April 04. 2002
Forge Technology Announces FreeForm
for Adobe After Effects 5 or higher
FreeForm has been "carbonized" and works on MacOS9, MacOSX and Windows XP
Montreal, Canada, April 04, 2002 - –Forge Technology announced today that FreeForm 2 has been updated and carbonized for Mac OS X and includes; a new multi-threading scheme to take advantage of multiple CPU models, new 3D displacement mapping algorithms, 8 bits per channel or 16 bit per channel rendering and a slew of U.I. enhancements that make it even easier to use. The new incarnation has been named FreeForm AE and is tightly integrated into the After Effects 5.0 3D paradigm.

Some of the brightest minds in the industry are singing the praises of FreeForm. Here’s what they have to say:
“Forge FreeForm is a must-have filter—no other plug-in will do the same job. It advances After Effects’ 3D compositing from just “postcards in space” by allowing you to distort and displace your layers in 3D space. You can give your layers three-dimensional textures as well as animate them organically distorting along the X, Y and Z planes. The new version of FreeForm, extends its capabilities by allowing you to render in either 8 bpc or 16 bpc and using the default After Effects lights and cameras. This makes it much easier to combine your FreeForm layer with animated After Effects compositions where they will react, along with the other layers, to the cameras and lights within your comp. These new features, combined with After Effects 5.5’s new ability to import camera data from 3D applications, will open up endless creative possibilities to those with an enquiring mind.”
Angie Taylor, Author of Creative After Effects 5.0

“Forge’s FreeFormfor After Effects is a must have for anyone who wants to take the built-in 3D capabilities to the next level in After Effects 5.0. The NURBS patch controls give After Effects users incredible 3D deformation control, previously only available in high-end 3D compositors like Discreet’s Flame. The new ability to use the camera and lights from the After Effects composition make this version invaluable.”
Matt Silverman, Phoenix Editorial

"Freeform is great for creating hybrid 2D/3D environments. We've used this plug-in to create lava flows, butterflies flapping wings, and most recently schools of fish swimming for a image spot we produced for Playhouse Disney, on the Disney Channel. We needed to give life to flat 2D artwork, but bring it to life in a 3D landscape. Freeform allowed us to create bending and flapping fish fins and then move the fish as though they were swimming to and from the camera, around curves, and through seaweed. First we used Freeform to animate the individual fish features. The second part of the process was moving that fish comp across a twisted landscape created with Freeform. The result feels as though the paper cutout fish are alive."
Mike Goedecke, Creative Director, Belief

“I just finished 76 shots in a TV film and used FreeForm to add extra movement to things like smoke and fire to shots I composited. FreeForm was great... I was going to render a 4-second smoke sequence in a 3D application that would have taken quite a while to renderÜbut with a single frame, some masking and noise filters and FreeForm it worked a treat.”
Richard Turner, VFX Supervisor, Whiz Digital.

“FreeForm for After effects takes a great plug-in and makes it even better. My particular favourite is the 3D displacement feature; you can use it to quickly create all kinds of 3D objects and Freeform will seamlessly intergrate them into AE's 3D environment.”
Paul Tuersley, Freelance Animator/Designer

“On our last project, the film Red Planet, FreeForm was the exact tool that we needed to get the job done. And we’ll be using it even more in our upcoming work. It’s essential.”
Ken Stranahan, Compositing Supervisor, Flash Film Works

"Freeform for After Effects is the only product of its kind. If it did not exist I do not know how I would have accomplished the many effects Freeform has made possible for our company. The new upgrade (FreeForm AE) will advance the already excellent capabilities of Freeform while increasing productivity through increased performance and user enhancements."
Jack Tunnicliffe, Java Post Productions

"At LeapFrog we rely on a blend of off the shelf and proprietary software solutions. Yet for most of our 3D warping needs, FreeForm is the tool for the job. With this plug-in you get the best of both worlds. The combination of true 3D displacement and deformation abilities now coupled with After Effects cameras and lights makes for a robust and intuitive workflow. This not only makes old tasks simpler but opens up a host of new creative possibilities."
Ross MacTaggart, LeapFrog Productions.

“FreeForm for After Effects is an excellent tool for 3D warping and 3D displacement mapping. Forge Tech has taken advantage of the new capabilities added to the After Effects 5.0 plug-in API, including 16 bpc rendering and a tight integration with the After Effects 3D environment, providing AE users a more robust feature set and an intuitive way of working. It's a great addition to our users plug-in arsenal.''
Steve kilisky, Senior Product Manager, Adobe After Effects

Forge FreeForm has been used in television and film projects including the film Red Planet starring Val Kilmer and Carrie-Anne Moss, Wingspan, the Paul McCartney documentary, and the BBC’s See You See Me series, to name a few.

See the “User Gallery” section of our Web site for more examples of Forge FreeForm in action.

Availability
FreeForm is now available (Mac and Win

Special Pricing
The list price is US$399.00.
For a limited time at US$249.00. This offer expires April 20th, 2002.

Upgrades
Registered owners of Forge Technology’s FreeForm 1 or FreeForm 2 can upgrade to FreeForm for After Effects for only US$99.00.

FreeForm for after effects is available for both Mac and Windows and will work with version 5.0 or later of After Effects .

