HitFilm 4 Pro Adds Alembic, Grid Particles, & More

FXHome has taken the wraps off a new HitFilm product release with HitFilm 4 Pro which now offers a new animation system, some really big improvements to 3D, which include the ability to import Alembic files.

HitFilm 4 Pro introduces a completely new animation system, massive improvements to 3D model realism, a stunning new 3D titler and much more.

HitFilm has been making some great advancements to their unified and true 3D environment over the last little while. With hitFilm 4 Pro, you can now import and use Alembic files that are generated from virtually any 3D application that supports alembic. If yo are not familiar with Alembic, it is Lucas film’s and ImageWork’s open source file interchange framework. Alembic makes it possible to bring in 3D models to and from any application that supports it. Alembic is much more than static 3D models however, with support for baked geometry allowing for animated meshes.

With HitFilm 4 Pro and Alembic, you can bring in animated content, be it an animated mesh, a particle simulation, or camera moves, from your favorite 3D application and use it in HitFilms 3D environment.

Adding More to HitFilm’s 3D

HitFilm 4 adds some new and updated features for 3D. FXHome has completely overhauled the lighting system in HitFilm 4 Pro. The new lighting model is based on a Cook-Torrance system, and offers a wider range of materials to give you much better results with specularity. This will make it HitFilm 4 Pro have much better looking metallic surfaces.

Also added to the 3D rendering is a new Global Ambient Occlusion feature which can apply ambient shadows between all 3D layers. This will offer more realistic shadow-casts between objects that are close to each other, adding much welcome contact shadows.

Better Animation Controls

HitFilm 4 Pro adds a value graph to the timeline, offering a view into the temporal interpolation of animated keyframes. This is pretty essential for controlling how keys will blend into each other. New Bezier Spatial Interpolation will now allow you to adjust animation right in the viewer with friendly and intuitive bezier handles.

Particle Engine Additions

HitFilm 4 now offers Soft Particles. This makes it easier to have a hard surface model interact with volumetric type of particle effects. You can have the particles take on soft edges when they come into contact with a 3D model.

Also added to the particle engine in HitFilm 4 are Grid Emitters. This new emitter option will have particles spawn into a grid system. The Grid-Based emitter will have all kinds of possibilities for motion graphics projects as well as being a handy tool in the 3D environment.

Visit the page for HitFilm 4 to learn more about the latest features not listed here.

HitFilm 4

HitFilm 4 Pro is available right now, for $349.00, with upgrades for $169.00. You can still buy the HitFilm Plugins separately in a product called HitFilm Ignite. The plugins work in After Effects, and Premiere Pro, and are all GPU accelerated. Check out HitFilm Ignite, and HitFilm 4 Pro for more information.