Boris RED 2.1 Release Notes

Transcription

1 Boris RED 2.1 Release Notes Introduction Your CD includes Supported Host Applications Supported Operating Systems and Minimum Memory Requirements Important Information for Premiere 6.0 Users Important Information for Avid Users Important Information for Final Cut Pro and After Effects Users Important Information for Discreet edit* Users Installing and Using Adobe After Effects Filters Within Boris RED Supported Filters Conditionally Supported Filters Unsupported Filters Important Information on Using After Effects Filters Installing AE Filters for Macintosh and Windows Important Note on Creating Time effects within Boris RED Important Information about Working with Motion Filters New Features in Boris RED Important Notes on Optimizing Boris RED 2.1 Performance Undocumented Features in Boris RED Fixed Bugs in Boris RED Known Limitations in RED General Limitations Limitations with importing OMFfiles Limitations with the Spline Object Media Type Limitations with Text Features Limitations with the Library Browser Registration and Contacting Technical Support Copyright 2001 Boris FX, Inc. All rights reserved.

2 2 Introduction Welcome to Boris RED 2.1. The Release Notes contain information regarding supported hosts and operating systems, known limitations, and other important information about the product. For information on installing Boris RED into your host application, see the Installation Guide which is included as a pdf file on your Boris RED CD-ROM. For information about Boris RED software updates, other Boris products, and additional resources, visit our web site at Your CD Includes Boris RED 2.1 Installer The RED 2.1 installer installs the Boris RED 2.1 plug-in and/or the RED 2.1 Engine, the RED 2.1 KeyFrame Library and the Boris RED 2.1 User Guide.pdf. RED 2.1 KeyFrame Library The KeyFrame Library is a collection of preset Boris RED settings, allowing you to quickly create complicated effects. You can also examine these settings files to learn how to create effects. Install the KeyFrame Library using the RED 2.1 Installer, or copy it to your system by dragging its folder from the CD-ROM. RED 2.1 Engine Application Instead of working within a host application, you can use the RED Engine as a standalone application. The RED Engine uses the same interface as the plug-in and the KeyFramer. The RED Engine lets you export files as QuickTime, AVI or Flash. The RED Engine requires a dongle. If you want to use the RED Engine on a different computer from the plug-in, you must move your dongle. RED 2.1 Keyframer Application The Boris KeyFramer is a standalone application designed to create Boris effects offline using any computer. The KeyFramer is a cross-platform application which can be duplicated and distributed free of charge. The KeyFramer lets you save settings files; actual effect rendering requires a host application with the Boris plug-in installed. The KeyFramer features the same user interface as the plug-in used within your host application. The default video images are proxy images. You can also import still images, EPS or movie files, or create color, gradient, spline, natural or text media in the KeyFramer. The Style Palette is included with the KeyFramer application. For more information on copying the Keyframer and Style Palette to your system, see the RED 2.1 Install Guide. Goodies folder The Goodies folder includes royalty-free masks which can be used as alpha channels on Mask tracks. The folder also includes royalty-free textures to use as backgrounds or map to the faces of a shape.

3 3 Tutorial Files Copy the Tutorial folder to your system and use these images as you complete the Boris RED 2.1 Tutorials found in the first chapter of the RED Users Guide. 3rd Party Software folder This folder includes Adobe Acrobat Reader, Media 100 codec, and royalty-free Artbeats stock footage images for use in your programs. Documentation folder The Documentation folder includes.pdf files of the RED 2.1 User Guide, Install Guide and FAQs. It also includes ReadMe documentation describing several items on the CD including the free Textures and Masks in the Goodies folder, and.pdf documentation about using the KeyFramer and KeyFrame Library. Boris RED 2.1 Release Notes The Release Notes contain information regarding supported hosts and operating systems, known limitations, and other important information about the product. Registration Simple one-click application to register Boris RED by , fax or using the internet. Registered users receive one year of free technical support starting from the date of purchase. In addition, registered users have access to some free upgrades and new preset effects designed specifically for Boris RED. DigiEffects folder Boris RED 2.1 includes five free DigiEffects Delirium filters: DE Bubbles, DE Day for Night, DE Fog Factory, DE Fireworks and DE Electrical Arcs. These filters are installed in the Boris Plug-ins folder when you install Boris RED 2.1 as a plug-in, or when you install the Boris RED 2.1 Engine. For more information about these filters, see the DigiEffects_info.pdf and the DeliriumUserGuide.pdf documents included in this folder.

