Animation World Magazine, Issue 3.2, May 1998


Animation World News

Technology

Tools Of The Trade. Following the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas, technology announcements abound. Video software company Play Incorporated merged with 3-D animation software company Electric Image, Inc. The two privately-owned companies have "known each other for more than a decade," said Electric Image co-founder Jay Roth. Under the name Electric Image, the expanded company intends to create "a new breed of graphics and video products with unparalleled capabilities.". . . . Alias/Wavefront unveiled the Windows NT version of their new, next generation animation software, Maya. While the IRIX/Silicon Graphics-compatible version debuted in January, the Windows NT version is slated for a June release. Read a review of Maya in the February 1998 issue of Animation World Magazine . . . . MEDIALAB Studio LA is using Softimage's Toon Shader software to get a traditional 2-D look from their real-time motion capture system, CLOVIS. The use of Toon Shader enables Medialab to create 3-D characters with outlines like traditional cel animation, yet retain their computed shadows, camera angles and lighting set-ups. The technology is being used in Medialab's Paris studio for the production of an original animated series pilot called Sphinx. Get the inside scoop on <Medialab> in the February 1998 issue of Animation World Magazine . . . . Kinetix and Discreet Logic have formed a partnership to jointly develop and market software combining their respective specialties in 3-D modeling/visual effects/animation and editing/post/digital media production. At NAB, the two companies showcased new integration between their software products: Kinetix's 3D StudioMax R2.5 and Discreet Logic's Effect and Paint programs. . . . Chicago-based game producer TerraGlyph Interactive Studios has selected MediaPEGS' PEGS 2-D animation software as part of its digital animation production system. . . . TCLai Enterprises is developing a product called Shooter, a Macintosh software package which enables one to shoot frame by frame film from a computer monitor, synchronizing the display with the camera mechanism. Originally developed for use by the UCLA Animation Workshop, Shooter is not yet available to the public . . .Newtek is offering an upgrade of their 3-D animation software NewTek 3D 5.6, free to registered users of LightWave 3D 5.5. The upgrade features HyperVoxels, a rendering technology for simplifying the creation of organic effects, and Steamer Shader, which calculates accurate shadows, refractions and reflections in LightWave 3D. . . . Israel-headquartered company, Techimage, Ltd. intends to enter the 3-D animation software market with the release of a new facial animation software package in the near future. . . .

Note: Readers may contact any Animation World Magazine contributor by sending an e-mail to editor@awn.com.


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