The Retooling of Flame 8

Inferno 5 and flame 8 feature a wide range of color correction andgrading tools, including the advanced color warper for primary andsecondary color adjustments.

Flame 8, Discreet's newest full-version upgrade to its IFFproduct line, combines just the right amount of technology and artistryto make us all proud to be considered IFF users.

The most significant improvement is the seamless marriage of batchand action. In times past, one would have to exit an action node toreturn to the batch schematic to continue effects work. Now, gettinginto an action from batch is as easy as highlighting the node. As soonas you highlight the action node, the familiar layers, animation, andschematic modes are at your disposal.

Not even the biggest composites can hide from the improvedfunctionality of action and batch. Ever want to link the colorcorrection of one layer to another? No problem. With the click of abutton, layers within an action are thrust into the batch schematic.It's easy to add and link effects to any of the now infinite number oflayers. The animation curves for every node in batch are easilyaccessible in one unified channel viewer. Function curves for all nodesare viewable in one place. Parameters can be viewed without having todouble-click your way into the node itself.

The improvements to batch actions alone solve almost any artistic orproduction hurdles. But you won't have to dig as deep as batch toimmediately see the improvements to Flame 8. Both left and right brainswill rejoice at seeing a mixed-resolution desktop immediately afterlaunching the program. HD, 2K, NTSC, PAL, and any number of sizes andshapes can be combined, viewed, and played back in realtime from thedesktop. Image aspect ratios, cropping, and resolution can be changedon the desktop and animated in the output node in batch. The mixedresolution architecture of the improved Flame even extends to theaction module: here setups can be changed from one aspect/size toanother with the click of a button.

The heart of Flame is the action module, where the bulk of layeredcomposites are created. This hasn't gone without a bit of a makeover.For artists looking for more flexibility in motion design andproduction personnel seeking a smoother workflow, Flame 8 featuresmultiple cameras. Several cameras can be added at once for an almostinfinite variety of looks and motion tests. Better yet, cameraswitching can be animated in the timeline. Artists, imagine making acut of your scene in one render pass. Producers, anticipate and executeyour client's every last whim with just a couple more clicks of themouse button.

Barriers between the worlds of 2D and 3D, art and production arefurther dissolved with the incorporation of Kaydara's FBX 3D fileformat. 3ds Max, LightWave, Maya, and Softimage can now export to thisformat, enabling Flame 8 users to import 3D animations, models, lights,and cameras instantly. Entire 3D scenes can be imported in a fractionof the time it used to take script-converting camera data to Flame.

Overall, Flame 8 is a bit of a watershed event for the world ofcompositing. For those hearing the calls of lesser compositingpackages, relax. You can be confident that this product will supportyou for years to come. And with Discreet's new “lower”pricing ($266,384 for Flame 8, $98,864 for Flint 8, and $578,293 forInferno), you also can be confident in making a great investment.Granted, it's not $2,000, there is no student software reseller, andyou can't get a hack, but you do get what you pay for.

Admittedly, the above review sounds a bit like a sales brochure, butit's only to convey my excitement about the product. Certainly, itwould be nice to see IFF fully functional in a Linux environment. And Ihave a whole wish list of improvements I could punish the newsgroupwith to improve my personal workflow. But the core retooling ofFlame 8 is enough to keep me smiling for a while.

Moreover, Flame 8 exceeds all others by marrying the world of artand production. Artists who want to realize their visions within adeadline and production staff who long to express their creative sidecan complete these tasks with one system. Better yet, they can completethese tasks together. So artists, dim the lights and burn some incense,and producers, put on some deodorant, and go get in a Flame 8 suitetogether and make some magic.

Drew Dela Cruz is an Inferno artist at Match Frame, San Antonio.Match Frame offers a full range of postproduction services. For moreinformation, visit www.millimeter.com.