Bill Desowitz's Recent Posts

RenderMan Pro Server, a new software package featuring an upgraded version of Pixar Animation Studios' RenderMan 3D rendering software (version 11.5), will be released in July, 2003 and repriced at $3,500. The new release showcases increased rendering performance indicative of the studio's recent work with FINDING NEMO. Complex scenes using subtle lighting effects should see significant gains, and a new rendering mode boosts throughput by automatically harnessing the full power of modern multi-processor systems.

Pixar's RenderMan Pro Server Components:

The Rugrats meet The Thornberrys and get into all kinds of island mischief on the big screen in RUGRATS GO WILD, opening nationwide June 13, 2003. Produced by Klasky Csupo, Nickelodeon Pictures and distributed by Paramount Pictures, the movie marks the fourth theatrical feature from Klasky based on its smash Nick TV series, RUGRATS and WILD THORNBERRYS.

John Eng (sequence director on RUGRATS IN PARIS and JIMMY NEUTRON: BOY GENIUS) and Norton Virgien (director of THE RUGRATS MOVIE) co-direct from Kate Boutilier's script.

Special one-day 3ds max workshops will be sponsored by Discreet throughout the summer in Santa Monica and San Jose, California. Designed for professional animators as well as Maya, XSI, Houdini or LightWave users, the workshops will focus on animation, modeling, texturing and character animation and rendering techniques.

The workshops will focus on:o Character modeling with cool polygon modeling techniques o How to create 3D surfaces from patches o How to create a complex material tree using material types

Although it took many years of intense lobbying by the VFX community, stop-motion pioneer Ray Harryhausen (IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA, THE 7TH VOYAGE OF SINBAD, MYSTERIOUS ISLAND and JASON & THE ARGONAUTS) finally got a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, June 10, 2003, right next to the legendary El Capitan Theater.

Coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the Cabbage Patch Kids, IDT Media is developing two animated projects, a music video and an active play video through its 3D animation unit, Digital Productions Solutions (DPS), which recently bought a majority stake in Film Roman Inc. This marks the first-ever computer-animated depiction of the franchise, and the latest indication of DPS' aggressive pursuit of dolls and action figures to animate. The Cabbage Patch Kids is licensed by Original Appalachian Artworks (OAA) and represented exclusively by 4Kids Entertainment.

The Gnomon Workshop has released eight new training DVDs on texturing, lighting and particle rendering in Alias|Wavefront's Maya, as well as two "analog" titles on character sculpture, produced by industry veteran John Brown, a new addition to the Gnomon team. Each title contains two hours of instruction, lecture notes, resource spotlights and bonus materials. They are priced at $69 each and may be purchased at www.thegnomonworkshop.com.

In accordance with its new emphasis on VFX, New York City-based Rhinoceros Visual Effects and Design has changed its name to rhinofx. In addition, the studio has added three of its freelance artists to the roster: Ronen Sharabani, Joseph Burrascano and Joshua Frankel.

According to partner/senior exec producer Rick Wagonheim, hiring freelancers works for both parties. "Team chemistry and collaboration is important at rhinofx." Some of the projects they have been working on at rhinofx include Dentyne Ice, L'Oreal, Baskin-Robbins, Scotch-Brite, Cadillac and Krylon.

San Francisco-based Phoenix Editorial has completed editorial and effects on the first two spots in a new campaign promoting Yahoo!'s revamped search engine. Each spot is linked by the idea that the new search application is so habit-forming, people literally carry it with them wherever they go. Five-foot long Yahoo! search bars, with flashing cursors and personalized queries, play a prominent role in the spots. The 30-second spot SUBWAY and the 60-second ANTHEM were completed by Black Rocket, San Francisco, with Smuggler's David Frankham directing.

20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA, Disney's first live-action star vehicle (Kirk Douglas, James Mason and Peter Lorre), is available on DVD in a lavish two-disc special edition ($29.99 suggested retail price from Buena Vista Home Entertainment).