GenArts Inc. announced the immediate availability of Sapphire Plug-ins version 2 for Apples Shake. This release contains 20 additional effects, including a new FilmDamage effect, and a wide array of new features and improvements such as on-screen widgets for easy parameter adjustment, and an improved user interface for all color parameters.
Sapphire Plug-ins for Shake provides digital artists with more than 200 image processing and synthesis effects that are directly integrated into Shakes user interface. Version 2 now supports the Mac Universal Binary (PPC & Intel) and Linux systems.
"Shake artists have produced phenomenal, ground-breaking visual effects work over the years; and we are pleased to continue showing support to the Shake community by offering not only Mac Universal support, but also many new features and enhancements in this Sapphire Plug-ins release," commented Anish Dhanda, managing director at GenArts.
Key new features include:
* FilmDamage effect simulates aged film by adding scratches, dust, stains, grain, shake, flicker, etc.* Stylize effects: Cartoon, CartoonPaint, Posterize, BleachBypass, Vignette, TriTone and QuadTone* Rays effect produces light beams emitting from the bright areas of an input clip* Transition effects: WipeRings, WipeTiles, SwishPan, DissolveGlow and DissolveFilm* FeedbackDistort generates interesting time based feedback effects while distorting trails* Other new effects include DogVision, WarpMagnify, Invert, GradientRadial and TextureMoire* New on-screen widgets allow easy visual adjustment of many parameter values* Mac version is Universal Binary and supports PPC and Intel hardware* Supports Shake 4.0 and Shake 4.1 on Mac and Linux* All color parameters have an improved user interface, including HSV and TML options* Layer has 5 new transfer modes* WarpTransform has new swivel and tilt parameters for 3D control* WarpPerspective has a new wrapAboveHorizon option* Gamma has separate RGB controls for Scale Lights and Offset Darks* FilmEffect has new film type simulations added for Kodak 5217, 5218, 5285 and 7270
Sapphire Plug-ins version 2 for Shake can be purchased directly from GenArts or through their worldwide channel of Apple authorized Shake resellers. Pricing for Sapphire 2 for Shake has been lowered to $1,699 and upgrades are available for existing version 1 customers for $599. A free trial of the software is available online at the GenArts website.
Founded in 1996 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, GenArts Inc. (www.genarts.com) is a premier provider of digital visual effects plug-ins for the film, broadcast and video industries. Their product, Sapphire Plug-ins, equips digital artists with a collection of more than 190 state-of-the-art image processing and synthesis effects such as: Glows, EdgeRays, LensFlare, Lightning, FilmEffect, Warps and Textures. The effects seamlessly integrate into a number of editing and compositing systems including: Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro; Apple Final Cut Pro, Shake; Avid; Autodesks Discreet Systems and Combustion; eyeon Fusion; Sony XPRI; and Quantel generationQ products.
Sapphire Plug-ins have become the industry standard for high-end visual effects creation by providing unrivaled image quality, a unique organic look, and ease of use. They have been used extensively in an array of television programs, music videos and feature films, including: THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy, STAR WARS: EPISODE I, II AND III, SPIDER-MAN 1, 2 AND 3, SIN CITY, THE MATRIX trilogy, X-MEN 1, 2 and 3, TITANIC, LOST and CSI.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
