Boris FX Acquires 3D Camera Tracking VFX Software SynthEyes

Boris FX, a developer of visual effects plugins and applications, has acquired SynthEyes from Andersson Technologies. Boris FX says the purchase “builds upon the company’s commitment to delivering best-in-class plugins and applications to feature film, streaming, and broadcast post-production professionals.”

SynthEyes’ standalone 3D tracking application allows VFX artists to perform complex 3D set extensions, place CG characters into scenes, and animate them using motion capture. Over its 20-year history, SynthEyes has been used on blockbusters, including Black Panther, The Guardians of the Galaxy series, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Pan’s Labyrinth and King Kong, as well as beloved episodics such as Foundation, Stranger Things, Game of Thrones, Fringe and Lost.

The Boris FX Suite offers a end-to-end solution with creative editing, audio, visual effects, planar tracking, motion design, and compositing tools. It features industry-leading products Sapphire, Continuum, Mocha Pro, Silhouette, Optics, CrumplePop and now SynthEyes.

“I’m fascinated by the technical sophistication and precision with which Dr. Russell Andersson approached one of the most challenging problems in modern post-production: the 3D camera solve,” said Boris Yamnisky, Boris FX CEO-founder. “SynthEyes’ speed and accuracy, object tracking, and ability to deal with complex lens distortions make it a perfect complement to the Boris FX Suite. Thousands of our users worldwide will now benefit from this remarkable technology in their daily work.”

“After 20 years of serving the broad visual effect community, I’m excited to start this new chapter under the trusted Boris FX brand,” said Dr. Andersson, creator and founder of SynthEyes (Andersson Technologies). “Many of our artists already rely on Boris FX products to help tackle both visible and invisible visual effects. I cannot wait to push SynthEyes forward with our combined, expert development team.”

The artists at FuseFX use Boris FX Sapphire and Mocha Pro along with SynthEyes in their pipeline. “I have used Syntheyes since 2005 for many high-end and award-winning shows,” said Johnathan Banta, DFX supervisor at FuseFX. “It is the most affordable and versatile 3D tracker I have ever worked with — central to my digital makeup and photogrammetry pipelines. Tracking pixels is the most important part of any visual effect. Syntheyes has never let me down.”

Andersson will remain in his leadership role as Boris FX seeks to develop and sell SynthEyes 3D camera-solving tracking tools as its own application and leverage the 3D technology across its product brands. SynthEyes is available as a standalone application starting at $499 for a permanent license.