What's New in Smoke 2016

Welcome to Autodesk Smoke 2016. This release introduces many new creative features, performance and workflow enhancements, and other user-requested improvements. Follow these links to navigate to the sections below:

What's New in Proxy Workflows

New options are available to provide a more flexible proxy workflow, that eliminates scaling in the viewers and broadcast monitor. If proxies are generated for media when you create your project, you can now dynamically toggle between full resolution and proxy resolution using the Proxy Quality box.

The Proxy Quality box is available everywhere there is a viewer in proxy-enabled projects. The following options are available:
  • Full Resolution: Media is displayed at full resolution.
  • Proxy: Media is displayed at proxy resolution.
  • Proxy On Scrub: Media is displayed at proxy resolution only when scrubbed.
Tip: Toggle between Full Resolution and Proxy using the Ctrl+P (Flame profile) keyboard shortcut.

The Proxy Quality options allow adjustments to the display quality in order to increase system responsiveness. This can be useful when a project progresses and the effects pipeline requires heavier computation. When proxy resolution is selected from the menu, the media is displayed at full frame size, but the quality is reduced by showing fewer pixels that are larger in size.

Project Migration & Restore

Options for creating proxies have been revised. Fixed width proxies, variable bit-depth proxies, and proxies conditional to bit-depth are no longer available. The number of proxies size options has been reduced to 1:2, 1:4, and 1:8.

The following scenarios apply if you migrate or restore a pre-2016 project which uses: fixed width, variable bit-depth proxies, proxies conditional to bit-depth, a non-standard proxy size, or a combination of these. In each case, a message detailing the application's behaviour is displayed, and you are prompted to confirm.
  • Fixed Width Proxies
    • Migrating a Project: When migrating a project with fixed width proxies, the migration is aborted. This is because unsupported proxies have already been generated for that project. To workaround this limitation, you can create a new project in Smoke 2016 and wire your media from the old project to the new. Supported proxies can be generated in the new project.
    • Restoring a Project: When restoring a project archive with fixed width proxies, proxies are regenerated at 1:2 resolution.
  • Variable Bit Depth Proxies
    • Migrating a Project: When migrating a project with variable bit-depth proxies, the existing (variable bit depth) proxies are used.
    • Restoring a Project: When restoring a project archive with variable bit-depth proxies, proxies are regenerated at the bit depth of the original media.
  • Conditional to bit-depth Proxies
    • Migrating a Project: When migrating a project with proxies conditional to bit-depth, the existing (variable bit depth) proxies are used.
    • Restoring a Project: When restoring a project archive with proxies conditional to bit-depth, proxies are regenerated unconditionally to the bit depth.
  • Non-standard Proxies Size
    • Migrating a Project: When migrating a project with non-standard proxies size , the existing proxies are used.
    • Restoring a Project: When restoring a project archive with non-standard proxies size, proxies are regenerated at the closest supported resolution (1:2, 1:4, or 1:8).

What's New in Project Management

What's New in Display Configuration

A new preference allows you to select the side of the UI where the Media Panel is displayed (in Preferences > General > Media Panel).

The Media Panel's Dual Panel View option is now a button displayed only when the Media Panel is displayed at Full Width.

Dual Monitor Configuration

You can now run Smoke on a dual monitor configuration. This extra, secondary monitor, can be used as a Broadcast Display (as before) or, new to this release, used to display the Media Panel.

You decide which monitor (left or right) to use as the primary screen. The primary screen displays the Timeline and the Player. The secondary screen displays the Media Panel.

To set the role of each monitor:

  1. Launch Mac OS X System Preferences.
  2. Open Display.
  3. Open the Arrangement tab.
  4. Drag and drop the menu bar onto the monitor you want to set as primary. The other monitor becomes the secondary monitor.
    Note: Make sure to disable the option Displays have separate Spaces in the Mac OS X System Preferences, under Mission Control, or the secondary screen will not be accessible from Smoke. You will need to log out to enable this change.

You can disable a secondary monitor from the Smoke Setup application.

If the software is configured in a dual monitor setup, you also need to configure the Wacom tablet to consider either only the primary monitor, or both monitors.

