Visual effects software developer The Foundry announced Tuesday the next major release of its powerful compositing application, Nuke.
Nuke 5 features a brand new user interface, the addition of Python for scripting, support for stereoscopic workflow, and with the ability to read, process and write more than 1,000 channels per stream, it now features the industry's broadest support for EXR images.
Since taking on the development of Nuke, The Foundry's goal has been to remain true to the original concept of developing a comprehensive compositing solution that is "designed by artists for artists."
With user requirements as the driver, The Foundry has concentrated on enriching and refining the product, building on its already strong foundations and focusing development efforts on areas that required renovation. Nuke 5 is the first major step towards this goal.
Applying more than a decade of software development experience and close collaboration with the growing Nuke community, The Foundry has reworked Nuke's UI to improve the user experience and make it more approachable for a broader range of artists.
In addition to augmenting the existing floating window layouts with a flexible panes and panels system, Nuke 5 features per-node mask inputs, and expanded LUT support for file I/O colorspace conversion.
Since its inception, Nuke's extensive scripting capabilities have been a key feature for many of its adopters, and The Foundry has taken this to the next level by adding support for the Python scripting language for the version 5 release.
The Foundry's product development has long-benefited from close working relationships with some of the industry's leading post production facilities. The latest challenge facing these artists is the dramatic increase in volumes of stereoscopic projects. The Foundry has responded by laying the groundwork for efficient multi-view compositing in Nuke 5.
Available on Linux, Windows, and Mac platforms, Nuke delivers unparalleled speed, an efficient multi-channel scanline rendering engine, and powerful feature set unrivalled in the desktop market.
Now shipping, Nuke 5 is priced at $3,500 with render nodes priced at: $250, with the annual maintenance and support contract prices at $1,000 per GUI license.
Nuke 5 is available for existing customers with valid maintenance at no extra cost; customers can download now from The Foundry website www.thefoundry.co.uk.
