Yes, Autodesk is still the 800-lb gorilla in media & entertainment — but these days, it’s moving a lot more like a nimble chimp with a new training montage. At NAB 2025, Autodesk leaned into value, efficiency, and yes, actual innovation. If you’re still running 2020 software, this is your sign to look up. We decided to lead with Autodesk Flame, because hey it’s NAB!
🔥 Flame On: The Finishing Tool That Keeps Getting Better
-
Speed Meets Precision: From AI-driven beauty work to GPU-accelerated camera tracking and object isolation, Flame now lets you finish faster — and with fewer round trips.
-
The All-in-One Finisher: Conform, composite, grade, deliver — all in one interface. Flame doesn’t just do everything; it does it elegantly.
-
New Real-Time Features: Flame’s latest updates lean into real-time interactivity, giving artists instant feedback on their creative decisions.
-
Now With Flow: Flame now plays nicer with Flow Production Tracking (fka ShotGrid), letting teams track feedback and shot status without switching tools.
-
Used to Cost a Fortune — Now It Just Looks Like One: Flame once lived on six-figure workstations. Today? It’s more accessible, without losing its fire.
👉 Want to learn more about what Flame can do for your workflow? Visit our dedicated Flame page we call “Why We Think it’s Time to Light the Match (Again)”
Here’s what else had us—and our customers—talking:
- Golaem Now in Maya Collections Massive crowd scenes with no scripting headaches? Yes please. Golaem (former retail price: $2K–$16K) is now included in Maya’s collection, giving you studio-grade crowd sim tools right out of the box — and it’s the full version, not a budget remix.
- Open One License, Open Everything No more musical chairs with product keys. The new M&E collections let you run Maya, 3ds Max, Arnold, Bifrost, and more — all at once. It’s like a creative Swiss Army knife, minus the paper cuts.
- Real AI, Not Buzzword Soup Maya now includes AI-assisted animation that helps with layout, blocking, and motion — without taking over your scene like a generative AI diva. Think “smart assistant,” not “rogue intern.” It’s compartmentalized, secure, and designed with trust at its core.
- Flow Production Tracking = ShotGrid with a Glow-Up New name, tighter integrations, cleaner UX — Flow is here to organize your pipeline, not confuse it. Shot status, notes, and asset management now play nicely with Maya, Flame, and even your studio’s favorite spreadsheets.
- Arnold Gets Buff Arnold rendering is now 5x faster in some workflows, with GPU Cryptomatte support and deeper USD compatibility. Fast, flexible, and far less likely to crash mid-final export.
- USD Everywhere: From Maya to Max Without Tears Thanks to Universal Scene Description (USD), it’s finally possible to move assets between Maya and 3ds Max without needing a translator or a shaman. Layout in Max, animate in Maya, finish in Flame — and breathe easy.
- 3ds Max: Blender, But with Boundaries Max is now positioned as the “professional-grade out-of-the-box” solution. No endless plug-in hunts or Python deep dives — just a first-class modeling and visualization toolkit that’s ready to work on Day One.
- Bigger Dev Teams, Smarter Tools Autodesk is doubling down on core features, literally — the dev teams for Maya and Max have effectively doubled in size (because instead of dedicated teams for Maya and Max, the teams are dedicated to animation, modeling, etc on BOTH applications. Expect faster updates, fewer bugs, and feature requests that don’t disappear into a support portal void.
RSVP NOW: Autodesk Hits Vancouver — April 30!
You heard it here first: Autodesk is bringing the action to Annex Pro’s backyard. We’ll be there — you should be too. Details and free registration, but do it now because space is limited .
Register Now!