Curious gFx Pro 2.5: the new 16-bit version performs admirably under test conditions.

Curious Software ups the ante with an update to its desktop compositing program, gFx Pro. Curious gFx Pro 2.5 is suitable for painting, animation, rotoscoping, and digital effects for film and television, in up to 6K resolution and full 16 bit.

For those unfamiliar with the company and the program, Curious Software's claim to fame has been, up to this point, Curious World Maps software, a leading broadcast map-creation program. The company has employed much of that popular program's feature set in the creation of a desktop compositing program somewhat similar to Adobe After Effects and Discreet Combustion. Curious gFx Pro 2.5 falls into generally the same price category of those programs. The 8-bit version is priced at $999, while the 16-bit version runs $1999.

Installation is quick and easy, and copy protection is ensured via an Ethernet-linked license file on your machine or a dongle. Curious is very protective, whereas vendors, such as Discreet and Adobe, have loosened their copy protection in recent years through the elimination of dongles, for example. Curious's tight control could adversely affect its market share, as it often inconveniences and annoys legal users.

After gF*x Pro is launched, the main screen opens with all your tools in full view. This seemingly simple characteristic is perhaps the best feature a compositing program can offer. Viewing footage with your tool set surrounding it, rather than having features buried in sub-menus and alternate windows, is invaluable, and key to a productive work flow.

The top row, above your footage, includes buttons for loading various elements, such as video, images, text, and shapes. To the right appear stacks of layers. The program excels at masking and having layers interact with one another, so having them on screen at all times is handy for manipulation. At the bottom of the interface are various playback controls, as well as multiple tabs for adding painting, lighting, and layer effects and for altering content on screen. Each layer can be composited with other layers in different ways. You can position, scale, and rotate a layer; adjust transparency; matte out a section; rotoscope a matte; choose a blend mode, such as dodge, burn, subtract, and pin light; and add trails and drop shadows.

Animators will love the many Paintbox features, including onion skinning and wire rig removal. In fact, it's safe to say that while other compositing ...