4 4 Supported Hosts Boris RED 2.1 supports the following host applications. For updated information on supported versions for each host, please visit our website at Supported Operating Systems Macintosh Mac OS 8.6, 9.0, 9.0.4, 9.1, Mac OS X Classic Windows Windows NT 4.0, Windows 98, Windows 2000, Win ME Minimum System Memory Requirements To run Boris RED 2.1, QuickTime version or later must be installed on your system. An installer for QuickTime version 5 is included on the Boris RED 2.1 CD. Boris RED 2.1 supports dual processors and Altivec acceleration. Macintosh Minimum 128 MB (assigned to host application) Recommended 512MB (assigned to host application) Windows Macintosh Minimum 128 MB Recommended 512 MB Windows Adobe After Effects Adobe After Effects Adobe Premiere 5.1c, 6.0 Adobe Premiere 5.1c. 6.0 Apple Final Cut Pro Avid Media Composer, Avid Symphony, Xpress, Avid Xpress DV Avid Media Composer, Avid Canopus RexEdit, RaptorEdit, XpressMac StormEdit Media 100, Media 100 i Discreet edit* DPS Velocity FAST purple, silver IMC Incite In:Sync ~Speed Razor Media 100 ifinish Ulead Media Studio Pro

5 Important Information for Premiere 6.0 Users 5 Choosing to install Boris RED 2.1 for Adobe Premiere 6.0 and later installs two sets of Boris RED plug-ins which appear in Premiere s effect palette: Boris RED 2.1 Boris RED 2.1 for API 6 The Boris RED 2.1 for API 6 plug-in should be used when creating Boris effects in Premiere 6.0. However, a current limitation in Premiere s 6.0 plug-in architecture prevents this plugin from displaying updated host video frames in the Boris timeline when creating effects. This means that when using Boris RED 2.1 for API 6 with video from Premiere, the RED Composite window displays a static video frame from the Premiere timeline which will not update as motion video as you create your effect. When you re-enter Premiere your effect renders normally. Because of this limitation, use the Boris RED 2.1 plug-in for situations where it is absolutely necessary to update video frames within Boris when creating your effect. However, a rendering limitation with the Boris RED 2.1 plug-in, particularly with non-square pixel projects (720x486, 720x480 NTSC, 720x576 PAL), can cause soft renders. When it is absolutely necessary to see video frames update while creating your effect, design your effect using the Boris RED 2.1 plug-in, then save the effect to your hard drive and apply the Boris RED 2.1 for API 6 plug-in to render the saved setting.

6 6 Important Information for Avid Users Important Note on Upgrading from RED 2.0 RED 2.1 will recognize and open settings files created and saved in RED 2.0. However, due to a limitation in the AVX architecture, RED 2.1 will not recognize effects in the Avid timeline that were created in RED 2.0. These effects play correctly if they are already rendered, but an effect icon does not appear in the Avid timeline, so you cannot modify the effects. To modify existing 2.0 rendered effects, open them in RED 2.0 and save the settings file to a folder. You can then open the effect in RED 2.1. While you can install both RED 2.0 and RED 2.1 on your system, this is not recommended. Uninstall RED 2.0 once you finish modifying your 2.0 effects. Important Operational Note for AVX 1.5 Users Boris RED 2.1 only works in Avid AVX 1.5 when ToggleAVXRedraw is set to False. Setting ToggleAVXRedraw to False in the Avid Console window prevents the Avid system from attempting to redraw while the plug-in is launched. To set ToggleAVXRedraw to False, complete the following steps before launching RED: 1. Choose Tools > Console to open the Avid Console window. 2. Type toggleavxredraw. 3. Press Enter (Windows) or Return (Macintosh) and confirm that the console displays a message that AVX redraw is set to False. Since the AVX redraw state is reset to TRUE every time the Avid application launches, you have to complete these steps each time you relaunch Avid. You will get an error message attempting to launch Boris RED 2.1 if ToggleAVXredraw is set to TRUE. Important Installation Note for AVX 1.5 Users Choosing to install Boris RED 2.1 for Avid AVX 1.5 installs two sets of Boris RED plug- ins which appear in Avid s effect palette: Boris RED 2.1 AVX 1.0 Boris RED 2.1 AVX 1.5 The Boris RED 2.1 AVX 1.5 plug-in should be used to create most effects if your system supports the AVX 1.5 architecture. However, Avid s AVX 1.5 architecture has a current limitation where rendering RED as a Transition can render the wrong frames from your outgoing source clip. Boris FX and Avid are working to resolve this issue and intend to provide a fix in a future Avid patch release. Because of this limitation, use the Boris RED 2.1 AVX 1.0 plug-in to apply Boris RED 2.1 as a Transition. The AVX 1.0 plug-in is fully compatible with Avid systems that support AVX 1.5. When using the Boris RED 2.1 AVX 1.0 plug-in, video frames do not update in the RED timeline. This limitation of Avid s AVX 1.0 architecture does not impact rendering effects. The Boris RED 2.1 AVX 1.5 plug-in displays updated video frames in the Avid timeline. If you use Media Composer 10.1, Xpress 4.1, Xpress DV 1.5.1, or Symphony 3.0.1, you must install Boris RED using the install option for AVX 1.0. Using the RED AVX 1.5 plug-ins may result in color shift changes on your media.

