Automatic Duck Inc., a software company providing workflow solutions to digital media artists, has released Automatic Duck Pro Import 2.0. Available for both Windows and Mac OS X operating systems, this new translator offers all of the functionality of the company's Automatic Composition Import (ACI), ACI DV and ACI FCP software products for Avid editing systems, Final Cut Pro 3.0, After Effects and Boris RED, with additional features that significantly extend the power and interoperability of these editing and graphics effects applications.
"Previously, if users wanted to import from Avid and FCP into After Effects, they'd need two different products, explained Automatic Duck president Wes Plate. Now they need only one."
Acting as a plug-in to Adobe After Effects or Boris RED 3GL, Automatic Duck Pro Import 2.0 allows editors and artists to complete in seconds the complex translation process that once took hours or even an entire day. Like Automatic Duck's award-winning ACI products, Automatic Duck Pro Import 2.0 enables editors and graphic artists to import edited sequences, complete with keyframed effects, seamlessly from Avid editing systems and Final Cut Pro 3.0 into After Effects or Boris RED. By eliminating the painstaking process of importing and exporting timelines, media and effects manually, Automatic Duck Pro Import 2.0 allows artists to focus on the creative process rather than tedious technical requirements.
New features offered by Automatic Duck Pro Import 2.0 include translation of more Avid effects, including Picture-in-Picture, Resize, 3D Warp, Superimpose and 3D Picture-in-Picture; translation of audio levels and keyframes from Avid and Final Cut Pro into After Effects; and AAF import, including translation of Avid locators into After Effects and RED. In response to client demand, this newest software release from Automatic Duck also provides users with the ability to import Final Cut Pro timelines into After Effects on Windows, a capability that has until now been available only on the Mac. Automatic Duck Pro Import 2.0 also introduces compatibility with Adobe After Effects 6.0.
Users of ACI and ACI FCP who purchased before May 1, 2003 can upgrade to Automatic Duck Pro Import 2.0 for $195. Automatic Duck Pro Import 2.0 for After Effects and Boris RED is shipping for $495.
Automatic Duck (www.automaticduck.com) was founded in 2001 The Seattle-area company's products translate timelines between these applications, reducing from hours to seconds the complex composition imports between editing and graphics/effects programs. Automatic Duck products are implemented worldwide by a broad range of clients, including wedding and event producers, TV stations, post houses, video game developers and movie studios.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
