Thursday, June 14th, 2012 Posted by Jim Thacker

Autodesk ships free pre-release trial of Smoke 2013

Autodesk has made the upcoming Smoke 2013 available as a free pre-release trial download.

The developer expects big things from its retooled editing and effects package, claiming that it could become a “disruptive technology” to rank alongside RED cameras or the original Final Cut.

It’s too early to say whether Autodesk is right, but the reaction from the industry has been enthusiastic so far: the press release below lists the awards Smoke 2013 won on its announcement at NAB this year.

The trial edition is fully functional, but expires on 15 September 2012.

PRESS RELEASE (Excerpts)
Autodesk, Inc. announced that Autodesk Smoke 2013 video editing software, a completely redesigned and repackaged pre-release version of the all-in-one video editing and visual effects tool for the Mac, is now available as a free trial.

In mid-April, Smoke 2013 video editing software was introduced at NAB in Las Vegas to standing room-only crowds at the Autodesk booth and internationally, via social media and the AREA Virtual NAB. The excitement for Smoke from creative editors, journalists, bloggers and people across the industry has been palpable. At least 3,000 people pre-registered for the pre-release trial during NAB with a steady 1,000 more registrations per week since its debut. In addition to the extremely positive public response, Smoke 2013 has garnered six NAB 2012 awards to date: the Videomaker Best of NAB 2012 Spotlight Award; the TV Technology 2012 STAR Award; Post Picks, Coolest Gear from NAB 2012; the CGW Silver Edge Award; the 2012 Digital Video Black Diamond Award; and Creative COW Blue Ribbon Award for Best of Show.

“The decision to radically redesign Smoke grew out of customer feedback and market research, in which the user community identified improved post production workflows and pipeline efficiency as vital to their business. Since the debut, the Smoke design team has continued to innovate and enhance this groundbreaking software. The three-month pre-release trial period will afford users the opportunity to not only experiment with the unified editing and effects workflow, but also to provide additional feedback to our developers. NAB was just the beginning,” said Marc Petit, senior vice president, Autodesk Media & Entertainment.

Smoke can help editors simplify workflow, centrally manage media, work interactively with high-res media throughout projects and deliver high-end content on the most recent generation of Apple iMac and MacBook Pro systems. Autodesk anticipates Smoke 2013 will launch September 2012 for $3,495 MSRP per license. (U.S. pricing only. International pricing may vary.)

Key Features

  • The Smoke User Interface (UI) — An intuitive all-in-one creative workflow that combines track-based editorial, industry-standard editing conventions and proven Autodesk creative tools
  • ConnectFX — Powerful node-based compositing inside the timeline for high-end effects and advanced compositing without leaving the editorial environment
  • Creative Tools — A robust toolset with proven high-end finishing tools, Action for true 3D compositing, the Colour Warper for professional grading and color matching, the Master Keyer for one-click chroma keying and stereoscopic 3D editing and effects
  • MediaHub — A modern approach to working natively with common formats that facilitates managing all project media from ingest to edit to effects and archiving
  • Flexible System Requirements — Runs on most Apple iMac and MacBook Pro systems using high-bandwidth Thunderbolt storage and IO bringing true high-end video effects to flexible desktop and mobile workflows

Download the trial edition of Smoke 2013

Read a full feature list for Smoke 2013