RE:Vision Effects has released Twixtor 3.0, the new version of the plug-in for motions graphics, compositing and editing software that slows down, speeds up, or changes the frame rate of image sequences. It’s available for Mac OS X and Mac OS 9.x in standard and pro versions. The update will be demoed at next week’s NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) convention in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Twixtor works by synthesizing new frames by warping and interpolating frames of the original sequence. It utilizes RE:Vision’s proprietary tracking technology that calculates motion for each individual pixel.
Version 3.0 will adds support for up to three foreground layers and 8- and 16-bits per channel processing (though there’s no floating point support). Twixtor 3.0 for Affect Effects, Shake, Combustion, and Commotion will allow up to 12 tracking points to be specified to help guide Twixtor ‘s motion estimation. By using the tracking points you can explicitly tell Twixtor where a pixel moves from one frame to the next in order to guide the software’s calculation of motion vectors. You can set the position of each point at each frame by hand; these points can be positioned from frame-to-frame using the host application’s point-tracking features.
For Shake 2.5.1 (and later) and Affect Effects 5.0 (and later) users, Twixtor 3.0 lets you guide its software by creating and animating shapes to show it where objects are actually moving. This is useful when Twixtor is exhibiting tracking problems.
Twixtor 3.0 is available for Adobe After Effects and Premiere, Discreet Combustion, Final Cut Pro, and Pinnacle Systems’ Commotion. The regular version sells for US$329.99, while the pro version is $595. Upgrades from the regular version to the pro version costs $265; upgrades from Pro 2.0 to Pro 3.0 are $100.
A separate version of Twixtor Apple’s Shake compositing system for Mac OS X will set you back $795 for a full license and $318 for render-only licenses. Upgrades from the previous versions are $300 for a full license and $120 for a render-only license upgrade.