A new episode of fxguidetv is available for downloading. It features an exclusive and in-depth interview with Autodesk lead product designer Philippe Soeiro, who chats with John Montgomery about the new software only Flare product as well as the new .R3D support, normal mapping and other improvements in Flame 2010.
Watch for more fxguidetv eps coming out this week from NAB 2009 in Las Vegas.
Visit the fxguidetv page for direct downloads and RSS feed links. To be notified automatically and have the episodes downloaded in iTunes, subscribe via this link.
Before anyone gets too excited, as usual with Autodesk this “new” Product Flare won`t be a more affordable software. Basically it`s just a software-only Flame that only existing Flame owners can buy for around 40.000 $ – so, no AMAZING new stuff from Autodesk, just the old way this “company” operates…
This product marks the death of Autodesks desktop compositing software.
You would not buy Flare for USD$10k, you should even get a couple of licenses with every Flame.
Toxik is dead, they need to merge Smoke/Flame, Toxik/Combustion and price Flare at USD$2500 with no stupid licensing deal, just node lock it, simple. Maybe they may even sell some products.
As outlined by Philippe Soeiro, Flare is a companion product to Flame. Since a new Flame turnkey is always in the range of 175K$ to 200K$, it is no surprise to see a software price point at a 1/5 of the Flame seat.
Maybe, there is also another point to think about, probably the Flame needs to be current on subscription.
For someone, who would have an overdue subs contract, then you might need to add this renewal on top of buying a Flare seat.
You might also need to wait to see, if there is a suggested hardware configuration for Flare to run on; maybe another 10K$ to 15K$ to add to the mix, simply in order to make sure that it does feel like a hog, next to the main Flame seat.
Maybe it could even be possible to run it over a Mac with VMware virtualization for Linux… let’s wait and see.
To summarize, 40K$ (sw) + 15K$ (hdw) + 10K$ (subs) + 3K$ (support) = 68K$ to 70K$ is probably the investment you need to think about.
All this to say that, Flare looks like a step in the right direction, but it is clear that its introductionnary target price is simply not aimed at the masses; as many would hope it to be.
Only time and facility owners interests, will dictate if this new product is here to stay.
…more interesting is the fact that flame 2010s batch now is all float (is it really?) Plus the interface of the 3d blur node is just the way it should be!
-k
Autodesk has come up with a model to introduce this version, surely they did so after conducting some customer research. Is it the right model? The measure will be customer feedback and of course, sales. Give feedback here, in other online forums and especially to your salespeople. Also check out the podcast we will post after the fxphd barcamp, (probably Tuesday morning) we’ll try and get some user feedback there.
(Tech note: When fxguidetv #54 was posted the iTunes version was not working, this has been fixed.)
All things aside, I think they did a good job on the new logo. Identity always goes a long way.
Jeff said:
“surely they did so after conducting some customer research.”
Autodesk needs to do research with NON-customers… They should take a page out of The Foundry’s book and visit shops that do NOT own Autodesk gear.
The problem with visiting only their own customers, is that they are caught in a reality distorted by the psychology of past investment… Nobody will admit that they made a bad quarter million dollar investment. Simple human psychology.
I think we need to look beyond the let down of flare, Krawken you forgot to add the massive cost of plugins, and take a look at Flame2010 it looks fantastic.
For me the development of Flame under Philippe Soeiro has been excellent, bugs a side.
Looking forward to Flame2010!!
It’s great that fxguidetv is covering NAB! I can’t wait for some Fusion6 and RED news!! Thanks guys!
As far as Autodesk goes… I stop watching this after i heard about the $40K pricetag for Flare.
It does look impressive indeed. And don’t get me wrong, they are doing a great job. It is simply that Flare will still be unaccessible for many. However, if fxphd finds a way to offer a class around it, lets’s say with a vpn version of flare, the odds for its proliferation could substantially increase significantly. And you are so right, I did forgot the cost of the sparks… hum still need to keep on feeding my piggy bank 😉 Thanks for keeping me straight.
@Krawken, Miltos etc:
Flare is not available to the “normal” potential customers (even at 40K for a software only flame it`s no bargain) – YOU HAVE TO HAVE A FLAME! If not, Autodesk is only showing us potential Flare customers their middle finger (And I bet even for that they would charge 10K).
xavier is right. can’t help but wonder if autodesk has ever heard what shake and nuke users say about flame. thank you for the full use of float in batch – but really, was this asking so much? (and its still only 16bit float?) seperate keyer nodes is cool. and i’ll take that 3d blur node…
It’s difficult to understand were they going with that ? Is Flare cross-platform ?
I don’t think Autodesk really care if anyone buys it or not, they will probably give FxPHD vpn access and train up the masses there so more facilities will buy flames. The aim is to sell flames, although you’d think the $40k is all profit to Autodesk as they’ve just lifted the code straight out of flame.
@ Enog
Must be a nice planet you`re living on…
Flame, together with Quantel IQ & EQ must
be the most expensive creative suites on
this planet and as long as that stays like
that there won`t be no “trained masses”.
so the million dollar question is…
You get called in to do some work on a flare.
Do you charge your normal rate?
Lest we all not forget that there needs to be a well paid operator sitting in the chair. While Flare does go a long way towards getting so-called jr. artists up to speed on the Flame, these people are usually experienced and skilled individuals.
Flame and Inferno are prestige products sold to the best facilities and operated by some of the finest talent in the world. It this capacity they make money for the facilities that leverage these assets correctly. There will always be a niche for this type of work just as there will always be Lamborghinis.
Admittedly, this overinflated market is slowly dying, but not dead by any means. Flare is a first step towards a more fiscally responsible future
Autodesk is developing software version to be Smoke’s companion, the current code name is “Dust”
Get fusion 6.0 much better light weight and is very scalable. It is node based compositing along with Flusion Scripting (a hybrid of python.) Making it much more attractive than Flame or Inferno…
Get a 8Quad custom WorkStation with Linux for around 5K and 16GB ram Min and Use Fusion 6. End of Story,…
Don’t listen to what they will say Ohhh Flame Rules etc… Bottom line is get cost effective and beat those large Post Houses in their bids. Remember your talent is what that Counts Not the tools!!!
Large post houses are giving up Flame and Inferno Dinosaurs for more efficient systems like Fusion 6 which can run on 64 bit OS (including Linux.) And is a helluva lot CHEAPER!!!
Anybody can install Inferno / Flame / Smoke / Flare under CentOS 5.3 x64, even on notebook like hp 8710w /8730w with Quadro from FX 1600M to FX 3700M. With this mobile workstation you can playback, compositing, coloring and fx creating in HD/FullHD video format without special hardware like SCSI disk array or external DVI switcher. You can use usual external usb 2.5″ SATA/SATA II hdd or better ext. firewire SATA hdd. Also if you think to build mobile disk array, you can use cheap SATA II 1Tb HDD for 80 ~ 100 USD, and make 5-6Tb disk array at home without any problems.
Cheers!
Thanks Discreet for making most professional and fastest software on the moment