Computer Graphics World articles from August 2003

Computer Graphics World archives from August 2003

Digital future-proofing. (editor's note).(Editorial)
August 1, 2003... Walk around any of our industry shows, and you're almost certain to walk away thinking that the digital video revolution is ancient history--that virtually all visual effects artists and animators are busy receiving, sending, and producing...

Deed textures come to 3ds max. (modeling * animation).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Discreet has announced 3ds max 6, the latest upgrade to its flagship 3D modeling, animation, and rendering software. With Version 6, the company affirms its commitment to game development and introduces new features and enhancements. New...

Desktop SD video from Avid. (video editing).(standard definition)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Avid's Media Composer Adrenaline video-editing system combines the company's Media Composer software with its special-purpose Adrenaline hardware, which features a unique hybrid architecture that takes advantage of both host-based processing...

New particle effects from wondertouch. (visual effects).(ParticleIllusion 3.0)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... ParticleIllusion 3.0 from wondertouch is a standalone particle effects program designed for the visual effects industry. With this 2D, sprite-based application, users in the film and broadcast industries can add particle effects to imagery,...

The foundry updates keylight plug-in. (visual effects).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... The Foundry, a visual effects ping-in developer, has released Version 2.0 of Keylight, a greenscreen keyer for Avid|DS compositing and effects systems. According to the company, Keylight has been designed to provide extra functionality for...

Automated animation tools from Di-O-Matic. (effects).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Voice-O-Matic and Hercules are 3ds max plug-ins from Di-O-Matic that handle lip synchronization and musculature effects, respectively, Priced at $299, Voice-O-Matic employs algorithms to analyze the phonemes within an audio file and...

Graphically engineered chickens. (broadcast).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... For the recent live-action television commercial "Maybe Not," Steele VFX (Santa Monica, CA) created a barnyard of funky chickens for Burger King. The 30 second spot opens on two boys as they examine their lightning bolt- and star-shaped chicken...

A moving mosaic. (digital video).(Click 3x's moving video imagery )
August 1, 2003... Mosaics, created by inlaying small pieces of varicolored material to form pictures or patterns, were created as early as 4000 BC. Recently, New York City visual effects and design company Click 3x placed a new spin on this ancient art form by...

From dawn to dusk. (multimedia).(Nvidia's animation characters, Dawn and Dusk)
August 1, 2003... For the past several months, Nvidia has been turning heads at industry trade shows with its short animation of the fetching fairy Dawn, a realistic-looking real-time character created by the graphics card vendor for showcasing the power of...

Untangling cloth. (simulation).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... One of the biggest snags in computer animation has been to simulate how clothing bunches up and then relaxes again, as when a character's elbow bends or arm moves across the front of the body. The problem with conventional cloth-simulation...

Serving up. (market outlook).(TrendWatch report)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... According to the recent TrendWatch report, "Visual Effects/ Dynamic Media," the number of facilities planning to purchase servers is significant across all markets (see chart below) and has risen 17 percent compared to a year ago. Several...

Blur Studio.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Blur Studio (Venice, CA), a creator of visual effects and animation, moved into a new headquarters measuring 20,000 square-feet, nearly three times the size of its former offices. Blur also added roughly 24 computer artists to its staff,...

Discreet (Montreal), a division of Autodesk, has formed a strategic partnership with Criterion Software (Austin, TX).(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Discreet (Montreal), a division of Autodesk, has formed a strategic partnership with Criterion Software (Austin, TX), the maker of RenderWare middleware tools and technology, to develop and promote a game development pipeline between Discreet's...

IMAX Corporation.(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... IMAX Corporation (Mississauga, Canada) recently retired approximately $22 million in face value of its $200 million of senior notes due December 2005 in exchange for newly issued common shares. According to the company, it has reduced its total...

Video goes stereo. (viewpoint: DV).
August 1, 2003... Since at least the 1950s, when studios released a blizzard of 3D movies, technologists and artists have been fascinated by the challenge of creating a compelling 3D moving picture experience--in which the action on the screen extends beyond the...

The play's the thing, but ... (viewpoint: games).(Column)
August 1, 2003... In the 1990s, digital media convergence was the talk of the industry. Today, convergence is being used to describe the relationship between computer games and movies. The two mediums share not only an increased use of sophisticated digital...

Character studies: short films advance the art of human character animation. (Film)(Cover Story).(Eternal Gaze, Chainsmoker and Plumber)
August 1, 2003... 3 animated short films shown at SIGGRAPH's Electronic Theater last month advance the state of the art not in terms of "Is it real or is it CG?" realism, but in creating characters who, with their movements and expressions, engage audiences in...

Spying in stereo: stereoscopic effects place moviegoers in the middle of the action in Spy Kids 3-D. (Film).
August 1, 2003... In his latest Spy Kids film, released last month, director Robert Rodriguez takes movie audiences to a whole new dimension--literally. Approximately 66 minutes of the 80-minute film is shown in stereoscopy. * "It's a cool approach," says Chris...

