Avid Technology Bundles Puffin Designs Commotion with Editing Systems

Commotion 2.1 Adds OMF Drag and Drop Capability

Sausalito, CA -- Puffin Designs, Inc. and Avid Technology, Inc. announced that Commotion will be bundled with a broad range of Avid's professional media editing systems including the Avid Xpress and Media Composer product lines. Commotion, the award-winning effects and image editing application from Puffin Designs, adds a wide variety of effects capabilities to Macintosh" or Windows NT"-based Avid editors working in broadcast, film, or corporate production. Avid users can drag and drop OMF" media files (images only) directly into Commotion from the desktop. This capability greatly speeds the workflow of the editor who needs to enhance clips with Commotion's complementary creative tools. Commotion also reads AVI files saved with the Avid CODEC on Windows NT or QuickTime files saved with the Avid CODEC on Macintosh.

"Commotion is a very powerful application and simplifies the effects creation process for Avid editors. Commotion is an excellent complement to the Avid editing systems, and with this bundle we are continuing in our tradition of offering our customers the most robust, feature-laden professional solution for finishing projects on the desktop," said Patrick Dumas, Vice President of Marketing, Avid Technology, Inc.

"Avid is an industry leader in editing systems for television and film, and Commotion offers the only cross-platform professional paint system with built-in OMF support," commented Sean Safreed, Senior Product Manager, Puffin Designs. "Our companies are both dedicated to providing the best products to professional editors and effects artists working in the desktop environment. We believe that Avid editors will find Commotion's tools indispensable for finishing projects."

"Ever since Commotion came out, I've been using it with the Avid on every project I've done. Commotion completely changed the way that we work. We do a lot of off-line compositing for special effects, and there is simply no better solution for doing this type of work on the desktop. OMF support is the one piece that will allow the two to integrate very easily, and save editors a lot of time. Avid and Commotion are the two most important tools in our post-production process," said Dennis Kutzen, President, Kutz, Inc.

Commotion broadens the creative options for Avid editors by offering the capability to clone, transform, transfer, and combine frames to create innovative motion graphics. Editors can quickly create 2D animated effects using After Effects filters, animated paint strokes, and FX brushes. Commotion also includes powerful rotoscoping tools for creating high-quality animated mattes. The integrated Motion Tracker can track an unlimited number of objects in a clip. Tracker data can automate painting or cloning operations, stabilize uneven, or shaky camera motion, and accelerate the rotoscoping process. With OMF drag and drop, Commotion accelerates the workflow of the editor who needs to enhance clips with visual effects.

Commotion will be bundled with all of the following Avid editing systems:

(Macintosh) Media Composer9000, Media Composer1000, Media Composer Offline, Media Composer Offline XL, Film Composer", Avid Xpress Elite bundle, Avid Xpress Deluxe bundle, and Avid Xpress Plus bundle. (Windows NT) Media Composer 9000XL, Media Composer1000XL, Media Composer Offline XL, Film Composer XL, Avid Xpress Elite bundle, Avid Xpress Deluxe bundle, and Avid Xpress Plus bundle. Commotion is also available through Puffin Designs' worldwide reseller channel at an MSRP of $2,495.00.

About Avid Technology, Inc.

Avid Technology, Inc. is an international, industry-leading provider of digital audio and video tools for information and entertainment applications. The company's products are used by a variety of customers worldwide including film, television, and interactive content producers, TV news broadcasters, corporate communicators and consumers. For more information, visit Avid's web site at www.avid.com.

About Puffin Designs, Inc.

Puffin Designs, Inc. is an industry-leading provider of effects tools made by and for professionals working in broadcast, film, and video production environments. Commotion was developed by Puffin Designs' founder, Scott Squires, an award-winning Visual Effects Supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic, whose credits include Star Wars Episode 1:

The Phantom Menace, Dragonheart, and The Mask. With thousands of users worldwide, Commotion sets the standard for visual effects creation on the desktop. For more information about Puffin Designs, call (415) 331-4560 or to download free product demos from Puffin Designs, browse to www.puffindesigns.com.