Total Playback Control
FrameCycler Professional works in tandem with content-creation applications
to give the artist instant playback access to their projects at every stage of
the pipeline. A rich set of viewing options, include the ability to set in/out
points anywhere in a sequence, and do ping-pong, loop, or single-run playbacks.
Users can scrub sequences, mirror in real time, crop, resample and adjust frame
rates. FrameCycler Professional provides zooming and panning tools as well as
horizontal and vertical mirroring options. A/B channels enable the artist to do
live comparisons of two sequences during simultaneous playback.
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Rich Toolset
FrameCycler Professional’s Quick Compositing feature allows animators to
easily experiment with different backgrounds behind characters. The application
supports up to 9 compositing layers, enabling artists to preview complex
sequences, or show mock-ups of material in development to clients.
Each compositing layer can contain a playlist for an unlimited number of
sequences. FrameCycler Professional can associate each of the sequences in
layers and play lists with sound files, making it an invaluable tool for
previsualization work. |
FrameCycler Professional can read .wav and .aiff as well as
QuickTime, AVI and MPEG sound files allowing artists, for example, to use the
sound track from one sequence with the visuals of another . Sound support
includes the ability to slide sound back and forth interactively through
hotkeys, allowing the user to quickly match sound to an existing sequence. When
scrubbing with matched sound playback, FrameCycler Professional even adjusts
sound frequency to match playback speeds and plays sound backwards when the
playback direction is reversed – a novelty on PC-based systems. Backwards
playback of sounds is especially useful for editors and animators doing lip-sync
work
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Color Analysis
In addition to the standard RGB view, FrameCycler supports additional color
modes for detailed sequence analysis. Every color channel can be viewed
independently. Alpha channels can be viewed separately or as red "Quick Mask"
overlay. Advanced channel views, include, HSV, HLS, XYZ, CIE L*a*b, YUV, YIQ as
well as NTSC and PAL invalid color check modes. The advanced color-space modes
are especially useful for compositors trying to find artifacts in their
composites.
The Fastest Playback Software Available
FrameCycler Professional speeds up workflow by loading and playing
uncompressed frame sequences at more than twice the speed of conventional
playback software. IRIDAS' innovative Intelligent Look-Ahead
Playback (ILAP) system a unique RAM buffering technology which preloads
upcoming frames in the background while a sequence is playing. It even continues
preloading frames whenever the artist pauses a sequence! ILAP works
predicatively both forwards and backwards depending on which way a sequence is
being played.
FrameCycler Professional is optimized for dual processor machines: while one
processor handles playback the other loads upcoming frames. Besides accelerating
playback, ILAP also dramatically reduces the time lag which occurs whenever the
size of a sequence file exceeds available RAM.
A User Interface Built for Users
FrameCycler Professional features a highly optimized user interface including
a full-screen Directors Mode and complete hotkey navigation. A convenient
stay-on-top command allows artists to switch back to other applications while
retaining quick access to the FrameCycler window for instant playback. All the
tools are placed at the bottom of the screen, out of the way but within easy
reach when they are needed.
Command Line Interface
The command line interface helps artists and technology supervisors integrate
FrameCycler Professional into their existing infrastructures. Users can access
archives, do quick composites, or have a series of A/B sequences launch
automatically – all from the command line. The command line can also be used,
for example, to specify sound layers and base fps. Full support for environment
variables is also available through the command line interface.
Reads and Writes Virtually All Industry Standard Formats
Nothing stumps FrameCycler Professional! In addition to frame sequence
playback, FrameCycler Professional supports playback of QuickTime, AVI and
MPEG-1/2 files. FrameCycler Professional saves sequences to AVI, TGA, PIC, TIFF,
IFF, Cineon, DPX, MPEG-1, and QuickTime, including full support for sound for
digital movie formats.
For an overview of all the file
formats FrameCycler supports, please see the specifications page.
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