Animated angels: a series of Web-based animations offers viewers a prologue to the new Charlie's Angels film. (Web Animation).
August 1, 2003... When Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle opens, moviegoers immediately are thrust into the action. The Angels are in Mongolia, in the midst of their latest mission. And from the start, millions of viewers fully understand their quest, thanks to...

The art of espionage: Ubi Soft tweaks the graphics in its Splinter Cell title to take advantage of the hardware power of each major platform. (Gaming).
August 1, 2003... Game enthusiasts get a taste of what it takes to be a secret operative in Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, a new computer/console game from Ubi Soft Entertainment. In the game, players assume the identity of Sam Fisher, a member of the National...

Art Studio: the SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival, Part II.
August 1, 2003... Each year, the SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival serves as a mirror of what is possible today and as a window into what might be achieved in the future. "The festival is defined by one word--vision," says chair Darin Grant from Digital...

Wildcat VP990 Pro: 3Dlabs piles on the video memory.
August 1, 2003... Competition in the 3D hardware market has been fierce over the past few years. ATI and Nvidia have been fighting it out in the consumer space, and this battle has crossed over into the professional workstation arena as well. Another contender,...

FinalToon: cartoon-style rendering from Cebas.
August 1, 2003... Geared toward animators who wish to give their digital creations an illustrated look, finalToon is a cartoon and illustration renderer for Discreet's 3ds max. The program also offers CG artists and designers a powerful tool for technical...

Customized workflow. (Asset Management).(NXN Software's NXN alienbrain VFX 2.0)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... [Win * Mac * Linux] NXN alienbrain VFX 2.0 is a scalable client/server system based on the asset management technology of NXN's flagship product, NXN alienbrain Studio. The VFX system is designed to provide customizable production management...

Turnkey compositing. (Digital Video).(from Pinnacle Systems)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... [Win] Pinnacle Systems is shipping its new turnkey compositing and editing system, Liquid chrome. The system combines three Pinnacle components--Liquid editing software, the Targa 3000 compositing engine, and the K2 single-chip 3D DVE. Liquid...

QuickTime video capture. (Digital Video).(DeckLink 4.0 beta from Blackmagic Design)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... [Mac] Blackmagic Design released a public beta of the Version 4.0 software update for its DeckLink family of uncompressed QuickTime video capture cards. DeckLink Version 4.0 adds support for RT Extreme and multi-channel audio features in...

Video via FireWire. (Digital Video).(AJA Video Systems)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... [Mac] AJA Video Systems' lo is an uncompressed audio/video FireWire capture device for Apple's Final Cut Pro 4. Priced at $2290, lo is an 8- or 10-bit broadcast video device that enables users to connect professional-level analog or digital...

Real-time photorealism. (Modeling and Animation).(Kaydara's Motion Builder 5.0)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... [Win * Mac] Kaydara announced the upcoming release of Motion Builder 5, the next generation of its real-time 3D character animation software. MotionBuilder is designed for users working in areas such as feature films, television series and...

Poser animation for 3ds max. (Modeling and Animation).(Reiss Studio's Body-Studio 2.0 for Windows)
August 1, 2003... [Win] In cooperation with Curious Labs, publisher of the character animation and modeling program Poser, Reiss Studio released Body-Studio 2.0 for Windows, a plug-in that integrates Poser 3D character animation technology with Discreet's 3ds...

Speedy MoCap. (Motion Tracking).(from Polhemus)(Brief Article)
August 1, 2003... Speedy MoCap The Liberty product line from Polhemus, maker of electromagnetic-based capture, tracking, and digitizing tools, offers updated technology and sophisticated digital signal processor (DSP) electronics. Its primary features are...

Events.
August 1, 2003... August 13-15 CGIM 2003 (Computers, Graphics, and Imaging) conference, held in Honolulu. Contact: IASTED; http://iasted.org/conferences/2003/ hawaii/cgim.htm September 6-11 Ars Electronica, held in Linz, Austria. Contact:...

Twenty years of innovation: Alias celebrates with name change and new product launches. (corporate overview).(formerly known as Alias Wavefront)
August 1, 2003... AS THE world's leading innovator of 30 graphics technology, Alias[R] develops award-winning solutions for the film, video, game development, interactive media, automotive, industrial design and visualization markets. This year is particularly...

Moving in stereo: by adopting the latest digital filmmaking technologies, Spy Kids 3-D sets a new course for stereoscopic effects. (backdrop).(Interview)
August 1, 2003... Q Why did you decide to use stereoscopic visual effects in Spy Kids 3-D? A I wanted to bring stereo 3D effects back to theaters. And I thought doing a sci-fi movie for kids and setting it in a video game would be a great way to do it. The...