Boris FX ships Continuum 2020.5
Boris FX has released Continuum 2020.5, the latest version of its suite of effects plugins for compositing and editing apps, updating the Title Studio toolset and Remover filters, and adding two new transitions.
Particle Illusion, Continuum’s new 2D particle system, also gets an update, adding new point-based and grid-based forces, and a set of readymade ‘retro cartoon’ emitter presets.
New in Particle Illusion: new force field and point force systems, retro-themed emitter presets
The biggest changes in Continuum 2020.5 are to Particle Illusion, the veteran After Effects 2D particle animation tool, which Boris FX rebooted in 2018, making it available to all of Continuum’s host platforms.
The update introduces two new systems for controlling the motion of particles: the self-descriptive Force Point – which can be used to attract or repel particles – and a Force Field Grid.
Particle Illusion also gets a new set of presets that Boris FX describes as “retro cartoon” themed, although in the demo video above, they look more inspired by 80s videogames.
There is also a sizeable list of performance improvements and workflow updates, including the option to mark emitters as Favorites and filter them in searches of the library.
Other changes: dynamic 3D shadows in Title Studio, planar tracking-driven blemish removal
3D titling plugin Title Studio has also been updated, adding a Cast Shadow shader, which generates real-time shadows from 3D text.
The update also adds a new Composite Over Source option, which uses the host application’s native tools to control the titles’ blending mode and opacity, and on Windows, support for 4K monitors.
Automated object removal filter Remover is now driven by the tracking technology used in Mocha, Boris FX’s dedicated planar tracking software, and gets new on-screen widgets, shown in the video above.
There are also two new transitions, Crash Zoom Dissolve and Spin Blur Dissolve.
Pricing and system requirements
Continuum 2020.5 is available now, and is compatible with a range of common compositing and editing software, including After Effects, DaVinci Resolve and Nuke.
It is priced according to host application, with new licences costing from $695 to $1,495. Subscriptions cost from $195/year to $595/year. It is also possible to buy individual Continuum Units.
Read an overview of the new features in Continuum 2020.5 on Boris FX’s website
Read a full list of new features in Continuum 2020.5 in the online release notes