BUILD | COMPOSITING SYSTEMS KEY RELEASE Will Freeman looks at Eyeon Software’s Fusion 6.3 compositing tool
WHAT IS IT? A node-based compositing program COMPANY: Eyeon Software PRICE: $2,495 per license, with the first year of subscription included. $495 annual subscription fee
www.eyeonline.com
HAVING EXISTED on the market for a remarkable 24 years, Eyeon Software’s node- based compositing program Fusion has long spanned the film, broadcast, commercial and video games realms. The tool also sports a sophisticated 3D-
Blazej Floch of Eyeon Software says Fusion 6.3 offers various tools for fast volumetric rendering whilst also allowing developers to edit and compile OpenCL code on the fly
environment which allows connecting and sharing of data with any 3D application; a feature that has no doubt contributed to the success of the solution, which recently underwent a significant overhaul in the form of its 6.3 update. “Similar to feature film, game developers
ask for better looking cinematics in a shorter timeframe,” says Eyeon Software’s Blazej Floch in introducing the tool. “Fusion is the artist’s Swiss Army Knife. You can easily link to existing 3D geometry or import pre-rendered sequences from your design department. “Using Fusion's fast, high-quality OpenGL
rendering and OpenCL tools, such as Volume Fog, one can easily add that special look and feel to the cinematics and still meet tight deadlines on a daily basis. OpenCL Fuses, a special class of tools which allow editing and compiling OpenCL code on the fly, allow developers to add their own magic. Also, scripting in either LUA or Python helps to automate the workflow and adapt the pipeline to each individual’s needs.”
FINISHING TOUCHES While in essence Fusion is a tool targeted at digital content creation, such as finishing animations or creating animated textures, various features mean that it can be hugely useful for automation in asset creation, or the important task of prototyping for visual processing. The fact that it is driven by scripts – and the simple matter of composition files being ASCII based – means that Fusion users can create a rendering and compositing pipeline of 2D assets and animations.
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“Fusion uses various techniques which make it useful for prototyping, for example the import of FBX files and rendering of CG shaders,” offers Floch. “Also, with Fuses, OpenCL image processing plugins can be written by using LUA as a host for easier prototyping.” Recently used by numerous studios including Ubisoft and Pendulum, Eyeon Software has chosen to focus much of the energy put into the 6.3 update on expanding the OpenCL feature set. The update introduces new lighting capabilities to generate a wide variety of volumetric effects in what its creators maintain will be a fraction of the time of traditional 3D renderers.
Similar to feature film, devs ask for
better looking cinematics in a shorter timeframe. Fusion is the artist’s Swiss
Army knife. Blazej Floch, Eyeon Software
Fusion 6.3 also ships with tools created during the production of director Roland Emerich’s recent celluloid political thriller Anonymous, on which Eyeon Software worked with renowned film production outfit Uncharted Territory. “The 6.3 release introduced various tools
for fast volumetric rendering,” states Floch of 6.3’s most significant additions, adding: “The most exciting being the Volumetric Fog tool which allows the artist to flood rendered 2D images with real volumetric fog by using the World Position Pass. All of this is accelerated with OpenCL and is highly interactive.”
ANOTHER DIMENSION A further strength of Fusion 6.3 is its ability with 3D visuals. It has been used in stereoscopic films for an incredible 12 years, putting it well ahead of the latest wave of 3D technologies and movie releases. “Fusion offers a real 3D environment which can easily import and export 3D data and animation, a very flexible procedural and node-based way to define shaders and all the extensibility you can imagine,” explains Floch. “Fusion also has a particle system which fully integrates and renders in the 3D environment. The complete 3D system can be used in stereoscopic 3D, while all major output formats are supported.” Created by artists, and used by both
freelancers and established studios with four- figure headcounts, Fusion is certainly a tool with a heritage rooted firmly in the games industry. The team that maintain and develop it are clearly devoted to the sector; so much so that Fusion itself even contains a hidden game of a somewhat mysterious make-up. “The developments occurring within the games industry are very exciting,” concludes Folch. “On one hand, realtime 3D comes close to the quality that we are accustomed to from film production. This does not mean that the industry adapts methods from Hollywood, but that more and more realtime techniques are used during production. “On the other hand, mobile devices have
shifted time back and low-end 3D content – as well as pixel-based graphics and animation – are in heavy demand once again. This has not only reminded us of ‘the good old times’, but also allows the independent developer to gain ground with a very large audience.” Available through numerous resellers such as bluegfx, Fusion 6.3 is emerging as a tool likely to be increasingly prominent in the global games industry.
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