Sapphire is the most in demand, unequaled, work-horse plug-in suite for visual effects.
Sapphire plug-ins let you create stunning organic looks unmatched by any host native effect tools. Key features include over 270 effects and 3000+ presets, a powerful Effect and Transition Builder, and integrated tracking and masking with the Academy Award-winning Mocha. Sapphire’s superior image quality, control, and render speed offers massive time-savings — allowing creatives to focus on what matters most, delivering an impact that keeps audiences coming back.
WHAT’S NEW IN SAPPHIRE 2020
- New! FreeLens effect: Inspired by the popular lens whacking camera technique
- New! OpenColorIO (OCIO) color management support
- New! Parameter-driven tracking: Powered by Mocha
- New! Mocha Area Brush tool: Quickly paint over track search areas
- New! LensFlares: 16 new professionally-designed flares
- New! Builder presets: 7 stunning new drag-and-drop presets
- New! Faster renders: Up to 3x speed increases on many effects
YOUR NEW FAVORITE SAPPHIRE EFFECT — FREELENS
Meet S_FreeLens. Inspired by the popular photography technique known as free lensing or lens whacking, FreeLens mimics shooting with a lens detached from the camera body. The end result? A dreamy, romantic element featuring a combination of light leaks, lens distortion, tilt shift, and a moving focal point linked together under one easy-to-use master lens manipulation parameter. Perfect for dream sequences, travelogue videos, flashbacks, unsteady POVs, slow-motion footage, motion graphics title treatments or abstract CG renders. S_FreeLens is included in the Blur & Sharpen effects category.
TRACK EVERYTHING WITH THE NEW & IMPROVED MOCHA
Sapphire 2020 features new and improved Mocha tracking. You can now link Mocha tracking to Sapphire positional parameters all within a single effect. This new feature opens up tons of creative possibilities. Easily track S_LensFlare to a headlight, track S_Zap lighting bolts to the tips of your fingers or track a spotlight over a highlighted subject. Mocha parameter tracking is available in ten Sapphire 2020 effects: LensFlare, EdgeRays, Rays, Luna, Grunge, Spotlight, Aurora, Zap, MuzzleFlash, and FreeLens.
The brand new Mocha Area Brush tool is also included. If you don’t like working with splines, this is for you! The Area Brush lets you paint over track search areas for quick mask creation. Paint strokes are automatically converted into splines for an easy new workflow. Includes full support for Wacom tablets.
COLOR MANAGEMENT WITH OCIO SUPPORT
Sapphire 2020 adds support for OpenColorIO (OCIO), the open-source color management solution designed at Sony Picture Imageworks. Sapphire 2020 can apply and read a color profile to provide consistent colors across any of its internal applications such as the Preset Browser, Flare Designer, and Effect & Transition Builder. These applications now feature an OCIO panel with a default library of the most common color profiles. Facilities looking to load a custom OpenColorIO library can do so via an environment variable or by editing the S_Config file to point to a custom location.
Sapphire 2020 also features a new effect in the Adjust category called S_OCIOTransform. The effect allows Sapphire to bring OpenColorIO color management to any of its supported hosts — even if that host hasn’t adopted the OCIO standard yet!
NEW LENS FLARES FOR SAPPHIRE 2020
Sapphire 2020 adds 16 brand new professionally-designed Lens Flares — bringing the grand total to over 200 flares!
NEW COMPARE MODE IN PRESET BROWSER
The Sapphire 2020 Preset Browser adds a built-in Compare Mode feature that allows users to preview the original unfiltered source with the filtered output using either side-by-side or wipe bar options. This new feature is especially useful on color correction or grading where you might want to preview adjacent clips in the timeline while working on the filtered source.
FASTER RENDERS WITH SAPPHIRE 2020
The 2020 release delivers the fastest speed results yet thanks to optimized GPU (NVIDIA only) and CPU performance. Users will experience up to a three times increase in render times on many Sapphire effects including S_EdgeRays and S_BlurMotion. Please note: speed increases may vary based upon individual effect, host application, and choice of CPU or GPU rendering. Click the link below for more detailed information.
Features
Sapphire lets you create stunning organic looks unmatched by any host native effect tools. Its superior image quality, control, and render speed paired with over 270 visual effects and 3000+ presets offers massive time-savings — allowing you to focus on what matters most, delivering the creative impact that keeps audiences coming back.
Lights
The Sapphire Light Unit has been a favorite among professional visual effects and motion graphics artists for decades. The popular versatile effects always live up to the hype. Add subtle lighting with Glow or dramatically change the mood with LensFlare. Highlighted effects include Glint, Glare, Glow, ZGlow, Spotlight, Streaks, EdgeRays, Flashbulbs, BokehLights, LensFlare, and more.
LOOKS
Looking to add that extra something to music videos or show opens? The Sapphire Stylize Unit has got you covered. Add color grades, create psychedelic looks or add glitchy video damage effects. Highlight effects include FilmEffect, PixelSort, DigitalDamage, FilmDamage, ScanLines, Cartoon, Kaleidoscope, EdgeDetect, Vignette, FlysEyesHex, and more.
DISTORTIONS
The Sapphire Distort Unit lets you warp your footage in every which way. Create photorealistic lens distortion effects, in-camera shake effects or chromatic aberrations. Highlighted effects include ParallaxStrips, Distort, DistortBlur, Shake, WarpChroma, WarpFishEye, WarpDrops, ZBlur, Infinite Zoom, and more.
