Video Copilot Element 3D

About this release

Element solved a problem that used to eat entire days. Putting real three dimensional geometry into a motion graphics shot meant leaving the compositor, building it in a separate package, rendering passes, bringing them back and discovering the angle was wrong. This plug in puts a graphics card renderer inside the compositing application itself, so the model sits in the composition, lit by the composition's lights, seen through the composition's camera, and it updates as you scrub.

The speed is the entire argument. Because it renders on the graphics card rather than through a traditional frame renderer, a scene with thousands of replicated objects previews live. Flying logos, exploding text, shattered surfaces, drifting debris fields and product turntables become something you adjust by eye instead of something you commit to and wait for. Iteration that used to be an overnight render is a slider.

The particle replicator is where most of the work happens. Any model can be scattered across a surface, a shape or a set of points, with position, rotation, scale, colour and animation driven by noise, by a texture map or by a layer in the composition. Text and mask layers extrude into real geometry with bevels, so titles get depth without leaving the timeline.

Material handling is proper physically based shading with reflection, refraction, glow, ambient occlusion and image based lighting from an environment map, and the bundled model library gives you starting geometry immediately. Standard interchange formats import for anything modelled elsewhere, and multi pass output keeps depth, position and identity buffers available for grading and compositing afterwards.

What it does

Renders on the graphics card

Three dimensional geometry previews live in the composition instead of going out to a separate render.

Particle replicator

Scatter any model across a surface, shape or point set with animated position, rotation, scale and colour.

Text and mask extrusion

Titles and shapes become real bevelled geometry without leaving the timeline.

Physically based materials

Reflection, refraction, glow, occlusion and image based lighting from an environment map.

Model import and library

Standard interchange formats import, with a starting library included.

Multi pass output

Depth, position and identity buffers stay available for grading and compositing.

Changed in this version

• Better performance on current generation graphics cards.
• Improved material import fidelity from standard interchange formats.
• Ambient occlusion quality raised with no additional render cost.
• Scene setup interface reorganised for faster access to group settings.
• Fixed a flicker on animated reflections in long renders.

System requirements

Install order

1. Close the host compositing application before installing.
2. Unpack the archive and run the installer.
3. Point the installer at the host plug in folder if it is not detected.
4. Install the model library to a fast drive and set its path in the plug in settings.

Worth knowing before you start

File details