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Wenig hilfreich war eine Normalisierung der Lautstärke.

DaVinci Resolve Version 19 – Speech recognition

The public beta version has been available for some time and once again offers numerous new functions. Blackmagic Design (BM for short) is still releasing improved versions every few weeks, but many of the new features are already relatively stable and allow initial tests.
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Ai-VFX-Breakdown Workflow

Kay’s script helper with AI!

AI is the big hype in every industry - at least if you believe breathless marketers who write newsletters to each other that nobody reads. But what if a VFX supervisor took on the topic? What does it do approximately? And now let's find out ....
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What’s new in Flame

Autodesk is releasing the next version of Flame just in time for NAB. And once again, the update is a colourful bag of innovations. From minor optimisations to major new features, from product maintenance to fundamental changes, everything is included.
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A digital editing console with multiple dials and buttons, connected to a screen displaying video editing software, including colorful graphics and timeline elements.

BMD Micro Color Panel

In addition to some new cameras, the Australians have also released a revised version of their smallest grading panel. Unlike the new camera models, it was already available for us to test.
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Die magische Maske – hier wurde das rechte Bild, die süße Katze von Marko Blazevic, auf Pexels zur Verfügung gestellt, mit zwei Strichen maskiert (im Modus „better“). Im Node-Fenster (rechts) ist der Alpha-Ausgang zu sehen (Rechtsklick und „Add Alpha Output“), unten die Masken- und tracking-Optionen (zum Tracken eines Clips auf die Play-Buttons klicken).

Animating images with Resolve

"Breathing life" into static images with effects from DaVinci Resolve - so-called Cinemagrams - are easy to do - and in our new series "Resolve Tricks for Beginners" we'll start with them!
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Virtual production on celluloid?

"What You Don't See" is a pioneering project that is one of the first to combine the oldest and one of the newest technologies in the film industry - 35mm film and LED volumes - in a scenic production.
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Intelligent Media Assistant?

Isn't it time to say goodbye to old workflows? And put the hype surrounding AI to good use? Instead of breathless marketeer newsletters that nobody reads anyway, there are also useful applications - for example Cara One.
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Obsbot: 4K, CI, Gimbal, ..

In 2022, Obsbot surprised us with its 4K AI model (see issue DP 22:06). Now they're back with Obsbot Tiny 2. Is the upgrade really 2024 fair or just a warm rehash like the next FIFA [year]? Let's find out!
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Magic Nodes 2: New functions

The "Magic Nodes" extension for "Adobe After Effects" has has been around for a while. This enables compositing in a Nodes network with the Adobe programme. A look at the changes and improvements in version 2.
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Baby’s first pipeline

The first big project with multiple stakeholders can feel like a rollercoaster ride! A clear workflow is the secret recipe for smooth collaboration and communication between departments. You often hear the term "pipeline" - sounds technical, doesn't it? Don't panic! In this article, I'll show you how to set up a pipeline for your project - without any magic or programming!
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From the left..

Nomen est omen. When reading the company name "Left Angle", anyone with any mathematical knowledge will think: "There's no such thing!" And it's a bit like that with your product, Autograph: a new compositing and motion design application that stands up to comparison with Nuke and After Effects. That doesn't even exist. Or is there?
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VR beyond the hype

Although the hype surrounding the Apple Vision Pro is still going strong, VR has yet to really gain a foothold at home. However, where it is really picking up speed is in the area of "rides" and free roaming. Amusement parks are where the technology can be fully utilised, regardless of home PC compatibility. We ask ourselves, what does it all look like then?
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Fritzi & Sophie

The cinema film of the story was produced in classic 2D. For the series, we opted for the "third dimension". This presented us with new challenges, but also opened up completely new doors. Blender was our main tool.
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VFX-Shoot in the trunk

How do you shoot a film in the smallest setting imaginable, a closed car boot? Can you manage to maintain the narrative tension for 90 minutes and at the same time reinvent yourself visually time and again?
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Shock Dog from Stuttgart

Now, we're known to be more cat fans than dog fans - but when we saw "The Nevers", that went from "more" to "definitely" not dog fans - because (without giving anything away from the story), the "Shock Dog", Dr Hague's pet, made us turn on the light in the room in the evening while watching it.
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Film with a Phone?

