OpenFX (OFX), a.k.a. The OFX Image Effect Plug-in API, is an open standard for 2D

visual effects Visual effects (sometimes abbreviated VFX) is the process by which imagery is created or manipulated outside the context of a live-action shot in filmmaking and video production. The integration of live-action footage and other live-action foota ...

compositing Compositing is the process or technique of combining visual elements from separate sources into single images, often to create the illusion that all those elements are parts of the same scene. Live-action shooting for compositing is variously c ...

plug-ins. It allows plug-ins written to the standard to work on any application that supports the standard. The OpenFX standard is owned by The Open Effects Association, and it is released under a 'BSD' open source license. OpenFX was originally designed by Bruno Nicoletti at

The Foundry Visionmongers Foundry (registered as The Foundry Visionmongers Limited; also known under its former brand name The Foundry) is a British visual effects software development company with headquarters in London, and offices in Manchester and in Austin, Texas. ...

. Plug-ins are written as dynamic shared objects, and the API specifies a few

entry point In computer programming, an entry point is the place in a program where the execution of a program begins, and where the program has access to command line arguments. To start a program's execution, the loader or operating system passes c ...

s that must be implemented by the

plug-in Plug-in, plug in or plugin may refer to: * Plug-in (computing) is a software component that adds a specific feature to an existing computer program. ** Audio plug-in, adds audio signal processing features ** Photoshop plugin, a piece of softwar ...

. The OpenFX host exposes sets of

s to the plug-in, called ''suites''. The ''Property Suite'' is used to manage attribute-value pairs attached to objects defined by all other suites of the API, the ''Image Effect Suite'' is used to fetch

film frame In filmmaking, video production, animation, and related fields, a frame is one of the many '' still images'' which compose the complete '' moving picture''. The term is derived from the historical development of film stock, in which the sequ ...

s from the inputs or the output of the effect, and there are other suites to display informative messages or ask questions to the user, handle multithreading, use

OpenGL OpenGL (Open Graphics Library) is a cross-language, cross-platform application programming interface (API) for rendering 2D and 3D vector graphics. The API is typically used to interact with a graphics processing unit (GPU), to achieve ha ...

for processing, etc. Each plugin is described by a list of parameters and supported inputs and output. The host may execute various ''actions'', for example to signal that a parameter value has changed or that a portion of a

has to be rendered. Optionally, the plug-in may also display graphical information over the current frame using

, and propose interactions using mouse and keyboard (this is called ''interacts'' in the OFX specification). An OpenFX ''host'' is an application capable of loading and executing OpenFX plugins.

History

* UPDATE: Current version is 1.4 as of June 2017 OpenFX was first announced on Feb 10, 2004

. The OpenFX specification was written so that a plugin supporting the latest version of the API may be implemented to be compatible with a host implementing an earlier version. # OpenFX 1.0 was released in 2006. # OpenFX 1.1 was released in 2007. # OpenFX 1.2 was released in 2010. # OpenFX 1.3 was released in 2012. # OpenFX 1.4 was released in 2015.

Hosts

Free and open source hosts

ButtleOFX
(for Linux, open source, LGPL license, alpha status, unmaintained)
Kaliscope
(scanner controller/batch conversion tool based on OpenFX host and plugins, open source,

GPL The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or simply GPL) is a series of widely used free software licenses that guarantee end users the four freedoms to run, study, share, and modify the software. The license was the first copyleft for general us ...

3 license) *

Natron Natron is a naturally occurring mixture of sodium carbonate decahydrate ( Na2CO3·10H2O, a kind of soda ash) and around 17% sodium bicarbonate (also called baking soda, NaHCO3) along with small quantities of sodium chloride and sodium sulfate. ...

for macOS, Linux, FreeBSD and Windows (open source,

license) * Ramen compositor (

CDDL The Common Development and Distribution License (CDDL) is a free and open-source software license, produced by Sun Microsystems, based on the Mozilla Public License (MPL). Files licensed under the CDDL can be combined with files licensed under ot ...

