendas, ticketing, dates and locations can be found at www.stormfx.com.au .
About Storm FX

Storm FX are the leaders in providing design, modelling and finishing solutions and services. We partner with a diverse range of companies to bring you solutions that span from creative and procedural software, generic and specialised storage, to high performance visual and audio requirements.
Storm FX’s strategic partnerships, accredited skills and expertise with leading technology vendors bring you a localised servicing approach to an international range of products.
For further information, please contact Storm FX
1300 061 007 | This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it | or visit http://www.stormfx.com.au.

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.

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.

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

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

Read more ...

Introducing Substance Designer 3

Substance Designer 3 includes new, dedicated and empowering features and tools such as a major batching system, letting you batch process numerous meshes and textures at the same time, or a powerful paint system freeing most of the artists' needs when it comes to basic image editing. All this in a non linear environment, making Substance Designer 3 the true only tool dedicated to texturing for game developers.

Main features for 3.0 are:

• Bitmap painting tools
• Batching tools
• 4K working environment
• New filter library

Multi Output

Today's textures are no longer one single image; the Substance description files are multi-output by definition, and can define and embed diffuse, specular, normal, height, AO, and as many maps as desired.

Real-time 3D Preview

See what the final material will look like, directly applied onto the mesh you are texturing, with the shader of your choice.

Compatible

Substance Designer seamlessly works with the real production pipelines: The Substance description files can be read by default in compatible game engines like Unity and DCC tools like 3ds Max and Maya.

Mesh extracted info

you are texturing a mesh, not a blank, square image: Substance Designer lets you extract automatically useful info from the mesh, like vector graphics UV Atlas, Ambient Occlusion, Curvature, World Space Normal and Position maps, that can be used to drive the texturing process.

Node-based Editor

The sine qua non method for rapid iterations, Substance Designer 3 is entirely non linear and non destructive ; rediscover the power of modern tools.

Batch Processing

Substance Designer is a parametric tool at its core, meaning you can replicate your most common operations and spend more time polishing your art ; this batch / scripting capabilities are truly unique in the industry.

Bitmap + Vector + Procedural

Use what is needed, whatever the situation and your preference, Substance Designer can handle it: the latest bitmap painting system completes the trio and will make you save hundreds of hours, just by not having to constantly go back and forth between different applications.

Texturing Painkillers

Substance Designer 3 comes with hundreds of predefined substances and filters to help you get there faster and with less pain.

Filter Design

Create your own tools and filters, never do twice the same task and save hundreds of ours by enhancing Substance Designer with your optimized, smart content and production tips and tricks.

Tweaking

Parameterize your textures easily and tweak them while in 3ds Max, Maya or Unity ; or even at run time!

For more information on this great deal contact us on the web or call us on 1300 061 007