It's almost 10 years since Austin Reza shot a film for Bentley's luxury cars: on an iPhone 5S. At the time, it was still in stylish black and white and with high contrasts - no doubt also to prevent artefacts from becoming too obvious. Back in 2011, Park Chan-wook and Park Chan-kyong from South Korea even shot the fantasy horror "Night Fishing" on an iPhone 4 in colour and won a Golden Bear for the best short film. Apple itself, on the other hand, has generally shot its advertising films on cameras such as the Arri Alexa.
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Comfy UI – AI for artists!

While some become the Stable Diffusion play child, and others lament the demise of the industry, we're staying out of this round of prophecy and looking at what you can really do with it as artists - and not as slightly brainwashed newsletter marketers.
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SynthEyes at BorisFX

3D camera tracking, also known as "match moving" in the professional scene, is now offered by every better software for video editing or 3D. But when we compared a few such popular 3D trackers in DP 18:01, SynthEyes was already our high-end reference for good reason.
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Nuke Utilities Volume 8 – Textures

You can have great footage under the pen - sometimes you just need a few extra details to give your comp the finishing touch. And so that we don't all keep using Nuke's own noise generator, this issue contains a small, fine collection of texture generators for Nuke.
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Blender 4.1 goes into detail

The Blender release cycle consists of three new versions of the software per year. The first release is usually characterised by new features. The reason for this is that the third and final release is a Long Term Support (LTS) version, which is supplied with bug fixes for another two years.
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We’re building an AI box!

Okay, we admit it: AI is slowly becoming interesting - even for everyday production. And as we see more and more tools that are relevant for artists, and not just for "tech bros", the more our workstation is glowing. So it's time for us to find out what it takes to work normally and what adjustments we can make to reconcile budget and computing power.
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Monkeys, the fourth

The time has come: the next part of the "Planet of the Apes" saga - now number four - will be released in cinemas on 8 May. And that's why we simply asked Weta how they - instead of the apes - built the environment.
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Prism Pipeline, the second

The technical requirements of animation and VFX productions are increasing every year - I don't have to tell you that. In most projects, a variety of tools are used to achieve the desired quality. In order to complete these increasingly complex projects within the specified deadlines, more powerful pipeline tools are also required.
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Beauty-Grading in Resolve

Using software to approximate images of people to current conventions of beauty is work that has shifted more and more from compositing to the domain of grading. As the possibilities increased, so did the demands. Following on from the last article, which dealt with best practices in colour grading in general, we would like to take a very specific look at tips in the area of beauty and retouching. Here, too, we take the perspective of filmmakers who, for budgetary reasons, are "forced" to grade all or at least part of their films themselves and have already gained some experience in Resolve.
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Spyder Checkr Video

Wasn't everything better when video by definition was still in black and white? Since colour was added, it has only become more complicated - but what the heck, there are helpers for that!
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Die AI, hier Aion, kann es besser, aber nicht perfekt.

The discovery of slowness

Artificial slow motion, i.e. the calculation of additional intermediate images, has been around for a long time. The best methods to date have been called "optical flow", although this actually refers to the visual perception of movement in general. Now A.I. or neural networks are also establishing themselves here. We compare Twixtor 8, DaVinci Resolve 18.6 and Topaz Video AI 4.
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What if Virtual PCs were easy…

What is the cloud? Besides the marketeering blurb, it is just someone else's computer - and if you need something to work on quick, a virtual machine on some cloud infrastructure, it is usually quicker and in some cases cheaper then setting up a workstation. If it were only easier..
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Block Power Station

Routine tasks in video editing are often time-consuming. For Premiere Pro and After Effects there is a plugin that aims to make programming easier. "Automation Blocks" allows you to optimise the workflow in both applications and get results on screen faster.
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Auch Sprecherlegende Elmar Bartel gefiel das Mikrofon.