7 Important Information for Final Cut Pro and After Effects Users 7 RED 2.1 supports Final Cut Pro 3.0, but does not yet support Mac OSX. When using Final Cut Pro version 2.0, timeline track video frames will not update in the RED timeline when creating your effect. You will only see the first frame of your timeline video clip in the RED timeline. Other tracks (V2-7) will update. This is a limitation of FCP s 2.x architecture which does not impact rendering of your effect. FCP 3.0 does display updated video frames in RED from the FCP timeline. Final Cut Pro users should set the Project s video aspect from the Boris RED preferences (not within FCP). The numbers from FCP may not provide accurate output. Do not export from Boris RED using After Effects or Final Cut Pro as a host unless the host resolution is set to 100%. Otherwise, you will get reduced image quality, because the host does not provide RED with full-sized frames. Likewise, if Final Cut Pro or After Effects are at less than full resolution (100%), previews at full size with either of these hosts appear in reduced quality. (Macintosh only) In some instances the Boris RED 2.1 After Effects plug-in crashes due to an apparent conflict with MacsBug v If you have MacsBug installed and you experience crashing using Boris RED within Final Cut Pro or After Effects, try disabling or running an earlier version of MacsBug when using Boris RED. You should always apply RED to a project-sized layer in After Effects. When working with a different size layer, import it separately (as V2, V3 etc., or as a still image file). When you apply Boris RED to a still image in Final Cut Pro version 2.x and enter RED, the fields may appear reversed. To apply RED to a still image, import the still image from into RED after applying RED to a video clip in the FCP timeline. If you render in After Effects with the QuickTime Animation codec and Millions of Colors (with Alpha), you may see an alert dialog at the beginning of the render. The alert dialog says that the ADM plugin is missing. Click OK to dismiss the dialog box and continue the render. This alert message will not affect your rendered media. Only choose the Animation with Alpha codec when you need the alpha channel. This message may display on each item in the Render Queue that uses animation with alpha. Important Information for Discreet edit* Users Discreet has made available a software patch to enable edit* 6.0 users to successfully render RED time-based and distortion effects (for example, trail, ripple, wave and motion blur effects.) Previously, these effects would not render correctly in edit* 6.0. To download the new Discreet edit* patch, visit Discreet s web site: Due to a problem in edit* 6.5, re-entering rendered RED effects in edit* 6.5 (particularly using the Trace feature) and changing them may cause you to crash. Discreet is aware of this problem. Save your work often in edit* 6.5 when re-entering rendered effects.

8 8 Installing and Using Adobe After Effects Filters within Boris RED Boris FX provides a supported list of AE filters for use inside Boris RED. Our testing has indicated conditional support for other filters indicated below. For best results, use only supported AE filters inside Boris RED. You might achieve good results with the conditionally supported filters or with filters not listed here that have not yet been tested. An updated list of Supported, Conditionally Supported and Unsupported filters can be found on our web site: These filters were tested on single-processor machines. While these filters should also work in multi-processor machines, it is possible you will experience unexpected results or your machine may crash. If you have problems with supported filters in multi-processor machines, try disabling the MP functionality on your machine and recreating your filter effect. Boris RED 2.1 includes five free DigiEffects Delirium filters: DE Bubbles, DE Day for Night, DE Fog Factory, DE Fireworks and DE Electrical Arcs. These filters are installed in the Boris Plug-ins folder when you install Boris RED 2.1 as a plug-in, or when you install the Boris RED 2.1 Engine. For more information about these filters, see the DigiEffects_info.pdf and the DeliriumUserGuide.pdf documents included on the Boris RED 2.1 CD. Supported Filters The following filters function correctly in Boris RED except where noted: Supported Filters Alien Skin Eye Candy Cult Effects 1.0 DigiEffects Aurorix DigiEffects Bezerk DigiEffects Cinelook DigiEffects Cinemotion Notes about using these filters In all Alien Skin Eye Candy filters, RED incorrectly has the use alpha track enabled instead of disabled The CE Paint filter does not work in RED. Some filters are missing their evolution options within RED. Note: The Cinelook Film Damage filter may either give a memory error message when you render or may not render. The Cinelook Cinelook filter will sometimes render the wrong image Note: The Cinemotion Film Motion filter may either give a memory error message when you render or may not render.

9 9 Supported Filters DigiEffects Delirium ICE Final Effects Kaleidafex Matte Pack Knoll Lens Flare Pro Trapcode Shine Notes about using these filters Note: The DigiEffects Delirium Fairy Dust, Fireworks, Fire, Title Camera, Tilt Far Light, Tilt File Obj, Tilt Point Light, Tilt Simple Obj, Tilt Spotlight and Tilt V Mesh Obj filters may cause your machine to crash. Additionally, the Grid control in the Cop Blur filter does not work, and the Smoke filter does not work. Additional Note: Rendering multiple effects with Delirium filters may cause your machine to crash. If possible, render effects with these filters one at a time. Note: Final Effects Macintosh: The Alpha Map, Split 2, Mr. Mercury, Particle Systems II, Particle World, Advanced 3D, Color Offset, Glue Gun and Page Turn filters do not work inside Boris RED. Additionally, the Bend It, Bender, Flomotion, Split, Light Rays, Hair and Burn Film filters display differently in Boris RED than the host and will appear different when rendered. The Ripple Pull, Time Blend and Time Blend FX filters display warning messages when you use them. The Dynamatch, Indymatte Lite, Indymatte Difference, and Screen First Aid filters may either give a memory error message when you render or may not render. Render Knoll Lens Flare Pro effects with the Boris RED Fields as Frames option disabled. Additionally, when selecting a preset, you must manually force an update in the Comp window before the selected preset can be seen.

