GenArts, Inc., the premier provider of specialized visual effects software for the film, television and video industries, unveiled today GenArts Sapphire™ 5 for Adobe After Effects. Available in June 2010, Sapphire 5 has been completely re-written to support GPU acceleration and floating point, providing far faster render speeds, far greater interactivity and the highest image quality available.
GenArts Sapphire is the industry standard tool that the world’s best motion graphics artists have relied upon for more than 1,000 television broadcasts and 5,000 commercials. The latest release for After Effects builds on this heritage with the addition of some key new benefits:
·Enhanced productivity-Sapphire 5 is 64-bit and provides GPU acceleration for blinding-fast render speeds and full interactivity at HD resolutions.
·Greater creativity-Sapphire 5 delivers full floating point support for amazing image quality and maximum dynamic range to enable a level of creativity that sets you apart from your competitors. It also offers many new transitions, and new effects such as TVDamage and Technicolor.
·CS5 compatibility-Sapphire 5 fully supports Adobe’s new CS5 release.
“Constant pressure to re-invent ourselves creatively, coupled with ever-tightening budgets is challenging us to find new ways to differentiate our work from the pack,” said Matt Silverman, Creative Director of Bonfire in San Francisco. “The dramatic enhancements in performance and image quality in Sapphire 5 will give our artists that extra time they need to refine their work so we can continue to deliver an unrivaled product to our customers.”
“GenArts Sapphire 5 is the most powerful release we’ve delivered to motion graphics artists,” said Steve Bannerman, CMO, GenArts. “We’re extremely excited about the creative possibilities that Sapphire’s new performance enhancements can inspire. We’re committed to constantly pushing the envelope with our tools so that we can enable our customers to create breakthrough effects for Emmy-winning broadcasts such as House M.D., Lost, Super Bowl XLIV and American Idol.”
Pricing and Availability
GenArts Sapphire 5 for Adobe After Effects will be available in June 2010. Floating licenses will be priced at $2,499; node-locked licenses will be available for $1,699. Users may upgrade from Sapphire 2 to Sapphire 5 for $599, and monthly rental fees are priced at $169.
GenArts will showcase Sapphire 5 for Adobe After Effects in Booth No. SL2607 at the 2010 NAB Show, held April 10-15 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas. Please visit www.genarts.com for more information on GenArts Sapphire 5 and our appearance at NAB.
Since the company’s founding in 1996, GenArts software has been utilized in thousands of films, television broadcasts and commercials, including more than 20 Oscar-nominated pieces such as Titanic; I, Robot; Armageddon; Star Wars Episode I, II and III; The Matrix trilogy; The Lord of the Rings trilogy; Pearl Harbor; Spider Man; Pirates of the Caribbean; Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban; Transformers; The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Avatar and many more.
About GenArts
GenArts, Inc. is the premier provider of specialized digital visual effects for the film, broadcast and video industries. As visual effects have become essential to the art of storytelling, GenArts’ tools have emerged as the standard for creating high-end visual effects at leading studio, broadcast and post-production facilities around the world. GenArts’ products have been used extensively to create an array of breathtaking effects for countless feature films, television shows, commercials and music videos. GenArts enjoys the unique distinction of having been a key component of an Oscar-nominated film for the past 13 consecutive years.
The GenArts Sapphire™, Monsters™, Raptors™, Tinder™ and particleIllusion™ portfolio equips digital artists with a collection of state-of-the-art visual effects such as glows, light rays, lens flares, film, fire, fluid and particles to create the continually innovative looks that bring the entertainment industry’s dazzling stories and broadcasts to life. GenArts’ tools seamlessly integrate as software plug-ins into all leading editing and compositing systems. GenArts was founded in 1996 in Cambridge, Mass. www.genarts.com.