NAB 2011: Autodesk Smoke 2012 for Mac OS X Now Shipping

At NAB 2011 — Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) is now shipping Autodesk Smoke 2012 for Mac OS X software, an all-in-one editorial finishing tool with a robust, integrated 3D visual effects toolset. Smoke for Mac has been used to create corporate videos for companies from Oakley to Land Rover; commercials for high-profile brands, including Adidas, ESPN, Volkswagen and Subway; and for unique multiscreen projects on display at the U.S. Capitol Visitor Center and the California Science Center.

"From digital signage to in-house corporate video to television commercials, everywhere you look, people need to produce high-quality video content that stands out from the crowd,” said Marc Petit, senior vice president, Autodesk Media & Entertainment. "Smoke for Mac appeals to creative professionals looking for ways to expand their creative service offerings and generate new business. We are seeing new users, from independent professionals to established ad agencies, purchasing Smoke and adding high-end graphics and 3D visual effects to their capabilities.”

Proven Production Efficiency

"Smoke for Mac really speeds up our workflow,” said Jöran Masswinkel, senior Smoke artist at John Bake Productions in The Netherlands. "It’s all-in-one, so that means we aren’t exporting footage for compositing – we do it all in Smoke.”

Smoke provides an all-in-one editorial workflow by combining powerful finishing tools with the familiar workflow of a nonlinear editor (NLE) to reduce complexity and streamline finishing of high-quality content. A recent report published by Pfeiffer Consulting concluded that Smoke provides a significant productivity boost over a multiproduct workflow in typical finishing workflows. According to the report, Smoke is 35 percent more efficient at editing and finishing operations than multiproduct workflows.

Growth Opportunities

"Autodesk is a brand clients trust,” said Sebastien Dostie, visual effects supervisor at Boogie Studios in Canada. "We were able to expand from an audio house to a full-service postproduction facility by purchasing Smoke and the Autodesk Maya Entertainment Creation Suite to form the backbone of our expanding facility. We couldn’t be happier. Smoke has become our secret sauce.”

Photography studios, corporate video and audio postproduction houses — and even web and mobile video producers — are choosing Smoke to expand services and offer high-quality video production. Recent customers who have adopted Smoke for Mac to differentiate themselves from the competition include an in-house corporate video team (Oakley), an audio mixing house (Boogie Studios), a traditional photography studio (Voda Studios), as well as boutique postproduction facilities in the United States (Glyph Corp. in Kentucky) and the United Kingdom (delicious edit).

Creative Functionality

"Smoke has Action [the 3D compositing environment of Smoke], and I use it for every project,” said Rob Lederman, senior compositor/editor at North Avenue Post in the United States "I get the majority of my keying, lighting and compositing done there, and the ability to control shadows, add light rays and lens flares, and all the Flame FX tools basically eliminate the need for third-party sparks/plug-ins.”

Key Features:

• Autodesk Smoke 2012 enhancements — a redesigned 3D lighting system in Action that produces cast shadows and realistic 3D lighting artifacts, support for geometry cache animation import from Autodesk animation software via Autodesk FBX software, and Flame FX creative and technical tools for common finishing tasks
• A comprehensive stereo 3D (S3D) toolset for editing, monitoring, compositing and delivering S3D projects
• Integrated tools for color correction, keying and advanced 3D compositing
• Conform and finishing workflow with Apple Final Cut Pro and Avid Media Composer via AAF and XML import
• Support for native media from H.264 from DSLRs to full-resolution R3D media

For feature information and videos, visit the Autodesk Smoke for Mac site, and for video tutorials, visit AREA, the Autodesk digital entertainment and visualization community.

Pricing and Availability

An Autodesk Smoke 2012 for Mac OS X license is available at a suggested retail price of $14,995.* Autodesk Subscription is available for purchase simultaneously with the product license for $1,995 MSRP per year. Subscription program benefits include software extensions, version upgrades and product support, as well as access to exclusive training materials during the Subscription term. Smoke 2012 is also available for a free** 30-day trial download. Students can join the Autodesk Smoke student community to access a free** 36-month license.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a leader in 3D design, engineering and entertainment software. Customers across the manufacturing, architecture, building, construction, and media and entertainment industries -- including the last 16 Academy Award winners for Best Visual Effects -- use Autodesk software to design, visualize and simulate their ideas. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk continues to develop the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art software for global markets. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

*U.S. pricing only. International pricing may vary.

**Free products are subject to the terms and conditions of the license and services agreement that accompanies the software.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, FBX, Maya and Smoke are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. Academy Award is a registered trademark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document. © 2011 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

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