BLURS
The Sapphire Blur Unit features the industry’s fastest photorealistic in-camera blurring tools. Use RackDefocus to create in-camera defocuses. Import a z-depth matte into Z_Blur and blur with depth. Conquer out of focus images or nasty compression artifacts with high-grade sharpen and debanding tools. Retouch skin and apply beauty work. Highlighted effects include Blur, ZBlur, RackDefocus, Sharpen, Deband, Convolve, BlurMotion, Beauty, and more.
RENDERS
The Sapphire Render Unit helps you create imagery from scratch. Add lightning with Zap, liven up a sky with Clouds and NightSky or create procedurally generated animated backgrounds with texture generators. Highlighted effects include Aurora, Zap, CloudsPerspective, MuzzleFlash, Grunge, NightSky, Luna, Grid, and many more.
TRANSITIONS
Never white-flash again! The Sapphire Transitions Unit gives you access to over 50 of the industry’s best transitions. Simply drag and drop one of the countless presets onto your cut just like a dissolve. Highlighted transitions include ParallaxStrips, DissolvePixelSort, DissolveDigitalDamage, SwishPan, Whiplash, GlowDissolve, LensFlareDissolve, and WarpWipe.
TIME
The Sapphire Time Unit lets you bend time with just a few clicks. Slow down or speed up footage with the Sapphire Optical Flow retimer or choose from Retime, FlickerRemove, Flicker, Feedback, TimeSlice, RandomEdits, RepairFrames, and more.
LIMITLESS POSSIBILITIES WITH BUILDER
Sapphire’s Effect and Transition Builder gives users the ability to browse and try out Sapphire effects with ease, enabling artists and editors to create their own custom effects and transitions. Start using Builder right out of the box with over 150 presets for creative and correctional purposes.
INTEGRATED MOCHA TRACKING AND MASKING
Sapphire proudly features integrated Mocha planar tracking and masking tools. The Academy Award-winning technology makes effects isolation to full-blown rotoscoping easy. Quickly launch Mocha to create and track a mask directly from within your favorite Sapphire effects.
Gorgeous Presets
There’s nothing harder than starting from a blank slate which is why Sapphire features over 3000 presets crafted by top-notch artists and editors. Every release includes brand new presets so there’s always something fresh to play with.
Flexible Pricing and Licensing Options
Sapphire offers a wide variety of convenient licensing options to fit any budget. Choose from the full suite, individually-priced Sapphire Units, annual subscriptions or RLM server-based floating licenses.
Important Sapphire Pricing Notes
Payment – Yearly payments must be paid in full upon the start of the contract. Customer will receive permanent licenses upon full payment.
Get Current Fee – Existing Sapphire customers on version 8 or lower must pay an additional fee to catch up to the latest version of Sapphire.
Reactivation Fee – There is no penalty for canceling Upgrade and Support, however, failing to renew your yearly contract will result in a prorated fee that would be applied upon rejoining.
Automatic Renewal – Upgrade and Support contracts are set to automatically renew each year. You can opt out by contacting the Toolfarm sales team.
Terms and Conditions – Upgrade and Support Terms and Conditions can be found here (pops)
Rental Licenses – Rental Licenses do not auto-renew.
Must Have Effects
Glow
A favorite of the Hollywood crowd for decades, Sapphire Glow is one of the all-time legendary and most versatile effects. Whether you are looking to slightly alter the mood of a shot or dramatically change the lighting, the silky smooth subtleness of Sapphire Glow will always live up to the hype.
Film Effect
Sapphire film effect began as a way to accurately emulate 35mm film for video, but fast-forward to the post production world of today and it’s now used as a multi-faceted color grading tool and plug-in. Packed with tons of amazing presets, editors and artists can quickly achieve dozens of different popular color treatments with Sapphire Film Effect.
Shake
Shake holds it’s place amongst the most popular Sapphire effects because it’s versatility and ease of use. Whether used to emulate a documentary style hand-held camera shake or the magnitude of an earthquake-like effect, Shake’s deep parameter set allows it to adapt to any situation.
Lens Flare
Sapphire LensFlare gives you the ability to add photorealistic lens flares from a huge amount of presets or create them from scratch with the Sapphire Flare Designer, our own application for building feature film quality lens flares. Never adjust your F-stops or shine a light into your camera again!
Vignette
Vignette is a great example of a classic Sapphire effect. It helps you take a repetitive multi-click task and turn it into one step with increased flexibility and new functionality.
Description
Create custom effects and transistions with Sapphire Builder
Builder gives you the ability to create your own effects and transitions in a node-based workspace for unprecedented creativity and efficiency, unleashing the full power of the Sapphire effects. In Builder, you have the flexibility to stack and connect Sapphire effects in ways that were not previously possible in Adobe and Avid hosts. All new effects and transitions developed in the workspace are saved as cross-host presets, and are loaded as a single plugin onto a timeline.
