Boosting Performance with Next-Gen Graphics Technology: Autodesk Flame's Latest Upgrade for Media and Entertainment

Autodesk Flame Adopts Next-Gen Graphics Technology for Increased Performance - Media and Entertainment

The increasing complexity of projects in the media and entertainment sector necessitates faster iteration, heightened efficiency, and reduced friction in production pipelines. By harnessing the power of next-generation graphics technology, artists can enhance their application performance and meet tight deadlines. In its latest update, Autodesk Flame shifts to next-generation graphics frameworks for both Rocky Linux and macOS, thereby significant improving production pipeline performance for studios, both on-premise and in the cloud.

Moving to a Modern Graphics Architecture

Flame 2024.1 introduces significant changes to the VFX and finishing tool’s graphics architecture. This update marks the transition from OpenGL to Vulkan and Metal frameworks for Rocky Linux and macOS platforms. This shift unlocks advanced graphics and compute capabilities. “When combined with new workstation CPUs and faster PCIe buses, as well as the latest generation of NVIDIA GPUs, these new graphics frameworks put artists in the fast lane so that they can push their productivity to the max,” says Stephane Labrie, Senior Product Owner at Autodesk.

Increasing Performance Gains

The move to Vulkan and Metal frameworks brings faster rendering times and increased interactivity, giving Flame artists more time to focus on creating cutting-edge content. Ton Habraken, VFX Supervisor at SquarePXL, says, “It was immediately clear that the move to Vulkan brings a significant speed boost. Flame already is the fastest and most versatile creative system out there, but this brings things to a whole new level. More speed allows for more iterations, thus adding to the creative result." The update also brought significant performance gains for Apple users. Bryan Bayley, Senior Flame Artist and Colorist at Republic Editorial, states, “We found that most of the work we do renders faster. Some render times are faster by 50%. The interface is snappy and overall, it feels like a huge improvement to the working experience."

Enhancing the Core Toolset