10 10 Conditionally Supported Filters The following filters may cause crashing in Boris RED 2.1 or may not work correctly. Conditionally Supported Filters AW Paint Atomic Power Psunami Atomic Power Evolution AE 4D Cult Effects 1.5 DFT Composite Suite Unsupported Filters The following filters are not supported within Boris RED 2.1: Unsupported Filters DigiEffects Cyclonist DigiMatch DynaMatch Foundry TinderBox FreeForm, FreeForm 2 Indy MattePanopticum Animatext Panopticum Fire25 Panopticum LensPro II Panopticum Tools Puffin Color Map Puffin Composite Wizzard Puffin Image Lounge Puffin Primate Keyer Reel Smart Shade/Shape ReelSmart Twixtor RS Motion Blur Sapphire Ultimatte Video Goh Zaxwerks ZbigV3 Important Information on Using After Effects Filters Boris RED does not support AE 4.x filters. Only After Effects 3.1 compatible filters work inside Boris RED. Checkboxes cannot be animated. Time remapping filters do not work in Boris RED. Boris RED provides its own time remapping filters. After Effects filters used inside Boris RED usually take longer to render than most Boris RED effects. None of Adobe's built-in After Effects filters work inside Boris RED. Some After Effects filters must be frame rendered. If renders appear noisy or jittery, select the Render Fields as Frames option in the RED Preferences window and rerender the effect.

11 11 You can install up to 175 AE filters in Boris RED. If you have more than 175 filters installed, you will not see some of your filters inside Boris RED. If you reach the filter limit, a warning appears when you launch Boris RED asking you to remove some files from the BorisPlugins folder and restart RED. You can ignore the warning dialog and continue to work in Boris RED but you will not have access to all the AE plug-ins inside the BorisPlugins folder. Using After Effects filters inside Boris RED requires additional memory. Increase the memory allocated to your host application if you have difficulty. Installing AE Filters for Macintosh Place supported After Effects filters in the following folder: System Folder\Application Support\BorisFX\BorisPlugins. The filters appear in the Filters menu within Boris RED. Installing AE Filters for Windows Place supported After Effects filters in the following folder: C:\Program Files\Boris FX, Inc.\BorisPlugins. The filters appear in the Filters menu within Boris RED. NOTE: ICE Final Effects Windows users only: To use Final Effects plugins within Boris RED you must also manually copy the ICE FEC folder and specific ICE library files to several places on your system. The procedures vary, depending on which version of the ICE FEC you are using. ICE Final Effects Version Final Effects users without the ICE board should do the following steps: 1. Copy the entire ICE FEC folder as well as the HostMain.dll and AEGlue.dll library files inside the host s application folder (on the same level as the host application.) 2. Copy the entire ICE FEC folder and the HostMain.dll and AEGlue.dll library files inside the Boris RED 2.1 folder on the same level as the Boris RED2.1.dll (C:\Program Files\Boris FX, Inc.\Boris RED 2.1\). 3. Copy the entire ICE FEC folder inside the BorisPlugins folder (C:\Program Files\Boris FX, Inc.\BorisPlugins\.) Final Effects users with the ICE board should complete the following steps: 1. Copy the entire ICE FEC folder as well as the HostMain.dll, AEGlue.dll and IraMain.tm.dll library files inside the host s application folder (on the same level as the host application.)

12 12 2. Copy the entire ICE FEC folder as well as the HostMain.dll, AEGlue.dll, and IraMain.tm.dll library files inside the Boris RED 2.1 folder on the same level as the Boris FX6.dll (C:\Program Files\Boris FX, Inc.\Boris RED 2.1\). 3. Copy the entire ICE FEC folder inside the BorisPlugins folder (C:\Program Files\Boris FX, Inc.\BorisPlugins\.) ICE Final Effects Version 3.5.1A or Greater 1. Use the ICE FEC installer to install the ICE FEC effects into the Boris RED 2.1 folder. 2. Enter your serial number for the FEC installer, and press Next. A screen displays the message, Browse to the folder that contains the application using the plug-ins. 3. Browse to the Boris RED 2.1 folder, select the Boris RED 2.1 folder and press Next. 4. A screen displays Please select or create a folder to store the plugins. Choose Browse and select the Borisplugins folder which is inside of the of the Boris RED 2.1 folder. 5. Press Next to finish the installer. 6. Use the ICE FEC installer again to install the ICE FEC effects into the folder that contains your host application (.exe). Important Information for Windows Users about Importing OMF The Boris RED installer installs an OMFToolkit.dll library file on your system that enables you to directly import OMF files within Boris RED 2.1 as Movie files. OMF is the native file format for Avid products. The installer places the OMFToolkit.dll file in the following location: WIN 95/98: C\Windows\System WIN NT: C\Winnt\System32 If this file is deleted or moved from this location on your hard drive, you will not be able to import OMF files. NOTE for Windows KeyFramer Users: To access OMF files inside the KeyFramer, you must copy an additional file from the system where you installed Boris RED. For instructions on locating this file, visit the Boris Technical Forum at If your KeyFramer system does not have this file installed, you cannot access OMF media in the KeyFramer.

