Computer Graphics World articles from April 2003

Computer Graphics World archives from April 2003

Rumblings of recovery. (editor's note).(TrendWatch survey of studio and facility owners in the visual effects/dynamic media markets)(Industry Overview)
April 1, 2003... Last month in this space, we found out what top analysts from the worlds of digital content creation and 3D computer graphics had to say about current business conditions and what, if any, promising opportunities they could point us to in their...

Alias's digital sketchbook. (drawing).(Alias/Wavefront's Sketchbook Pro )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Sketchbook Pro from Alias|Wavefront is a software program that works with Tablet PC devices running Windows XP to provide a digital drawing option for artists. With Sketchbook Pro, users can sketch, view, and annotate images. They can input...

Surround video from Prairie Logic. (virtual reality).(Virtual Video Reality technology )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Prairie Logic's new Virtual Video Reality (VVR) technology enables live-action 3D imagery to be captured, then viewed, in 360-degree digital surround video. The company likens the viewing experience to Imax or Panavision, with the main...

Discreet updates inferno, flame, and flint. (compositing).(inferno 5, flame 8 and flint 8)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Discreet recently issued new versions of its visual effects and compositing systems, inferno 5, flame 8, and flint 8. Each system serves the professional digital content market, but inferno is Discreet's top-of-the-line product, whereas flint...

New NLE System from Leitch. (NLE systems).(dps-VelocityQ multi-stream non linear editing system )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The latest addition to Leitch's Professional Post Production product line is an update to its dps-VelocityQ multi-stream non linear editing system (see "Editing Evolution," pg. 12). This offering is designed to balance price (with some systems...

Virtual motion capture with endorphin. (animation).(NaturalMotion's product)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... NaturalMotion has introduced endorphin, the first commercial product based on its Active Character Technology, which simulates a human body and adds Al motor control. The program is designed to complement traditional motion capture, making it...

Computer crash. (broadcast).(use of computer animation in the Drew Carey Show)
April 1, 2003... Since its premiere in 1995, The Drew Carey Show has often deviated from the tried-and-true sitcom formula by adding elaborate song and dance routines to elicit laughs from the audience. In a recent episode, titled "Family Affair,"...

A performance enhancer. (multimedia).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Dozens of high-definition images from Artbeats, a video stock-footage provider, were used as colorful backdrops during the BBC's annual Royal Variety Performance, a live charity event featuring performances by celebrities from the worlds of...

Sci-Tech Oscars. (film).
April 1, 2003... Computer graphics technologists garnered five of the 13 Sci-Tech Oscars at this year's Academy Awards ceremony. The winners included Alias|Wavefront, Side Effects Software, mental images, PDI/Dreamworks, and Disney. Of the three levels of...

Graphics sales up 13 percent in Q4 2002. (market outlook).(data from Jon Peddie Research of Tiburon)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Approximately 53 million PC graphics devices shipped in the fourth quarter of 2002, a 13 percent increase over the previous quarter. The mobile segment of the market led growth, with shipments increasing 25 percent over Q3's. The desktop...

OpenML SDK debuts at NAB. (news).(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The Khronos Group will be distributing the OpenML SDK at Booth SL2248 on the NAB exhibition floor in Las Vegas this month. OpenML is a royalty-free open standard that enables developers to integrate video, audio, and graphics capabilities with...

Nvidia intros new mobile graphics chip. (news).(Quadro4 700 Go GL )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... The Quadro4 700 Go GL Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) from Nvidia (Santa Clara, CA) continues the trend among graphics chip makers of bringing workstation-type power to laptop units. The new chip incorporates Nvidia's Ouadro4 XGL desktop...

MAC aficionado turned PC enthusiast: profile of The Orphanage. (Special Advertising Section).
April 1, 2003... As a loyal Macintosh[R] aficionado, the last thing visual effects creator Stu Maschwitz thought he'd ever do was to replace his sexy Mac dual-800 G4 computer with a Microsoft[R] Windows[R]-based workstation. After all, he'd been on a Mac since...

Films of the future. (Film).(machinima )
April 1, 2003... A guy, a girl, and a car. Ah, the stories you could tell, the movies you could make, if only... if only you could afford to hire the cast, crew, a director of photography, location scout, costume designer, and, and.... But wait! Maybe you can....

Editing evolution. (DV).(Buyers Guide)
April 1, 2003... There's good news and bad for those in the market for a desktop non-linear editing (NLE) system. The good news--thanks to recent advances in computer hardware, dropping prices, and the proliferation of sophisticated software features--there has...

Character driven: the getaway provides the adrenaline rush of an action movie and the immersion of a first-person shooter game. (Gaming).(Sony Computer Entertainment Europe's The Getaway )
April 1, 2003... When Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo unveiled their current generation of robust game consoles in late 2001, they were hoping to steal a piece of the high-end gaming business from the PC platforms, which dominated the market through their ever...

Layer by layer: digital artists make the impossible look real in The Core's inner-earth sequence. (Film).
April 1, 2003... Usually, realism is the overriding goal of artists creating digital effects sequences for live-action films. For some projects, however, it doesn't make sense to strive for realism when the result will be visually uninteresting. In such...

