What's New in 2018.1 Update

Flame Family 2018.1 Update Highlights


Markers View

  • Centralized display of all Markers and Segment Markers.
  • New Markers filtering options.
  • Enhanced colour-coding of Markers.

Keyboard Shortcuts Management

  • New Category column defines the area of the software to which a shortcut is associated.
  • Easier keystroke assignment.
  • Clearer dialog windows.

Publishing & Exporting

  • CBR in Apple ProRes
  • 16-int to 32-fp back to 16-int import/export path
  • Additional Link Media export controls
  • Continued improvements in AAF support

Security & Configuration

  • Support for multiple OS groups
  • License inactivity timeout
  • New Wacom support
  • New configuration file for user permissions

Make sure to check http://www.autodesk.com/flame-docs for the latest Flame Family documentation (including Installation Guides, Release Notes, and other documents). Also, many new feature videos (as well as other workflow videos) are available at https://www.youtube.com/user/FlameHowTos. This Learning Channel is updated frequently, so be sure to subscribe or bookmark the page. Links to specific 2018.1 Update videos are also provided in this What's New topic, denoted by this icon:

Note: Look for the tag throughout the documentation for sections indicating new or updated 2018.1 Update content.

For details on all the new features and enhancements in this release, follow these links to navigate to the sections below:

What's New in Installation, Configuration, and Licensing

Multiple Groups Supported

When creating Operating System users, it is now possible to assign users to groups in addition to their primary group. See user management.

License Inactivity Timeout
The Network License Manager can be configured to reclaim a license when a Flame Family application is inactive and not using the license. Reclaiming the license makes it available for another Flame Family workstation. If it is not set, there is no retrieval of a license if a client session dies accidentally, in which case the license being used at the time of the failure may not be returned to the license server and won’t be available for other users. See products & licenses.
Support for Latest Wacom Tablets
DKU 12.0.1 includes the new Linux driver input-wacom v0.34.0 required by the latest tablets.
New Configuration File for User Permissions
When using custom user accounts to run Flame Family applications, the application by default does not respect the OS user's permissions if it is launched from the desktop icon (/opt/Autodesk/<application>/bin/startApplication). This can be overridden by setting a umask value in the startApplication script. It can also be done via the file /opt/Autodesk/cfg/umask.cfg. This configuration file is created during installation. If it already exists, it is not overwritten by the installer. Additional information is in the comments of the umask.cfg.

What's New in the Wiretap SDK

Projects created through the Wiretap SDK can now be defined as 32-bit fp.

What's New in Media Import

What's New in Media Export

Apple ProRes support update:

Avid DNxHD/HR support update:

16-bit Integer Export:

Improved Link Media Export Options

The Link Media option has been updated to provide you with more flexibility when you publish a sequence. In the Video Options tab of the Media Export window, the Link to Original Media option has been replaced with a drop-down menu that offers you to link to media based on the file format, the resolution, the bit depth, and the compression. Click here for additional information.

What's New in Conform and Interoperability

FCP X XML Support

AAF Support

What's New in Shotgun

How to Create Projects from the Shotgun Desktop for Previous Flame Family Versions
To create a Flame project from the Shotgun Desktop for a previous version of Flame Family, background services for that version must be running, otherwise Shotgun creates a project for the currently-running version. To create a Flame Family 2017, 2017x1 or 2018 project from the Shotgun Desktop:
  • Start the product and press Restart. The services for this version will be used and Shotgun Desktop Flame project creation will be done with the right version of the services.
  • Before creating the project in Shotgun, manually start the Wiretap server of the desired version via /opt/Autodesk/wiretap/[version]iffsWiretapServer.start.

What's New in Connected Conform Workflow

What's New in MediaReactor

What's New in Colour Management

What's New in Audio

What's New in the Player

What's New in the Markers View

See: Using the Markers View for details.

Markers View Timeline Enhancements

  • The "Cue Marks" and "Segment Marks" designations have been changed to "Markers" and "Segments Markers" throughout the application.
  • The look of Markers has been modified in the Timeline.
  • The Marker icon no longer scales up when it is selected.
  • The Marker icon no longer turns entirely yellow when it is selected. It now has a yellow outline instead.
  • The Marker icon no longer has a line that spans the entire Timeline canvas when it is not selected.
  • Each Marker now has both a Name field and a Comment field. Both fields use the Token system.
  • The default Name and Comment strings can be set in the Preferences > Timeline tab or by using a python hook in the hook.py file.
    • The Name string is empty by default. When the field is empty the application gives "Marker n" as the default name for a Marker.
    • The Comment string is set to <user>_<time> by default.
  • The information dialog of a Marker now indicates both the Name and the Comment.
  • The following tokens are available in both the Name and Comment field:
    • Project
    • Project Nickname
    • User
    • User Nickname
    • Workstation
    • Second
    • Minute
    • Hour
    • Day
    • Month
    • Year (YY)
    • Year (YYYY)
    • Time
    • Date
  • The following tokens are now available in the Rename, Rename Shot and Comment dialog windows:
    • Project
    • Project Nickname
    • User
    • User Nickname
    • Workstation
    • Second
    • Minute
    • Hour
    • Day
    • Month
    • Year (YY)
    • Year (YYYY)
    • Time
    • Date

For more details, see these videos from the Flame Learning Channel:

What's New in Batch and Batch FX

What's New in the Paint Node (Batch Paint)

What's New in Action

GMask Improvements:

For more details, see these videos from the Flame Learning Channel:

Other Action improvements:

What's New in Keyboard Shortcuts Management

The keyboard shortcuts editor has been enhanced with the following updates:

For more details, see this video from the Flame Learning Channel: Customizing Keyboard Shortcuts.