Builder allows you to create your own effects and transitions by combining existing Sapphire effects! See S_Effect and S_Transition in action below:
S_Effect
S_Transition
Effects
Adjust
- ClampChroma
- TriTone
- Tint
- Threshold
- ShowBadColors
- Quadtone
- Monochrome
- Invert
- HueSatBright
- HotSpots
- Gamma
- DuoTone
- ChannelSwitcher
Blur and Sharpen
- SoftFocus
- RackDefocus
- GrainRemove
- Deband
- BlurMotion
- Beauty
- Median
- EdgeAwareBlur
- DefocusPrism
- BlurMoCurves
- BlurDirectional
- BlurChroma
- BlurChannels
- Blur
Distort
- WarpMagnify
- WarpPolar
- WarpVortex
- WarpWaves
- WarpWaves2
- WarpFishEye
- WarpChroma
- Shake
- DistortBlur
- Distort
- WarpRepeat
- WarpPuff
- WarpBubble
Lighting
- BokehLights
- Streaks
- LightLeak
- ZGlow
- SpotLight
- LensFlare
- GlowRings
- GlowRainbow
- Glare
- GlowEdges
- GlowDarks
- GlowAura
- EdgeRays
- GlowOrthicon
- GlowDist
- Glow
- GlintRainbow
- Glint
- Flashbulbs
- GlowNoise
Render
- TestureSpots
- TextureWeave
- TextureMoire
- TextureNeurons
- TextureNoiseEmboss
- TextureNoisePaint
- TexturePlasma
- Aurora
- Luna
- NightSky
- Zap
- TextureTiles
- TextureFlux
- Grunge
- Grid
- GradientMulti
- TextureMicro
- TextureFolded
- TextureChromaSpiral
- Shape
- MuzzleFlash
Stylize
- AutoPaint
- Bush
- Kaleido
- KaleidoPolar
- KaleidoRadial
- ZebrafyColor
- Zebrafy
- VintageColor3Strip
- VintageColor2Strip
- Vignette
- TileScramble
- ScanLinesMono
- PsykoStripes
- PsykoBlobs
- PseudoColor
- Posterize
- Mosaic
- JPEGDamage
- HalfToneRings
- HalfToneColor
- HalfTone
- GrainStatic
- FlysEyeRect
- FlysEyeHex
- FlysEyeCircles
- FilmDamage
- Etching
- EmbossShiny
- EmbossGlass
- EmbossDistort
- Emboss
- EdgesInDirection
- EdgeDetectDouble
- EdgeDetect
- EdgeColorize
- DogVision
- DigitalDamage
- Diffuse
- CartoonPaint
- Cartoon
- BleachBypass
- BandPass
- TVDamage
- Solarize
- Sketch
- ScanLines
- Grain
- FilmEffect
- Crosshatch
Time
- FeedbackBubble
Transitions
- WipeWedge
- WipeWeave
- WipeTiles
- WipeStar
- WipeStripes
- WipeRings
- WipeRectangle
- WipePointalize
- WipePlasma
- WipePixelate
- WipeMoire
- WipeLine
- StripSlideTransition
- FlutterCut
- FilmRoll
- CardFlip
- WipeFourWedges
- WipeFlux
- WipeDoubleWedge
- WipeDots
- WipeDiffuse
- WipeClouds
- WipeClock
- WipeChecker
- WipeCells
- WipeBubble
- WipeBlobs
- TVChannelChange
- SwishPan
- Swish3D
- DissolveZap
- DissolveWaves
- DissolveVortex
- DissolveTiles
- DissolveStatic
- DissolveSpeckle
- DissolveShake
- DissolveRays
- DissolvePuddle
- DissolveLuma
- DissolveLensFlare
- DissolveGlow
- DissolveGlintRainbow
- DissolveGlint
- DissolveGlare
- DissolveFlashblulbs
- DissolveFilm
- DissolveEdgeRays
- DissolveDistort
- DissolveDiffuse
- DissolveDefocus
- DissolveBubble
- DissolveBlur
- WipeCircle
- Swish3DBat
System Requirements
Requirements:
- macOS:10.10 or higher
- Windows: Windows 7 or higher on x64
- Linux:Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, CentOS 6
Hardware:
Recommended Hardware:
- Processor: 64-bit Intel or AMD CPU with four or more cores
- Memory: 8 GB or more
- Disk: High-speed disk array or SSD storage
- Graphics Card: High-end NVIDIA Quadro, TITAN or GeForce Pascal, e.g. Quadro P5000 or GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
- Monitor: 1920×1080 or higher, including high dpi 4k monitors
- GPU Acceleration: NVIDIA cards only. The latest NVIDIA CUDA card and driver is recommended.
Licensing options:
- Nodelocked, Subscription or floating license.
- For floating and render license options, contact us.
Supported Hosts:
- Adobe After Effects & Premiere Pro
- Avid Media Composer
- Autodesk Flame
- FOUNDRY Nuke
- Blackmagic Resolve and Fusion
- SGO Mistika
- Grassvalley Edius and Rio
- ToonBoom Harmony
- VEGAS Pro
- HitFilm Pro
Sapphire Works With:
Adobe After Effects CC 2013+
- Supported On After Effects Cc 2013 and higher
- MacOs 10.9 and higher
- Windows 7 and higher
- GPU acceleration Available for any NVIDIA card with CUDA only
Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2015+
- Supported On After Effects Cc 2015 and higher
- MacOs 10.9 and Higher
- Windows 7 and Higher
- GPU acceleration available for NVIDIA Cards with CUDA only
Avid Media Composer
- Supported On Media Composer V8 and higher
- MacOs 10.9 and higher
- Windows 7 and higher
- GPU acceleration Available for NVIDIA Cards with CUDA only
OFX: Autodesk Flame
- Supported on Autodesk Flame 2017 or higher
- MacOs 10.9 or higher
- Linux CentOS/Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 or higher
- GPU acceleration Available for NVIDIA Cards with CUDA only
A Note About Sapphire Sparks
As of the Sapphire 2020 release, Sapphire no longer supports Autodesk Flame Sparks. Sapphire 2020 is available as an OFX plugin for Autodesk Flame.
