Automatic Duck is Back!

Today is a pretty exciting day. A nostalgic day, perhaps for the industry; for me personally. But mostly, it’s an exciting day for the industry.  Automatic Duck is back!

A brief history.

I launched my consultancy back in 2003. As with any small and growing business; it was a challenge. You rely on those first clients to get you going; to help put you on the map. Automatic Duck was one of those first clients for me. I worked with them for several years, until Adobe acquired some of their technology and both Wes and his father went to work for Adobe full time. That was four years ago.

Fast forward to last spring where I ran into Wes at NAB 2015. As we were chatting, catching up, he leaned over and whispered, “I’m bringing back Automatic Duck.”

Wes and Harry Plate, and Automatic Duck, are back. Although this time with a slight twist.

In addition to launching two new products, they’re also bringing back some classic Automatic Duck products and offering them free from their web site. That’s right; classics like Pro Import FCP and Pro Export FCP are available free. Wes and Harry have added a ‘donate’ button next to those products for anyone who wants to kick in some money to help out. It’s not required, but they would certainly appreciate it!

To help market, sell and support their new products, they’ve partnered with Red Giant. A smart move. You see, Wes and Harry like creating new products for customers, but they don’t really have the resources to do all that AND market and sell them. So partnering with Red Giant solves that. It’s a smart move. Red Giant is a marketing machine. Their lead marketing guy is well known in the community (and a good friend of mine); he’s a filmmaker/VFX guy himself, so he not only knows what he’s talking about, he knows how to help people figure out the right tools for the job. So who better to explain all the benefits of Timeline Translation than Aharon Rabinowitz and his crew.

You can see al the latest from Automatic Duck here (Link).

And you can purchase the new Automatic Duck products here (Link).

All the details of the Automatic Duck’s relaunch are in the press release below.

Welcome back Duck! Now how about more of those awesome t-shirts!

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Automatic Duck is Back! Wes and Harry Plate Relaunch with New Timeline Translation Products for Final Cut Pro X and Adobe® After Effects® CC

Automatic Duck Ximport AE and Automatic Duck Media Copy

Will be Available Through Red Giant

SEATTLE, WA (September 9, 2015) –  Automatic Duck (www.automaticduck.com), the original creators of timeline translation software for filmmakers, editors and motion graphics artists, is back! Automatic Duck founders, Wes and Harry Plate, announced today they are effectively re-launching Automatic Duck after a four year hiatus, and have begun developing and selling new timeline translation products for Final Cut Pro X and Adobe® After Effects® CC.

As part of its re-introduction into the post production marketplace, Automatic Duck is launching two products; Automatic Duck Ximport AE and Automatic Duck Media Copy. Automatic Duck Ximport AE is a brand new product that builds a powerful bridge between Final Cut Pro X and Adobe After Effects CC. Automatic Duck Media Copy is a new update to the popularutility for collecting and copying sequence media files,addingsupport for Final Cut Pro X XML files.

“Automatic Duck Ximport AE provides a direct path into After Effects CC, making it easier for filmmakers and editors to bring projects into their video workflows powered by Adobe Creative Cloud,” said Susan Skidmore, Head of Partner Relations, Professional Video at Adobe. “Automatic Duck has a proud history of supporting Adobe video tools and we welcome them back into the flock.”

Automatic Duck also announced today that it has partnered with visual effects and filmmaking software developer, Red Giant (www.redgiant.com), to market and sell both new products. In addition to developing its own VFX and filmmaking tools, Red Giant has created a successful model of marketing products developed by post production industry icons, such as Peder Norrby (Trapcode) and Stu Maschwitz (Magic Bullet).

“Automatic Duck is one of those iconic brands in post production that has made a huge impact on the work of so many artists,” said Aharon Rabinowitz, Red Giant’s Head of Marketing. “Their workflow solutions have helped countless editors and motion graphics designers work faster so that they can spend more time on the creative aspects of their projects. We’re truly excited to work with Automatic Duck to create products that are best in their class, by addressing what artists truly need to get the job done.”

The Automatic Duck (Re)Debut Products

Automatic Duck is marking its re-introduction to the community with two new products; Automatic Duck Ximport AE and Automatic Duck Media Copy.  Both products will be available for sale, and supported exclusively through Red Giant. To purchase, please visit www.redgiant.com.

