By Barry Goch

Almost a year ago, at SIGGRAPH 2019 in Los Angeles, I saw an Autodesk Flame product session as part of Nvidia’s presence at the show. The Flame product manager, Will Harris, introduced the possibility of using AI in the form of machine learning in Flame within the system. Specifically, he pointed to the blending of color and visual effects.

Machine learning happens when the computer is “trained” by feeding it images so it can learn how to differentiate parts of an image, like the Captcha that we all use to verify information on the internet.

In Flame 2021, Autodesk has continued to make progress on this front by adding deeper tools in color grading, which can also be powerful for visual effects. The machine learning tools are part of the Matchbox effects in Flame, which are GLSL shaders that use the power of the graphics card.

In the previous version of Flame, Autodesk introduced the Semantic keyer, which used machine learning to detect human faces, human bodies and for sky replacements. Flame 2021 allows users to isolate not just faces but individual elements of a face, such as a forehead, T zone, cheeks, lips and even the whites of eyes. Using machine learning to segment areas of the face is really an amazing leap forward, and it works quite well.

One use of this new facial segmentation functionality is for beauty work. One of the new Autodesk Matchbox shaders in Flame 2021 is called Infill Blur. It is a wonderful tool for pulling pixels into an area to make a distracting element disappear, such as blemishes or even tattoos.

Continuing with this blending of VFX and color is the addition of the Explorer. It’s a new area of the interface designed to hold reference images and effect set-ups. It is similar to the gallery in Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve where you can hold grades, but Flame also allows you to save any other effect setups there as well.

Another new feature in Flame 2021 is Physical Defocus. It is a GPU-powered feature that allows you to add extremely precise depth of field into your composite. It even has customizable lens bokeh.

The biggest addition of all is Dolby Vision support. You can now use Autodesk Flame to deliver Dolby Vision masters. Flame 2021 supports Dolby Vision 2.9 and 4.0. Just recently, Netflix announced that it accepts both Dolby Vision 2.9 and 4.0. However, to access the full range of trim controls, you need a Dolby Vision license, which is a separate purchase. But out of the box, Flame 2021 has iCMU and supports the eCMU and HDMI tunneling. You can export the Dolby Vision metadata as a separate file with the media, or, if you need to deliver a check file, Flame 2021 allows you to deliver the file with the Dolby Vision metadata baked in.  Dolby has a lot of great information and support on its site along with how to get a license.

Of course, included with Flame 2021 are the never-ending codec and file format updates to keep up with by the camera manufacturers.

Summing Up
As a Flame artist, I was very pleased with this release. Autodesk has continued to expand the toolset and capability of my favorite finishing tool. Autodesk takes user feedback and incorporates those suggestions into the application.

I recently found out that 4% of films at Sundance 2020 were color graded in Flame.

Years ago, Flame was the aspiration tool for VFX and finishing. I am hopeful that these new industry-leading features will generate buzz for the product.

So how do you get started on your path to Flame mastery? There is a 30-day free trial and a three-year student license.

Barry Goch is senior finishing artist at The Foundation Post in Burbank, California.