13 Important Note on Creating Time effects within Boris RED 13 The source media for RED s Velocity Remap and Temporal Blur Time filters must be Movie media (OMF, QuickTime, AVI) rather than host video files if you want to render within your host application. If you use host video files in the timeline as source media for these filters, they appear correct inside Boris RED, but will not display in the host after applying and quitting Boris RED. Set the source media for these filters to Movie media files instead. This may require exporting your timeline video from the host application as a movie. Alternately, create the effect with host video, and export it from RED as a movie instead of rendering it within the host. Then import the rendered movie file into the host and place it in the timeline. For more information on exporting, see Rendering Tracks on page 141 of your RED User Guide. This does not work in all hosts. NOTE: Avid users do not need to export their timeline video; simply import the OMF file as a movie file. Media100 and Media 100 i users can directly import host video from the Bin Browser and use it with the time filters. Movie media nested inside Time filters cannot be looped. In other words, if after applying a Time filter (such as Velocity Remap) your movie is not long enough to finish your effect, you cannot use the Loop Movie feature in the Movie s face track to make the movie longer. Loop the movie before bringing it into RED.

14 14 Important Information about Working with Motion Filters You should use the Snap CTI to KeyFrame option (Track > Snap CTI to KeyFrame) when working in the Motion filters to avoid confusion. For example, this option is not selected and you move the CTI off a selected keyframe. Then you adjust the Search and Target parameters using on-screen controls. A new keyframe is not created. Instead, the selected keyframe is adjusted. This could cause your media to track incorrectly. If you want to create a new keyframe, you must deselect all keyframes before adjusting parameters on-screen. While Interpolation boxes appear next to the Search/Target tab parameters, you should not adjust the Interpolation type. Leave the Interpolation set to Hold. Adjusting the Interpolation type will not affect the tracking but may cause on-screen parameters to display incorrectly. You can work at Half or Quarter resolution to achieve a preview of a motion filter. But if the tracker fails repeatedly, you may have to work at Full Resolution. You can only adjust the Search and Target regions in the Motion filter track's Preview window. The Source track does not display the region controls; the Composite window does not display the region controls. The field order of the media that you are using must match the field order setting in the Media tab. You can set this in the Import tab in the Preferences window. See your RED User Guide for more information. New Features in Boris RED 2.1 RED 2.1 contains many new features. Highlights include: Preferences Many new Preference settings were added to improve user workflow. These include a Toggle Interpolation which allows you to quickly access another frequently used interpolation type in addition to the default setting. When the Show Dialog on Add to Render Queue preference is selected, when you add a composition to the Render Queue, a dialog box lets you set your export settings. When this setting is not selected, the dialog box does not appear but you can set your export settings in the Render Queue window. When the Ask for New Color preference is selected, the system color picker automatically opens when you choose Color as a track s media. When Ask for New Color is not selected, the track is assigned the last color used. If no color has been used, the color defaults to black. When Start With Empty Timeline is selected, each time you create a new composition or launch RED, no tracks are automatically created in the timeline. A new Fit to Project preference scales imported movies to a full screen image using the project size specified in the General tab.

15 15 When Let Mouse Clicks Interrupt Rendering is selected, clicking the user interface cancels Composite window preview rendering in the same way pressing Command-. (Macintosh) or Control-. (Windows) does. When Show Watch Cursor While Drag Rendering is selected, the cursor changes to the watch icon while rendering the effect when you are dragging an object or parameter to change the effect. When the Cache Still Images in RAM preference is selected, still images are cached to RAM at full size when the media is loaded. This greatly reduces the time it takes to change resolution when using still images, particularly with large TGA files. When the Cache Host Frames preference is selected, frame caching is enabled for host video tracks. A new track naming scheme automatically names tracks by their media type unless you explicitly rename them. If you create a new text track containing the word Boris, the track is named Boris instead of Track 1. Text tracks take on the name of the text itself; Still Image Files, Movie Files and EPS files use the original file names. You can set your preferences to use the old naming scheme if you prefer by choosing Use Track Name Counter. A new Preview tab has been added to the Preferences window and some preferences have been moved here from the Interface tab. Selecting the Hold Parameter Value preference can change the behavior of the first and last keyframes in your effect. When Hold Parameter Value is deselected, if you do not explicitly set a value at the first or last keyframe, the keyframe uses the default parameter value. With Hold Parameter Value selected, the first keyframe holds at the value set in the next keyframe. The parameter value for the last keyframe holds at the value set in the next to last keyframe. If you do not explicitly set values in a keyframe, all values remain at the default. A new Sticky Tools preference has been added to the Interface tab. When Sticky Tools is selected, RED remembers your Tool window selection when you switch between tracks. For example, you use the Brush tool to create a brush stroke and then create a new Spline Object track with the Oval tool. If you select the brush stroke track, the Tool window automatically selects the Brush tool. A new Alpha Channel preference in the Local Project tab controls how RED interprets alpha information for movie files that are exported or rendered from your host application. You can override this setting for a specific composition when exporting or adding to the Render Queue. Improved Flash export includes user defined render quality and frame size and the addition of bitmap images along with vectors. You can also prevent the exported Flash movie from loading into a web based animation program such as Macromedia Flash by selecting Prevent Import into Design Tools. New Favorite Filters preferences in the Interface tab let you map your favorite filters to buttons in the timeline. New MDI (Multiple Document Interface) mode allows Windows users to choose to use an interface with one large window and one menu bar on that window.

