Boris RED - 4.0.0

Tags: Media 100 , RED , Soundbite

Boris Red 4

This document describes hardware and software requirements and provides any special notes that are important for you to know. This document also lists known problems and limitations.

Hardware and Software Requirements

Supported Operating System

  • Boris Red 4 supports the Windows XP operating system.

    Minimum System Requirements

  • A minimum 1 GB of RAM is recommended to run Boris Red, 2 GB preferred.

  • At least 512 MB of memory is recommended using Boris Red standalone.

What’s New Red 4

New Library Browser Template Mode

You can now use the Library Browser in a special Template mode. The Boris Red Library Browser allows you to quickly preview and apply settings files from the KeyFrame Library, including settings files that you add or customize. The KeyFrame Library is a collection of preset effects that is automatically installed on your system when you install Boris Red. You can add, remove, or change these settings files at any time.

Template mode allows you to use the Library Browser to create effects. This mode is most useful when creating text effects or when repeatedly applying the same preset. When you are in this mode, you simply replace the text for the selected effect template.

When you select the Show Only Browser checkbox in the Preferences window, only the Library Browser appears when you work in the Boris Red user interface. This feature is only available when you use Boris Red as a plug in.

  1. Access the Preferences window by choosing Edit > Preferences (Windows) or Boris Red

    > Preferences (Macintosh).

  2. In the Appearance tab, click to select the Show Only Browser checkbox and click OK to apply your changes. Now, only the Library Browser appears when you work in the Boris Red user interface.

  3. When you are in Template-only mode, the Library Browser is the only window that appears. You can also enter this mode by choosing Window > Library Browser or clicking the Open Library Browser button in the timeline.

  4. Click the name of any folder in the Available Categories window. Thumbnail images of each effect in that folder appear in the Available Effects window.

  5. Click any thumbnail image to select the effect. A red box appears around the selected thumbnail. Press Play to view an animated RAM preview in the Preview window.

  6. Click the appropriate Template-Mode control to edit your template.

    Template Mode Replace Comments

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    Insert Text Retrieve Comments

    • Clicking the yellow Template Mode button allows you to toggle in and out of Template mode without opening the Preferences window. When you are not in Template mode, this is the only control that appears in the Library Browser.

    • Clicking the red Insert Text button allows you to type text into the Comments window. This text replaces the placeholder text that is included in the thumbnail. To replace multiple lines of text, press Tab between each line.

    • Clicking the green Replace Comments button allows you to type comments into the Comments window. This text replaces the existing comments.

    • Clicking the blue Retrieve Comments button allows you to retrieve comments into the Comments window. Click this button if you have inserted text into the comments window and now want to view the associated comments.

  7. Click the Load Effect button to save the currently selected effect.The effect is applied, Boris Red closes and you are returned to your host application.

New Preferences

The following preferences have been added to Boris Red.

Appearance Tab

A new Appearance tab has been added to the Preferences window. The Appearance tab lets you set display options for the Boris Red user interface.

You can access the Preferences window by choosing Edit > Preferences (Windows) or Boris Red > Preferences (Macintosh).

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Common Background Colors

These options allow you to customize the colors used in the Boris Red user interface. Click the color chip to open the system color picker and choose the desired color.

  • Windows sets the color of the background for all windows in the Boris Red user interface.

  • Text sets the color of the text in all windows in the Boris Red user interface.

    Timeline Colors Options

    The Timeline Colors options allow you to customize the colors used in the Boris Red timeline tracks. In previous versions of Boris Red, these options appear in the Preview tab.

    Click the color chip to open the system color picker and choose the desired color.

  • Background sets the color of the timeline background.

  • Selection sets the color of selected tracks in the timeline’s track controls (the left side of the timeline).

  • Keyframe sets the color of keyframes.

  • Shape Track sets the color of Shape tracks on the right side of the timeline.

    • Media Track sets the color of the Media tracks nested inside Shape tracks.

    • Container Track sets the color of 3D Containers and Title Containers.

    • Filter Track sets the color of filter tracks on the right side of the timeline.

      Library Browser

      When you select the Show Only Browser checkbox, only the Library Browser appears when you work in the Boris Red user interface.

      Plug-Ins and Library Browser Now Accept Aliases

      The Boris Red Plug-Ins folder and Library Browser now accept aliases to plug-in and effect files and folders on your system and will follow them to the original file or folder.

      Aliases in the Library Browser

      If you place an effect alias or shortcut to a folder or file in the Library Browser, Boris Red will now follow it to another folder or file, as if that folder were where the alias or shortcut is placed.

      Aliases in the Plug-Ins folder

      If you place an alias or shortcut to a folder or file in the Boris Red Plug-Ins folder, Boris Red will now follow it to another folder or file, as if that folder were where the alias or shortcut is placed.

      The Boris Red Plug-Ins folder is found in the following location: Macintosh

      <Drive>:Library:Application Support:Boris FX, Inc:BorisPlugins

      Windows

      c:\Program Files\Boris FX, Inc\BorisPlugins\

      This means that you no longer need to make copies of your plug-ins, since you can now keep centrally located plug-in set(s).

