Paris-based VFX studio BUF Compagnie has published detailed information on the tools it has developed in-house, which were used to create FX for films such as Fight Club, Matrix, Harry Potter, Avatar, Life of Pi and many others. The tools cover the whole CG pipeline, from modeling and animation to compositing and asset tracking, and BUF plans to release them commercially this year.
Being aware that learning these tools requires training, BUF are preparing tutorials and other material to provide support for new users. It will be interesting to see how these tools are priced/licensed, and how they will modify the current CG software landscape.
The tools developed by BUF include:
- Bstudio – complete 3D application that offers
modeling, dynamics, animation, procedural workflow, camera tracking,
3D painting and rendering with Brender - Bcolor – node-based compositing tool
- Bpaint – 2D animation tool
- Bprod – node-based process manager to automate repetitive
tasks, manage history and versioning all along the pipeline - Bview – image sequence player for VFX and animation studios
that provides review tools - Bmanager – production management tool with collaborative
features - Bbank – asset management tool
- Bfarm – render farm management system
The tools that compose BUF Compagnie’s Bsuite will be available in 2
separate packages:
- Bcreative Suite will offer a complete 3D pipeline studio:
from modeling, dynamics, animation to high end rendering, the
node-based compositing software, batch process manager
and more - Bpipeline Suite will include the tools for creating a
coherent pipeline that meets production needs: a production management
tool, an asset management tool and more
It’s worth nothing that since all these tools were developed in-house, they compose a fully integrated pipeline. Bview, the image sequence player, is expected to be made available soon (a message on the site says “FREE download coming soon”), with Bcreative Suite coming later, and Bpipeline Suite release afterward.
According to unofficial statements, the software will be released for Linux and OS X. Head over to BUF Software Project’s website for more.