Demo copies are available upon request

About Forge Technology
Forge Technology is a privately owned company operating out of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Forge Technology is committed to creating high-end and high quality software products for broadcast designers, animators and visual effects artists in television and film. Our products work in Adobe’s After Effects, eyeon’s Digital Fusion and AliasWavefront’s Maya Fusion.

Press Contact:
Chris Bobotis 514-861-9613 chris@forge.net

FreeForm DF for eyeon's Digital Fusion
Makes its' Debut on the Silver Screen
FreeForm DF was used for the film "Red Planet" starring
Val Kilmer and Carrie-Ann Moss
Flash Film Works used FreeForm DF in eyeon's Digital Fusion to bring several scenes to life.
See before and after sequences in our User Gallery.

"On our last project, the film Red Planet, FreeFormDF was the exact tool that we needed to get the job done. And we'll be using it even more in our upcoming work. It's essential."
Ken Stranahan, Compositing Supervisor, Flash Film Works

Forge Technology Partners
With Eyeon Software To Bring
FreeForm Functionality To Digtal Fusion.
Forge Technology Brings FreeForm Functionality to Eyeon's Digital Fusion + Alias/Wavefront's Maya Fusion
Montreal, Canada, June 23, 2000 - Forge Technology announced a giant leap forward in graphics production with the release of FreeForm DF for eyeon Software's Digital Fusion. FreeForm DF is a revolutionary new plug-in for digital artists and designers wishing to incorporate 3D functionality into their work without the usual steep learning curve associated with 3D software.

Steve Roberts, President and Creative Director at eyeon, comments, "We are truly excited to have this advanced 3D deformation tool available as a native 64-bit plug-in for Fusion. Having the FreeForm 3D feature set directly in Fusion greatly expands the capabilities and production value for our users."

FreeForm DF enables users to manipulate any image or animated sequence contained in Digital Fusion in 3D space with full control over manipulation, lighting, perspective, position and rotation. FreeForm DF incorporates a full 3D modeling and 16 bit rendering engine which instantly converts any image or animated sequence contained in Digital Fusion into a pliable 3D NURBS surface. Image manipulation is via familiar Bezier-like control points and tangents. FreeForm DF features true 3D displacement mapping based on luminance values from any layer contained in Digital Fusion.

''Not all plug-ins are created equal. Sometimes a tool becomes so critical to your pipeline that you often wonder how you ever managed without it. Forge Technology has produced what I believe represents a breakthrough in desktop compositing and effects, as we know it. The FreeForm plug-in seamlessly "fuses" mesh deformation, mesh morphing, mesh displacement, mesh transformation, camera transformation, 3D lighting and 3D shading into the Fusion environment. It provides a plethora of functionality for creating stunning imagery - crucial for staying competitive in a world bombarded daily by visual stimulation. It literally adds another dimension to your working environment and creative abilities.'' says Shai Hinitz, Product Manager, Maya Imaging, Alias|Wavefront.

FreeForm DF was created by digital artists for digital artists. Great care and attention was given to the graphic user interface, making FreeForm DF highly intuitive with practically no learning curve. FreeForm DF's interface is completely integrated into the Digital Fusion environment and is designed especially for digital artists who want full 3D control of their images, flexibility and control of 3D capabilities integrated within their compositing and an effects program without the steep learning curve associated with most 3D applications.

3D control is achieved by simply applying FreeForm DF to any Digital Fusion layer. FreeForm DF then takes over, mapping the image on the chosen layer onto a 3D NURBS patch. The front and back of each NURBS patch can use separate input sources. The user can then assign any layer as a 3D displacement map. This feature alone is worth the price of the whole package.

Chris Bobotis, Vice-President/Chief Software Architect of Forge Technology Inc., says, ''FreeForm DF was created with the professional digital artist in mind. With over 15 years of production experience on desk-top systems, I have personally seen the frustration of many a digital artist trying to achieve what can easily be done with FreeForm in Digital Fusion. FreeForm DF was created to open new creative possibilities and will prove to be a valuable tool... a must have in a digital artist's toolbox.''

FreeForm DF is a real time saver and integrates seamlessly into the production workflow. With an extremely fast preview and intuitive controls, artists will find themselves reaching for FreeForm DF time and time again. FreeForm DF for Digital Fusion is multi-threaded and takes full advantage of the current line of fast CPU's available on the desktop. All settings are scaleable in FreeForm DF, which allows an artist to work very efficiently, starting off with a lower resolution and getting an approval from the client before committing to the final high res file.

Ken Stranahan, Compositing Supervisor, recently added, "On our last project, FreeForm was the exact tool that we needed to get the job done. And we'll be using it even more in our upcoming work. It's essential."

Pricing and Availability
Forge Technology's FreeForm DF for eyeon's Digital Fusion + Alias/Wavefront's Maya Fusion is now available for only $595 US.
FreeForm is presently available for Adobe After Effects and eyeon Software's Digital Fusion, and Alias/Wavefront's Maya Fusion.
For more information, please contact Chris Bobotis: chris@forge.net

After Effects + Adobe are copyright of Adobe Systems Inc. Digital Fusion, copyright Eyeon Software, Maya Fusion, copyright Alias/Wavefront. Forge Freeform are copyright Forge Technology BB Inc. 2002