Das Element has released the latest version of its visual effects software, just in the time for its one-year anniversary. The company says the focus of this release was on usability by adding new functionalities that support and improve teamwork between users. A new feature called collections was designed to reduce artist’s overhead and increase productivity by eliminating long search processes for elements.
Supervisors and team leads now have to option to select elements and bundle them in a collection that can be shared with the rest of the team. Artists will benefit from a reduced set of elements that fit the shot or sequence best.
Any type of element can be added, and collections can be organized in a custom folder structure on disk which will be shown inside the software. Each user also has the option to create personal collections and favorites. These collections can be made public or private with just a few clicks.
Another feature has been added to enable an artist to browse all existing libraries and drag promising looking elements into one bundled collection. This feature is called shopping cart. Here you can collect elements and import all of them into your compositing software or some other media player to review the high-resolution media files.
One of the biggest additions to the software, the company says, is the newly added API. Both Python 2 and 3 are supported. The command line tool (CLI-Version) now provides all the tools Pipeline TDs and Software Developers need for a tight integration into the studios pipeline. The API comes with a clear and simple documentation as well as example scripts that can be used to achieve tasks such as ingesting new elements or updating existing ones. This allows you to be even more flexible when integrating das element into a workflow.
With version 1.2 of das element, it is now possible to organize and sort high dynamic range spheres. Over the years, each studio builds up large collections of HDR spheres for image-based lighting in 3D applications. These can be spread out over different projects and servers. A new media type called sphere is introduced for these types or panoramic images. The new sphere-viewer allows you to navigate in your HDR spheres for a better understanding how it will look in a 3D scene or matte painting.
There was no pricing information included in the announcement.
Visit the das element website for more information www.das-element.com.