16 16 Timeline The new Add Filter buttons in the timeline add the filter that is mapped to the button to the selected track. You can map your favorite filters to these buttons in the Preferences window. New Add Shape, Add Media and Add Container buttons in the timeline let you easily create a new track of a specified shape, a specified media type or create a new container. New Add Filters buttons in the timeline let you easily add a filter to the selected track. Controls Window New buttons in the Controls window provide fast access to options such as Make Texture Track, Make Motion Path, Make Reflection Map, Add Drop Shadow, Text Backdrop, Load File, Reset Tab, Animate button, and Wireframe Mode, and quick onebutton access to a shape track s Face track. These buttons are contextual, so if they do not apply to the selected track, they do not appear in the Controls window. A color ramp has been added to the Controls and Text windows so that you can quickly grab a color with the eyedroppers. The Style Palette now offers a sorting function. You can also Right-click or Control-click to view information about the style. View styles in Frame or List View. In List View, you can arrange styles by name or date. In Frame View, you can resize the thumbnails. New host support has been added. The Motion Tracker filter is improved and a new Corner Pin filter has been added. A more robust Render Queue includes stopping and restarting renders. An improved Library Browser lets you add comments to effects, generate thumbnails and choose the default Browser folder. Improved 3D render speed -- new render speeds are now faster than the previous preview speeds on G4 (even with single processors). Kanji text is now supported. Media The Movie Media tab now includes a function to loop the playback of a movie. This allows you to create a movie which extends over the entire length of the effect. Support for importing OMF files using the Movie File media type has been added. See your RED User Guide for details. Improved audio includes previewing audio only. The methods for mapping textures to text have been improved. The methods for mapping gradients to text have been improved. An Invert Alpha checkbox has been added for Video media. The Insert Text command replaces text in a template you create within Boris RED. Insert Text allows you to easily update RED text pages with text created in standard word processing programs, preserving the RED text styles, leading and kerning.

17 17 The Path tab now includes a Reverse Path function to map text to the underside or inside of a path. New Additions Boris RED 2.1 installs five DigiEffects Delirium filters: DE Bubbles, DE Day for Night, DE Fog Factory, DE Fireworks and DE Electrical Arcs. These filters are installed in the Boris Plug-ins folder when you install Boris RED 2.1 as a plug-in, or when you install the Boris RED 2.1 Engine. For more information about these filters, see the DigiEffects_info.pdf documentation included on the Boris RED 2.1 CD. The new Intelligent Assistant is a sophisticated online help system fully integrated into Boris RED 2.1. It is directly accessible from the Help menu and offers the equivalent of over 600 pages of text, with far more illustrations than you'll find in other help systems. The Intelligent Assistant also offers over 2.5 hours of narrated video to take you into as much or as little detail as you need, for any kind of task you might want to perform in Boris RED. Seamlessly integrated into Boris RED, the Intelligent Assistant operates in a resizable floating window above RED, so that you can easily work along with provided examples. Along with instructions for specific tasks, the Intelligent Assistant also provides insight into broader-based effects-creation strategies, a number of tutorials, and creative examples of finished projects using illustrated techniques. The Intelligent Assistant is fully searchable and hyperlinked. Its modular structure makes it easy to use, and easily updated: users with internet connections can check for new content, and have it automatically downloaded and installed. Important Notes on Optimizing Boris RED 2.1 Performance In order to optimize performance when using OpenGL acceleration, make sure you have downloaded the latest version of the OpenGL software. This can significantly reduce preview times. If you are working on one shape or container track in a complex composition, you can preview the isolated element more rapidly by closing the Composite window and opening a Preview window for the shape or container track. Undocumented Features in Boris RED 2.1 The following features are not documented in the Boris RED 2.1 User Guide. Windows only: There is a Preference in the Interface tab called Snap Across two Monitors. If your system has two monitors, selecting this will center the Boris RED UI across both monitors when you choose Window>Snap All Home. Some Windows systems do not support this feature. If your task bar spans both monitors, this feature will work on your Windows system.

18 18 Fixed Bugs in Boris RED 2.1 RED 2.1 fixes many bugs. Fixed bugs include the following: Macintosh only: You can now paste a track in the timeline with no tracks selected. In a shape track s Pivot tab, if you unlock one of the Position and Pivot point groups, setting either parameter s interpolation to Constant no longer re-locks the group. Media 100 i, Macintosh only: When making a title, the background track is no longer animatable with on-screen Controls. Media 100 i, Macintosh hosts only: When RED is applied as a title, the gradient controls on the background track now work correctly. If you attempt to save a settings file on a drive that has no available space, you will no longer receive an error message saying that the drive is full. DVedit hosts only: The preview window in the Boris Library Browser now displays a rendered preview with the Animate Thumbnails option is selected. If you change a shape track s shape type (i.e. from Cube to Sphere) the track s Apply Mode and Apply Mix From settings (in the Composite tab) no longer return to their default values. Windows hosts only: You will no longer see errors in the velocity curve for the Position X parameter. When a track is inside a 3D Container, track parameters whose interpolation method is set to Constant are now recognized. If you apply a filter to a text track, or adjust one of the Skew parameters in the Text media control Transformations tab, converting the text track to a container no longer causes the filter and/or Skew adjustments to be lost. If you create a 2D text effect, then change the text track s shape type to 3D Extrusion, the text s shadow and skew are now visible in the Text Window. Macintosh hosts only: The All Styles selection in the Text Window s View menu now works in 3D text (Extruded Object) effects. The Text window now correctly imports Rich Text Format files and preserves their font, style and color settings. Text now correctly preserves the kerning tables for system fonts.

