
A round up of recent news stories, including: Apple releases Final Cut Pro 11.0.1; Blackmagic Camera 2.0 for Android; Chaos releases V-Ray 7; and Mindshow's new virtual production platform.
In strict alphabetical order...
Apple releases Final Cut Pro 11.0.1
A minor point release for Apple's Final Cut Pro 11 which includes a few fixes nothing more.
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Addresses an issue that caused Custom Overlays to not be visible in the viewer.
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Fixes an issue that caused errors when using Send to Compressor from a timeline that included Magnetic Mask effects.
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Improves reliability of the Show Horizon command in the viewer.
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Improves performance when pressing and holding the H key to scroll the timeline manually.
Blackmagic Camera 2.0 for Android
Essentially catches the Android version of the app up to the iPhone one, version 2 of which was released last August. As such, this adds multi-camera control (well, technically multi-phone control), allowing you to connect up to nine other phones on the same network. Important settings such as zoom, white balance, frame rate etc can be then changed individually or all at once.
Alongside the ability to drag-select multiple clips, there's also support for new devices such as the Samsung S25 series, as well as a few of the better recent Android tablets such as the Xiaomi Pad 6.
The iPhone version of the app is currently on v2.2 so it will be interesting to monitor if the dev team on the Android can start catching up to the point of concurrent releases. When Blackmagic Camera for Android was initially released the iOS version was on v1.4, so it's moving in the right direction...
Chaos releases V-Ray 7 for Maya and Houdini
V-Ray 7 for Maya and V-Ray 7 for Houdini add new features that accelerate everything from fast 3D environment creation to production shading.
V-Ray 7 introduces native support for ray-traced Gaussian Splats, allowing artists to place CG scenes within highly detailed virtual environments created from captured video, which can then be reflected and accept shadows.
A new firefly removal algorithm automatically detects and finishes unresolved pixels, known as “fireflies,” during bucket rendering, greatly reducing the time needed to produce final images. The Open Image Denoiser has also been updated for further image enhancement. Using a new prefilter pass, artists can enjoy improved detail retention during denoiser for sharper, cleaner images without extra work.
V-Ray GPU includes numerous improvements in V-Ray 7 for Maya and Houdini, including far faster time to first pixel, made possible by new optimizations for scattering, texture heavy scenes, data uploads and geometry compilations. New Caustics support enables realistic surface reflections and refractions in both production and interactive rendering, while out-of-core textures help artists add incredible detail to their texture-heavy scenes, without sacrificing shading quality.
V-Ray GPU also has an enhanced algorithm for more efficient caching of bitmaps between animation frames, further speeding up the animation rendering process — sometimes by up to 50%. Finally, V-Ray GPU can now run up to 3x faster on MacBooks with its new Metal support.
V-Ray 7 for Maya and V-Ray 7 for Houdini are available now for Windows, MacOS and Linux. All V-Ray subscription plans include all supported host applications, which include Maya, 3ds Max, Cinema 4D, Houdini, Revit, Rhino, SketchUp and Blender. Pricing can be found on the Chaos website.
Mindshow launches real-time virtual production platform
The intriguing looking Mindshow says it merges real-time rendering with asset ingest and character animation tools accessible across the entire production pipeline—from storyboarding to final pass. Key features and capabilities include:
Advanced Voice Integration: Proprietary lip-sync technology converts pre-recorded audio into stylized animated facial performances and character movements.
Virtual Studio Cameras: Directors capture unlimited angles with multiple cameras with industry-standard lens settings, enabling iterations for instant control and review.
Seamless Motion Capture: Generates real-time character expression leveraging industry-standard mocap suits to rapidly evolving camera tracking solutions like Meta Quest.
Asset Integration Pipeline: Existing character libraries are easily converted into 3D models that are rigged for performance, maximizing the value of brand assets.
The waitlist is open now and the software is expected to be widely available in the fall.
Tags: Post & VFX
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