- Customers who purchased either Sapphire 2019 (or 2019.5) for Autodesk Sparks are entitled to a free upgrade to the next version of Sapphire.
- In lieu of a Sparks upgrade, eligible customers will be issued a complimentary license for Sapphire 2020 OFX. This complimentary Sapphire 2020 OFX license will not extend existing Upgrade and Support contracts. The original termination date will still apply.
- Customers on legacy versions of Autodesk Flame that do not support OFX should continue to use their current Sapphire Sparks plugins.
OFX: Blackmagic DaVinci Resolve
- Supported On Resolve 11 and higher
- Mocha Tracking Only Supported In Resolve Studio Pro v 14 or higher
- Centos/Red Hat Linux 6 Or 7 (64 bit only)
- Mac Os 10.9 and higher
- Windows 7 and higher
- GPU acceleration available for NVIDIA Cards with CUDA only
OFX: Blackmagic Fusion
- Supported On Fusion 8 and higher
- Centos/Red Hat Linux 6 Or 7 (64 bit only)
- Mac Os 10.10 and higher
- Windows 7 and higher
- GPU acceleration available for NVIDIA Cards with CUDA only
OFX: The Foundry NUKE
- Supported On Nuke 10 and higher
- Centos/Red Hat Linux 6 or 7 (64 Bit Only)
- MacOs 10.8, 10.9 or 10.10
- Windows 7 or 8
- GPU acceleration available for NVIDIA Cards only
OFX: Vegas Pro Studio
- Supported On Vegas 15 and higher
- Windows 7 And Higher
- GPU acceleration available for NVIDIA Cards with CUDA only
OFX: Mistika Ultima / Boutique
- Supported on Mistika 7 and higher
- Effect and Transition Builder not supported
- Cent Os/Red Hat Linux 6 or 7 (64 Bit Only)
- Windows 7
- GPU acceleration available for NVIDIA Cards only
OFX: Grass Valley Edius and Rio
- Supported on Edius 8 and higher
- Supported on Rio 3 and higher
- Windows 7 (Rio) Windows 7 or 8 (Edius)
- GPU acceleration available for NVIDIA Cards with CUDA only
OFX: Toon Boom Harmony
- Supported on Harmony 12 and higher
- Effect and Transition Builder not supported
- MacOs 10.9 and higher
- Windows 7 or 8
- GPU acceleration available for NVIDIA Cards with CUDA only
Silhouette
- Supported on version 6 or higher
- MacOs 10.9 and higher
- Windows 7 and higher
- Linux Cent Os/Red Hat Linux 5 or 6 (64 Bit Only)
- GPU acceleration available for NVIDIA Cards with CUDA only
OS
- macOS:10.10 or higher
- Windows: Windows 7 or higher on x64
- Linux:Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6, CentOS 6
Hardware
Recommended Hardware:
- Processor: 64-bit Intel or AMD CPU with four or more cores
- Memory: 8 GB or more
- Disk: High-speed disk array or SSD storage
- Graphics Card: High-end NVIDIA Quadro, TITAN or GeForce Pascal, e.g. Quadro P5000 or GeForce GTX 1080 Ti
- Monitor: 1920×1080 or higher, including high dpi 4k monitors
- GPU Acceleration: NVIDIA cards only. The latest NVIDIA CUDA card and driver is recommended.
- For compatibility with specific versions and operating systems, please see our Sapphire Compatibility Matrix. (pops)
Tech Specifications
- Resolution independent – HD, 2K, Ultra HD, 4K, 8K, etc.
- Floating point processing – All effects use full floating point processing for improved image quality and full 32-bit HDR support
- 64-bit enabled – expanded memory capabilities
- Multiprocessor support
- GPU acceleration is available for NVIDIA cards with CUDA only. The latest NVIDIA CUDA card and driver is recommended.
Change Log
What’s new in Sapphire 2020
- New! FreeLens effect: Inspired by the popular lens whacking camera technique
- New! OpenColorIO (OCIO) color management support
- New! Parameter-driven tracking: Powered by Mocha
- New! Mocha Area Brush tool: Quickly paint over track search areas
- New! LensFlares: 16 new professionally-designed flares
- New! Builder presets: 7 stunning new drag-and-drop presets
- New! Faster renders: Up to 3x speed increases on many effects
What’s new in Sapphire 2019.5:
Released 19 June 2019.
New Effect and Transitions
- S_ParallaxStrips- Brand new for Sapphire 2019.5 effect, S_ParallaxStrips takes any image and divides into strips separated apart in z space. The floating strips can seamlessly strip apart or seamless form a complete image. Angle, size, speed, z-depth, and many more parameters can be adjusted for original and interesting looks.
- S_ParallaxStripsTransition- New for Sapphire 2019.5, S_ParallaxStripsTransition is a new transition using ParallaxStrips to animate between the input and output clips. S_ParallaxStripsTransition breaks the image up into a collection of 3d refracting strips. The strips slowly fade on, then off again.
