It is typically used to create visual effects and digital compositing for movies, TV-series and commercials and employs a node-based interface in which complex processes are built up by connecting a flowchart or schematic of many nodes, each of which represents a simpler process, such as a blur or color correction.

This type of compositing interface allows great flexibility, including the ability to modify the parameters of an earlier image processing step "in context" (while viewing the final composite).

Fusion was originally developed in 1987 as in-house software developed for use by New York Production & Design (NYPD), a post production and visual effects boutique based out of Sydney, Australia.

The very first version of the software was written in DOS and consisted of little more than a UI framework for quickly chaining together the output of pre-existing batch files and utilities.

[1][2] Fusion has been used on over 1000 major Hollywood blockbuster feature films as of 2015 as well as on many TV shows,[3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][excessive citations] among them: Fusion has also been used in video games such as Halo 5: Guardians, Destiny: Rise of Iron and Dawn of War III.