GenArts Inc., the premier provider of specialized visual effects software for the film, television and video industries, announced today that it will port its industry-standard Sapphire plug-ins to Autodesk Smoke on Mac. Based on Sapphire 5, GenArts Sapphire™ for Smoke on Mac offers the same great functionality as on the original Smoke platform, with all the cost advantages of Smoke on Mac. The new release will be available by the end of Q2 2010.
The Sapphire Sparks have been highly anticipated since Autodesk shipped its Smoke on Mac product earlier this year. Based on the award-winning Sapphire 5, this release offers the same perfect blend of creativity and productivity that have made GenArts products the industry standard.
GenArts Sapphire for Autodesk Smoke on Mac features:
·GPU acceleration for blinding-fast renders and full interactivity at HD resolutions
·Full floating point support for amazing image quality and maximum dynamic range
·New effects, including TVDamage and Technicolor, as well as many new transitions
·A $3,999 price point, consistent with Autodesk’s pricing for the host system
“One of the key advantages of GenArts Sapphire over the years has been its presence on all the major host platforms we care about,” said Alexandre Domingue, President of Post Moderne in Montreal. “We know that we can count on Sapphire to not miss a beat as we integrate Smoke on Mac into our pipeline. We’re also looking forward to the significant performance and image quality benefits that we’ll get from the new features of Sapphire 5.”
“GenArts Sapphire is the must-have tool in the arsenal of the world’s best artists and editors,” said Steve Bannerman, CMO, GenArts. “We’re excited about the potential for Autodesk’s new Smoke on Mac product. As our customers shift their emphasis away from in-house visual effects development and toward a greater reliance on standardized tools from trusted vendors, cost-effective, integrated solutions are becoming key to that transition. We’re thrilled to extend the enhanced creativity and productivity benefits of Sapphire 5 to Smoke on Mac users as they embrace this new platform.”
Pricing and Availability
GenArts Sapphire Smoke on Mac will ship in Q2 2010 and will be priced at $3,999.
For more information, please visit http://www.genarts.com/sapphire-autodesk-smoke-mac and http://www.genarts.com. Or, stop by the GenArts booth No. SL2607 at the 2010 NAB Show, held April 10-15 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas.
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.