New version features over 30 new effects and many enhancements. Available immediately for After Effects, Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, Combustion and Fusion.
GenArts, Inc., a leading provider of visual effects plug-ins for the film, broadcast and video industries, today announced the immediate availability of Sapphire Plug-ins version 2 for After Effects and compatible products including Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro, Autodesk Combustion, and Eyeon Fusion. The new release features over 30 new effects, plus many new parameters and improvements to existing effects in the package.
For over a decade, GenArts Sapphire Plug-ins have set the standard for sophisticated, organic visual effects which natively integrate with leading editing and compositing systems. Version 2 contains all of the visual effects and features that have established Sapphire Plug-ins as an indispensable part of the digital artist’s toolkit – and introduces more than 30 new and innovative effects. FilmDamage, ZDefocus, Cartoon, BleachBypass, GradientMulti, SwishPan, Light3D, Deband, and TextureNeurons are a few of the new plug-ins in the collection of over 200 image processing and synthesis effects. Many new effects were designed to improve users’ workflow while others offer easy ways to create eye-catching visuals, such as FilmDamage – which simulates aged film by adding scratches, dust, stains, grain, shake and flicker. Enhancements to existing effects in the package include a revamped RackDefocus, 4 new Glares and 14 new LensFlares.
“GenArts has the highest quality plug-ins you can find. I love the new effects in Sapphire 2 such as WarpMagnify, SwishPan and DissolveGlow, and I expect to use Vignette every day,” comments Jack Tunnicliffe, Senior Effects Artist at Java Post Production. “The LensFlare additions are also fabulous.”
Sapphire 2 includes support for the latest versions of all After Effects and compatible host applications including Adobe CS3 and the “Smart FX” API which provides more efficient processing and support for 32bit image formats. All platforms running v2 will have improved rendering speed.
“We are thrilled with this new release. After Effects, Final Cut Pro and the other compatible products have become integral parts of our high-end users’ workflow as we see more and more clients working on multiple host platforms. Version 2 further extends their creative capabilities with many innovative effects and additional functionality,” says Anish Dhanda, Managing Director of GenArts.
Key New Features of Sapphire Plug-ins 2 for After Effects and Compatible Products:
FilmDamage simulates aged film by adding scratches, dust, stains, grain, shake, flicker, etc.
ZDefocus defocuses areas of the source clip by different amounts using depth values from a z-buffer input.
Cartoon gives cartoon-like looks with exaggerated edges and flat areas of color.
Light3D performs 3D relighting of a clip using an input clip describing the surface normals.
Vignette darkens the outer edges of a clip with various shape options.
BleachBypass generates a stylized version of the source clip by simulating a bleach bypass process.
LensFlare has 14 new flare types, new parameters to adjust the look of the flares and an optional Matte input which allows selective blocking or colorizing of flares.
LensFlareAutoTrack can track and render flares at multiple hotspots.
RackDefocus has new shape options and improved performance.
Glare includes 4 new glare types and improved performance.
Adobe’s “Smart FX” API is supported for AE7 and CS3 with more efficient processing and reading of 32bit image formats.
Windows Vista and Mac OS X Leopard are supported.
Availability and Pricing
Sapphire Plug-ins version 2 for After Effects and compatible products can be purchased directly from GenArts or through their worldwide channel of authorized resellers. Pricing for Sapphire 2 is $1699 for the entire package or $599 for one of four individual box sets. Special upgrade pricing for existing v1 customers is offered for $599 and $199, respectively. A free trial of the software is available online at www.genarts.com.
Sapphire Plug-ins version 2 will also be available on Quantel generationQ products with VDS Synapse. For more information about Sapphire on Quantel please visit www.videodesignsoftware.com/products/Synapse.php.
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