      Boris Red currently only supports 8-bit plug-ins. Placing an alias or shortcut to 16-bit plug-ins in the Boris Red Plugins folder will cause undesirable results.

      Improved Support for Third Party After Effects Plug-Ins

      Boris Red expands support for third Party After Effect plug-ins inside Incite. For best results, use only supported AE filters inside Boris Red.

      Most of the unsupported filters will not appear in the Boris Red Filter menu even if they are installed, or will display an error message when you apply them.

      Buena Software

    • Dissolve Factory

    • Effect Essentials

      NOTE: The following Buena Effect Essentials filters are not supported: Feedback, HSV Curves, HSV MAnipulator, Super RGB Curves.

      Conoa

    • Conoa 3Dr

    • Easy Shapes

    • SuperPak

      NOTE: You must use the AE 4.0 versions of Conoa filters with Boris Red. Later versions will not work.

      Cycore

    • Cycore FX HD

      NOTE: The following Cycore FX HD filters are not supported: all Time Filters, Composite, Environment, Split 2, Repetile.

      DigiEffects

    • Aurorix

    • Beserk

    • Cinemotion

    • Delerium

      • Fantasm

        NOTE: Cinemotion Film Motion effects do not work in Red.

        NOTE: The following DigiEffects Delerium filters are not supported: Channel Delay, Fireworks, Fairy Dust, Film Flash, Muzzle Flash.

        NOTE: The following DigiEffects Fantasm filters are not supported: Color by Number, Shredder, PixxyUnstripe, PixxyAudio.

        Digital Anarchy

      • 3D Layer

      • Color Theory

      • Geomancy

      • Gradient

      • Psunami Water

      • Retimer SD and HD

      • Anarchy Toolbox

        NOTE: The following Anarchy Toolbox filters are not supported: Anarchist Edge, Color Sampler, Gradient Path, Path Distort, Resizer.

        Digital Film Tools

      • Digital Film Lab

      • zMatte

      • Composite Suite*

      • 55 mm

        NOTE: The Frame Averager Composite Suite filter is not supported.

        NOTE: Boris Red supports version 55 mm version 2.0 only. Versions 3.0 and 4.0 are not supported.

        The Foundry

      • KeyLight

      • TinderBox 1, 2, 3

      NOTE: The following Tinderbox filters are not supported: T_PseudoColour, T_Blob, T_Grad, T_Sky, T_Plasma, T_Glow, T-MeltTime, T_Trail, T_MotionDetect.

      FreshLuft

  • flAIR

    Panopticum

  • Camera Noise

  • Compare Mask

  • Engraver

  • Rulers

  • Plugin Galaxy

    Profound Effects

  • Swim

    Red Giant Software

  • Knoll Light Factory

  • Image Lizard and Composite Wizard

    NOTE: The following Image Lounge and Composite Wizard filters are not supported: Video Feedback, Wire&RigRemoval, Denoiser, Hall of Time, Color Map, Color Matcher, Brimstone, Clouds, Fire, Tunnel, Text.

    Re: Vision Effects

  • Fields Kit

  • Re:Fill

  • ReelSmart Motion Blur

  • Shape/Shade

  • SmoothKit

  • Twixtor Pro

  • Video Gogh

    Synthetic Aperture

  • Color Finesse

    Trapcode

  • Shine

  • Star Glow

    Walker Effects

    • Professional Edition

      NOTE: The following Walker Effects filters are not supported: Alpha Tool, Channel Offset, Color Composite, Fast Tracker, Glow, Light Wrap.

      Preview to Monitor

      Preview to Monitor is now available when using Boris Red as a plug-in on some systems.

      Enabling Preview to Monitor

      To enable the Preview to Monitor feature, start Boris Red and open the Preferences window.

      1. Choose File > Preferences.

      2. Click to select the Preview tab.

      3. In the External Monitor Output section, choose your hardware from the Device menu. The Device menu displays all the supported hardware connected to your system.

      4. Choose an option from the Mode menu if applicable. For example, if you are using a FireWire Converter box, you can choose PAL and NTSC formats from the Mode menu.

      5. Click OK to save your settings and exit the Preferences window.

        The Preview to Monitor preferences are saved and applied to all Boris Red projects unless your Boris Red preference file is rebuilt.

        Displaying Frames in your External Monitor

        Commands in the Preview menu allow you to set the video display.

        When Connect to External Monitor is chosen in the Preview menu, Preview to Monitor is enabled and the following three options in the menu become available:

        • Auto-Update Monitor allows every frame of your effect previews to the external video monitor. This allows you to drag the CTI in the timeline and view updating frames. The image displays on the external monitor, using the Resolution and Quality settings specified in the Composite window.

          Enabling Auto-Update Monitor will slow Boris Red since every frame is updated in the external monitor.

        • Display Frame on Monitor displays the current frame on the external monitor, using the Resolution and Quality settings specified in the Composite window.

        • Display HQ Frame to Monitor to display the image on the external monitor, using Full Resolution and High Quality settings, regardless of the Resolution and Quality settings in the Composite window.