That’s not a microphone. THAT is a MICROPHONE

Audio recorders are available in all variations and even the wireless microphones from Rode, DJI or Hollyland now have an internal have an internal memory and can therefore also be used standalone. You can often see on YouTube how someone holds a small microphone in front of their nose. It always looks a bit ridiculous. The Yellowtec iXM microphone is different. The scene from Crocodile Dundee comes to mind: "That's not a microphone. THIS is a MICROPHONE!" And it's big and made of metal with large control buttons. We tested whether it sounds as professional as it looks
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The icing on the cake

We're almost finished with the big "Ideal workstation" series - but due to multiple trapped fingers, dropped hardware and an "accident" worthy of a bandage, we have to add a little more: Microphone arms. So we asked around and actually only got one answer: Take Yellowtec, it's good. Aha, but what is that?
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ProArt: Big and small and gaming?

Professional monitors cost a lot of money. But what exactly defines "professional" and how close can you get to a real professional monitor with a mid-range panel for prosumers? Let's go poaching in the Asus range!
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Der neue Input Strip erleichtert die Zuordnung der Quellsignale, in der Fußzeile gibt’s Detailinformationen.

Nobe OmniScope – so far!

Tom Huczek from TimeInPixels must be a very busy man. We have already presented his Nobe OmniScope in detail in DP 21:02 and 22:02, but enough new things have been added to take another look at this comprehensive display tool.
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The next generation of water simulation

There are some things that get more complicated, the more you look at them - simulation of physical phenomena is one of them. And as we saw at this year's Siggraph Conference, there are people who are looking very closely!
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Two decades of the Bison?

It’s very nice to have two years on a project – but there are some that run way longer. For example Platige Image’s involvement in the commercials for „Żubr“, a polish beer brand. These have been made since 2004 – so it’s time to open a bottle and ask how the bison evolved!
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Blender: An upgrade for our particle system – We lay pipes!

In issue 23:04|05 we learnt how to create a particle system with the new Simulation Nodes in Blender 3.6. In Blender 4.0, an interesting new function has been added that allows us to connect a series of points via curves. That would be a nice feature upgrade for our custom build. In addition, Cycles can now do light linking, which allows us to set the scene perfectly.
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YC Onion Chocolate Cameraslider

A cheese that glides smoothly over chocolate?! When I was at this year's IBC in Hall 11, I met the well-known video blogger Aaron Parecki at Yolobox, who was travelling with an interesting monopod tripod tripod. When I asked him where he had got it, he pointed to the neighbouring stand. Like Ulanzi, YC Onion has a broad portfolio of camera gear in its programme Programme. From various tripods with practical quick-release fasteners to LED lamps, camera heads and mounts as well as some interesting camera slider models. A trademark of this company is that they name almost all their products after food.
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Shutter Encoder – Multitool for video and audio

If you want to work with video on a machine that does not support all of today's codecs (preferably via hardware), you will often come up against limits. This ranges from a stuttering timeline to clips that are not displayed at all. Then there are the clips from smartphones, which are usually recorded with a variable frame rate. Professional editing systems usually don't like this either, which can lead to asynchronous picture and sound or even rendering errors.
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A modern gaming setup featuring two black microphones on a desk, a colorful computer monitor displaying a city skyline, a webcam on top, a ring light, and cat-ear headphones, all set against a vibrant purple background.

Plug and Play and Palaver?

Simply plug it in via USB - and get started as a podcasting presenter? The Seiren V2 Pro was launched at the same time as the Seiren V2 X. What all releases in the Seiren V2 series have in common is that they are designed as recording devices for streamers.
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Der Trailer für Ark 2 – gemacht von Nexodus! (nexod.us/showcase/ark-2-trailer)

C&R.me – post-production in the cloud

It's been a few years now since the term "cloud" has gone from buzzword to hype to working reality - but so far there are very few tools that can do everything in the cloud. Sure, some tools have access or even their "own clouds", but wouldn't an "everything in the cloud" solution be better?
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3D Audio – Into the acoustic matrix

Welcome to the second part, which is all about 3D sound, or rather 3D sound is all about us. In the last article, we answered the questions about how you can enjoy three-dimensional sound and what software and hardware you need.
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Engineering data to CGI –what could possibly go wrong?

