Unveiling Boris FX's Fall Lineup of Acclaimed Visual Effects Plugins
Boris FX, a leading developer of visual effects (VFX) and cinematography tools, has announced significant updates to its Sapphire and Continuum products for 2022. These updates focus on performance, creative options, and AI-powered tools, aiming to streamline workflows and expand artistic control for editors and VFX artists.
In the case of Sapphire 2022, while specific detailed features are less documented, the ongoing improvements in lens flare effects, presets, and creative customization can be inferred from the 2023 release, which added 18 new lens flares and advanced presets in the Effect Builder. Sapphire 2022 also continues to enhance lighting effects, grain effects, and optical distortion tools, with S_UltraGrain and Sapphire's UltraZap being key examples.
On the other hand, Continuum 2022 offers a range of exciting enhancements. Key improvements include GPU-accelerated blurs, which significantly speed up rendering times, over 60 new color grading presets inspired by popular films and TV shows, and the addition of AI-driven tools such as the DeNoise ML effect for image restoration and the integration of Stability AI for creating custom sprites within Continuum’s Particle Illusion tool.
Continuum 2022 also provides zippier workflows with native Apple M1 support and adds Adobe Photoshop as a host application, available free to users. Host application support includes Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro, Avid Media Composer, Blackmagic Resolve, Foundry's Nuke, and VEGAS Pro, catering to a wide range of operating systems such as macOS, Win, and Linux.
The cinematography toolkit (BCC+ effects) included in both Sapphire and Continuum offers numerous benefits. It includes 50 optical glass texture gobo presets, six speedy blur effects with 80 presets, and the BCC+Prism effect that generates prismatic color separation with pixel twist and smear options. Moreover, the cinematography toolkit features integrated Mocha tracking and an improved PixelChooser with full GPU-processing and a user-friendly interface.
Continuum 2022 introduces fluid dynamics to Particle Illusion for organic 3D particle motion. It also offers dramatic speed gains inside Adobe After Effects with Adobe Multi-Frame Rendering support. Continuum is available as a plugin with monthly/annual subscription options, upgrade & support plans, and permanent licenses.
Sapphire and Continuum are also available as plugins with subscription options, upgrade & support plans, and permanent licenses. The Sapphire ColorFuse effect allows users to create cinematic color grades with a unique LUT effect, while Sapphire 2022 includes 3,000 presets and a nodal-based effects compositor.
In summary, Boris FX's Sapphire 2022 and Continuum 2022 updates offer numerous improvements and new features, enhancing the creative possibilities for editors and VFX artists. For the most precise 2022-specific feature list, direct release notes from Boris FX would provide the most authoritative details.
Technology advancements are evident in the performance improvements and AI-powered tools in both Sapphire 2022 and Continuum 2022, as developed by Boris FX. The DeNoise ML effect and Stability AI in Continuum 2022 leverage technology to deliver enhanced image restoration and custom sprite creation, respectively.
