From VFXPedia

Contents 1 Fusion 5.2 Features 1.1 3D LUTs 1.2 OpenFX Plugins 1.3 Fuse Plugins 1.4 Vector Motion Blur 1.5 Improved Tracker 1.6 Expanded Metadata 1.7 FBX 1.8 Python Scripting 1.9 Improved File Browser 1.10 Improved Network Rendering 1.11 Miscellaneous Changes 2 Fusion 5.21 Features 2.1 New Features

Fusion 5.2 Features

3D LUTs

Fusion 5.2 supports fully GPU-accelerated 3D view LUTs with plug-in file formats. 3D LUTs can also be used in the FileLUT tool, at all depths. Currently our own .alut3 format, Iridas .look, CineSpace .itx and Truelight/Lustre/Inferno .3dl format files are supported. Also, hardware shader applied view LUTs (1D and 3D) now support a separate gamma option used when viewing the alpha channel.

OpenFX Plugins

Fusion hosts the broadest selection of third party plug-in functionality, with plug-in capabilities that support the native Fusion API, the After Effects API and the OFX API.

Fuse Plugins

Fuses allow for the design and running of image processing tools created in the Fusion Lua scripting engine. This allows for instant, on-the-fly development of plugins without the need of a compiler and development environment. The Fuses plugin code is very similar to the native C++ API of Fusion, making it a useful prototyping tool.

Vector Motion Blur

The new Vector Motionblur tool uses motion stored in the image's vector/velocity channels. It has separate controls for scaling the X and Y vectors. It also can take vector data from other channels like RGB.

Improved Tracker

Fusion 5.2 uses a new method for extracting the sub-pixel position in Tracker. It doesn't require any "brute-force" computation split up into a (user specified) fixed number of sub-pixel steps, but can calculate the sub-pixel match instantly at arbitrary precision, without producing a non-linear response (as some other compositors do). The sub-pixel accuracy level option has been removed.

Expanded Metadata

Metadata handling has been expanded for DPX, Cineon and OpenEXR formats to improve workflow in film pipelines. This will keep timecodes, keycodes and other information intact through a comp, as well as allowing it to be manipulated in scripting. A new subview allows easy examination of the metadata associated with any frame on any tool.

FBX

The FBX, 3DS, OBJ and COLLADA import improvements can now produce a fully expanded scene hierarchy, with support for animation at each transformation point. It now imports animation for light color, intensity, cone angle, and camera AoV / focal length, and has better bezier spline tangent importing behavior. The import procedure will also add Loaders for diffuse textures.

Python Scripting

A new layer has been added to control Fusion via Python scripts, from web hosts and interfaces to Python-based film pipeline management systems.

Improved File Browser

The file browser now includes support for Explorer's right-click file menus, and a new history and favorites features that will store previous directory information so that artists can rapidly go to disk locations without having to navigate. The file browser can now have bookmarks added (global only, not per-comp - yet) by clicking the "Add Favorite" button, or drag-n-drop from Explorer or the file browser's own file list. Bookmarks can be reordered by dragging within the tree.

Improved Network Rendering

Network Rendering and Scripting control has had many added features and functionality improvements as well. eyeon has also focused a lot of attention on stability and workflow improvements to integrate better with large render farms and different third party managers. Single node distribution control, Manager updated and more.

Miscellaneous Changes

Plus hundreds of other UI enhancements and workflow improvements, including:

• Huge UI speedups in many areas, especially when working with large comps.
• DPX float32 files loading, and saving of 8/16/32bit linear formats, with optional alpha.
• Transform and DVE's pivot and angle controls are now offset with the center control, which makes the shown pivot position destination relative now, rather than source relative.
• Added an Enable Clip List checkbox (defaults off in newly-created Loaders). Turning it off will remove all clips except the first one, and hide the cliplist controls. When clip lists are disabled, settings for a given file format are now re-used, and will thus keep their previous settings when changing clips.
• A new "Gradient Color" modifier to animate colours (or any slider) over time by means of a Gradient control. If connected to a colour control, it automatically connects to all four RGBA inputs.
• Motion-blur is now possible for [[corner or perspective positioner operation in Tracker.
• Histogram subview now shows out-of-range colours, and gets a new Lines draw style.
• Various subviews now have labels applied to their axes.
• Due to popular demand, Merge's "Perform Depth Merge" option defaults to off for newly added, non-loaded Merges.
• OpenEXR will default to load into the RGBA channels of the image the first four channels, if a better match isn't found. It has also been multithreaded for greater speed.
• The flow view's navigator is now resizable.
• Flow groups default to not allow independent panning/scaling. This can be overridden by holding ctrl with MMB, or with the button in the group title.
• Transform concatenation will no longer be broken by a tool set to pass-through, or by pipe routers.
• View LUT macros now support multiple-time caching, which makes playback more useful.
• pEmitter has new Inherit Velocity (and associated variance) options.
• pCustom can access particle IDs.
• Rectangle control (used by Transform) now supports a non-centred axis/pivot. Also fixed X/Y flipping.
• Nicer missing-tool warnings when loading a comp, with a summary and a Don't Show checkbox.
• Path mapping will convert unicode paths to/from ANSI rather than UTF8.
• Holding down Shift when dropping an image file on the flow will add a trimmed (still file) Loader.
• Live updating of flipbooks is back.
• Significantly improved B-spline creation.
• Polyline workflow improvements, including new "offset" scaling with the O key.
• New Diskcache button in tool settings toolbar.
• New modifiers can be "inserted" into the chain (useful for e.g. Perturb or Offset).
• Animate Group controls menu option.
• PNG Gamma saving option.
• Paint improvements, including new Snap Offset checkbox for sharper cloning.
• Shake-format LUT files can be imported.
• LUTs can be adjusted with the shape box.
• Help on a tool will be displayed by pointing to it on the flow and pressing F1.
• Many new and enhanced script functions.

Fusion 5.21 Features

Full release notes for 5.21 are available here.

New Features

• Tools are now added or pasted at the last position clicked on the flow, if no other tool is active.
• Display views now have a Snap button that snaps controls to the nearest pixel, for fast and sharp keyframe positioning.
• PgUp and PgDown keys can now be used for "pick-walking" through selected points in polylines.