19 Known Limitations in RED General Limitations Resuming a partial render of an exported QuickTime file may have some undesirable side-effects. In particular, video compressed with codecs that use frame-differencing and data-rate-limiting (such as Sorenson or Cinepak) may exhibit some of the following behavior during playback: Some frames following the resume point may be corrupted. The data rate may be slightly larger than expected. Also, if the file includes an audio track, a slight blip may be heard at the resume point. This may occur with any codec. If you are creating an effect which includes Particles or Noise filters, rendering Fields as Frames produces better results. Time filters do not work with host video when rendering in the host. They work with Movie media when rendering in the host, or on either type of media when exporting. For more information on this limitation, see Important Note on Creating Time effects within Boris RED on page 13. Time filters always use the first field of fielded media when frame rendering or previewing. When field media are exported or previewed as frames, only the first frame is used. In certain filters, Two Way Key, Linear Luma Key and Linear Color Key, the lock settings in the Regions of Interest tab are ignored. The Top/Left and Bottom/Right parameters are always locked. This makes it difficult to create a garbage matte with these filters. After Effects only: If you render in After Effects with the QuickTime Animation codec and Millions of Colors (with Alpha), an alert dialog may appear at the beginning of the render stating that the ADM plugin is missing. Click OK to dismiss the dialog box and continue the render. This alert message will not affect your rendered media. Only choose the Animation with Alpha codec when you really need the alpha channel. Windows NT only: If you work in Draft quality with the Use Open GL in Draft mode preference enabled, you will not see your alpha channel and your background image appears black. Switch to High quality to see your alpha channel and background image. If you create Texture Maps on your images with the Use Open GL in Draft mode preference enabled, the Texture Maps are only visible when your Composite window is set to High quality. Mac OS 8.6 only: Do not change the Cache File Type preference (in the Cache tab of the Preferences window) from its default setting of Normal. Changing this option may cause your system to crash during Preview to RAM. Mac OS 8.6 only: The Ram to Disk Ratio Preference (in the General tab of the Preferences window) has no effect in Mac OS 8.6. Changing this option will not increase performance within RED.

20 20 If you map media to one or more faces of a 3D Extrusion, the media may not be visible unless Quality is set to High. In the Fire filter, when using text as a Map layer, the size of the text is ignored and will frequently display garbage. Map text to a Shape, then nest the shape layer inside the Fire filter to correct this problem. The Stars filter s Flip Image command does not work. Media 100 i and ifinish hosts only: When creating a new transition, title or composition in ifinish or Media 100 i, the new custom settings defaults to the old custom settings. Media 100 i, Macintosh hosts only: The Natural media type does not work correctly when used in the Background track in a titling effect. Boris RED does not currently save compressor-specific settings when exporting QuickTime or AVI files. When exporting AVI or QuickTime from the File menu or from the Render Queue, the compressor settings used will be those last entered into the compressor's settings dialog. Note that settings common to all compressors (such as key frame rate and data rate) will occasionally be preserved. Avid hosts, Windows only: Avid software for certain Windows versions (Symphony 3.0, Media Composer 10.0, and Xpress 4.0) will crash if you attempt to update external monitor through AVX. For this reason, if you use these Avid versions do not attempt to update an external monitor when working with Boris RED. Avid Technology is actively working with Boris RED to fix this problem for a future patch release of Windows Symphony, Media Composer, and Xpress. This problem does not affect any Macintosh AVX systems, nor does it affect any Avid Windows versions released prior to Symphony 3.0, Media Composer 10.0, and Xpress 4.0. When using the 3D Line Art shape with the EPS file media type, if the external EPS media file includes a radial gradient, the media fill may shimmer or flicker when the 3D Line Art shape is tumbled, spun, or rotated. This only occurs if the EPS media file was created with an older version of Adobe Illustrator. If possible, resave the EPS file using Illustrator 7.0 or above. If you cannot do this, you can use the EPS media file with 3D Plane shape to correct the problem. Premiere hosts, Windows only: You may be able use parameter values that are outside the normal range for the parameter by adjusting Bézier handles on the parameter s velocity curve. However, using such values will cause crashes. If you are using a still image file as media in a track, then make changes to the source still image file and save the file using the same name, attempting to import the updated still image file into the original track will not change the media as expected. To refresh the media so the updated still image is displayed, change the track s media type, then change it back to Still Image File and select the desired media file. Using non-square pixel aspect ratios (i.e. 720x480) can distort the EPS media type when used with the 3D Plane Shape. Use the 3D Line Art shape instead. Premiere hosts, Macintosh only: If you arrange the Premiere user interface so that the Source/Record Monitor window is separated from the Source/Record Controller/Buttons panel and enter Boris, the Source/Record Monitor will appear over the Boris user interface.