- S_DissolvePixelSort- New for Sapphire 2019.5, is a new transition based on the S_PixelSort effect. S_DissolvePixelSort is a damage transition that sorts the pixels the dissolve along with different patterns of lines. There are three modes: Linear sorts along parallel lines, Radial sorts along lines radiating from a controllable center point, and Circular sorts along concentric circles. S_DissolvePixelSort sorts the pixels based on the relative values of the pixels. Use “Max Percentage” to control how much of the image is sorted at the peak of the transition.
- S_DissolveDigitalDamage- S_DissolveDigitalDamage is a transition version of DigitalDamage simulating bad digital TV transmission with a dissolve between the incoming and outgoing clips.
New Functionality
- Clip Access for Builder, Flare Designer, and the Preset Browser- All Sapphire 2019.5 external applications, such as the Effect and Transition Builder, Flare Designer, and Preset Browser, now can live preview on any resolution clip.
- New Look and Feel for Builder, Flare Designer, and the Preset Browser- All Sapphire 2019.5 external applications, such as the Effect and Transition Builder, Flare Designer, and Preset Browser, now feature an updated look and feel, complete with modern UI optimized for 4K HDPI monitors.
- Broadcast Monitor Support- The Sapphire Effect and Transition Builder and Flare now support output to a third party broadcast monitor via a Blackmagic or AJA card.
Improved Mocha
- Mask Rendering Performance – Mask rendering with Mocha in Sapphire is now much faster – especially for complex and multi-layered masks. Edge-Snapping – Edge-Snapping on Splines to speed up Masking. Select one or more points and press “ALT+S” to snap points to the nearest edge, or hold “S” to drag-snap.
- Layout Manager – Save, modify, and order custom layouts from the View menu. New layouts will appear in the workspace drop down.
- Autosave Backups – Autosaves now include iterated history to prevent data loss and Autosaves are no longer removed on exit to the host. You can define the location and the number of backups in the Mocha preferences.
- Numerous Bug Fixes and UI Tweaks including foreground mattes now correctly occluding when GPU tracking a background layer.
New Host:
- Sapphire 2019.5 OFX is now happy to support Autodesk Flame, Flame Assist, Flare v2020 or higher. In addition to new effects and transitions, Flame artists will now have access to the Sapphire Effect and Transition Builder inside of Flame with the 2019.5 release.
Compatibility Issues:
- In v19, LensFlares using MutliSpot and MultiStreak elements would look different inside the Flare Designer across operating systems. In v19.5 this was fixed, but as a result Lens Flares may look different from v19 when loaded through the Flare Designer. Old projects will continue to look the same as they did in v19 when loaded into the host or rendered but may look different after loading in the Flare Designer.
Known Issues:
- Preset Browser does not display Feedback or Temporal presets correctly.
- (Sparks) Flame may crash on close when a Mocha mask was used in Sapphire.
- (Sparks) upate_setups has a bug when upgrading Caustics from v2019->2019.5.
- If you have an animated Mocha mask in your plugin when you enter the Preset Browser, the Mocha mask will not animate.
- (OFX – Resolve) Sometimes the Preset Browser, Flare Designer, or Builder will start behind the host.
- Sometimes the preview in the Preset Browser, Flare Designer or Builder doesn’t render with the correct frame.
- The Preset Browser, Flare Designer, or Builder may be slow on the first launch.
- The current time marker in the Preset Browser, Flare Designer or Builder doesn’t always match the current time in the host application.
- (OFX – Resolve) The second input isn’t showing in the Preset Browser or Builder in Sapphire Transitions.
- (not Sparks) “Show Checkerboard” isn’t working inside of Builder.
- (Premiere) The Preset Browser and Effect Builder may not respect clip scaling applied in Premiere.
- (OFX, Linux) The License Tool that runs while running the RPM doesn’t advance after entering the activation key and clicking next. The license installs correctly. After clicking next, you can click cancel to close the tool. Running the License Tool directly from the start menu advances correctly.
- (OFX, Nuke) The Preset Browser and Lensflare Designer may not open if a still is hooked up as an input.
- (OFX, Resolve 16, Mac OS) On older Macs, Mocha may generate an error the first time you try to track. If you close Mocha and re-open it, tracking should work as expected.
- Atmosphere may not look the same between the LensFlare designer and the plugin.