          Disconnecting Preview to Monitor

          To disconnect Preview to Monitor (for example if you want to connect another device to your video board while editing with Boris Red), quit Boris Red. When you restart Boris Red, the external monitor is not connected until you choose Connect to External Monitor in the Preview menu.

          Tips for Using the Preview to Monitor Feature

        • Preview to Monitor automatically disconnects when you exit Boris Red. This means each time you start Boris Red, you need to choose Preview > Connect to External Monitor in order to reconnect and see your image on the external monitor.

        • To change the Preview to Monitor device or mode, disconnect Boris Red’s Preview to Monitor feature by choosing Disconnect External Monitor from the Preview menu. Open the Boris Red GL Preference window’s Preview tab to choose a new Device or Driver from the External Monitor Output menus. You can also reconnect via the Preview menu with those new settings in the same session.

        • Displaying images on an external monitor requires compressing and resizing the images. Boris Red might run slower if you have Auto Update enabled. Deselect Auto- Update Monitor in the Preview menu to remain connected to the external monitor but not automatically update frames.

        • Manually update frames to your external monitor by choosing Preview > Display Frame to Monitor, or Preview > Display HQ Frame to Monitor, or by pressing the Display Frame to Monitor button on the upper-right corner of the Composite window.

          Supported Preview to Monitor Hardware

          You can output video to an external monitor through a FireWire converter box or through supported video hardware connected to your system. You can output media at any project size and immediately view your working frame without rendering the timeline.

          NOTE: As a standalone, Boris Red does not officially support connecting to hardware that is already in use by the host NLE for direct Video Out purposes. The standalone version of Boris Red can only use the FireWire output if the NLE releases it while Boris Red is running.

          However, Boris Red looks for all possible output devices upon installation, and lists the results in the Device menu in the Preview tab of the Boris Red preferences. As a result, users may be able to use a different output device for Boris Red than the one that the host application uses. The host application may use its own capture hardware for display, leaving the FireWire port available.

          Video-out capabilities are also available in the standalone Boris Red. This enables anyone with supported video hardware, whether built into their computers, included with their NLEs, or provided through third parties, to see the work they create in Boris Red immediately on television monitors.

          NOTE: Make sure you have the latest drivers installed for the supported video cards.

          More Flexibility for Pie Charts

          A new Series menu appears in the Chart tab for Pie Charts. This allows more flexible data import. Previously, you could only import row-based data into Pie Charts. The Series menu lets you orient the chart to include rows or columns as a series.

        • Rows as Series places the rows vertically in the chart. The information in the first row appears in the Legend (if the Enable Legend checkbox is selected in the Legend tab).

        • Columns as Series places the columns vertically in the chart. The information in the first column appears in the Legend (if the Enable Legend checkbox is selected in the Legend tab).

      Applying Two Motion Tracker Filters to the Same Track

      Two Motion Tracker filters can be applied to the same shape or filter track. Previously, only the top-most Motion Tracker filter was recognized. For example, this is useful when motion tracking both ends of the wire in the Wire Remover filter.

      New Quit and Save As Behavior

      When you quit Boris Red, the name of the saved setting is displayed and saved when you press OK. The application then quits, which eliminates the extra dialog box that you previously had to dismiss. If you want to save the open setting with another name, you can press Cancel and then save your setting. If the setting has not been saved previously, the dialog prompts you to save it.

      New Preview to RAM Behavior

      When audio is disabled, Preview to RAM now loops the playable frames, rather than playing the frames then holding the last frame for the full (or in/out) duration.

      Project Window Improvements

      The active composition in the Project window (in Frame view, List view, or Render Queue) is framed with a blue outline, which is different than the selection color. This indicates the composition that is open in the timeline and saves when you choose Save Composition.

      New Project Window Sorting

      Friendlier sorting of compositions in Frame, List and Render Queue views. Columns now sort more logically when they contain numbers (i.e. 10 sorts after 9, not after 1). This ordering is regardless of where the numbers occur in the name.

      New Naming Scheme for New and Duplicated Compositions

      When you create a new Composition, duplicate names are now avoided. Previously when you created a Project and saved a copy of the Composition several times, you could easily create confusion with several compositions of the same name. Duplicated compositions are named with “_1”, “_2”, etc. The Save Composition Copy command automatically appends “_1” after the name. If you edit the name of Composition 1_1 and choose Save Composition Copy, you get Composition 1_1_1, so you can see your version history.

      Special Notes

      Important Note on OpenGL

      Due to the fast rate at which OpenGL card manufacturers release drivers, Boris Red may disqualify your OpenGL hardware erroneously. If this happens, you should try to enable OpenGL to see if you benefit from OpenGL acceleration. If you have troubles with slowness, or render inconsistencies, please disable OpenGL. 

      While OpenGL may work in the Boris Red standalone, that does not necessarily mean it will work inside your host application.

      Boris Red will make every effort to continue to qualify OpenGL cards and driver versions. However, it is important to note that it is impossible to qualify all combinations of OpenGL cards, operating system, drivers and host applications. In general you should run the latest supported driver available for your OpenGL card.