Almost every major industry that is manufacturing sophisticated physical products uses computer aided styling (CAS) or design (CAD) in at least some steps of its development. Living in the digital age, one could assume that using this engineering output to create media products shouldn’t pose too much of a challenge. Sadly, that is only true if you know your way around some common pitfalls and peculiarities of the engineering universe.
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Grading tricks from a professional

Many of you come into contact with colour grading time and again, whether intentionally or unintentionally. For example, when thinking about colours in the context of a VFX workflow or, like me, because it has become part of my job as a filmmaker in the image film sector. It would be perfectly conceivable to have this work step done by a professional colourist, but the budget is often not sufficient for this...
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Shortcuts for more connection

If you work with several laptops, you need help. Otherwise you will the USB mouse at some point. The MX Keys S Combo from Logitech with mouse and keyboard could be the solution. Views of a n00b who just wants to work efficiently.
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The new kid on the block!

The market for VFX and motion design software seems pretty saturated. Nuke for VFX, After Effects for Motion Design, sprinkle in a little bit of Flame and Fusion and that’s about it. Or is it?
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Update to the MAX

As always, numerous innovative, experimental technologies were experimental technologies were presented by Adobe researchers and engineers. Surprisingly, the focus was on artificial intelligence.
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Houdini 20

The long-awaited update has finally been released and brings with it a whole host of new features. So many, in fact, that a special issue would be worthwhile. For now, here's an overview and an in-depth article on rendering by Olaf Finkbeiner in the next issue.
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Nuke UtilitiesVolume 6 – Keying

Admittedly, if you look at the keyers that are included with Nuke out of the box, it's a who's who of clipping tools: Primatte, Ultimatte, Keylight & IBK, plus Luma, Difference & Co. However, as everyday working life throws all kinds of challenges at us, there are also some clever little helpers that we want to take a look at here.
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Look into my Syntheyes, Boris!

Something‘s always happening in the Boris FX- Ecosystem – and just before this year’s IBC they announced that Syntheyes is now part of the family! So we cornered Boris Yamnitzki and John-Paul Smith and asked them what the plans are for one of our favourite tracking Tools.
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S/N:05

A twenty centimetre tall robot has to compete against its rival, a cat, and save a young girl from an attack by a monstrous machine.
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Das UI wurde gründlich überarbeitet.

Topaz Video AI Revisited: V4

We only took a look at version 3 of Topaz Video AI (TVAI for short) at the beginning of the year, which had already been improved in terms of user-friendliness, but as we all know, AI is constantly learning. In version 4, the user interface has been revised again and technical developments have also been added in recent months. However, the latter also applies to Davinci Resolve (DR), which has just been released in a new version, so it's worth taking another Comparison.
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Beyer your ears!

After testing the rather unusual Beyerdynamic "Space" in the last issue, this time beyerdynamic "Space" in the last issue, this time we tested a microphone/headphone "final furioso" of the ideal workstation is a microphone/headphone package - the Beyerdynamic Fox and the DT990 80 Ohm to be precise. So we're poaching deep in the audio segment.
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Plasticity 3D – CAD for Artists

"The best solid and surface modelling" - the website of the developer, Nick Kallen (plasticity.xyz), this new modelling tool, currently in version 1.2.10, is advertised as "CAD for artists". It is said to be an optimised NURBS modeller based on the PARASOLID geometry kernel. The UI and workflow are based on Blender's polygon modeller. The developer claims to simplify modelling for concept artists and product developers in particular, but also for CAD users, and to enable faster results than with conventional CAD tools.
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World Partition in Unreal Engine sollte auf jeden Fall aktiviert und Revision Control deaktiviert sein. Wenn du Änderungen speicherst, siehst du ein Sternchen auf dem Actor und nicht auf dem Level, da Unreal Änderungen in kleinen Actor Dateien speichert.

Working in a team with Unreal Engine 5

Games, VR/AR applications or animations are produced in a team produced in teams. A typical tool for exchanging files is them in a Dropbox or on a network drive. This works wonderfully with 3D and 2D tools such as Photoshop or Blender, but not really with the Unreal Engine. Here you have to resort to Version control.
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We Hunt Giants

The short film "We Hunt Giants" takes the viewer into a world in which humans and dinosaurs fight for survival. Action, drama and CGI - without a Hollywood budget in the millions. Here is a brief insight into the making of the film and its visual effects.
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A screenshot of a video editing software interface displaying a timeline filled with clips and audio tracks. Various video thumbnails are visible on the left side, with blue indicators on the timeline representing different segments.

