Autodesk released Flame Family 2020.1, an update to Flame, Flare and Flare Assist that increases the 3D compositing, VFX and finishing software’s use of AI techniques. The company said its machine-learning computations can be performed on older certified graphics hardware, but says performance improves significantly when the software runs on Nvidia’s new RTX Tensor computation cores.
“In Flame version 2020.1, we see the immense power of the Nvidia RTX GPU dedicated Tensor computation cores for executing the intense Machine Learning computation newly added to Flame products,” said Autodesk Flame Family Product Manager Will Harris in a prepared statement. “Whilst the processing does work on older certified hardware, we are seeing a dramatic speed increase comparing even P6000 to RTX6000 — specifically for analysis [and] processing time of AI [and] machine-learning algorithms.”
Using recently developed Flame tools such as its Z Depth Map Generator and Human Face Normal Map Generator, the new version has more ways to isolate and alter objects in moving footage, including new tools for sky extraction. Another tool, 3D Selective 3D AOV Motion Vector Mode, allows mattes to be extracted from motion-vector data, Autodesk said.
New personalized UI layouts allow custom screens to be created by saving options for viewports, storyboard, media panel, timeline effects pipeline and more. Groups offer a new visual organizational structure for filtering shots to make comparisons or adjustments. Python scripts can now be browsed and downloaded without leaving Flame via the Autodesk GitHub repository, and AJA’s Kona 5 is supported for 6G (UHD and 4K at up to 40p) and 12G (UHD and 4K at up to 60p) output.
The software now supports projects, individual nodes, action and file-based output at up to 16K, and Autodesk noted that IMF exports are now supported directly from Flame via the EasyDCP plug-in from Fraunhofer IIS, which is sold separately.
Flame standalone single-user licenses are available for Mac OS and Linux on a subscription basis for $525/month, $4,205/year, or $11,355 for three years. A 30-day trial version is also available.
