eyeon Software, which introduced Fusion 5, the latest in its flagship compositing software at SIGGRAPH 2005 (shipping Aug. 31), has expanded its European office, appointing Rüdiger Knoblach to director of operations for eyeon Europe, while London-based Tim Doidge has been promoted to director of sales.
The European visual effects community dominates the sales of DFX+, one of eyeons signature broadcast products, allowing the expansion to take place before the release of Fusion 5.
Eric Westphal, one of eyeons advanced compositing artists, will support the eyeon Europe team. With several years experience in Fusion, and even more in production, Westphal brings a talented skill set to eyeon Europe. Raf Schoenmaekers, of Krokodove notoriety, contributes his exceptional artistic coding abilities to eyeons development team.
We have always had a remarkable client base in Europe, with artists providing shots that have consistently paralleled, and at times surpassed, Hollywoods box office roster, said Joanne Dicaire, global sales/marketing manager, eyeon Software. Our goal now is to keep up with the demand of artists required for the increased work completed in Fusion. We are pleased that the expansion in Europe will re-define the level of Fusion productions.
Meanwhile, Fusion 5s core features include 3D compositions with lights, cameras and primitives, OpenGL acceleration with display views and an essential change to ASCII files. Fusion 5 new features and workflow enhancements include: Waveform, Vectorscope and 3D Histogram Monitors Producing graphics and effects for broadcast requires that colors are legal at all times. New realtime vectorscope, histogram and waveform displays in Fusion 5 offer complete color control.
* 3D Integration: Direct importing and compatibility with leading 3D animation applications allow the same 3D parameters of cameras and scenes to exist inside Fusion. This 3D integration delivers direct support of Maya, LightWave, Max and XSI, offering seamless and precise finishing of 3D scenes in Fusion.
* Import FBX Scenes: The FBX scene interchange format is rapidly becoming the standard for moving 3D scenes from one program to another. Fusion can now import FBX files directly, creating a matching composition with animated lights and cameras drawn straight from the FBX file. In addition, Fusion 5 will load geometry and textures from the scene.
* Collaborative Workflow - Bins Server: Fusions bins have now moved to the network. Fusion has always provided a space to organize composites, footage, tools and macros. Now the bins can be seen over the network, allowing other Fusion artists to view, and even update, each others bins. The bins also have the ability to run as a standalone service on a central server.
* Flow Comments: The new Comments tab in Fusion 5 is similar to attaching a notepad to each composite. Artists can use this feature to keep a to do list for the composite, with a log on how the composite was specifically assembled.
eyeon Software Inc. (www.eyeonline.com) provides solutions for creative desktop vfx of leading production formats. Drawing upon its expertise in film vfx and commercial broadcast production, the creators at eyeon continue to develop qualitative tools to suit realistic working environments, with product support at no additional charge.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