      Configuring Dual Monitor Systems

      On dual monitor systems, use the following instructions to correctly configure your video display board. Otherwise, system instability may result.

      1. Right-click on the Desktop and choose Properties from the menu that appears. The Display Properties window opens.

      2. Click the Settings tab.

      3. In the Settings tab, click the Advanced button.

      4. Click the tab with the name of your card on it. The nView window appears.

      Image_012

      1. On the left side of the window, select nView Display Settings.

      2. On the right side of the window, choose Dualview from the nView Display Mode menu.

      3. Next, on the left side of the window, select Performance & Quality Settings.

        Image_004

      4. On the right side of the window, select Hardware acceleration from the Settings list.

      5. Set the Hardware acceleration slider to Multi- display compatibility mode, the middle setting.

      6. Click the OK button.

      7. Click OK in the Display Properties window.

      Dual Monitor Limitations with OpenGL

      Due to an issue with the NVidia card, Boris Red crashes if you are running the application on a dual monitor system with OpenGL. If you plan on using your Boris Red plug-in on a dual monitor system, you need to do one of the following:

  • With OpenGL enabled, you must display the Composite window on the left-hand monitor.

  • If you want to display the Composite window on the right-hand monitor, you must disable OpenGL.

    With OpenGL enabled:

  • The system default displays the Composite window on the left-hand monitor. If it’s on the right-hand monitor, click and drag the Composite window to the left-hand monitor.

To disable Open GL from the Preferences dialog box:

  1. From Boris Red, select Edit > Preferences.

  2. Click the Render tab.

  3. From the OpenGL Acceleration menu, select Off.

    You can then display the Composite window on the right-hand monitor.

    To disable Open GL from the Preview menu:

    • From the Composite window, select Preview > OpenGL Mode > Off.

This disables OpenGL. You can then display the Composite window on the right-hand monitor.

Checking your OpenGL Hardware, Software, Drivers and Settings

The first time you launch Boris Red, an internal test is run on your system to determine whether your hardware meets the minimum requirements necessary for OpenGL Hardware acceleration. If your hardware does not meet the minimum requirements, OpenGL is disabled by default on your system.

  1. To perform the OpenGL Hardware test manually, click the Test OpenGL Hardware button in the Preferences window’s Render tab.

    Depending on the amount of memory your graphics card has, this test may take a few minutes to run.

    After the test is run, a window displays specifics of the hardware and drivers installed on your system which are necessary to run OpenGL. If any test results show your system may have problems running OpenGL, the errors are detailed in this window.

  2. If you want, click the Copy to Clipboard button to copy this information to your system clipboard. This allows you to print or e-mail this information.

  3. When you finish, click OK to close this window.

    Depending on your system, the test may take a few seconds to complete. The test stresses your OpenGL hardware, so you should run the test with a typical workload on your system. Before you run the OpenGL hardware test, open any graphics applications that you usually run while you edit (any graphics intensive applications you are running at the time may affect the results).

    Boris Red uses the following guidelines for optimal OpenGL performance. Some of this information does not affect Boris Red’s hardware testing but is useful for technical support if you are having OpenGL problems:

    • OpenGL version - Should be 1.2 and higher.

    • Texture Rectangle - This is an advanced OpenGL image sizing feature. If you are having OpenGL problems, this provides useful information for technical support.

    • Texture Memory - Texture Memory displays the amount of memory on the video card available for Boris Red to use for textures (layer images).To use Boris Red without display or performance problems, Texture Memory must be at least 32MB. Texture Memory available is not the absolute of memory on your card, but rather the amount available to Boris Red.

    • Texture Dimension displays the maximum texture size that can be used with the video card.

Macintosh OS Version displays the installed version of the Macintosh OS (if you are running on a Macintosh system.) Macintosh users must have at least Macintosh OS

      1. Installed to support OpenGL.

        OpenGL Errors

        When the OpenGL Hardware Test is run, error messages may display if your system fails. These errors display as Hardware Status errors or Critical Testing errors.

        Hardware Status errors report the status of your current system setup against Boris Red’s recommended card manufacturer, model and driver. These errors do not prevent you from using OpenGL, they just warn that your specific system and setup may cause problems with OpenGL. Hardware Status errors can include messages such as insufficient available texture memory or reports that your card was not recognized by Boris Red’s internal hardware testing. When you receive a Hardware Status error, OpenGL is automatically disabled when you launch Boris Red. However, you can manually enable OpenGL in the Boris Red Preferences window.

        Critical Testing errors report errors that will not allow you to use OpenGL in Red. When you receive a Critical Testing error, OpenGL is automatically disabled when you launch Red. If you receive a Critical Testing error, you should not enable OpenGL or you may crash. Certain errors are influenced by the display properties set on your video card. The display property settings are card-driver specific. As a general rule, the display properties should be set to 32 bits of color, with the depth buffer set to at least 16 bits. On many cards the OpenGL capabilities are reduced when higher display resolution and refresh rates are set.

        Enabling OpenGL

        You can enable OpenGL in the Preview menu or in the Preferences window.