What's New in Preferences

What's New in Lustre

Alpha Channel Support

  • Alpha Channel support in OpenEXR Multi-Channel clips, for secondary grading.
    Note: This ability only works in GPU mode.
  • Alpha Channel support in Matte Containers from Wiretap server.
  • When importing Multi-Channel media files as Matte Containers in Flame Family products, the Alpha Channel is now available for Lustre Secondary Grading.
  • New Previous / Next Keyframe Keyboard Shortcuts:
    • Shift Left Arrow: Previous Keyframe
    • Shift Right Arrow: Next Keyframe

Lustre / Flame Interoperability

  • Optimized playback performance of OpenEXR managed media when running Lustre and Flame applications on shared storage. When creating a Flame project and setting the Cache and Renders / Preferred Format, certain options allow you to generate managed media for 16-bit float content as OpenEXR (uncompressed). In this way, Lustre is able to natively read these OpenEXR files and provide better playback performance. Use the following Preferred Format options to generate managed media as OpenEXR:
    • Uncompressed.
    • Any DNxHD / HR that does not use RAW as fallback.
    • Any Apple ProRes that does not use RAW as fallback.
    Note: Using OpenEXR as managed media may be a slightly slower than using RAW. Playback performance varies according to storage, format attributes (resolution, frame rate, compression, etc). When using RAW media for cache and renders, Lustre reads the RAW media from the Wiretap server network configuration rather than from the actual media storage location. Make sure to route the Wiretap server connection through the fastest network infrastructure available (i.e. InfiniBand or 10 GigE).
  • When creating visual effects in Flame Family applications that require grading in Lustre, a new Commit option is available to convert a Matte Container's Composite to a Matte Container resulting from the Composite and the Alpha channel generated by Flame Timeline FX pipeline. The steps are as follows:
    1. Create a Matte Container with Front and Matte media.
    2. Using the Comp Timeline FX, composite the Matte Container and the Background.
    3. Apply any Timeline FX to the composite.
    4. Right-click on the Matte Container and select Commit / Prepare Matte Container for Lustre.
  • The Matte Container is modified in-place and is updated to be used by Lustre.
  • The Primary track is the composite result.
  • The Secondary track is the alpha from the Timeline FX pipeline.
  • Any other available matte tracks from the original Matte Container are not affected and remain available for Lustre.
Note: The Prepare Matte Container for Lustre option converts the content. It is recommended to duplicate content that might require further modification down the line, as the conversion is destructive.
  • It is possible to select multiple Matte Containers prior selecting this option.
  • A non assigned keyboard shortcut is available.
  • When compositing foreground elements (Matte Container) over a background, the source properties of the background content is used to populate the newly generated Front of the Matte Container. This allows for using the Lustre Change Cut capabilities to re-apply grading decisions between a sequence without composited content and another sequence with Matte Container.

Control Panel

  • It is now possible to map the following functions on the Tangent Panel using the Tangent Mapper:
  • Under Geometry:
    • Go to Rectangle
    • Go to Ellipse
    • Go to Wipe
    • Go to Bezier
  • Under Menu Tracker
    • New Point
    • Delete Point
    • Toggle Point/Shape
    • Assign Tracker
    • Unassign Tracker

Keyboard Shortcuts

  • New keyboard shortcuts have been added to Lustre:
    • Shift-Ctrl-Alt-U: Add ellipse
    • Shift-Ctrl-Alt-Y: Add rectangle
    • Shift-Ctrl-Alt-I: Add wipe
    • Shift-Ctrl-Alt-P: Activate/Desactivate Keyer color picker
    • Shift-Ctrl-Alt-V: Enable/Disable Keyer
    • Shift-Ctrl-Alt-B: Show Diamond Keyer
    • Shift-Ctrl-Alt-M: Go to Diamond Keyer
    • Shift-Ctrl-Alt-N: Go to HLS Keyer
    • Shift-Ctrl-Alt-K: New Tracker Point
    • Shift-Ctrl-Alt-J: Delete Tracker Point
    • Shift-Ctrl-Alt-L: Toggle between shape and point tracker
    • Shift-Ctrl-Alt-Q: Select the rectangle button
    • Shift-Ctrl-Alt-O: Select the ellipse button
    • Shift-Ctrl-O: Select the wipe button
    • Shift-Alt-O: Select the bezier button
    • Shift-Ctrl-Alt-G: Enable Assign Tracker
    • Shift-Ctrl-G: Enable Unassign Tracker

Stereo 3D

Miscellaneous

  • Media files imported from Wiretap Gateway that have a system reserved Reel name (i.e. BL, BLK, BLACK) can now be imported.
  • Because the BL reel name does conform as virtual black media, you must change the Reel name of the clip(s) in the Library source clip. To do so, follow these steps:Because the BL reel name does conform as virtual black media, you must change the Reel name of the clip(s) in the Library source clip. To do so, follow these steps:
    1. Import media in Lustre.
    2. Open the <clip name>.clip file located in the Library folder of the current scene (<Project Home>/default/Library), in a text editor.
    3. Locate the <EDLReelName> and the <EDLLongReelName> and change the names to any non reserved Reel name.
    4. Save the clip.
    5. Refresh the Library in Lustre. Your clips display the correct Reel name.
    6. Conform your EDL.
    7. Begin grading.
  • The issue where the Float Calibration transform was applied on 16-bit float media in Print View is now fixed.
  • The Still Store and Grade Bin Reference now display the media with the Calibration LUT in Print View.
  • There is a new project bar displaying activity when loading a large cut & grade.