Automatic Duck Ximport AE

Automatic Duck Ximport AE builds a powerful bridge between Final Cut Pro X and Adobe After Effects CC. As more professionals experiment with and adopt Apple’s Final Cut Pro X, the need has increased for a robust translation to After Effects CC. Automatic Duck Ximport AE is an After Effects plug-in that reads XML files from FCPX 10.1.2 and later directly into After Effects CS6 and later.

In addition to rebuilding the timeline and translating parameters such as position, scale and opacity, Automatic Duck Ximport AE can also apply many third party effects that work in both FCPX and After Effects CC. A complete list of features can be found here LINK.

Automatic Duck Ximport AE is available immediately from Red Giant and is priced at  $199.

Automatic Duck Media Copy

Automatic Duck Media Copy is an update to the popular utility that adds support for FCPX XML files. Automatic Duck Media Copy reads AAF or OMF exports from Avid editing systems, XML files from Final Cut Pro 7 and earlier, or XML files from Final Cut Pro X 10.1.2 and later, then it figures out which media files are referenced by the sequence(s) and copies those media files to a location the user specifies.

It can be a real challenge to know which media files are used by a specific project, but Automatic Duck Media Copy makes it easy to copy projects from one computer to another or to backup media for a project.

Automatic Duck Media Copy is available immediately from Red Giant and is priced at  $99.

Automatic Duck Classics

The Company is also reviving its classic products, offering them at no cost to users. For those customers who want to show their appreciation, Automatic Duck has added a “donate” button on its web site, encouraging users to contribute any amount they choose. Contributed money will go to support and further development of Automatic Duck products. Automatic Duck classic products now available include Pro Import FCP and Pro Export FCP, the Company’s original timeline translation software for Final Cut Pro 7 users. Also available is Pro Import AE, a plug-in for importing Avid AAF and FCP7 XML files into After Effects CS5.5 and earlier (Pro Import After Effects is built-in to AE CS6 and later).

All three Automatic Duck classic products are available immediately and at no cost. For more information and to download please visit www.automaticduck.com.

About Adobe at IBC

Adobe leads in video, from creation to delivery. At IBC 2015, Adobe is showcasing new features, coming soon to Adobe Creative Cloud, including powerful UltraHD (UHD), color, and new touch workflows for industry-defining tools such as Adobe Premiere Pro CC and Adobe After Effects CC.  Adobe is also demoing the latest advances to Adobe Anywhere, the collaborative workflow platform that empowers users of Premiere Pro and Adobe Prelude CC to work together using centralized media and shared projects. Additionally, Adobe will unveil updates to Adobe Primetime, the global TV platform helping broadcasters, cable networks and service providers deliver and monetize engaging and personalized TV and film experiences across screens, including over-the-top (OTT) devices. Learn more about new features coming to Adobe Creative Cloud and Primetime at www.adobe.com/go/video, or visit Adobe at IBC Hall 7, Stand 7.G27.

About Red Giant

Red Giant is a software company made up of talented artists and technologists who collaborate to create unique tools for filmmakers, editors, VFX artists, and motion designers. Our company culture is focused on finding balance between work and life – we call it “the double bottom line” – this philosophy helps us ignore complexity in favor of building simple tools that yield giant results. Over the last decade, our products (like Magic Bullet and Trapcode) have become the standard in film and broadcast post-production. With over 200,000 users, it’s nearly impossible to watch 20 minutes of TV without seeing our software in use. From our experiences as artists and filmmakers, we aspire to not only to provide tools for artists, but inspiration as well. Watch our films, learn from over 200 free tutorials, or try our software at www.redgiant.com.

About Automatic Duck

Automatic Duck is a father and son team; we are editors, filmmakers, engineers, software developers and we are lucky enough to be a part of an amazing community of artists. We develop software products that make lives simpler. Our timeline translation software has been used by tens of thousands of people – from filmmakers, indies, editors, VFX artists and on everything from major motion pictures to indie films to television commercials. We went away for a while to work with our friends at Adobe, although we were never really gone. And now we’re back. Learn more at www.automaticduck.com.

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