Autodesk Introduces Motion FX, Real-Time Video Effects App - MacRumors
Skip to Content

Autodesk Introduces Motion FX, Real-Time Video Effects App

by

motionfx
Autodesk just released Motion FX, a nifty app that lets users apply dozens of real-time effects to videos, like smoke, fire or rainbow plasma. The software grabs live video, either from the Mac's built-in iSight or FaceTime camera, or via an external camera. Motion FX does the rest.

Simply select your favorite preset effect, and create an incredible visual experience by moving in front of your computer’s camera. A preset cycling mode lets you automatically cycle through effects without lifting a finger. You can also use the Face Tracking technology of OS X Lion to emit effects from any faces visible to your camera.


Motion FX applies real-time fluid dynamics technology from Autodesk's Maya visual effects and compositing software. There are five different video modes:

- Motion Detect: Effects are created based on motion detected by your computer’s camera
- Face Detect: Emit effects from all visible faces
- Color Detect: Choose the color to emit effects from the video feed
- Effect Paint: Paint effects using your mouse or trackpad
- Video Warp: Warp live video using your mouse or trackpad

The Mac team at Autodesk has been very busy lately, last week introducing new versions of AutoCAD LT and its flagship AutoCAD product for Mac, including offering AutoCAD LT on the Mac App Store for $899.99.

Motion FX is available free on the Mac App Store. [Direct Link]

Top Rated Comments

chrono1081 Avatar
190 months ago
I'm glad to see large companies embracing the app store. I'd LOVE to have Maya update through the app store instead of me having to check autodesks website.
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)
res1233 Avatar
190 months ago
Anyway, before I was censored by Arn (<3), I pointed out that this is called Augmented Reality. I saw no mention of that in the article.
Score: 1 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

imac video apple feature

Apple Released Yet Another New Product Today

Friday March 20, 2026 2:39 pm PDT by
Apple has unveiled a whopping nine new products so far this March, including an iPhone 17e, iPad Air models with the M4 chip, MacBook Air models with the M5 chip, MacBook Pro models with M5 Pro and M5 Max chips, the all-new MacBook Neo, an updated Studio Display, a higher-end Studio Display XDR, AirPods Max 2, and now the Nike Powerbeats Pro 2. iPhone 17e features the same overall design as...
ios 26 4 pastel

iOS 26.4: Top 10 New Features Coming to Your iPhone

Friday March 20, 2026 2:44 pm PDT by
iOS 26.4 isn't the major update with new Siri features that we hoped for, but there are some useful quality of life improvements, and a little bit of fun with an AI playlist generator and new emoji characters. Playlist Playground - Apple Music has a Playlist Playground option that lets you generate playlists from text-based descriptions. You can include moods, feelings, activities, or...
iPhone 18 Pro Deep Red Feature

iPhone 18 Pro Launching Later This Year With These 12 New Features

Wednesday March 18, 2026 7:39 am PDT by
While the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max are not expected to launch for another six months or so, there are already plenty of rumors about the devices. It was initially reported that the iPhone 18 Pro models would have fully under-screen Face ID, with only a front camera visible in the top-left corner of the screen. However, the latest rumors indicate that only one Face ID component...