        • To enable OpenGL in the Boris Red Preference window, choose Edit > Preferences (Windows) or Boris Red > Preferences (Macintosh). Click the Render Tab and select the Accelerated Draft Preview checkbox. Choose the appropriate choice from the OGL Acceleration menu. On, Max. texture caching provides the best performance and is the recommended setting.

        • To enable OpenGL in the Preview menu, choose Preview > Open GL Mode. Choose the appropriate choice from the submenu. On, Max. texture caching provides the best performance and is the recommended setting.

          Troubleshooting OpenGL Issues

          To toggle OpenGL off, use the keyboard shortcut Command or Control-[. To turn it back on, the keyboard shortcut Command-] (Macintosh) or Control-] (Windows). Menu choices also appear in the Preview menu and in the Preferences window. You can still use Boris Red without OpenGL or with an older card, you just won’t gain as much acceleration.

          Display problems such as white, rainbow or garbage images in the Composite window may be related to OpenGL. If this occurs, open the Preference window. In the Render tab, change the OpenGL Acceleration menu to use less texture caching. Texture caching is used for textures (layer images) and is related to the amount of Texture memory on the video card. Display problems related to OpenGL will not affect your rendered effects.

          NOTE: If you experience OpenGL problems, setting the OpenGL Acceleration menu to use less texture caching improves OpenGL reliability, although it lessens OpenGL performance.

          Displaying Frames on your External Monitor

          Commands in the Preview menu allow you to set the video display.

          When Connect to External Monitor is chosen in the Preview menu, Preview to Monitor is enabled and the following three options in the menu become available:

          • When you choose Auto-Update Monitor from the Preview menu, every frame of your effect previews to the external video monitor. This allows you to drag the CTI in the timeline and view updating frames. The image displays on the external monitor, using the Resolution and Quality settings specified in the Composite window.

            NOTE: Enabling Auto-Update Monitor slows Boris Red since every frame updates in the external monitor. Also, OpenGL Acceleration is disabled in the Composite window when you enable Auto-Update.

          • When you choose Display Frame on Monitor from the Preview menu or click the Display Frame to Monitor button in the upper-right corner of the Composite window, the current frame displays on the external monitor, using the Resolution and Quality settings specified in the Composite window.

          • When you choose Display HQ Frame to Monitor from the Preview menu, the image displays on the external monitor, using Full Resolution and High Quality settings, regardless of the Resolution and Quality settings in the Composite window.

            Disconnecting Preview to Monitor (Standalone)

            When you relaunch Boris Red, the external monitor is not connected until you choose Connect to External Monitor in the Preview menu.

            Tips for Using the Preview to Monitor Feature (Standalone)

          • Preview to Monitor automatically disconnects when you exit Boris Red. This means each time you launch Boris Red, you need to choose Preview > Connect to External Monitor in order to reconnect and see your image on the external monitor.

          • Displaying images on an external monitor requires compressing and resizing the images. Boris Red may run slower if you have Auto Update enabled. Deselect Auto- Update Monitor in the Preview menu to remain connected to the external monitor but not automatically update frames.

            Manually update frames to your external monitor by choosing Preview > Display Frame to Monitor, or Preview > Display HQ Frame to Monitor, or by pressing the Display Frame to Monitor button on the upper-right corner of the Composite window.

            Installing and Using Adobe After Effects Filters within Boris Red

            Boris Red provides a supported list of AE filters for use inside Boris Red. For best results, use only supported AE filters inside Boris Red.

            NOTE: Supported filters were tested on single-processor machines. While these filters should also work in multi-processor machines, it is possible you will experience unexpected results or your machine may crash. If you have problems with supported filters in multi-processor machines, try disabling the MP functionality on your machine and recreating your filter effect.

            Important Information on Using After Effects Filters

          • Checkboxes and menus cannot be animated.

          • Time remapping filters do not work in Boris Red.

          • After Effects filters used inside Boris Red might take longer to render than most Boris Red effects.

          • None of Adobe's built-in After Effects filters work inside Boris Red.

          • Some of the After Effects filters need to be frame rendered. If renders appear noisy or jittery, deselect the “Better Quality Field Rendering” checkbox in the Boris Red Preferences window and re-render the effect.

          • If you have more than 900 filters installed in Boris Red, you will not see some filters. If you reach the filter limit, when you launch Boris Red a warning asks you to remove some files from the Plugins folder and restart Boris Red. You can ignore the warning

            dialog and continue to work but you will not have access to all the AE plug-ins inside the Plugins folder. You can use the Plugin Filter Manager to hide the filters you don’t need. See “Creating Effects “in the Help for more information on using the Plugin Filter Manager.

            Important Information about Exporting to Flash

            Boris Red exports Flash .swf files that are compliant with the Flash 5 architecture. If you are using QuickTime to preview your exported .swf files, you need a version of QuickTime that supports the Flash 5 format. The following effects are supported for exporting to Flash.

          • Text

          • Spline media

          • 2D Charts (which consist of text and spline shapes)

        Other bitmap elements such as video or still graphics can be included in the exported Flash file and will be JPEG-compressed. In the Export preferences you can set the quality of the JPEG compression.

