What's New in 2017

Welcome to Autodesk Flame 2017. This release introduces many new creative features, performance and workflow enhancements, and other user-requested improvements. Make sure to check http://www.autodesk.com/vxf for the latest Flame documentation (including Installation Guides, Release Notes, and other documents). Also, many new feature videos (as well as other workflow videos) are available at https://www.youtube.com/user/FlameHowTos. This Learning Channel is updated frequently, so be sure to subscribe or bookmark the page. Links to specific 2017 videos are also provided in this What's New topic, denoted by this icon:

Note: For 2017 Extension 1 features, see What's New in 2017 Extension 1.

Follow these links to navigate to the sections below:

What's New in Project Management

New Compressed Intermediates

You can now use Avid DNxHR for compressed intermediates on Linux.

For more information, see Setting Cache and Renders Format.

Update to Project Compatibility

Flame 2017 (including Premium), Flare, and Flame Assist can now read contents created in Smoke Desktop Subscription (DTS), with the following limitations:

  • Projects from Smoke DTS can be opened (and converted) by the Flame Family 2017 products.
  • Projects can be seen and imported through MediaHub, using Browse for Projects.
  • Archives created in Smoke DTS can be read in Flame Family 2017 products.
    • Important: Contents created in Flame Family 2017 products cannot be read or opened in Smoke DTS.
Will import in...
Flame 2017 Flare 2017 Flame Assist 2017 Smoke DTS 2017 Training Edition 2017
Projects Created In... Flame 2017 Yes Yes Yes No No
Flare 2017 Yes Yes Yes No No
Flame Assist 2017 Yes Yes Yes No No
Smoke DTS 2017 Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Training 2017 No No No No Yes
Flame 2016 Yes Yes Yes No No
Smoke DTS 2016 Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Training 2016 No No No No Yes
Smoke DTS 2015 Yes Yes Yes No No

Hardware Configuration

Flame can now use the full bit depth of a 10-bit precision graphics monitor.

On Linux
You can toggle between 8- and 10-bit from the Flame Setup (and restarting the X server). The default it 8-bit. Note that other applications running on the same workstations will be impacted by this change (it edits the Xorg.conf), and they will not run correctly if they do not also support 10-bit. There are no proscriptions against running 8-bit Flame on a 10-bit monitor.
On Mac (requires El Capitan 10.11.2 or later)
The application should automatically configure itself to the correct bit depth. If the application still runs in 8-bit mode even when the attached monitor supports 10-bit, you can force the application to use the 10-bit mode.

To force the application to use the 10-bit mode:

  • In a Terminal window, log in as root.
  • Type: bash
  • Type: export DL_XG_VISUAL_DEPTH=10
  • cd to the application: cd /usr/discreet/<flame_version>/bin
  • Start the application. Type: ./startApplication

Resource Management

A Resource Manager utility is now available from the Flame menu. The Resource manager indicates the amount of RAM and VRAM that are Available, Used by the system, Used by the software, and Free. It also lists the RAM and VRAM clients, and details their memory consumption.

For more information, see Resource Management.

Shotgun

Handles information is now available for export: preExportAsset() and postExportAsset() have now access to handleIn and handleOut. For more information, see exportHook.py.

Conform & Connected Conform

Connected Conform

The following are improvements to the Connected Conform workflow:

  • Shared Segment has been renamed Segment Connection throughout the application.
  • You can now create a Connected Segment: right-click a segment (including a Gap with BFX) and select Create Connected Segment. By copy-pasting this segment in other sequences within the same Reel Group, you now have access to the same Sync Connected Segments operations you could previously only perform with a Shots Sequence, and propagate effects decision from one segment to every other related segments.

    For more information, see Working with Connected Segments.