What’s New In Sapphire 2019.4:
Improved stability of Sapphire when using the GPU Fixed S_Effect and S_Transition in Burn, Flare, and Flame Assist
What’s New In Sapphire 2019.3
Fixed a slowdown when Sapphire is first applied on some offline systems using activation-keys
What’s New In Sapphire 2019.2
- Minor installer improvements
- Improved proxy server support for installing and removing licenses
- Mocha Improvements:
- Stability improvements
- Memory usage improvements
- Fixed a crash when the Mocha cache directory is missing
- Fixed a crash opening certain old sapphire v11 mocha projects
- Minor speed improvements in the Preset Browser, Builder and Flare Editor
- Minor preset improvements
What’s New in Sapphire 2019.02 for Autodesk
- Fixed mocha tracking on fields
What’s New in Sapphire 2019.02 for Baselight
- Baselight 5 support
- Fixed a bug where the Preset Browser and Flare Editor sometimes failed to launch
- Fixed thumbnails in the Preset Browser
- Fixed saving presets on Baselight. User saved presets will now be saved inside: /usr/fl/sapphire/
What’s New in Sapphire 2019.02 for Fusion
- Fixed a crash in S_PixelSort on Fusion
What’s New in Sapphire 2019.02 for Premiere
- Fixed a crash that occurred when ctrl-z was pressed on machines with certain hardware configurations
- Fixed Premiere GPU suite integration on MacOS
What’s new in Sapphire 2019
SAPPHIRE LENSFLARE 2019
LensFlare and the Flare Designer have been re-designed and re-imagined for Sapphire 2019. The Flare Designer has been greatly improved and enhanced to increase the ease of use and expand its functionality. The preset browser is now integrated directly inside the Flare Designer, which makes accessing and modifying lens flare presets a breeze. A new lens flare “Component” workflow has been created, which allows artists to easily and intuitively build a complex flare from scratch and helps reveal the power and flexibility of Sapphire’s flare engine. Finally, 27 new professionally designed presets have been added in Sapphire 2019. Watch this introductory video to get up to speed on how to use this amazing new tool.
SAPPHIRE PIXELSORT
PixelSort is a fantastic new Sapphire effect that grew up in the modern digital “glitch art” movement. It’s a fun new way to distort your image in a multitude of different ways and has many deep parameters which can produce some stunning results. PixelSort is also available inside Sapphire Effect and Transition builder. Combine it with other Sapphire effects for a truly original effect, and use it as a transition to up production value in any edit. Watch this short video to learn more about Sapphire PixelSort.
SAPPHIRE WHIPLASH TRANSITION
Sapphire WhipLash is a “sister effect” to one of the most popular Sapphire transitions, S_SwishPan, and it features some amazing new functionality and features that will undoubtedly make it the Sapphire transition of choice. At it’s core, S_Whiplash is a brand new transition that mimics a lighting quick camera pan, blending multiple copies of an image together so it appears as if a great distance is travelled in a short amount of time. S_WhipLash also features a nice soft bounce stop, a smooth finish, or a snapback at the end of the transition. RGB separation blurs can be added for a different look and S_Whiplash can travel in any direction or angle as well as scaling up or down as well. Watch this short video to see what this new and extremely powerful Sapphire transition can accomplish.
ENHANCED MOCHA TRACKING AND MASKING
Sapphire 2019 features major improvements to the integrated Mocha tracking and masking, available within each Sapphire effects and separately as the S_Mocha spark (Autodesk only). For further information on the differences between the integrated Mocha tracking and masking in Sapphire 2019 and Mocha Pro 2019, please click here.
- NEW SPLINE TOOLS FOR ROTO & MASKING
Sapphire 2019 features 4 new Mochas spline tools for masking and rotoscoping, all created to speed up shape creation and to save time. They include the new Magnetic Spline Tool with edge snapping, the new Freehand Spline Tool for fluid drawing, and new preset circular and rectangular shape tools. - NEW LOOK AND FEEL
Editors and artists will rejoice at the completely redesigned Mocha interface. The updated interface makes Mocha easier to learn than ever before and looks great on hi-res and retina enabled monitors! The Mocha Essentials Workspace brings the power of Mocha to novice level users with a simplified, elegant, and easy-to-learn interface. Tracking & masking is now faster by reducing complexity and focusing the Mocha interface on the most essential icons and tools. Switch to Classic for advanced modules and customize workspaces for flexibility. - RETINA & HIGH DPI MONITOR SUPPORT
The new Mocha interface and tools look fantastic on modern high DPI monitors.
IMPROVED EFFECT AND TRANSITION BUILDER
The Effect and Transition Builder has some complimentary new improvements in Sapphire 2019 release. A new animating shape effect has been added, which allows for cool new presets, like multi-color shape wipes and organic transitions with a hand-drawn look. PixelSort and Whiplash have been added as well, which can be used to create original new effects. Watch this short video for an overview of the new Builder presets in Sapphire 2019.
Learn more about Sapphire Builder on the Details Page
GPU SPEED IMPROVEMENTS
Boris FX is proud to say Sapphire 2019 is the fastest version of Sapphire ever! Optimized for peak GPU acceleration for CUDA enabled NVIDIA cards, Blackmagic Resolve colorists and Adobe Premiere Pro CC editors will see the greatest benefit from this across the board performance increase.
Tutorials
Create Transparent Ghostly Effects with Mocha & Particle Illusion #halloween
Mary Poplin at Boris FX shows you how to create transparent ghostly effects using Mocha Pro and Particle Illusion to transform an actress into a ghost.
More...Why Your 3D Renders Look Fake - 5 Tips
Designer Darren Thomas explains why your 3D renders look fake and offers 5 tips to improve realism. Perfection is your enemy, and technology will only get you so far, as real life is messy and imperfect.
More...Boris FX Webinar Replay: 2019.5 Releases (SIGGRAPH Preview)
In this webinar replay, learn about all the new features inside Sapphire, Continuum and Mocha Pro 2019.5, from Ben Brownlee, the new Director of Learning and Content at Boris FX. You may remember him from Curious Turtle training videos.
More...Avid: Using the Updated Sapphire Builder
In this tutorial, Damien LeVeck of Skubalon Creative explains what's new in the Sapphire Builder (2019.5) for Avid and then shows you how to create a cool stylized effect when working with footage that needs to fit a specific aspect ratio.