        NOTE: When you export text to Flash, any texture that was applied to the text is ignored.

        NOTE: When you export text with a gradient fill to Flash, the resulting .swf file is blank.

        Exporting as Flash

        Boris Red allows you to export files in the Macromedia Flash (SWF) format. This feature allows you to export compositions as compact, vector-based files optimized for web viewing. For example, you could export a Type On effect to include on a web page.

        The SWF format was designed primarily for animated 3D Line Art objects, so it works well when exporting settings that contain spline and text animations. Settings that contain video or animated bitmaps, however, generate rather large files. You might want to consider exporting such animations as a QuickTime or AVI file.

        See “Exporting Effects as Movies” in the Help for more information.

        There are some limitations with the Flash export feature. You cannot export 3D Extrusion tracks as Flash. Settings that contain the 3D Extrusion tracks export as a blank track. The Flash export feature does not support shadows or gradients used as Texture tracks. However, you can export a static gradient as a bitmap background.

        NOTE: To prepare to export to Flash, you should change any shape track containing EPS files, text, or Spline media to 3D Line Art shape. Because you cannot use the 3D Line Art shape with the Brush tool, you cannot export brush strokes as Flash.

        To export a track as a Flash file:

        1. Select the appropriate track in the timeline.

        2. Choose File > Export > Flash.

          A dialog box appears that allows you to name and save the file.

        3. Name the track and click Save.

          The composition is exported using the Flash Export settings, which are controlled by the Preferences window’s Export tab. For more information, see the Help.

          Creating Time Effects within Boris Red

          The following important notes pertain to Time filters, including Optical Flow.

          • Exporting an effect containing a Time filter (including Optical Flow) with host media is NOT recommended. If you want to export from Boris Red with Optical Flow (or any Time filter) in the timeline, you should use imported media in the source track.

            This is because Boris Red does not receive both fields at set-up (preview). In that case, the first field of each frame goes into the motion estimator. If the motion is small from one frame to the next, and/or includes little crossing motion, the preview appears close to the rendered output. However, if the motion is large, and/or includes a lot of crossing motion, it is important for the motion estimator to have access to both fields in order to see an accurate preview of the rendered result.

            Important Information about Working with Motion Filters

          • You should use the Snap CTI to KeyFrame option (Track > Snap CTI to KeyFrame) when working with the Motion filters to avoid confusion. For example, this option is not selected and you move the CTI off a selected keyframe. Then you adjust the Search and Target parameters using on-screen controls. A new keyframe is not

            created. Instead, the selected keyframe is adjusted. This could cause your media to track incorrectly. If you want to create a new keyframe, you must deselect all keyframes before adjusting parameters on-screen.

          • While Interpolation Fields appear next to the Search/Target tab parameters, you should not adjust the Interpolation. Leave the Interpolation set to Hold. Adjusting the Interpolation will not affect the tracking but may cause on-screen parameters to display incorrectly.

          • You can work at Half or Quarter Resolution to achieve a preview of a motion filter. But if the motion tracker fails repeatedly, you may have to work at Full Resolution.

          • You can only adjust the Search and Target regions in the Motion filter track's Preview window. The Source track does not display the region controls; the Composite window does not display the region controls.

          • The field order of the media must match the field order setting in the Media tab. You can set this in the Import tab in the Preferences window. See the Help for more information.

Important Information Using the KeyFrame Library

The first time you browse the KeyFrame Library effects within the Library Browser you must generate thumbnail images for the effects.

  1. Open the Boris Red Library Browser, by choosing Window > Library Browser, clicking the Open Library Browser button in the timeline or pressing Control-9.

  2. Select an effect or effect folder and click the Generate Thumbnails button. For more information on using the KeyFrame Library, see the Help.

    NOTE: We recommend that when you build thumbnail previews for the KeyFrame Library, you do this in the Boris Red standalone application. Because building previews actually renders your effect, this process can take as much as 25- 30% longer in the plug-in than in the Boris Red standalone application.

    Keyboard Shortcuts

    The Keyboard Shortcuts is available from the Help or on the Online Library DVD.

    New Modifier Keys for Dial controls

    When using the mouse on dial controls, you can now use the following modifiers:

    • Press the Shift key to round the marks on the dial controls to the nearest 45 degrees.

    • Press Control to round the marks on the dial controls to the nearest 10 degrees.

    • Press Shift-Control to round the marks on the dial controls to the nearest 5 degrees.

    • Press Shift-Control and use the mouse wheel to round the marks on the dial controls to the nearest 45 degrees.

      When tracking with a mouse wheel on dial controls, you can use the following modifiers:

    • Use the mouse wheel with no modifier keys to move the dial controls in 1 degree increments.

    • Press the Shift key and use the mouse wheel to round the marks on the dial controls to the nearest 10 degrees.

    • Press Control and use the mouse wheel to round the marks on the dial controls to the nearest .1 degrees.

      Fixed Bugs

      The following limitations have been fixed since the last release of Boris Red.

    • The PixelChooser mask no longer renders into final rendered effects.