To configure the Wacom tablet:

  1. Launch Mac OS X System Preferences.
  2. Open Wacom Tablet.
  3. Open the Display Toggle tab.
  4. Select the Monitor 1, Monitor 2 or Both, based on your desired setup.
Note: From Smoke, you can also use the Alt+Shift+Tab (Flame profile) keyboard shortcut to switch between options.

What's New in MediaHub

This new version improves MediaHub.

What's New in Media Panel

You can now view the media in the Media Panel in the form of tiles.

It is now possible the access the Dual Mode in the Full Width Media Panel

User now have access to 4 additional colours to be used for the Colour Coding of the Media Panel: Yellow, Bright Green, Light Grey and Black.

What's New in Media Import

Added support for the new Panasonic VariCam 35 and HS by supporting the following formats:

Added support for the new Canon XF-AVC codec.

Improved support for Sony camera formats:

Improved support for ARRIRAW media:

Improved support for RED media:

Support for additional DNxHD families:

Improved support for Apple QuickTime ProRes 4444

Optimized LongGOP decoding for the MXF container:

Support for CODEX recorders

Other improvements:

What's New in Export

You can now for export as Sony XAVC (MXF OP-1a):

Other media export improvements:

You can now perform exports in the foreground.

Other Improvements

EDL Improvements

  • When you export a sequence as an EDL, tape names with illegal Unix characters are written to the EDL using the Tape Name Extension.

    The Tape Name Extension stores both the original name and a sanitized version, allowing third party applications to import and correctly conform the EDL, displaying the sanitized name. And when re-importing in an Autodesk application, the EDL displays the original tape names.

    How the tape name is sanitized:

    • Spaces are replaced with underscores; TAPE 1 becomes TAPE_1
    • Illegal Unix characters are replaced with underscores; TAPE$1 becomes TAPE_1
    • Lowercase characters are replaced with uppercase characters; tape1 becomes TAPE1
  • You can now when export a sequence as an EDL (using the EDL Export or from Sequence Publish) to generate CMX-3600 EDL with long tape names (maximum 52 characters). A new option, named Use Long Tape Name, located in EDL Export dialog, enables this ability.
  • Constant TW are now more accurately written to the EDL.
  • Animated TW are now converted into constant TW when written to an exported EDL. The Source In and Source Out written to the outgoing EDL match the span of the media used in the original, animated, TW. The constant TW speed in the outgoing EDL is calculated so that the media fits the segment's duration.

Publishing Improvements

  • New AAF Publishing
  • It is now possible to Publish a sequence as an AAF (Advanced Authoring Format) file with non-flattened video tracks.
  • Use AAF export when you want to share a sequence with third-party applications. The AAF Export generates a simplified sequence that can be used in third-party application for creative editorial, colour correction, media management, etc.
  • For more information, see Publishing an AAF Sequence.

Improved FCP XML Publishing

  • You can now publish an FCP X XML with even more details than before.
  • Use FCP X XML Export when you want to share a sequence with third party applications.
  • The XML Export generates a simplified sequence that can be used in third party applications for creative editorial, color correction, media management, etc.
  • There are new Sequence Publish presets available, which output FCP X XML sequences.
    • XML for DaVinci Resolve for Source Grading (ProRes 422 and 24-bit WAVE)
    • XML for DaVinci Resolve for Source Grading (Sequence-only)
    • XML for DaVinci Resolve (ProRes 422 and 24-bit WAVE)
  • For more information, see Publishing an FCP X Sequence.

What's New in Conform

This release improves support for Apple Final Cut Pro X and Avid Media Composer.

Support for Apple Final Cut Pro X 10.2:

Support for Avid Media Composer 8.3 AAF:

Miscellaneous Conform improvements.

For more information, see Conform Tab Overview.

What's New in Video I/O

What's New in Archiving

This extension improves upon the archiving process feedback, and on its robustness.

You can now use a new interface in the Archive Python hook, to estimate space required for an archive. Named archiveSelectionUpdated, it is called when a user updates the information on the currently selected element in an opened archive. See Python Hooks Reference.

What's New in Colour Management

Smoke uses the latest version of Autodesk Colour Management (also known as SynColor).

