By Brady Betzel
With NAB around the corner, you can expect a number of new software and hardware updates in the coming weeks. Maxon looks to be one of the first out of the gate with a wide variety of updates thanks to its Cinema 4D R25 and Trapcode 17 releases. And with Red Giant now under the Maxon umbrella, motion graphics artists have a lot of tools at their disposal, all of which are available immediately through the updated Maxon App.
Cinema 4D R25
Cinema 4D R25’s major update is to its user interface. Overall, the GUI has been given a modern overhaul and has a newer feel. In addition, “adaptive hot corners” have been added to the interface that help users find context-specific shortcuts. One of the features I have always imagined should be natively integrated into motion graphics apps like After Effects has come to Cinema 4D R25: spreadsheet data integration. This is a fantastic update that will really help those working on live-event graphics integrations and even those who have data-driven graphics.
What’s even better is that Maxon has really kept its promise on providing users new and evolving models monthly in its Asset Browser database. Data-driven graphics will become part of this model library. Imagine a spreadsheet of data being updated outside of Cinema 4D R25 but updating and rendering quickly without having to keyframe and adjust for new data points.
There are other updates as well, like Spline import options that will allow for Illustrator, PDF and SVG vector artwork; the addition of “Capsules,” or mini plugins to the Scene Node System; and more.
Red Giant Trapcode 17, VFX 2, Magic Bullet 15, Universe 5
Red Giant tools also got some product version updates, all of which support Multi-Frame Rendering in After Effects as well as Apple Silicon-powered Mac optimizations and compatibility improvements.
Trapcode 17 has finally brought Particular and Form into the same 3D space by incorporating Form behaviors in Particular. Flocking simulations have added a cool new “On Predator/Prey Contact,”feature, which had some amazing ideas to the already robust toolset.
Maxon has incorporated the newly acquired Bang plugin into the VFX 2 toolset. Bang is a fully procedural 3D muzzle flare generator. Red Giant has added more realistic glows, heat blurs and age control refinements into this release, but overall, the Bang plugin is one of those plugins that “when you need it, you need it.” Adding, Bang into the VFX 2 world is a great move. The Primatte Keyer has also been updated with optimal performance for Metal users.
Magic Bullet 15 and Universe 5 have both been updated to take advantage of Apple’s Metal API for greater performance on Mac computers. One caveat: Denoiser has not been updated in this release, which is a real shame considering a lot of finishing work these days revolves around denoising and regraining. But maybe that will come soon.
Redshift RT
In what I thought was an unexpected move, Maxon announced that its acquired renderer, Redshift, will add Redshift RT or real-time rendering as a public beta option. Using the same shaders and lights and co-existing with the standard Redshift render engine, Redshift RT will be available for customers that might not need the extended Redshift render. Real-time rendering is clearly the direction everyone would like to see 3D modeling go, and the Redshift RT public beta option is a positive step.
Brady Betzel is an Emmy-nominated online editor at Margarita Mix in Hollywood, working on shows like Life Below Zero and Uninterrupted: The Shop . He is also a member of the Producers Guild of America. You can email Brady at bradybetzel@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @allbetzroff.