    • You no longer need to deselect the Shape control in the Composite window’s Controls menu to directly manipulate an object’s Mask controls.

    • Moving a track with nested media up or down in the timeline no longer causes the track to open and display all of its subtracks.

    • In the 2D Particles filters, custom shapes do not truncate anymore.

    • Particles are now visible in the first frame of a preview.

    • The shortcut for changing color channels to RGB is now labelled correctly.

    • Render problems do not now occur when you enable a Bump Map for a Spline Object or Spline Primitive track in a 3D Model Container.

    • The Path controls can now adjust multiple selected splines.

    • When a spline style from the Style Palette is applied to a spline primitive shape, the shape does not now reset back to the default shape value.

    • The Date format Day/Month/Year in the Date/Time generator does not now display a comma at the end if you have suppressed the time display.

    • When Top-Down text is selected, the Text Wrap menu setting is no longer ignored.

    • Text on a Path moving from right to left will no longer display upside down.

    • Text Radial edge widths over 18 points no longer appears strange in characters like “o” and others with centers.

    • When both the Reveal and Remove checkboxes are enabled in the Animation tab, Position X now animates when you work with extruded Bar and Pie Charts.

    • Removing an extruded Bar Chart by selecting the Reveal Shape checkbox in the Animation tab now works correctly.

    • The Animate button can now be in static mode when working with Charts.

    • When working with a Line Chart in Full Resolution, small nicks or indentations no longer appear in the lines.

    • When you apply a BCC Colorize filter as a standalone filter to the timeline, the gradient bar no longer displays black instead of showing colors.

    • The final render of an Optical Flow effect that is applied to host media now renders correctly.

    • When the default interpolation is set to Constant in the keyframe options palette, and a Motion Tracker filter is added to the timeline, resetting the default interpolation in the keyframe options palette no longer results in no keyframes being generated for the Motion Tracker when you move the tracker target/region.

    • If you select a preset in the Match Grain filter, the preset name now appears in the control.

      Known Limitations in Red 4

      Boris Red 4 includes the following known limitations:

      General Limitations

    • Still image media does not reload automatically, and you need to use the Files>Reload command to update a re-imported still image file that has been changed.

    • You need to deselect the Shape control in the Composite window’s Controls menu to directly manipulate an object’s Crop controls.

    • The text window will only update the text with changes made to the control window (such as Margin, Wrap, or Font) when you press the update button in the text generator window or close the text generator window.

    • Changes to the controls text window are ignored if the text generator window is open.

    • When cell is set in the Apply To pop-up, none of the changes in the animation tab will have an effect on bar charts although the numbers in the numeric entry box change to show the animation.

    • Default interpolation is set in the keyframe options palette, not the preferences window.

    • When OGL is enabled and you re-enter an effect, the resulting image appears white in the Composition window. To change this, press Control + [. This disables the OGL preview and revrts to non-OGL mode.

  • The Motion Blur button is a global preference. That means that, when you render, all settings respect the last setting of this checkbox in the UI. This is not a bug, but can be confusing when you render multiple effects in the Render Queue.

  • If you tumble an object that has an image bump map (such as a movie or still image file), you may see a moire pattern as it tumbles.

  • If you reopen a saved setting where you previously changed the color of a border or gradient using the eyedropper, in some instances the color has reverted back to its original color.

  • Paint strokes will not be removed by the Eraser brush when working over a transparent background and Eraser Mode is set to Strokes Only.

  • When you save a style to the Materials tab in the Style Palette, it does not correctly save the Source type that was used in the Bump Map tab.

  • The V key in the new Color Preview feature does not work to commit to a color. You can use the C key to dynamically preview colors, but you cannot use the V key to commit to them. Click the mouse instead.

  • If you import files into Boris Red that were created in Adobe Illustrator version 9, they display as transparent. Save the file in Illustrator version 8 instead.

  • When you search for a missing media file using the Search button in the Media Files window, it may not find files that were moved to another local drive. Manually browse to the new location of the file and press the Replace button.

  • Tracks containing PSD files that have been converted to containers do not correctly update if you modify them (for example in Photoshop) and then use the Reload Files command.

  • Files exported to Flash from Boris Red cannot be used in Macromedia Flash authoring applications such as Flash MX.

  • If you use the Keyframe Time field in the timeline to move keyframes, all keyframes that a moving keyframe passes are merged to it. Instead, move keyframes past one another by dragging the mouse.

  • Photoshop (.psd) files with adjustment layers display incorrectly in Boris Red if you convert their track to a container. Turn off any adjustment layers in Photoshop before importing .psd files if you plan to use the Convert to Container command.

  • Resuming a partial render of an exported QuickTime file may have some undesirable side-effects. In particular, video compressed with codecs that use frame- differencing and data-rate-limiting (such as Sorenson or Cinepak) may exhibit some of the following behavior during playback.

  • Some frames following the resume point may be corrupted. The data rate may be slightly larger than expected. Also, if the file includes an audio track, a slight blip may be heard at the resume point. This may occur with any codec.

    • If you use Frame-Differenced movies in Boris Red (including movies compressed with Apple’s QuickTime Animation codec, and some movies compressed with Sorenson), you will see reduced performance. The use of Frame-Differenced movies is not recommended within Boris Red.

