FlareSimAE v1.0.5

FlareSimAE for Adobe After Effects — 1,370 built-in lens presets.

• Fixed macOS Metal rendering issues.
• Added optional FHD/720p brightness matching for manual lights.
• Improved GPU memory efficiency.

Install: Unzip, copy the plug-in to After Effects Plug-ins, then restart.

Windows: CUDA / CPU · macOS: Metal (Intel / Apple Silicon).
macOS build is ad-hoc signed, not notarized.

Based on FlareSim for Nuke.

FlareSimAE v1.0.4

FlareSimAE is a physically based lens flare effect for Adobe After Effects, ported from FlareSim for Nuke.

Windows: CUDA · macOS: Metal (Apple Silicon / Intel)

What's new

• Fixed the macOS plug-in not appearing in After Effects.
• Simplified downloads: just the plug-in, installation instructions, and license notices.

Install

Download the ZIP for your system, extract it, and copy the plug-in into your After Effects Plug-ins folder. Restart After Effects.

Installation guide · Source code

Credits: Steve Watts Kennedy (FlareSim for Nuke) and Eamonn Nugent (original renderer).

The Mac build is ad-hoc signed, not notarized. Some rendering modes still use CPU fallback.

FlareSimAE v1.0.3 - CUDA + Metal

FlareSimAE v1.0.3 introduces a native Metal GPU backend for macOS using the same optical core and AE SmartFX implementation as Windows CUDA.

macOS: Universal arm64/x86_64 plugin, native Metal acceleration for Composite, Flare Only, Sources Preview, Ghost Only and Haze Only. Validated with a real Apple GPU in GitHub Actions (optical CPU parity, ghost blur, HDR source detection and haze). Ad-hoc signed; not notarized. Loading and rendering in the macOS After Effects GUI is not yet independently validated.

Windows: The v1.0.3 native x64 AEX is now included in this Release, rebuilt from the exact same source commit as the macOS Metal plugin. CUDA SmartFX tests passed 25/25 on NVIDIA GPU. Download FlareSimAE_v1.0.3_Windows.zip for Windows.

Diffraction/starburst and optical diagnostics continue to use CPU fallback on both platforms. The Adobe SDK is not included in the release.

Windows ZIP SHA-256: 3113ff751623726e944aa7358090ff31275e92feb7ad0b0216f13dc408ed3ba1

FlareSimAE v1.0.2

A CUDA-accelerated After Effects plugin for physically-based lens flare simulation. FlareSimAE traces rays through real optical prescriptions to generate lens ghosts, diffraction starbursts, and veiling haze.

FlareSimAE is an unofficial After Effects adaptation of FlareSim for Nuke, developed by Steve Watts Kennedy, building on the original optical work of Eamonn Nugent (blackhole-rt).

Stable Windows CUDA rendering fix

The v1.0.2 release fixes the actual AE 26.3 CPU fallback caused by expanded SmartFX render requests (-192 to 2112 on a 1920-pixel solid). CUDA now accepts nonempty sensor intersections, keeps the optical sensor size independent of padded host output Worlds, and copies only valid pixels. Sources Preview is CUDA accelerated.

What's included

• FlareLensAE.aex 窶・native Windows x64 After Effects effect, NVIDIA CUDA acceleration and CPU fallback
• README.md / INSTALL.md 窶・overview and installation guide
• LICENSE.txt / LICENSE_UPSTREAM.txt / NOTICE.md 窶・MIT license and original credits
• FlareLensCatalog.tsv 窶・index of the embedded lens presets
• lenses/lens_files/ 窶・all 1,370 upstream optical prescriptions, as optional reference copies (the AEX also embeds these)
• lenses/convert_ob.py / convert_p2p.py 窶・upstream conversion utilities

Requirements

• Windows x64 and a compatible Adobe After Effects installation
• NVIDIA GPU and compatible CUDA driver for GPU acceleration, or use the CPU fallback
• A macOS binary is not included until the separate Apple-hosted SDK build is verified. Metal acceleration, Linux and native Vulkan renderers are not provided.

Installation

1. Download FlareSimAE_v1.0.2_Windows.zip below.
2. Extract the archive.
3. Close After Effects and copy FlareLensAE.aex into an After Effects Plug-ins folder (for example, Support Files/Plug-ins/FlareSimAE/).
4. Remove duplicate older AEX copies from active plug-in paths, then restart After Effects.
5. Search for FlareSimAE in the effects list.

The bundled lenses directory is optional reference material; all 1,370 prescriptions are already embedded in the AEX. See INSTALL.md for full details.

Features

• Optically traced internal reflections with wavelength-dependent refraction and Fresnel weighting
• 1,370 embedded lens presets and editable Custom Lens UI
• AE Arbitrary Data keyframe interpolation
• Automatic bright-source detection and manual HDR sources
• Aperture diffraction, veiling haze, spectral sampling and selected ghost pairs
• Diagnostic outputs, preview quality, native CUDA rendering with CPU fallback

Verification

• Windows Release build successful; 25/25 automated tests passed.
• The user has reported that the corrected AEX resolves the initial CPU-speed problem in their actual AE composition. Other host workflows remain unverified (interactive lens editor keyframes, save/reopen, multi-frame rendering, cancellation, different AE versions). Test with a noncritical project first.
• CUDA benchmarks are not guaranteed After Effects timeline render times.

Source commit: b895bcd
Windows ZIP SHA-256: a71a627eb4c90cc50d0466924edc949de23b3e7858b8751bfa004c18f6dd1496

FlareSimAE v1.0.1

A CUDA-accelerated After Effects plugin for physically-based lens flare simulation. FlareSimAE traces rays through real optical prescriptions to generate lens ghosts, diffraction starbursts, and veiling haze.