  • You can now exclude one or more tracks from the Sources or Shots Sequence creation by locking it.
  • Animated and reverse time warps are now properly created in the Shots Sequence.
  • BFX applied to the segments of the source sequences are now carried over to the Shots Sequence when you create or update a Shots Sequence. Note that since gaps are not represented in the Shots Sequence, any BFX applied on gaps are not seen in the Shots Sequence. Also, BFX are now considered a criteria used to group segments from the different source sequences.
  • You can now create a Shots Sequence from stereoscopic sequences (with left- and right-eye tracks), including any applicable Stereo BFX.
  • You can now explode an existing BFX when creating Batch Groups from a sequence. The resulting segment from the Create Batch Group will be the rendered result of the BFX.

MediaHub

For more details, see this video from the Flame Learning Channel: MediaHub Updates.

Media Import

The support for importing media in the following formats has been added, or improved:

Note: Non-atomic Movie files (files where audio and video do not have the same durations) are now seen as valid sources. To ensure that audio and video tracks are of the same duration, silence or No Media is added at the end of the clip to make up for the difference.

For more information, see Supported File Formats.

Media Export

The following are new features or improvements to the Media Export:

Improvements to Sequence Publish

Improvements to available export codecs:

Miscellaneous improvements

Media Panel

For more information, see Using the Media Panel.

For more details, see these videos from the Flame Learning Channel:

MediaReactor

Drastic Technology MediaReactor build 169 provides the following enhancements:

Multi-Version Enhancements

Support for multi-version has been improved, making it easier to integrate multi-version clips into your workflow. Multi-version workflow requires the use of Open Clip files, and is an extension of the publish workflow previously available. The following enhancements are now available when you use multi-version clips.

For more information, see Working With Open Clip Files.

Some of the improvements:

Changes to the structure of an Open Clip:

Colour Management

Tangent Panels

Player

Audio

The following are improvements to the audio capabilities of the application:

Desktop Reels

For more details, see this video from the Flame Learning Channel: Loading into Reels.

Batch / Batch FX

It is now possible to copy a Batch FX setup on exit, enabling it to serve as a backup in the event the BFX setup is lost.

For more details, see this video from the Flame Learning Channel: Batch Workflow Updates.

Batch Groups

For more details, see this video from the Flame Learning Channel: Batch Group Improvements.

Burn Metadata

Burn Metadata is a new flexible tool created to replace and expand on the Burn-in Timecode tool. Available as a node in Batch and Batch FX, in the Tools tab, and as a Timeline FX.

Note: The Burn In Timecode tool is no longer available in Batch, Batch FX, and the Tools tab. It can however be restored from an Archive or from a Wired project; Burn does not translate in a Burn Metadata. This is similar to what happens with the deprecated LogicOp node.

Burn Metadata includes the following features:

For more information, see Burn-in Metadata.

For more details, see this video from the Flame Learning Channel: Burn-In Metadata.

Action

Matchbox in Action (Action post-processing pipeline)

  • You can now connect Matchbox shaders to the Action camera (Camera FX) and have the result of the shader applied to the result of the Action scene. Similar to using Texture Matchbox shaders, the priority editor is used to handle the pipeline order.
  • The Action Post-Processing pipeline can connect the Matchbox shader automatically to the appropriate Action output. To support this, shader developers need to set the InputType tag properly in the shader XML (each Action output has its equivalent InputType tag). This includes RGBA shader rendering.
  • Matchbox Camera FX also have access to the Acton output list in their patch panel, so you can manually set the proper connection if the Matchbox shader hasn't been tagged properly in the XML.
  • Matchbox Camera FX can have 2D and 3D widgets visible in the Live Preview F4 view of Action. Only the widget(s) of the currently selected Matchbox are shown.
Note: See the Matchbox / Lightbox section below for other general Matchbox enhancements.

See Matchbox Shaders Connected to Cameras (Camera FX).