21 21 After Effects hosts, Macintosh only: You may notice that the Composite window occasionally displays proxy images while rendering frames. The Shadows On parameter is missing from the Shadow tabs in 3D Containers and Title Containers. Shadows are always on. To hide shadows without changing all of the parameter settings, decrease Distance to 0. Media 100 only: If you apply a Boris transition with the image size set to 720 x 486, then open a previously rendered Boris transition with a different image size (for example, 640x480) in the same file, the image will be offset. This is true no matter what the sizes are, as long as they are different. To compensate, create a new Boris transition when you need to change the image size. After Effects and Final Cut Pro only: If you want to enter the RED interface to edit an existing RED effect, be sure that the time indicator is positioned on the effect you want to edit before launching Boris RED. Otherwise, the Boris interface may not appear. KeyFramer only: Copying tracks and pasting them into an effect with a different duration does not adjust the keyframes to the new duration. The copied track uses the duration of the original effect. This behavior is the same if you insert tracks into an effect with a different duration. When the default interpolation type is Ease In/Out, if you manually change a keyframe s interpolation type to something other than Ease In/Out, then attempt to copy and paste the keyframe to another track, the keyframe value will paste correctly, but the Interpolation type at the pasted keyframe reverts to Ease In/Out. Any effect that uses a filter involving edge detection (for example, Edgelight, RGB Edges, spotlights with edge effects, etc.) should be rendered with Render Fields as Frames selected; otherwise, the rendered effect will jitter. In the 2D and 3D Particles filters, scaling up particle size can cause some custom shapes to truncate. You can avoid this by looking at the initial, unscattered particle grid. If some particles are cut off by the frame when you increase their size, then they will remain cut off throughout the duration of the effect. To avoid this, adjust the size parameters so that no particles are initially cut off. In Alpha Spotlight, moving the onscreen position control for the Near Corner point may create a dashed white line between the default and new locations of the point. Hiding the onscreen controls will also hide the line. If you assign the same movie to more than one timeline track, both tracks will move when you slip or slide one of them. Slip or slide the first track before assigning the second track s source media to the same movie file. If your effect contains audio, the audio will not export if you export your movie to Flash. The movie will export, but it will be silent. When an image is full size in the Composite window, manipulating its Mask or Crop controls by dragging one of the sides of the Rectangular tool will affect the image s Shape Controls instead. Deselect Shape in the Composite window s Controls menu to directly manipulate an object s Mask or Crop controls. When working with Lights in Z Space containers, enabling the Shadow Pre-Blur option will only affect media that contains alpha.

22 22 As an image s Drop Shadow gets close to the edge of the frame, the shadow draws wider and closer to the image. Windows hosts only: The Preview to RAM on Monitor feature does not work on external monitors for Windows hosts. After Effects only: Applying RED to an adjustment layer and duplicating the layer will cause a crash. After Effects only: Occasionally during render of a comp containing on or more RED effects, After Effects will interrupt the render with an ADM Plug-in or Color Table dialog. If you dismiss the dialog the render will finish correctly. After Effects only: Applying RED to a trimmed clip in After Effects may display the effect duration in RED as the whole AE clip, rather than the trimmed section. Precomp the trimmed source or use the Percent done control to avoid this. Macintosh After Effects version 5 only: Checkboxes next to menu selections do not update. For example if you change your Composite window resolution from Draft to Full, the checkmark next to Draft in the Preview>Quality menu is still selected. If you have the Autosave preference enabled (Edit>Preferences>Interface tab) and if you exit RED after an autosave is performed, you will not be prompted to save your project. Always manually save your projects before exiting RED if you work with this preference enabled. Movie media nested inside Time filters (such as Velocity Remap) cannot be looped. In other words, if after applying a Time filter your movie is not long enough to finish your effect, you cannot use the Loop Movie feature in the Movie s face track to make the movie longer. Loop the movie, export it out of RED and then import it back into RED. Windows only: Balance and Volume controls have no effect on audio tracks containing AVI files. Balance and Volume controls have no effect on audio tracks containing MP3 files. The Invert Mask control in the Mask tab only works if Distance or Softness parameters are turned on. If you import the same Movie file into more than one Composition within a RED Project, changing the start time of the movie in one Composition will also affect the start time of the movie in all other Compositions it appears in. If you import the same Movie file to more than one timeline track in the same Composition, changing the Start Time, Clip Head or Clip Tail on one track will affect the other tracks. If you want to have different Start Times, Clip Heads or Clip Tails for each movie track, slide one of the movies in its timeline track before importing the next movie. Then the movies will be treated as independent files. If you import a Movie file as an audio track, then import the same Movie file into a video track, changing the Start Time, Clip Head or Clip Tail of either track will affect both. Import the audio file first, then slide it to adjust the start time. Then import the movie file and the two files will be treated independantly. EPS Files saved in Adobe Illustrator and imported into RED must be saved in Illustrator version 8. Illustrator 9 files will import as black into RED.