Autodesk has launched a new version of Combustion. The already powerful program only gets better with this release, for both compositors and designers. Combustion in its latest release unleashes immense power in the world of visual effects and 3D compositing. Here's a roundup of the good and the not-so-good that this avatar of Combustion has to offer.

The program sports a new interface layout that lets you dock your workspace separately from the toolbar. Other improvements in the user interface include tools for filtering and comparison, an edit operator, and easy navigation that make the learning curve smoother. Your first impression of the interface can be rather intimidating, since it is quite unlike most regular applications in which every tool or option is visible. This makes the learning curve steep for new users, especially those who are used to drag-and-drop interfaces. The window layout tucks all the tool tabs at the bottom of the screen, leaving the rest of it free for the video itself.

The process of familiarizing yourself with the interface and the locations of the tools may take weeks! All is not lost, though, and the effort pays off in the end. The interface makes workflow much simpler, cutting down on development time. It also offers plenty of shortcut keys for complex tasks and bears a striking similarity to the window layouts of various similar high-end programs such as Inferno, Flint, and so on. Combustion has the option to switch between modes, such as the Composite mode, Paint mode, Edit mode, Schematic mode, and much more. The Schematic mode proves handy in workgroup environments in which you inherit workspaces. One look at the schematic gives you a clear idea about the entire project.

Combustion has always been in favor of a keyboard-free approach, so the workflow design, slide-out menus, and popup calculators reduces the use of the keyboard. But keyboard lovers can take heart-Combustion is now more user friendly and adds many After Effects-style shortcuts to its menu. So you can hit single keys to bring up sub-views on your timeline ([S] for scale, ICI for opacity, IRI for rotation etc.) as in its Adobe counterpart. Along with a trial version of Autodesk Combustion 2008 is a complete tutorial package of video files (WMVI to help you learn the tools featured.

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Features
Combustion's greatest asset has always been its tight integration with other Autodesk products. We will take an in-depth look at all the features. DIAMOND KEVER: The Diamond Keyer concept is similar to the 'Color Warper Keyer' in Combustion's big brother Flame, and uses a second-generation keying algorithm system. The Diamond Keyer depicts color distribution through all hues and across the luma range. It has a single panel of controls with some powerful tools for manipulating complex keys. For luma keying, there are presets for highlight, midtone and shadow. For chroma keying, there are presets

for red, green, blue, cyan, magenta, and yellow. Using the tolerance dropper, one can sample a color directly from a piece of footage. With these presets, even the most complex footage can be tackled with just a single click. It also has a color diamond with tolerance and softness diamond selections, which can be zoomed and panned to give you that extra bit of precision. You can manipulate your key and transparency ranges and create clean keys with these in a jiffy. All are viewable in RAM Playback mode, which is another great feature.