1.0 license, never officially released, but source code is available)
ShuttleOFX
(online OpenFX platform, open source, LGPL license)
TuttleOFX
(command-line OpenFX host and plugins, open source, LGPL license)

Commercial hosts

Baselight
(from version 2.2) by FilmLight
Catalyst Edit
by

Sony Creative Software Sony Creative Software is an American software company that develops various media software suites. Sony Creative Software was created in a 2003 deal with Madison-based media company Sonic Foundry in which it acquired its desktop product line, ...

DaVinci Resolve DaVinci Resolve (originally known as da Vinci Resolve) is a color grading, color correction, visual effects, and audio post-production video editing application for macOS, Windows, and Linux, originally developed by da Vinci Systems, and now d ...

(from version 10) and DaVinci Resolve Lite, by

Blackmagic Design Blackmagic Design Pty Ltd. is an Australian digital cinema company and hardware manufacturer based in Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It designs and manufactures broadcast and cinema hardware, most notably high-end digital-movie camera ...

DustBuster+
(from version 4.5), b
HS-ART

by DVS
EDIUS Pro
(from version 8.1, by OFX-bridge plugin from NewBlueFX), by

Grass Valley A grass valley (also vega and valle) is a meadow located within a forested and relatively small drainage basin such as a headwater. Grass valleys are common in North America, where they are created and maintained principally by the work of be ...

Fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole. Fusion may also refer to: Science and technology Physics *Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...

(from version 4.04), by

(formerly by eyeon)
HitFilm
(from version 3 Pro) b
FXhome
* Mistika (from version 6.5.35) an
Mamba FX
b
SGO

Motion Studio
by IDT Vision
Nucoda Film Master
(from version 2011.2.058) b
Digital Vision
*

Nuke Nuke is most commonly used as a slang term for a nuclear weapon, or the act of detonating/setting one off. Nuke may also refer to: Computing * Nuke (software), a node-based compositor * Nuke (video games), a type of damaging attack that is mos ...

(from version 4.5), by The Foundry * Piranha by Interactivefx * Quantel Rio by

SAM Sam, SAM or variants may refer to: Places * Sam, Benin * Sam, Boulkiemdé, Burkina Faso * Sam, Bourzanga, Burkina Faso * Sam, Kongoussi, Burkina Faso * Sam, Iran * Sam, Teton County, Idaho, United States, a populated place People and fictional c ...

SCRATCH
(from version 6.1), b
Assimilate

Titler Pro 4
by NewBlueFX *

Toon Boom Harmony Toon Boom Animation Inc. is a Canadian software company that specializes in animation production and storyboarding software. Founded in 1994 and based in Montreal, Quebec, Toon Boom develops animation and storyboarding software for film, tele ...

Vegas Pro Vegas Pro (stylized as VEGAS Pro, colloquially called ''Sony Vegas'') is a video editing software package for non-linear editing (NLE). The first release of Vegas Beta was on June 11, 1999. The software runs on Windows operating systems. Origin ...

(from version 10), by

Magix Software GmbH Magix (or MAGIX Software) is a German software company specializing in video editing, audio editing, DAW and photo slideshow software. The company is based in Berlin, with locations in Madison, Wisconsin, Dresden and Lübbecke, as well as Hui ...

Vegas Movie Studio Vegas Movie Studio (previously Sony Vegas Movie Studio) is a consumer-based nonlinear video editing software designed for the PC. It is a scaled-down version of Vegas Pro. Movie Studio was formerly called "Sonic Foundry VideoFactory" and then "S ...

(Platinum edition and above), by

Discontinued: *

Autodesk Toxik Autodesk Toxik was an interactive node based, film compositing solution developed by Autodesk Media and Entertainment, a subsidiary of Autodesk, Inc. History Autodesk Toxic is a film compositing software first released in 2007. Features A ...

(from version 2009) (included with

Maya Maya may refer to: Civilizations * Maya peoples, of southern Mexico and northern Central America ** Maya civilization, the historical civilization of the Maya peoples ** Maya language, the languages of the Maya peoples * Maya (Ethiopia), a popu ...

) * Avid DS (from version 10.3) * Bones by Thomson/

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films running through a special ...