For more details, see these videos from the Flame Learning Channel:

Action Live Preview Mode

Introducing Live Preview mode. You can now toggle between 3D and Live Preview in the F4 viewport of Action. This allows you to toggle between a 3D viewport, and a pixel-based viewport of the same scene. This solves a large number of issues, including allowing Action and GMask Tracer widget support in the different Context views for the selected output; including Timeline Primary/Secondary context, Batch context and MK Context. Live Preview mode also improves the interactive performance, since it is reducing the shading coverage of the scene, and makes better use of HWAA and properly supports proxy and resolution options. Hardware anti-aliasing or any post-processing effects (such as Camera FX, Lens Flares and Rays) are not available in the 3D view, and can only viewed in the Live Preview view mode. Adaptive Degradation has also been refactored, allowing for Live Preview specific options to create feature parity with the 3D view.

Tip: Use the 3 keyboard shortcut to cycle between the Live Preview and 3D View modes.

See Live Preview and 3D View.

For more details, see this video from the Flame Learning Channel: Action - The Live Preview Viewer.

Action Shadow Cast Improvements

  • The Shadow Cast node now supports up to 8K of resolution. Performance and quality have been improved for 3D Soft and 3D Hard Shadows.
  • Shadow Cast now supports 32-bit shadow maps, fixing the shadow precision problem with large shadow maps.
  • A new Shadow Casting option called Invisible Receiver allows you to select an object to be invisible in the scene while still receiving shadows. This option is available for both Surfaces and Geometries. All object properties are kept, so you can still use blend modes, transparency, or even texture the surface or geometry for more flexibility. The Shadow Only option has been renamed Invisible Caster for more coherence.

See Surface and Geometry Shadow Casters.

For more details, see this video from the Flame Learning Channel: Action - Shadow Casting Updates.

Action Lens Flare Improvements

  • You can now quickly create and load Lens Flare presets. These presets are a different format than the ones found in the Presets node, and are easier and faster to use, as they do not load new nodes, but replace the Lens Flare node values, as well as all the nodes connected underneath it. This allows you to quickly replace Lens Flare presets, without having to perform schematic management (delete node, switch Light connection, etc.) The new Save and Load mechanism supports every node connected underneath a Lens Flare node, including Matchbox.
    Note: All old Action Lens Flare presets have been converted to the new Lens Flare preset browser, so you do not have to use the Presets node for Lens Flare presets.

    See Using Lens Flare Presets

  • Action Lens Flare shader implementation allows you to re-order Action Lens Flare results anywhere in the post-processing pipeline. You need to deactivate the Lens Flare render in the Comp output and add the shader to the camera.
  • Five new Matchbox shaders (LensBokeh, LensDirt, LensOptic, LensRefraction and LensSpatial) provide real lens graphical elements to be used with Action Lens Flares.

For more details, see these videos from the Flame Learning Channel:

Action Outputs

  • Introducing the concept of render layers in Action output, allowing you to set multiple render passes, based on a single camera and object selection. The Primary output selection allows you to quickly define a single render pass render layer of any output type, as well as the Primary output feeding the post-processing pipeline.
  • More viewing flexibility in the new output system: F4 always shows the current output selection, even when the render pass is not set to be an active output socket of Action. When in an Output view, you can cycle through selected Render Passes associated with a Render Layer (press 1 to navigate down the list, or press 2 to navigate up the list).
  • More output data passes are available from Action: Lens Flare/Rays, Albedo, GMask, Occluder, Background and Roughness. The Lens Flare/Rays result is still applied by default in the Comp output, but it can now be deactivated and put anywhere in the post-processing pipeline, using its own output pass via a Matchbox shader (by default Lens Flares are at the very end of the pipeline). The GMask and Occluder passes offer more flexibility in the post-processing pipeline, allowing them to be used as additional data, driven by GMask rendering. GMasks can be connected to a Camera to limit their effect to the post-processing pipeline exclusively. GMask output passes have an option to only show GMasks connected to the current camera, so you can set GMask to not interact with the scene, and only be created to be used with the post-processing pipeline.
  • You can now create Motion Vector data passes out of Action (supports Axis, Camera, Surface vertices, Geometry animation, and limited support for 3D Shape and 3D Text). Motion Vector optimization can lead to better performance in generating motion data, but also provides better tracking performance, as this allows you to get access to transformation data without having to load the whole Action database. You can create 2D or 3D Motion vector render passes to represent vertex position changes in the scene.
  • Colour coding for Action output render passes, Action output sockets, and Matchbox inputs has been implemented. New data types have colours associated with them (Normals, Position, ZDepth, Motion Vectors, and 3D Motion).

