Kinetix, the independent, multimedia business unit of Autodesk, Inc., is devoted to revolutionizing 3-D computing with powerful graphics software for Microsoft Windows NT workstations and Windows 95. Kinetix develops and delivers affordable content creation tools for visual computing professionals such as: film, video and broadcast television producers; interactive 3-D game developers; and architects, engineers and designers.
The division generates annual revenues of nearly U.S. $37 million, and has delivered more than 53,000 copies of its flagship 3D Studio MAX application to the...
Kinetix, the independent, multimedia business unit of Autodesk, Inc., is devoted to revolutionizing 3-D computing with powerful graphics software for Microsoft Windows NT workstations and Windows 95. Kinetix develops and delivers affordable content creation tools for visual computing professionals such as: film, video and broadcast television producers; interactive 3-D game developers; and architects, engineers and designers.
The division generates annual revenues of nearly U.S. $37 million, and has delivered more than 53,000 copies of its flagship 3D Studio MAX application to the marketplace since its introduction in April 1996. The 3D Studio MAX product line saw a 17 percent unit shipment growth during fiscal 1997.
With worldwide headquarters in San Francisco's creative SOMA neighborhood, Kinetix is a division of Autodesk, the fourth largest PC software company in the world with three million customers in 150 countries. With more than 100 employees in over 60 sales and support offices worldwide, Kinetix reaches customers on six continents through more than 200 authorized multimedia resellers and distributors. In fact, nearly half of Kinetix's revenues--48 percent--come from outside North America.
The Product Line
3D Studio MAX R2.5, a powerful release of the world's best selling 3-D animation and modeling software for PCs, is an interactive and object-oriented 3-D production environment. 3D Studio MAX, in its second-generation Windows NT release, is a full-featured tool set and an efficient unified environment, giving CG professionals the freedom to model, render, and animate anything.
3D Studio MAX R2.5 is a powerhouse package for film and video production, balancing superb image quality, speed, freedom of animation, and world-class special effects, within a rich and accessible development environment. For games development, 3D Studio MAX raises the bar for interactivity and excitement, combining stunning effects with new levels of openness, extensibility, fast modeling, and interactivity--again, all in one highly cost-effective package.
3D Studio MAX is a proven production solution that answers the needs of the most demanding production environment.
Available only as a plug-in for 3D Studio MAX, Character Studio is a patented, revolutionary application that provides professional animators using PCs with the ability to create and animate lifelike 3-D characters of unequaled realism. With the new Character Studio R2--the technology behind the amazing Dancing Baby phenomenon--Kinetix has added powerful motion capture, editing and blending. These new features combine with Character Studio's two breakthrough components: Biped!, the world's only footstep-driven character animation system, and Physique!, a system that creates remarkably realistic character skins and musculature. The result is a world-class solution which delivers a faster and more economical path to creating realistic 3-D characters. Character Studio also includes Windows 95 support.
HyperMatter, a plug-in for 3D Studio MAX developed by Second Nature Industries and distributed by Kinetix, revolutionizes the process of adding life-like realism to creatures and other soft, non-rigid 3-D objects. HyperMatter redefines computer animation by simulating the reactions of animated non-rigid objects, allowing them to do almost anything real objects can. By adjusting variables such as elasticity and gravity, HyperMatter can also create outlandish and often humorous distortions, equipping objects with real-life properties and then animating them.
The Kinetix 3D Studio MAX Software Developers Kit (SDK) is available to all registered users and developers, and is designed to expand the industry's most extensible 3-D graphics development platform. Documenting the Applications Programming Interface (API) for creating plug-in components, the SDK was developed in tandem with 3D Studio MAX and includes nearly half of the native code. Two versions of the SDK have been created to address the unique needs of the professional designer and the third-party plug-in developer. Installation is as simple as dragging and dropping a plug-in icon into the 3D Studio MAX plug-in folder. Because it incorporates more than half of the native application code, the 3D Studio MAX SDK is the most comprehensive and robust development environment available to creators of 3-D modeling, animation and effects tools.
Third-Party Products: Plug-In Applications
Built on an elegant API, the 3D Studio MAX architecture allows plug-ins to take full advantage of native 3D Studio MAX features such as Interactive Real-time Rendering, Modeling, Function Curve Editing, Selection, Manipulation, and even Inverse Kinematics. A survey of Kinetix customers found that 61 percent of Kinetix application users are committed to buying additional plug-ins. For expert users, commitment rises to 76 percent.
As a result, the community of software developers creating plug-ins for 3D Studio MAX is growing dramatically. Already, more than 100 plug-ins are available from over 200 software developers, with the total number rising weekly. A current list of available plug-ins is published on the Kinetix web site.
Our Target Markets
Kinetix applications dominate 3-D animation and modeling, with nearly two-thirds of the market for professional animation on the PC captured. According to the 1997 Roncarelli Report, Kinetix leads the industry with 29 percent of the professional 3-D animation market and 38 percent of the PC segment. Kinetix provides PC-based designers with sophisticated animation features traditionally associated with high-end UNIX-based solutions.
More and more film studios, animation houses and production facilities are discovering the power of Kinetix graphics solutions. These customers are helping to fuel a new 3D graphics revolution by using affordable PCs to create the kind of animations and special effects that traditionally required costly graphics workstations and supercomputers. In an industry where high-quality work and tight budgets are a way of life, Kinetix solutions successfully enable customers to compete. The application plug-in architecture of 3D Studio MAX software also gives Hollywood designers the opportunity to write their own custom code. Using Kinetix software, special effects designers are able to integrate filmed actors with photo-realistic, 3-D animation. Among the list of Kinetix entertainment credits are: The Truman Show, Starship Troopers, Godzilla, Anaconda, The Sweet Hereafter, Deep Rising, Contact, The Peacemaker, IMAX Theater Productions, Van-pires, the 1988 Winter Olympics, The Outer Limits, The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest , an EnVogue Music Video, plus, television commercials for Cap 'n Crunch cereal, Fox's National Hockey League and National Football League coverage, Remington razors, Fruitopia drinks, Bud Lite beer and Cadillac cars.
Leading video game developers such as Westwood Studios, Virgin Interactive, LucasArts, Accolade, Amazing Media, Electronic Arts Sports, Interplay, Maxis, Sierra Online, Turner Interactive, DreamWorks Interactive, Mechadeus, and Blizzard Studios have depended upon Kinetix products to produce hit game titles for both consoles and PCs. New motion-capture capabilities found in Character Studio give game authors, the industry's most powerful character animation solution. The extensible, plug-in architecture of 3D Studio MAX software allows game developers to customize their development environments. Customization is critical in a developer's quest to deliver differentiated, unique game titles. The result? More than 40 percent of all PC-based game developers use Kinetix products to author such hits as: Tomb Raider I and II, Red Alert, Duke Nukem-A Time to Kill, Diablo, Small Soldiers, Warcraft, Bladerunner, Tiger Woods Golf, You Don't Know Jack, Rebel Assault, Imperial Pursuit, Shut Up and JAM!, Wing Commander II, Seventh Guest, 11th Hour, Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing for Kids, John Madden Football on Sega Genesis and SNES, NHL '95 and NHL '96, Crash and Burn, SimCity 2000, Dedalus Encounter, The Neverhood, Jurassic Park: The Lost World, and Goosebumps: Escape from Horrorland.