Pyramid scheme: 3D modelers reconstruct the Great Pyramid in a BBC/Discovery documentary. (Broadcast).(BBC's Pyramid documentary/drama)
April 1, 2003... The Great Pyramid of Giza, the burial place of King Khufu, was constructed more than 4500 years ago, yet its craftsmanship makes it one of the most impressive structures ever built. This architectural marvel, the only one of the Seven Wonders...

Graphics to go: despite obstacles, the adoption of 3D graphics over wireless devices is rolling along. (Wireless).(2003 Game Developers Conference )(Industry Overview)
April 1, 2003... The use of 3D graphics on mobile phones is still more cutting edge than commonplace--at least in the United States and Europe--but a variety of players are hard at work to change that situation. Wireless graphics were a hot topic at the 2003...

Art studio. (imagina).(Imagina Awards)
April 1, 2003... The creme de la creme of computer graphics were honored at this year's Imagina Awards, the traditional high point of the Imagina international festival for digital images, held annually in Monaco. This year, more than 380 works were submitted...

FreeForm Version 6: SensAble's haptic system evolves.(SensAble Technologies)
April 1, 2003... Interacting with 3D objects on a computer is a conceptual stretch for many people. From a visual standpoint, it's difficult to view a 3D object properly on a 2D screen. From an interactive standpoint, the computer mouse works in only two...

NLE HD editing. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Boxx Technologies' CineBoxx)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Boxx Technologies' CineBoxx is a turnkey 2K film and HD sequential image review system featuring an NLE, ingestion system for sequential image export, network shared storage, and DDR. Boxx also added new features to its HDBoxx for uncompressed...

HD camcorder. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(JVC Professional Products Company's JY-HD 10U)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... JVC Professional Products Company has introduced what it claims is the world's first professional hand-held camcorder with full HD recording capabilities: the JY-HD 10U. The 1 CCD (1.18 million pixel, 16:9) JY-HD10U is designed to make it...

Eye on compositing. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(eyeon Software Digital Fusion 4.0)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Win-Linux eyeon's Digital Fusion 4 desk-top compositing application boasts command-line scripting, unlimited tracking points, new grid warping, 8- and 16-bit integer and 32-bit floating-point color processing, and RAM caching for real-time...

Real-time effects. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Avid/Softimage's Win-Linux Softimage/XSI 3.0)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Win-Linux Softimage|XSI Version 3.0 is an integrated modeling and animation system with tools such as smart automated character rigging, non-destructive animation mixing, and WSYWIG real-time effects tools. Also available are Softimage|Behavior...

Enhanced NLE. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Leitch's dpsVelocityQ multistream NLE 8.2)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Leitch's dpsVelocityQ multistream NLE features real-time playback of four video streams in any combination of uncompressed or compressed video; six graphics streams; and four channels of real-time 3D DVE. Highlights in V8.2 include a new...

DCC Storage. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Medea Graphics )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Medea Graphics is offering several new storage products designed to support digital content creation applications: the VideoRaid RT3 disk array, designed for multi-stream SD and HD NLE systems; the VideoRaid FCR2/FCRX2 family of 2GB fibre...

Effects filters. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Digital Anarchy Text Anarchy 2.0)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... For use with After Effects and Final Cut Pro, Text Anarchy 2.0 ($159) comprises eight filters for creating text effects and animations and Anarchy Toolbox 1.0 ($159) offers eight distortion and design filters. Texture Anarchy 1.0 for Photoshop...

Image editing tools. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Mathematical Technologies )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... New resolution-independent products from Mathematical Technologies include Correct, Convert, Conform, and Control. Correct provides tools for image processing correction. Convert is designed for format conversion, standards conversion, down...

Matte extraction. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Ultimatte's AdvantEdge)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Win*MAc Among the enhancements Ultimatte made to its AdvantEdge matte extraction tools is support for Media 100 and Incite systems. Providing a separate shadow channel, smart matte sizing, digital chroma filtering, and roto screen correction,...

Tracking and retiming. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(RealViz's Win*Mac*Linux 3.0)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Win*Mac*Linux Version 3 of RealViz's MatchMover Professional automatic tracking software, scheduled to ship this summer, will be available in a Mac OS X version in the fall. Also new is ReTimer Professional--the next generation of RealViz's...

Managing assets. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Cinergy's tools)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Cinergy integrates digital archive, asset management, tape and live ingest, logging, search and browse, editing, and playout functions. Workgroup collaboration tools, multi-format/multi-resolution conform, format-independent editing, and...

Real-time broadcast tool. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Kaydara's Kaydara Online)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Win With Kaydara Online, users can produce 3D overlays, animations, info graphics, and animated talking heads. Providing offline and online tools for 2D/3D content design, setup, and playback, the real-time product, for use in ITU-R-601 or...

On-air graphics. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Chyron's graphics/broadcast offerings )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Among Chyron's plethora of graphics/broadcast offerings are Solo, Camio, and MicroScribe. A laptop CG and real-time animation system, Solo supports optional dual-channel squeezeback and comes with a PCMCIA-connected video card. Camio is a...