FlareSimAE is an unofficial After Effects adaptation of FlareSim for Nuke, developed by Steve Watts Kennedy, building on the original optical work of Eamonn Nugent (blackhole-rt).

Windows CUDA dispatch fix

This is a v1.0 bugfix release. The native CUDA path now renders manual-source subrectangles without forcing CPU fallback, and Sources Preview is CUDA accelerated.

What's included

• FlareLensAE.aex 窶・native Windows x64 After Effects effect, NVIDIA CUDA acceleration and CPU fallback
• README.md / INSTALL.md 窶・overview and installation guide
• LICENSE.txt / LICENSE_UPSTREAM.txt / NOTICE.md 窶・MIT license and original credits
• FlareLensCatalog.tsv 窶・index of the embedded lens presets
• lenses/lens_files/ 窶・all 1,370 upstream optical prescriptions, as optional reference copies (the AEX also embeds these)
• lenses/convert_ob.py / convert_p2p.py 窶・upstream conversion utilities

Requirements

• Windows x64 and a compatible Adobe After Effects installation
• NVIDIA GPU and compatible CUDA driver for GPU acceleration, or use the CPU fallback
• macOS/Metal, Linux, and native Vulkan renderers are not provided in this release

Installation

1. Download FlareSimAE_v1.0.1_Windows.zip below.
2. Extract the archive.
3. Close After Effects and copy FlareLensAE.aex into an After Effects Plug-ins folder (for example, Support Files/Plug-ins/FlareSimAE/).
4. Remove duplicate older AEX copies from active plug-in paths, then restart After Effects.
5. Search for FlareSimAE in the effects list.

The bundled lenses directory is optional reference material; all 1,370 prescriptions are already embedded in the AEX. See INSTALL.md for full details.

Features

• Optically traced internal reflections with wavelength-dependent refraction and Fresnel weighting
• 1,370 embedded lens presets and editable Custom Lens UI
• AE Arbitrary Data keyframe interpolation
• Automatic bright-source detection and manual HDR sources
• Aperture diffraction, veiling haze, spectral sampling and selected ghost pairs
• Diagnostic outputs, preview quality, native CUDA rendering with CPU fallback

Verification

• Windows Release build successful; 25/25 automated tests passed.
• Real-world host validation remains incomplete for some workflows (interactive lens editor keyframes, save/reopen, multi-frame rendering, cancellation, different AE versions). Test with a noncritical project first.
• CUDA benchmarks are not guaranteed After Effects timeline render times.

Source commit: f9225b3
Windows ZIP SHA-256: 55eb0e4ded1489da4f6616ae0731e4d923bada388279570777c384b4e0a480e9

FlareSimAE v1.0.0

A CUDA-accelerated After Effects plugin for physically-based lens flare simulation. FlareSimAE traces rays through real optical prescriptions to generate lens ghosts, diffraction starbursts, and veiling haze.

FlareSimAE is an unofficial After Effects adaptation of FlareSim for Nuke, developed by Steve Watts Kennedy, building on the original optical work of Eamonn Nugent (blackhole-rt).

First public release 窶・v1.0.0

This is the first numbered public release of FlareSimAE. The effect, ZIP archive, source code, Git tag and release title use the same v1.0.0 version.

What's included

• FlareLensAE.aex 窶・native Windows x64 After Effects effect, NVIDIA CUDA acceleration and CPU fallback
• README.md / INSTALL.md 窶・overview and installation guide
• LICENSE.txt / LICENSE_UPSTREAM.txt / NOTICE.md 窶・MIT license and original credits
• FlareLensCatalog.tsv 窶・index of the embedded lens presets
• lenses/lens_files/ 窶・all 1,370 upstream optical prescriptions, as optional reference copies (the AEX also embeds these)
• lenses/convert_ob.py / convert_p2p.py 窶・upstream conversion utilities

Requirements

• Windows x64 and a compatible Adobe After Effects installation
• NVIDIA GPU and compatible CUDA driver for GPU acceleration, or use the CPU fallback
• macOS/Metal, Linux, and native Vulkan renderers are not provided in this release

Installation

1. Download FlareSimAE_v1.0.0_Windows.zip below.
2. Extract the archive.
3. Close After Effects and copy FlareLensAE.aex into an After Effects Plug-ins folder (for example, Support Files/Plug-ins/FlareSimAE/).
4. Remove duplicate older AEX copies from active plug-in paths, then restart After Effects.
5. Search for FlareSimAE in the effects list.

The bundled lenses directory is optional reference material; all 1,370 prescriptions are already embedded in the AEX. See INSTALL.md for full details.

Features

• Optically traced internal reflections with wavelength-dependent refraction and Fresnel weighting
• 1,370 embedded lens presets and editable Custom Lens UI
• AE Arbitrary Data keyframe interpolation
• Automatic bright-source detection and manual HDR sources
• Aperture diffraction, veiling haze, spectral sampling and selected ghost pairs
• Diagnostic outputs, preview quality, native CUDA rendering with CPU fallback

Verification

• Windows Release build successful; 24/24 automated tests passed.
• Real-world host validation remains incomplete for some workflows (interactive lens editor keyframes, save/reopen, multi-frame rendering, cancellation, different AE versions). Test with a noncritical project first.
• CUDA benchmarks are not guaranteed After Effects timeline render times.

Source commit: 3f7f1c1
Windows ZIP SHA-256: 91c6c5a32fb763e762b243145e39be3d5328ca1900c6d40d22e14840f9337f45