ANIMATION WORLD MAGAZINE - ISSUE 3.8 - November 1998


Technology

Cutting Edge Technology's new workstations are compatible with several animation software packages. Photo © CETI.

Tools Of The Trade. German media group, ProSieben Media AG has bought a 20 percent stake in Los Angeles, California-based Aréte Image Software (AIS). The strategic alliance marks the first time the Munich-based company has invested in the American market. AIS, established in 1996, specializes in creating software--such as RenderWorld and Digital NatureTools--that enables animators to integrate water and atmospheric effects. The deal gives ProSieben exclusive rights to use AIS' technology and market it in Europe. Dr. Georg Kofler, ProSieben's chairman of the board, said, "The alliance will further strengthen our position in the feature film and TV production sector. We hope to jointly develop new projects in order to make state-of-the-art technologies available to a wider public.". . . . Toon Boom Technologies has released the Windows NT version of its USAnimation software package. Seoul, Korea-based Sun Woo Entertainment is the first studio to place an order for the new product. The studio is already using the SGI version of the software, and will now have a multi-platform set-up that allows the NT and SGI platforms to be used simultaneously. . . . Sheridan College is using Side Effects Software's Houdini package in its one-year-old educational program aimed specifically at training technical directors (TDs). "The complexities involved in technical animation are much greater than can be taught in a single year, so I developed the technical director program as an optional second year to our Computer Animation program," said Avrim Katzman, a former TD and current director of the Visualization Design Institute at Sheridan College. "My confidence in Houdini has been well rewarded: of the recent graduating class, 80% were hired related to their knowledge of Houdini.". . . . . 7th Level has released Agent 7, software that utilizes voice recognition and RealAudio to create talking animated characters. Users select from a pre-made cast of animated characters, speak into a microphone or add an existing voice track, and Agent 7 automatically animates the character's lips and facial expressions using "phoneme" (voice) recognition. The resulting animation can be streamed in the same manner as RealAudio. 7th Level is offering a free, two-character trial version on the web site, www.real.com/products/tools/5.html. . . . MICROSOFT has renewed its contract with Totally Hip Software for the licensing of GIF animations used in Microsoft's software. Randall McCallum, CEO of Totally Hip, said, "Using our own technology to develop content for Microsoft products provides our development team with feedback that has helped make WebPainter an award-winning Web design tool." Read a review of WebPainter in the April 1997 issue of Animation World Magazine . . . . . The University Of Washington has obtained a patent for its pen-and-ink illustration software developed by Inklination, a young Seattle-based company started by people in the school's Computer Science and Engineering Department. The technology, which was presented in two papers at SIGGRAPH `94, is now available for worldwide licensing. . . . . . . . Laguna Hills, California-based Cutting Edge Technology, Inc. (CETI) has introduced two new high-end graphics workstations: ProStation GS 400D and ProAlpha GS 667. The workstations, which cost $9,995 and $12,875 respectively, are compatible with animation software such as Alias|Wavefront's Maya, Softimage 3D, Lightwave 3DKinetix's 3D Studio MAX, and others.

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

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