Inverting Colour Transforms

Using the Custom mode of the LUT Editor, you can invert an imported colour transform, and invert individual colour transforms in a custom transform chain. For example, this allows you to convert content from ARRI LogC and other colour spaces to a single working space such as linear Rec. 709 or ACES, and convert back to ARRI LogC for grading and finishing.

The Invert option is available in the following:
  • Media Hub (Import, Export).
  • LUT Editor.
  • ConnectFX (LUT Editor, Clip, Read File).
  • LUT Timeline FX.

The Colour Transform Builder now has an Invert column. To invert a single transform in a chain, click in the Invert cell next to the transform you want to invert.

When importing content using the Use LUT options, the selected LUT or Colour Transform options become Preprocessing options that can be edited from the Timeline FX editor.

Note: You cannot directly invert a LUT or Colour Transform that is applied to the display, but you can load a custom Colour Transform file that contains one or more inverted LUTs or Colour Transforms and apply it to the display.

Some colour transforms are impossible to invert perfectly. This happens when they map multiple input colours to the same output colour, such as when transforming from a large space to a smaller space. It is analogous to the fact that you cannot convert from a 12-bit signal to 8 bits and back to 12 bits again without data loss. In these situations, the Invert option maps the original output colour back to one of the original input colours, but applying the forward transform followed by the inverse transform will inevitably change some colours.

Copying and Inverting Colour Transforms

In ConnectFX and the Modular Keyer, you can use the Shift+T+click (Flame profile) combination to copy Colour Transform settings from one node to another while toggling the Invert option.
  1. Set the Colour Management attributes in any node that supports them (i.e., Clip node, LUT Editor, etc.).
    • Make sure that a colour transform or a custom chain of colour transforms is selected.
    • Make sure that Custom is enabled.
  2. If you haven't already done so, add another node that supports the Colour Management attributes.
  3. Make sure that the destination node is selected.
  4. Press Shift+T (Flame profile) and click on the node that you want to copy Colour Management attributes from.

New View Transform Presets

When creating a new project, the following Colour Transforms are automatically included in Preferences > LUT > 3D LUT & Colour Transform.

Enabled keyboard shortcuts (Flame profile):

  • Alt+Shift+1: transforms/tone-map/PhotoMap_LC.ctf
  • Alt+Shift+2: gamma/apply_sRGB_encoding.ctf
  • Alt+Shift+3: gamma/apply_2.40_gamma.ctf

Consider using PhotoMap_LC instead of the default Linear viewing option for viewing linear content. It is a tone-mapping transform with S-shaped curves for a photographic response.

Enhanced 3D LUT Support

3D LUT files with cubes larger than 17×17×17 are now supported, for both integer and floating point values, and can be loaded either as 3D LUTs or as Colour Transforms. These include LUTs generated for the following products:
  • Adobe After Effects (.cube)
  • Adobe Speedgrade (.cube)
  • Apple Color (.mga)
  • Assimilate Scratch (.3dl)
  • Blackmagic Design HDLink Pro (.3dl)
  • Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve (.cube)
  • Cine Tal (.3dl)
  • Eyeon Fusion (.3dl)
  • Filmlight Baselight (.cube)
  • Pandora (.m3d)
  • Pomfort SilverStack (.lut)
  • The Foundry Nuke (.cube)

Blend Modes and HDR Values

All tools using blend modes such as Screen, Overlay, Softlight, Hardlight, Exclusion and Pinlight have been updated to produce better results with HDR colour values. In particular, they will no longer create image corruption, and will retain as much out-of-range colour information as possible. This might affect the results of previously saved projects.

What's New in Timeline and Timeline FX

What's New in ConnectFX

What's New in Action

Action Media List

The Action Media list structure has been converted to a ConnectFX processing pipeline, offering better performance and more functionality. The effects and tools in the Media list appear (from left to right) in the order that Action processes them.

Some highlights:

  • The Colour Warper and the Colour Corrector now appear as separate effects in the Media list.
  • You can use the new Lock field in the Media list to lock media at a certain frame.
  • Shadow Softness has been removed from the Media list, and can now be found directly in the Shadow menu, allowing you to set shadow softness by object, instead of by media.
  • All the animation channels of Media list effects are now exposed at the ConnectFX level (with the exception of the Modular Keyer).