* MATRIX Compositing by Chrome Imaging * Shake by Apple

OpenFX plug-ins

Free and open source plugins

* The officia
OpenFX SDK
(BSD license) contain sample plugins, programmed using the standard C API, or a C++ wrapper.
openfx-arena
is a set of visual effects plugins, mainly based on

ImageMagick ImageMagick, invoked from the command line as magick, is a free and open-source cross-platform software suite for displaying, creating, converting, modifying, and editing raster images. Created in 1987 by John Cristy, it can read and write ove ...

.
openfx-io
is a set of plugins for reading or writing image and video files (using

OpenImageIO OpenImageIO is an open source library for reading and writing images. Support for different image formats is realised through plugins. The project is distributed with a modified BSD license. History Project ''OpenImageIO'' started as ''ImageIO'' ...

and

FFmpeg FFmpeg is a free and open-source software project consisting of a suite of libraries and programs for handling video, audio, and other multimedia files and streams. At its core is the command-line ffmpeg tool itself, designed for processing of ...

), and for color management (using OpenColorIO).
openfx-misc
is a collection of essential plugins, which provide many basic compositing tools, such as filters, geometric transforms, and color transforms. Commercial OpenFX hosts usually provide their own versions of these plugins.
TuttleOFX
provides many plug-ins, especially for

color grading Color grading is a post-production process common to filmmaking and video editing of altering the appearance of an image for presentation in different environments on different devices. Various attributes of an image such as contrast, color, ...

, usable in most OpenFX hosts. * INK green/blue screen keyer and ChannelMath b
casanico.com
*TalentTracker b
Mut1ny.com

Commercial plug-ins

* Beauty Box Video by digital anarchy
Color Symmetry
* Composite Suite Pro, Film Stocks, Rays, reFine, zMatte, Tiffen DFX b
Digital Film Tools
* DE:Flicker, DE:Noise, RE:Match, Twixtor and ReelSmart Motion Blur by RE:Vision Effects * Film Convert for OFX by Rubber Monkey Software
Genifect
b
Dual Heights Software

HitFilm Ignite
b
FXhome

Lenscare and Flair
b
frischluft

RealPerception
b
Motiva

Neat Video
by ABSoft * NewBlueFX plugins (including Titler Pro 3) * Primatte by

Photron Photron is an international company that manufactures high-speed digital cameras based in Tokyo, Japan, with offices in San Diego, California & United Kingdom. The Photron FASTCAM cameras are used for capturing high speed images and playing thes ...

Imagica is a Japanese post-production company for films, television programmes and commercials, etc., established in 1935 and headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=n ...

* Red Giant Universe and Magic Bullet (in version 12.1, Looks, Film, Cosmo and Mojo are OpenFX plugins) by Red Giant Software * Sapphire Visual Effects OFX and Monsters GT VFX Plugins OFX by

GenArts GenArts, Inc. was a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based developer of visual effects software for the film, broadcast and advertising industries. A majority of traditional video content such as movies, commercials, television shows, newscasts and musi ...

* White balance, exposure and color matching b
FBmn Software

InviziGrain
by InviziPro

Extensions

OpenFX' ''suite''-based design enables one to easily introduce new sets of entry points, in order to cover other applications while still relying on the same core dynamic plug-in mechanism. A notable example is OpenMfx, an API based on OpenFX but meant to define procedural effects on 3D meshes rather than 2D images. An host that supports the Image Effects API does not necessarily support the Mesh Effect API, and vice versa, but both support the same core plug-in mechanism and basic suites like the ''Property Suite'' or the ''Parameter Suite''. OpenMfx is an initiative independent from The Open Effects Association, led by Élie Michel since 2019.

Documentation

The OFX Image Effects API
is the official reference.
The OFX Programming Guide for Image Effects
by Bruno Nicoletti.
OpenFX plugin programming guide
based on th
C++ Support library

OpenMfx documentation
an OFX Mesh Effects API, including the API reference as well as a C++ Support library and some tutorials.

References

External links

The Open Effects Association

Home page of the project
{{DEFAULTSORT:OpenFX API Application programming interfaces Graphics standards