Autodesk announces Toxik 2007 software for feature film visual effects

Autodesk has launched 2007, the latest version of its collaborative digital compositing software for feature film production.
The software’s robust creative toolset helps film studios and postproduction facilities deliver vivid, high-resolution imagery with ease.
Autodesk Toxik was first introduced one year ago. Autodesk Toxik 2007 offers a range of new capabilities, including a Paint system that allows interactive painting of high-resolution, high-dynamic-range imagery (HDRI). HDRI is growing in popularity because it contains extensive colour and lighting information, ranging from direct sunlight to the deepest shadows. This gives digital artists more creative options than traditional digital imagery.
Mark Cass, Business Development Director at Escape Studios, said: "It's only a matter of time before the computer graphics community realises what Autodesk has achieved with Toxik. Drawing on its compositing heritage and looking very much to the future, Autodesk has created a product that is truly 'next-generation' rather than one that just claims to be. With a solid creative toolset, including the new Paint feature in Toxik 2007, Autodesk is clearly positioning itself to offer the computer graphics industry an effective and superior suite of tools."
The new Paint feature in Autodesk Toxik 2007 simplifies many of the common tasks faced by digital artists, such as the removal of unwanted objects – like wires and rigs – from a scene, retouching and digital matte painting. The Paint feature also increases accuracy and productivity by allowing artists to view downstream composites in context.
Other new features in Autodesk Toxik 2007 include increased interoperability with other Autodesk creative systems, optimised support for AMD processors in addition to Intel, and improvements to the Toxik animation system. Autodesk Toxik 2007 also contains the Master Keyer extension tools, shipped to Autodesk Toxik subscription holders in March 2006. These tools simplify complex keying tasks, improve keying and tracking precision, and allow artists to refine mattes and masks faster and with greater control.
The software also automates several administrative and data management tasks.
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