What about Roundtrips? Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve

Professionals experienced in teamwork will probably already be familiar with the following. But what about everyone else who, after initial successes, approaches projects that involve real money and real customers? Mistakes in the workflow and the need to fix them can push your real hourly wage well below the minimum promised by your government, not to mention the loss of your first important client.
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Loupedeck Live S

After our colleague Can Erduman tested the "big" Loupedeck in DP 2022:04, it's now time to take a closer look at its little brother - so today we're taking a look at the Loupedeck Live S.
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A collage of various digital artworks showcasing abstract designs, an explosion, a colorful sweater, a futuristic car, and organic shapes on different backgrounds.

The easy Cloudrendering?

There are many, many companies offering cloudrendering services – and most tell you how you can tweak everything, you have all the control – and therefor you also need a TD and DEEP pockets, because the first time the bill from the cloud infrastructure arrives, it’s going to be massive.
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Beyerdynamic gets spacey

Just between us: sometimes we don't understand our readers - after testing the Poly 20 in the last issue, we were asked if we knew of any alternatives that might be a little more music orientated. And that in a VFX magazine? Well, now that we know the enquirer, it's clear: the reader needs more bass! (Don't worry, Christof, Olaf and Arianna - I won't mention your names!) - and a company from Heilbronn has something like this in its range.
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A stylized skeleton figure with exaggerated features, showcasing an open cape against a black background. The skeleton has a human-like skull and a dramatic pose, giving an artistic interpretation of a humanoid skeleton.

All the teeth!

Sometimes there are fantastical productions, where you get a monster that feels fresh and new – and once we had seen Season 2 of “Carnival Row” (Release on Amazon Prime), we needed to talk about the toothy skinned bat: Sparas!
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A digital interface showcasing Nuke Studio, featuring animation elements like a 3D cat and a blue character, alongside multiple editing tools and color grading options. The Nuke Studio logo is displayed prominently at the bottom.

Timeline Tools von The Foundry 2

Color, Comp und Conform! Nuke and Nuke X are the de facto-standard in node-based compositing. But even seasoned Nuke artists have often had little or no contact with the closely related reviewing and finishing products.
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A retro robot with a round body and segmented arms is illuminated by a beam of light, creating a dramatic effect against a dark background.

Castle In The Sky Hommage

We all think Studio Ghibli is great - and if you want to learn what makes it so charming and appealing, a homage is always a good way to go. And I had the opportunity at Ostfalia University, to really immerse myself - a an experience report.
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A colorful animated scene depicting two characters in a vibrant street filled with whimsical buildings. One character, resembling a small creature in green clothing, stands near a scooter, while another character, with fiery features and a stylish dress, interacts with him.

Elementary!

You’ve surely seen the posters: There’s a new Pixar movie, this time asking “What if the Aristotelian elements have feelings?” The story plays out in Element City, where fire-, water-, land- and air-residents live together.
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A digital editing interface displaying a grid of images featuring a tabby cat on a patterned rug, along with editing tools on the right side.

New in the toolbox

Standing around the DP stand at FMX and (as so often) looking stupid, various people came by and wanted to know something special. "Do you know anything for..." - and we were able to answer almost everything, and one of them (Hello Ralf!) said we should put the list in the magazine. Okay, here you go - the best tools we've recommended to people directly. You might find them helpful too!
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Shotgrid at the discounter?

It's not just VFX studios that have digital assets of all kinds - CGI pipelines are now now run through all industries. We take a look at what a discounter is doing with Shotgrid (formerly Shotgun).
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A cartoon scene showing an animated dog and a blue creature inside a colorful spaceship cockpit filled with buttons and levers. The dog is excitedly steering, while the blue creature looks surprised. The Blender logo is at the top left corner.

Performance across the board in Blender 3.6 LTS

Blender 3.6 is the last release before the big jump to 4.0 and again with Long Term Support (LTS). Important work on the substructure has been continued, so that a leap in performance is noticeable across almost all areas. Other areas such as the viewport compositor have been completed and Cycles now supports significantly more hardware. However, this does not mean that the developers have skimped on new features. The Geometry Nodes can now finally run simulations, the Video Sequence Editor has been given a new retiming tool and there is much more to discover.
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Apple wirbt selber mit DaVinci Resolve für das iPad Pro M2.