More...Creating Fog in AE with Sapphire + Create Z Depth Pass for DOF & Fog
Jonathan Winbush explains how to make fog with Boris FX Sapphire using your depth map in After Effects. Bonus tutorial: Create Z Depth pass for DOF and Fog.
More...Sapphire 2019.5 Overviews for Builder, S_ParallaxStrips, S_PixelSort, S_DissolvePixelSort
Boris FX has some new tutorials for Sapphire 2019.5 that include Overviews for Builder, S_ParallaxStrips, S_PixelSort, and S_DissolvePixelSort.
More...Changing Day to Night with Sapphire and Mocha
Nick Harauz and Ian Robinson show Premiere Pro and After Effects artists how Sapphire and Mocha can accomplish advanced sky replacement.
More...The Cleansing Hour: Using Mocha Pro & Sapphire for Feature Film VFX
Damien LeVeck shows how he used Boris FX Mocha Pro and Sapphire with Avid Media Composer for high-end horror VFX on his film The Cleansing Hour.
More...Burning Question: What in the heck is OFX? #OFX #openfx
I was talking to someone at NAB who I would consider to be “in the know” for visual effects and was surprised that he had never heard of OpenFX. More and more developers are developing with OpenFX, or OFX, a standardized software interface supported by numerous hosts such as Nuke, DaVinci Resolve and Sony Vegas. Here’s a few things to know so you’re not caught off guard!
More...In Depth: Time Effects - Time Displacement aka Slit Scan, with Examples
Learn all about the Time Displacement filter, which creates an effect known as slit scan, a trippy looking time manipulation that can be used to represent a time travel, a warp in the space time continuum, a drug trip and much more.
More...Sapphire Luna - Create a Photorealistic Moon Rendering
All manner of nightmarish creatures lurk under the light of the moon. But how do you add the moon to your creature feature scene? Watch this in-depth tutorial from John Dickinson of Motionworks.net, and learn how to use Luna in Sapphire to create a photo-realistic moon, in any phase you need.
More...Create Beautiful Volumetric Lighting in Davinci Resolve with Sapphire EdgeRays
Create photorealistic lighting effects with Blackmagic Davinci Resolve and Sapphire Edge Rays. For more cool lighting effects, Check out Boris FX Sapphire for Davinci Resolve, After Effects, Premiere Pro, and other hosts.
More...Boris FX Sapphire: Tricks for Using Sapphire Aurora
Sapphire Aurora is an amazing VFX plug-in with many uses besides producing high-quality aurora borealis light streaks. Watch how motion graphics guru John Dickinson uses S_Aurora to achieve some stunning results in Adobe After Effects. Create beautiful looks combining Aurora with other effects using the Sapphire Effect Builder.
More...Remove a Person from a Scene with Mocha Pro
Learn how to remove a person from a scene using the Mocha Pro Remove Module. Plus this tutorial also shows you how to create a disintegrate/transporter beam effect à la Star Trek using VFX in Sapphire and Continuum. It even comes with the project file and footage.
More...Lens Flares in Avid Media Composer with Boris Sapphire
Learn to create Lens Flares in Avid Media Composer with Boris Sapphire in these two tutorials, one from Kevin McAuliffe and the other from Nick Harauz.
More...Lens Flares in Avid Media Composer with Boris Sapphire
Learn to create Lens Flares in Avid Media Composer with Boris Sapphire in these two tutorials, one from Kevin McAuliffe and the other from Nick Harauz.
More...Boris FX: Getting Started With Sapphire #gettingstarted
This tutorial covers how you can use Sapphire effects, create custom effects, leverage Mocha in Sapphire, and get started creating awesome work with the Sapphire VFX plug-in for Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, Nuke, Avid, Flame, and other hosts.
More...An Introduction to Sapphire for Nuke
In this tutorial, learn how to set up textures for objects in Nuke using sapphire plug-ins, learn different ways to post-process those textures, use sapphire nodes for color correction and more.
More...Boris FX | Let’s Edit with Media Composer: Day for Night with Continuum & Sapphire
Editor Kevin P. McAuliffe shows Media Composer editors how to take day time footage and transform it into night using Continuum’s Color & Tone tools and sister product Sapphire’s Night Sky and Luna.
More...Sapphire Transition Builder in Premiere
Create custom transitions with Sapphire Transition Builder in Premiere Pro. Nick Harauz of clipsandhandles.com shows you how!
More...Introduction to Sapphire Aurora
John Dickinson of Motionworks gives an overview on the Aurora effect in Sapphire to create some lovely and surreal flames. The Boris Sale has been extended, and now that Sapphire and Mocha are under the Boris umbrella, you get 2 more days to save these products!
More...Introduction to Sapphire Deband
John Dickinson of Motionworks gives an overview of Sapphire Deband in Adobe After Effects. Deband eliminates banding artifacts and smooths pixels in banded areas while maintaining the original edges.
More...Sapphire QuickTips: Grunge
In this tutorial, learn how to add some grungy effects to your video and text with Sapphire.
More...Boris FX | Sapphire - X Reveal Transition Preset
John Dickinson of Motionworks.net show you how to create a stunning, complex-looking, yet relatively simple, X Reveal transition using Sapphire Builder Effects.
