FX 7 New Technical Specifications

• OpenGL accelerated previews and object interaction
• Optimized render speed
• New interactors for onscreen animation control
• Motion blur for all 3D objects

Contents:
Graphic Creation and Animation
Animation
Filters
Filter Improvements
Hardware and Software Integration
Interface and Workflow
Controls Window
Composite Window
Timeline
Tool Window
New Menu Items
Preferences

Graphic Creation and Animation

• Natural Media including wood grain, marble, fractal noise, and reptilian skin
• Vector Paint tools for advanced rotoscoping and masks
• Spline Primitives such as heart, wedge, and grid shapes
• Spline Primitives: Grid, Line, and Area
• New Gradient type: Revolve
• Scale stops for gradients
• Loop gradient, with individual control for R, G and B
• Cycle gradient
• Randomize gradient colors
• Animate all gradient parameters
• Still image files up to 16,000 by 16,000 files now supported
• Support for multiple masks in Photoshop files
• Extended range for Border Begin and Border End to allow looping
• Border offset may now be set and animated
• Spline Jitter velocity control
• Spline Jitter random seed may now be assigned
• Spline animation Acceleration
• Spline animation Overshoot
• Spline animation Decay
• Convert to Container option for Spline Object layers
• Spline subtrack names editable

[back to top]

Animation

• Motion blur for all shapes
• Motion blur may be applied separately or in combination to shapes, faces, filters and motion
• Control transform order of Tumble (X axis), Spin (Y axis), Rotate (Z axis)
• Generate Keyframes command
• Jitter Interpolation
• Swing interpolation
• Bounce interpolation

[back to top]

Filters

The following filters from Boris Continuum Complete are now included with Boris FX 7. They will only work in Boris FX 7. To use them as native filters in applications such as Final Cut Pro, Adobe After Effects, and Avid systems, users will need to purchase the appropriate versions of Continuum.

[back to top]

Filter Improvements

• Filters menu rearranged to match Continuum (we now have the same filters menu for all products)
• "Last Filter" option in Filters menu (keyboard shortcut: Control/Command F)
• Improved support for 3 rd party After Effects filters, including dynamic presentation of controls, contextual controls, and onscreen controls

[back to top]

Hardware and Software Integration

• Preview to Monitor from Boris FX Keyframer
• Support for PTM using FireWire
• Support for PTM through Matrox Parhelia
• Support for PTM through Canopus boards
• Media 100 hardware for video out in FX Keyframer (previously available in plug-in only)
• Preview to Monitor from inside FX plug-in for any host, using auxiliary video output
• New integration with Sony Digital Pictures Vegas
• Avid Apply to Title
• Final Cut Pro Transition integration
• Support for latest NLE releases from Adobe, Apple, Avid, and others
• Support for Adobe After Effects (Windows only; Mac support coming)

[back to top]

Interface and Workflow

• Searchable Filter Palette
• Plug-in Filter Manager
• Ability to create saved filter sets, and dynamically load them without restarting FX
• History Palette
• Saved custom Workspaces
• Custom keyboard shortcuts
• Many new and improved keyboard shortcuts
• Shared Movies, allows multiple instances of imported movie files to be linked
• QuickTime movie playback window
• Style Editor for Gradient - opens Controls for editing directly from Style Palette
• Style Editor for Material/Extrusion - opens Controls for editing directly from Style Palette
• Color picker preview
• Optimized render of non-animated bitmap files, including video
• Keyboard shortcuts to control onscreen interactors: W for Translation, E for Rotation, R for Scale, G to toggle visibility of interactors

[back to top]

Controls Window

• Numeric field scrubbing
• Reset Parameter choice for interpolation pop-ups
• Display of Native/imported image file size
• Mouse wheel scrolls Controls window vertically
• Rotation Order pop-up menu
• Shift rounds dial control to nearest 45 degrees
• Control/Command rounds to nearest 10 degrees
• Shift with Control/Command rounds to nearest 5 degrees
• Mouse wheel moves dials in 1-degree increments
• Mouse wheel with Shift moves in 10-degree increments
• Mouse wheel with Control/Command moves in 0.1-degree increments
• Mouse wheel with Shift and Control/Command moves in 45-degree increments

[back to top]

Composite Window

• OpenGL interactors for 3D control
• Nudge selected objects one pixel with arrow keys/shift-nudge to move ten pixels
• Render progress thermometer
• Mouse wheel to scale Composite window added for Mac
• Shift-magnifying glass constrains Composition window size to scale of display
• Guides now saved with compositions
• Title Safe added to pop-up menu for onscreen controls
• Grid added to pop-up menu for onscreen controls

[back to top]

Timeline

• Track Sliding
• Subtracks may slide separately from master tracks
• Color track display
• Hide Mask button
• Open Library Browser button
• Timeline resolution slider
• Motion Blur button
• New colors for Timeline background
• New colors for keyframes
• Custom UI colors (Set in Preference on Preview tab)
• Drag through on ruler to CTI Thumb
• Reset Handle command for value curve handles
• Insert Track at CTI
• Page Up/Down to move CTI
• Shape/Face track selection toggle with unmodified "F" keyboard shortcut
• Keyboard shortcut for Mark In/Out changed to unmodified "I" and "O" keys
• Keyboard shortcut/menu command for Move CTI to Mark In/Out (Opt/Alt "I" and Opt/Alt "O")
• Add User Mark with unmodified "K"
• Toggle SmartView with "S"
• Mouse wheel over track names scrolls track selection
• Mouse wheel over tracks scrolls CTI
• Alt/Opt mouse wheel in tracks selects next/previous keyframe

[back to top]

Tool Window

• Keyboard shortcut for Hollow Arrow tool changed to "A"
• Keyboard shortcut for Rotate tool changed to "D"
• Tooltips dynamically update to show new shortcuts
• All keyboard shortcuts for Tool window now work even when window is closed

[back]

New Menu Items

• Align/Distribute objects (Track menu)
• Reverse Track (Track menu)
• Connect to External Monitor (Preview menu)
• Auto Update External Monitor (Preview menu)
• OpenGL Mode selection from Preview window as well as Preferences
• OpenGL Interactors selection (Preview menu)
• Filter palette opens with Command/Control 5 (Windows menu)
• Library Browser opens with Command/Control 9 (Windows menu)

[back to top]

Preferences

• Button to return all changed preferences to default values
• Reset Tab button
• Project Size popup menu (General Tab)
• Pre-multiplied White Alpha enabled by default (Import Media tab)
• Set custom size for Title and Action safe (Preview tab)
• Change Timeline colors (Preview tab)
• External Monitor Output (Preview tab)
• Keyframe Generator (Preview tab)
• OpenGL pop-up, default set by outcome of internal test or user defined (Render tab)
• Accelerated Draft Previews/toggle High Quality during interaction - on by default (Render tab)
• Test OpenGL Hardware (Render tab)
• Better Quality Field Rendering enabled by default (Local tab)

[back to top]