Tech demo or working tool? DaVinci Resolve on the iPad Pro

You would expect Apple itself to demonstrate the enormous performance of its tablet devices in practice. So far, only gamers have been able to utilise such an iPad, and they are rarely out and about with it. Otherwise, the many cores usually twiddle their thumbs. But instead of a port of Final Cut Pro X, Apple itself uses DaVinci Resolve in its own advertising, which has already been ported, albeit with a limited range of functions. Can you seriously work with it?
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Firefly_Banana+Pirates Birthday on a big yellow steampunk sailing ship made of bananas

Firefly –AI for the Creative Cloud?

Everyone is talking about AI, and even in the general interest One of the points of criticism is copyright, as most programmes simply use the internet to learn how to generate images and text. Adobe has now also released an AI image generator with the beta version of Firefly, but it has a slightly different approach. I was one of the first beta testers to see how well it works.
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A close-up view of a bicycle, featuring sections of the handlebar with controls, the frame junction, the chain and rear wheel, and a bike pedal. The image highlights the intricate design and materials used in the bike's construction.

Direct Modeling (R)evolution für Houdini

For most people, the idea of modelling directly in Houdini causes them to break out in a sweat at the very least, and some are even said to have thrown the mouse out of the window in sheer horror. The reasons for this are understandable at first glance.
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A Poly conference speakerphone with buttons and a USB dongle.

We need to talk..

... is the phrase that makes some people break out in a cold sweat. Not because it's about the subject, but because laptops in particular have notoriously poor microphones and speakers. Of course, integrating audio alongside the hardware only works to a limited extent. Wouldn't it be great if there was a device that could turn mumbling into an intelligible conversation?
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Stylized text spelling 'PRESENT' in white and yellow on a teal background.

Got you a Present!

“Present” stands for “Photoreal REaltime Sentient ENTity”. During FMX 2022, Manne Öhrström, Global Head of Film Software at Framestore, delivered a talk about the Present project, where machine learning translates high-end film character rigs into real-time. A conversation with Manne Öhrström – and with Epic Game’s Research and De­velopment Technology Producer, Emelia Fiell.
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A plastic bottle drifting underwater, surrounded by marine life in an ocean environment. Light rays penetrate the water, illuminating the scene with a serene blue hue.

The Beauty

This year's FMX trailer is "The Beauty" - if you're thinking "that looks familiar", you're right. The 2019 project won a number of awards, including an Animago "Jury Prize" of the Jury". So it's all the better that we can now show this film to even more people!
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A stage featuring animated characters as a band: a guitarist with a notable hairstyle, a singer with a microphone, a drummer, and a bassist, set against a backdrop of artwork depicting musical elements.

The Puppet Groove

The animated film "The Puppet Groove", which looks like a music video, shows a rocking puppet band on stage. In the background, the singer narrates their success story in an animated film sequence. But whether the musicians really have everything under control is only revealed at the end.
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The power of the crowd

Looking back: In DP 03 : 2015, Lighting Boy Studio realised the film project Le Gouffre. A Kickstarter campaign brought the animated film over the finishing line. An animago AWARD-nominated short film.
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Planet B

"There is no Planet B". A slogan from various climate protection campaigns, which refers to our current situation of not having a second planet on which to live on which the inhabitants of Earth could live. The film Planet B shows a scenario in which exactly that is attempted. On a planet afflicted by drought and toxic gases, a young woman sits in her underground bunker and controls the construction process of a new planet in space.
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Trash, Dance & Robots

In winter 2021, we decided to make a film as a group of three under the guidance of our professor Jürgen Schopper about a robot whose purpose in life is to pick up rubbish. A lot has happened in the meantime: the robot is now controlled by an old lady and can - surprise! - dance very well. We have spent many enjoyable, stressful and also funny days at the HFF with our robot and the old lady. The original idea resulted in a four-minute animated film. We - three visual effects students (Valentin Dittlmann, Hannes Werner, Felix Zachau) at the University of Television and Film in Munich - developed, realised and completed this film in the course of our first year of study.
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