See Action Media.

Action Lights

The shading concept in Action has been enhanced by an explicit ambient lighting scene concept, called Scene Ambient. Scene Ambient lighting can be turned off, have shading apply to the scene, and have its intensity changed via its controls located in the Action Setup menu Rendering tab. You can also turn the Scene Ambient setting on or off in specific Light menus.

Other Action Lighting improvements:

  • Similar to cameras in Action, you can now set a Free or Target light mode. Select Free to light the scene in the direction that you aim the light, or Target to aim the light at a target object in the scene based on a point of interest. Various settings are available in the Light menu based on the choice of light mode.
  • Lights now have an Object view (F8), allowing you to see the scene through the point of view of the Light, as if it were a camera.
  • Lights now support Look At links (also available for Action Cameras). Look At links can now be animated using the Auto Key function and drawing Look At links in the schematic. This results in a changing Look At destination following the created keyframe. An animation channel is also present to edit the Look At changes. See Applying Look-at Connections.
  • In the Rays menu, a new Target mode allows you position the Rays pivot point offsets based on the parent Light target position.

See Action Lights and Lighting Effects.

Action Camera

  • Cameras now have an Object view (F8), allowing you to see the scene through the point of view of the Camera, without making the camera active.
  • Cameras now support Look At links (also available for Action Lights). Look At links can now be animated using the Auto Key function and drawing Look At links in the schematic. This results in a changing Look At destination following the created keyframe. An animation channel is also present to edit the Look At changes. See Applying Look-at Connections.

Changes to Source Nodes

Updates to the Action Media list and lighting model have necessitated changes to Source nodes:
  • Source nodes are now applied before any Media list effects. This can lead to unexpected results compared to previous releases. For example, a Modular Keyer effect applied on a media layer is also applied to the Source node. If you do not want to apply the Modular Keyer effect on a Source node, you need to create a new media layer for the source node output.
  • When working with Source nodes, Scene Ambient lighting has no effect. When you add a Source node, a Light node parented to a Camera node is now automatically attached to the Source node. This light is an ambient type, and appears at the same position as the camera (0,0,0).

See Action Source Nodes.

Action on the Timeline

When working with Action on the timeline, you can now interact with more objects and their settings directly in the quick menu. New options allow you to choose between similar objects (such as multiple lights), and children or parent objects.

Along with Rendering settings, you can now control settings for the following Action objects directly in the quick menu:
  • Axis
  • Surface
  • Light
  • Camera
  • Lens Flare
  • Lens Flare Textures
  • Blooming
  • Rays
  • Shadow
  • 3D Text

You can now delete all objects from an Action timeline effect (except for the default Camera).

See Using the Action Quick Menu.

Other Action Improvements

What's New in Matchbox

Many Matchbox enhancement as well as new presets have been added for this release. Also, a new Shader Builder API Guide is available to help you create Matchbox effects at: http://docs.autodesk.com/flamepremium2016/shader_builder_api_guide_2016.pdf.

Some highlights:

See Using Shaders to Create Your Own Effects.

Miscellaneous Features and Enhancements

Preference Updates

  • Media Panel preferences have been consolidated under Preferences > General > Media Panel. The Media Panel Position Box (Left Side / Right Side) preference previously located in the User Interface Tab has moved here.
  • The Protection Mode preference now includes the following action: moving content from library to library triggers an autosave.

Keyboard Shortcuts Updates

  • The Trim to Positioner shortcut is now assigned to P in the Smoke Classic shortcut profile.
  • The Fit in View function is now assigned to Shift-Home by default in the Smoke Classic profile.
  • The Scale Magnet shortcut has been changed from Ctrl+S to Alt+M in the Flame profile, to avoid a conflict with the Save Project shortcut.
  • The Toggle View Widget Show All shortcut has been changed from Ctrl+Alt+W to Ctrl+Shift+W in the Flame profile, to avoid a conflict with the Display Tooltip shortcut.
  • An unassigned entry has been added for Delete All Markers.