Productivity pack. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Alias/Wavefront's Win*Mac Maya Productivity Pack)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Win*Mac Alias|Wavefront's Maya Productivity Pack comes with Maya Complete 4.5 for Mac or Windows, the Learning Maya software book and DVD series; Maya Single Incident support; and coupons for additional A|W offerings. The Pack is available as a...

CD/DVD copier/printer. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Primera Technology's Bravo Disc Publisher )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Primera Technology's Bravo Disc Publisher uses a robotic arm to automatically copy and print up to 25 CDs or DVDs per job. A CD-R version sells for $1995, while a DVD-R/CD-R version costs $2495. Booth #SL2409 Primera Technology;...

Production systems. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Quantel's generationQ)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Quantel offers its generationQ for D1, post, graphics, and broadcast news/live production. Post users can choose from the iQ digital intermediate system; eQ for HD editing; QEdit Pro, a mainstream editor; QEffects for network effects; and...

Editing, finishing systems. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Media 100's 844/Xi and 844/Xe )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Media 100 has enhanced its 844/Xi and 844/Xe editing systems with such features as HDX Technology, for HD support; The Finishing Release Version 2.0 software for the 844/X; and XBLUR, a tool for real-time, multistream, 10-bit Gaussian blur....

New video switcher. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Brick House Video's VTB-2DC)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... With Brick House Video's new VTB-2DC broadcast-specification SDI rack-mount 1RU switcher, users can work with asynchronous sources. The eight-input switcher also includes composite input and DSK options. The company also offers the VTB-1DS...

Digital film devices. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(FilmLight's Northlight scanner )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... FilmLight's Northlight scanner is designed for digital mastering of 35- and 65mm film. Besides a temperature-compensated 8K trilinear CCD array, Northlight features a pin-registered gate design; low noise performance; and flatbed transport....

Film recorder. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Celco's Fury )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Celco's Fury digital film recorder outputs one frame/second, or 60 minutes of high-resolution 35mm film/day, and supports formats and resolutions ranging from 16mm to IMAX and NSTC/PAL to HD. Look for software and hardware updates to the...

Asset management. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Ciprico's DiMeda 3600 Digital Media Appliance )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Ciprico's DiMeda 3600 Digital Media Appliance features a fiber channel back end, gigabit Ethernet transport, and an embedded software layer. Also new from Ciprico is the FibreStore 2210, a 2GB RAID product that can be used in video server...

Video card. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Blackmagic Design's Blackmagic DeckLink)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Blackmagic DeckLink, Blackmagic Design's uncompressed 10-bit QuickTime video card, features 10-bit and B-bit uncompressed video, JPEG, DV playback formats, and real-time effects. Available for $995, the product is compatible with Final Cut Pro,...

Dual display. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Matrox's 128MB Parhelia graphics card)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... According to Matrox, its 128MB Parhelia graphics card offers a productivity boost for DV and DCC workstations through its dual-display + TV-output features, which increases desktop real estate while enabling full-screen previews of video...

Mocap minus the performer. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(NaturalMotion's enedorphin )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... According to NaturalMotion, endorphin is the industry's first virtual mocap studio. Utilizing the company's Active Character Technology, which simulates the human body and adds AI motor control, endorphin enables users to instruct a CG...

HDTV Recording. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(from Accom )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... New from Accom is WSD/HDi, an uncompressed HDTV recording solution. Meanwhile, Version 4.5 of the Abekas 6000 provides faster fiber channel transfer speeds, an updated Content Management panel, better network connectivity, and enhanced live...

Digital color grading. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Discreet)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... Besides a new digital color grading system, Discreet also offers new versions of its inferno, flame, and flint visual effects systems, as well as its smoke and fire editing/finishing systems, all of which showcase the company's innovations in...

Video production. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(NewTek's Video Toaster )(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... NewTek, a maker of video editing, animation, and special effects tools, is now offering Video Toaster [3], a video production suite. NewTek also makes the LightWave 3D modeling and animation software and Aura Video Paint. Prices not available....

DVD authoring. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(Adobe Systems' Encore DVD)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... A new product from Adobe Systems, Encore DVD authoring software lets professional videographers, DVD authors, and independent producers create multi-language DVDs with interactive menus, multiple audio tracks, and subtitle tracks. Encore DVD...

Storage solutions. (NAB 2003 Show Preview April 5-10, 2003 Las Vegas, NV).(SGI's CXFS shared file system family)(Brief Article)
April 1, 2003... SGI added two products to its CXFS shared file system family. Like its predecessors for the Irix, Solaris 8/9, and Windows NT/2000 platforms, the Linux 32- and 64-bit clients for SAN infrastructures enable real-time content sharing across a SAN...

Escape artist: on The Getaway--a new form of entertainment that blends gaming and cinematic storytelling. (backdrop).(Q and A with Gavin Moore)(Interview)
April 1, 2003... Q Would you consider The Getaway to be a breakthrough in terms of combining cinematic storytelling and interactive game play? A There is nothing new in blending cinematic storytelling and gaming. Games have had stories ever since Space...