More...In Depth: Creating Space - A Galaxy of Resources for your Epic Space Film
Space, the final frontier! Learn to create stars, galaxy, moons, and more for your next space themed film or science fiction short.
More...Tutorial: Let’s Edit with Avid Media Composer: Sapphire Builder, Part II
Kevin P. McAuliffe gives an introduction on how to use GenArts Sapphire Builder in Avid Media Composer. Sapphire Builder is a super cool piece of software that gives users endless effects, right within Media Composer!
More...Boris FX: InDepth | Sapphire LensFlare in Avid
Join professional editor and independent filmmaker Damien LeVeck with this in-depth tutorial on Sapphire’s LensFlare effect in Avid Media Composer.
More...Sapphire for After Effects Top 15 from John Dickinson
Don't miss these great tutorials from John Dickinson on Sapphire for After Effects, covering the top 15 effects in the package.
More...Burning Question: Making The Super Moon
They say it’s the Super Moon of the Century! Here are some ways to recreate the moon in After Effects or your NLE or editor, if you’re unable to capture the moon.
More...Case Study: The Cleansing Hour Main Title Design - Sapphire for Motion Graphics Designers
John Dickinson from Motionworks has a walk-through tutorial breaking down how he made the main titles for the short horror film “The Cleansing Hour.”
More...Tutorial: Halloween Themed Tutorial Round Up
Demons are rising, ghosts are haunting and blood is flowing with these Halloween themed tutorials that we have collected to help take the horror out of making frightening creations. Updated: October 25, 2016.
More...Modern Horror Trailer Effects with Sapphire Builder
Alex at GenArts shows you how to create a chilling Modern Horror look using Sapphire’s Effect Builder. Very creepy indeed!
More...In Depth: Light Leaks and Lens Whacking
Light leaks used to be caused by camera damage but now it’s a stylistic look. I’ll give you some cool examples of these optical lighting artifacts, and I’ll go over some plug-ins and stock elements to give your footage a light leak look. I’ll also talk to some of the pros in the industry about the making your light leaks look natural.
More...Deep Dive into Sapphire’s RackDefocus
Learn how to use one of the most popular Sapphire effects, Rack Defocus. With an array of features, this video effect enables you to create custom & accurate in-camera blurs.
More...GenArts Sapphire - Remove Stubborn Banding with S_Deband
Sapphire Deband is extremely effective at removing unwanted banding. Discover how quickly you can clean up a shot with this helpful video effect.
More...GenArts Sapphire - Create Edgy Video Effects with S_Grunge
Learn how to achieve a worn & weathered look with Sapphire Grunge. This visual effect creates interesting, integrated looks with just a few adjustments.
More...GenArts Sapphire - How to Customize S_LensFlare
Lens Flare is one of the most popular visual effects for motion graphic artists. Discover how to create varying types of flares with Sapphire Lens Flare.
More...GenArts Sapphire - Lighting Effect Tips with S_Rays
Learn how to use both Rays and Edge Rays within Sapphire to create compelling visual effects.
More...Genarts Sapphire S_Shake - Custom Camera Shake
Learn how to create a custom camera shake with varying levels of intensity with Sapphire’s shake effect.
More...In Depth: Transitions, Part 2: The Swish Pan
The swish pan is known by many monikers: whip pan, roll pan, swipe pan, flick pan, zip pan, and whoosh are just a few. Get ready for some fun examples, instructions on how to create this cool transition, plug-ins to make the job fast and easy, and tips on improving your transitions.
More...In Depth: Working with Night Time Scenes, part 2
Part 1 of this two part series focused on shooting at night and when and how to accomplish shooting in low light. Part 2 focuses on working with footage shot during the daytime and color grading for night. We'll also talk about adding some night time elements to sell your shot.
More...Getting Started with Sapphire #gettingstarted
New to Sapphire? Here are some tips for getting started.
More...Replace a Bland, Overcast Sky with a Gorgeous Sky in After Effects
Take a bland, colorless sky and make it into a vault of heaven! Create an alluring azure sky with fluffy clouds, a sublime sunset or an moody moonlight scene. I’ll give several options, utilizing plug-ins from CoreMelt, Video Copilot, Boris FX, Red Giant, SUGARfx and Imagineer.
More...In Depth: Skin Retouching Part 2: The Plug-ins
Need to touch up your actor’s complexion quickly and easily? There are a lot of plug-ins on the market that can help you with this task. I’ll cover the big players and a few new to the market: Digital Anarchy Beauty Box, GenArts Sapphire S_Beauty, FXHOME HitFilm, the recently released Imagenomic Portraiture for video, the brand-spanking new Dashwood Smooth Skin. Red Giant Cosmo and Colorista II are also on the agenda.
More...In Depth: Noise and Grain Plug-ins for After Effects, Final Cut and Other NLEs, Part 2 of 2
Here is the rundown of noise and grain reduction plug-ins on the market for After Effects and other NLE’s, rated on speed, accuracy and quality, and ROI.
More...In Depth: Lens Flare Plug-ins for After Effects, Part 1 of 5
More than you ever wanted to know about Lens Flares! This is the first of a 5 part series and will give an overview of lens flares and the plug-ins that can generate them.
More...Burning Question: Which After Effects Glow Plug-in Should I Get?
We answer a customer’s question regarding glows for After Effects and Premiere Pro.
More...