See About Rendering Outputs from Action.

For more details, see this video from the Flame Learning Channel: Action - Updated Outputs.

Action Miscellaneous

  • The Toggle Icons Draw Mode shortcut has been renamed to Cycle Icons Draw Modes and it now cycles between the On, Off, and Selected Icons display modes.

    For more details, see this video from the Flame Learning Channel: Action - Cycle Wireframe Icons.

  • The Action shader manager has been reworked to offer better stability and performance.
  • The FBX SDK has been updated to version 2017.0.1.
  • It is now possible to select all vertices of a GMask (in the GMask Tracer or Action) using the GMask: Select All Vertices shortcut:
    • Ctrl+A in the Flame profile.
    • Keypad+/ in the Smoke Classic profile.
    • Meta+A (Linux) or Command+A (Mac) in the Smoke FCP profile.

Matchbox / Lightbox

For more information on these new Matchbox and Lightbox features, as well as complete information of creating your own shaders, see the Shader Builder API Guide: http://www.autodesk.com/shader_builder_api_guide.

GMask Tracer

General Workflow & User Interface

Miscellaneous Features

Dual Monitor

  • It is now possible to display an additional viewport on the secondary screen, while in Batch or Batch FX.
  • You can set the Media Panel to Full Width, in order to have only the Media Panel displayed on the secondary screen.
  • When the Media Panel is not set to Full Width, the secondary screen defaults to displaying an extra viewport. You can set any Batch view to that viewport.

Timeline

  • The Select Current Segment shortcut is once again available. This shortcut can be used to explicitly select the segment under the positioner. The shortcut is assigned to the “Enter” key in the Smoke Classic and Smoke FCP profiles.
    Note: The shortcut is not assigned by default in the Flame profile.

Editing

Smart Replace

  • Replacing content is now easier using Smart Replace, a new replace option (enabled by default) that uses the Source clip attributes. Content duration is compared first, then Source Timecode. If these do not match, you are asked if you want to perform a positioner to positioner Replace operation. This option can be disabled from the Secondary Edit box pulldown menu. This option can be especially useful in the Connected Conform workflow where you need to re-insert a rendered clip in the Shots Sequence.

Timewarp

  • It is now possible to slip the source Media underneath a Timeline FX Timewarp, without affecting your keyframes, using the editable Timing field.

Tokens

  • The Record Frame token can be used to propagate the first record frame of a segment to its Name, Shot Name or Comment. It is also available in Sequence Publish.
  • The Background Index token is now available in Sequence Publish.
  • The Background Name and Background Shot Name tokens can now be used to propagate the name or shot name of the bottom-most layer to all the segments above. The token is available in Rename, Rename Shot, Comment and Sequence Publish.
  • The Source Name token can be used to propagate the clip source name to its Name, Shot Name or Comment. It is also available in Sequence Publish.
  • A <Depth> token is now available in Rename, Rename Shot and Export. Using this token adds the clip bit-depth to the segment / clip name.

What's New in Lustre

Connected Colour Workflow

Lustre 2017 introduces the Connected Colour Workflow. This collaborative workflow enables basic effects work during client-attended grading sessions, by harnessing the power of the Flame Family’s Batch procedural compositing environment (Flame or Flare, running concurrently on the same workstation).

For more details, see these videos from the Flame Learning Channel:

Dedicated What's New and User Guide

From the 2017 release onwards, Lustre will have a dedicated What's New and User Guide.

The Lustre 2017 What's New can be found here: Lustre 2017 What's New.

The Lustre 2017 User Guide can be found here: Lustre 2017 User Guide.