    • When field media is exported or previewed as frames, only the first field is used.

    • Using non-square pixel aspect ratios (i.e. 720x480) can distort the EPS media type when used with the 3D Plane Shape. Use the 3D Line Art shape instead.

    • Any effect that uses a filter involving edge detection (for example, RGB Edges) should be rendered with the Better Quality Field Rendering checkbox selected. Otherwise, the rendered effect will jitter.

    • Balance and Volume controls have no effect on audio tracks containing AVI files or MP3 files.

    • Boris Red exports Flash.swf files that are compliant with the Flash 5 architecture. If you are using QuickTime to preview your exported.swf files, your QuickTime version must support the Flash 5 format. Older versions of QuickTime display the background as a solid color.

      Limitations with Keyboard Shortcuts

    • The shortcut for hiding marks is listed as (CTRL+ALT+’), however the shortcut does not work. Use the menu choice in the Preview menu, or create your own shortcut in the Keyboard Shortcuts window instead. See the Help, for more information on creating shortcuts.

    • After creating new keyboard shortcuts, certain items in the Windows menu may show duplicate keyboard shortcuts (for example, the Filter Palette and Media Files window display the same keyboard shortcut). You can assign new shortcuts in the Shortcuts window. See the Help, for more information on creating shortcuts.

      Limitations with the Spline Object Media Type

    • The Reverse Keyframes command (Track > Reverse Keyframes) does not work in Spline effects.

      Limitations with Text Features

    • When using Kanji text, the underline option overlaps certain characters, depending on their size.

    • Tracking controls the global horizontal spacing of the characters in an effect. Tracking behaves differently depending on whether the text was created with the Text tool or in the Text window. When you create text with the Text tool, the tracking honors the justification that is set in the Transform tab. When you create text in the

      Text window, the tracking is applied with center justification. To track to the right or left using text that was created in the Text window, select the text with the Text tool and move it slightly. Then set the justification in the Transform tab. The Tracking now uses the justification. For information, see the Help.

    • Importing RTF documents using the Insert Text feature in the timeline’s contextual menu will cause all tab delimited text to appear on the first line in Boris Red, rather than in multiple lines. You will need to manually insert line breaks.

    • If you Flip an image vertically and then render it through the host, the rendered video appears jittery. Enable the “Better Quality Field Rendering” checkbox to render correctly.

      Limitations with Chart Features

    • Accented letters such as é are not passed from the Chart Editor to the Chart Container correctly. Therefore, a Chart Legend or Grid label that uses accented characters must be entered directly into the text track, using the Text tool or Text window. If this is necessary, it must be done as a final step when building the chart. This is because editing the chart data or enabling/disabling the Legend or Grid updates this text using Chart Editor text; as a result, the accented characters will be lost.

    • On certain systems, extruded pie charts pieces may incorrectly display their corners. Reduce the Bevel to 0 to fix this.

    • If you have long names for the X axis (defaults: South, East, West, and North), and you are animating the chart the names will not line up with the actual chart.

    • Selecting the “Apply Current Spline Style” checkbox can create unintended changes if the setting is modified after another spline style is selected. For example, you create a static Line chart setting with the “Apply Current Spline Style” checkbox selected. You apply another spline style from the Style Palette to a different track. If you then animate the chart, the chart will update with the latest spline style, rather than the style originally applied. The workaround is to reapply the original spline style from the Style Palette.

      Limitations with Filters

    • The Fire filter renders with the fields reversed unless you render it with Better Quality Field Rendering enabled.

    • In the Fire filter, when using text as a Map layer, the size of the text is ignored and will frequently display garbage. Map text to a Shape, then nest the shape layer inside the Fire filter to correct this problem.

      Registration

    • Some filters create effects that evolve over time based on parameter settings. The output of these filters (for example Velocity Remap, Particle System, Comet) depends on the parameter values for the entire effect; changing a parameter value on any frame changes the output for all subsequent frames. If the animation jumps after changing a parameter, the jump is probably because Boris Red did not invalidate frames that were affected by the change. You can fix this by choosing Edit

      > Purge Frame Cache, and previewing again. Your rendered output does not use the cached frames, so even if you forget to purge the frame cache, your final render appears correctly.

    • Time filters always use the first field of fielded media when frame rendering or previewing.

    • The Motion Tracker Filter’s Analyze button won’t analyze the total length of the effect if a movie’s length is shorter than the duration of the effect and the movie is set to Loop.

      Limitations with BCC Grain Filters

    • The grain filter presets do not store the grain sample, only the filter settings. If you load a Match Grain preset and want to use a stored grain signature, you have to load that as well. If you load a DeGrain preset with the “Lock Sample” checkbox enabled, Boris Red will not acquire the sample.

    • The BCC DeGrain and Match Grain filters can only be used when the Boris Red Composite window is set to Full Resolution. If you are not in Full Resolution, an error message warns you to set the Composite window to Full resolution. If you do not set the Composite window to Full Resolution, a red “X” will display in the sample box.


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