Computer Graphics World articles from August 2006

Computer Graphics World archives from August 2006

The art of storytelling.(Siggraph 2006)(Editorial)
August 1, 2006... Just a few years ago, SIGGRAPH attendees were awed by waves of realistic water, the appearance and movement of realistic hair and fur, and the gentle folds and wrinkles of realistic cloth simulations. This year, showgoers once again illustrated...

Autodesk unveils Lustre HD.(PRODUCTS: MODELING/ANIMATION)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Autodesk has expanded its Lustre product line with the addition of Lustre HD, a new digital color-grading system designed for work on high-definition television commercials, programming, and film projects. Autodesk Lustre HD provides...

Vicon enhances MX motion-capture systems.(Vicon Motion Systems)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Vicon has announced hardware enhancements to its Vicon MX motion-capture solutions that are designed to simplify motion-capture setup with a high number of cameras, automate the simultaneous capture of live-action footage, provide near-infrared...

Avid Technology ships software upgrades.(PRODUCTS: VIDEO)(Media Composer Version 2.5)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Avid is shipping its new Media Composer line with upgraded software, expanded functionality, and a focus on work flow and work group collaboration, made possible through the new Avid Interplay system. The line also benefits from Media Composer...

VRCO and Fakespace present Conduit.(PRODUCTS: VIRTUAL REALITY)(Fakespace Systems Inc. jointly introduced plug in software)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... VRCO and Fakespace Systems jointly introduced Conduit, a new software plug-in designed to add advanced visualization capabilities to Autodesk's AliasStudio 13, formerly Alias StudioTools. Conduit enables designers to view and interact with...

HP packs Xeon power.(Hewlett-Packard Co. introduced HP xw6400and xw8400 and HP Compaq nw8440 and nw9440 )(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Hewlett-Packard has unveiled four professional workstations--the desk-side HP xw6400 and xw8400 workstations and HP Compaq nw8440 and nw9440 mobile workstations--the first models to feature Intel's dual-core Xeon processors. The HP xw6400...

Thrill rides: using the latest CG techniques, theme parks are taking visitors for a fun-filled virtual ride.(London-Based Entertainment ...)(computer graphics)(Cover story)
August 1, 2006... It seems that today, every major theme park in the US--from Walt Disney World to Universal Studios to Busch Gardens--is entertaining guests with a simulation ride film. The concept is hardly new. Early attempts featured footage from a camera...

On edge: artists drawing over live-action footage create a restive animation.(A Scanner Darkly)
August 1, 2006... It's difficult to imagine a more finely drawn picture of the woozy world of drug addiction and paranoid hallucinations than the moving illustrations in Warner Independent Films' A Scanner Darkly, based on a Philip K. Dick novel. The distorted...

Turbo-charged FX: Rhythm & Hues stages a high-speed race through Shibuya Square in The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift.(Digital Sets)
August 1, 2006... Surrounding one of Tokyo's largest railway stations, Shibuya Square is Japan's mecca for shopping, entertainment, and fashion: a massive commercial complex of stores and theaters that is home to the world's busiest Starbucks and eclipses even...

SIGGRAPH 2006 Art Gallery, Part I.(Murat Germen, Gene Greger and Philip George works are being presented)
August 1, 2006... Over the past 40 years, innovations in digital technology have enabled the integration of technical accomplishment with artistic expression, thereby fostering art endeavors that explore new territories and cross traditional boundaries. To this...

Rainmaker acquires Mainframe.(Mainframe Entertainment Inc.)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Rainmaker has purchased 62 percent of the outstanding shares of Mainframe Entertainment, a CG animation company with $19 million in revenue for this past fiscal year, from IDT Entertainment and its affiliates. Rainmaker plans to acquire the...

Imageworks 3D pipeline opens.(Sony Pictures Imageworks)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Sony Pictures Imageworks, a digital production studio dedicated to visual effects and character animation, has formed a new production pipeline designed for 3D stereoscopic films. The Imageworks 3D pipeline is dedicated to the production of 3D...

Nintendo selects Freescale for Wii console.(Nintendo Company Ltd.)(Freescale Semiconductor's CodeWarrior Radix Studio)(Brief article)
August 1, 2006... Nintendo has named Freescale Semiconductor's CodeWarrior Radix Studio as the official toolset for the Nintendo Wii gaming console, the company's next-gen system, expected to be released in the near future. In fact, Nintendo is shipping...

GenHead upgrade.(3D GRAPHICS)
August 1, 2006... Win Genemation, Ltd. has released its GenHead Version 3.1, a standalone software program that aids digital content creators in crafting 3D heads from photographs. Targeted at art directors, chief technical officers, artists, and others, GenHead...

Paperless process.(ANIMATION)
August 1, 2006... Win * Mac Digital Video's Toonz 5.0 Bravo is designed for the production of paperless animation. Its features include an intuitive user interface advanced drawing features, and 2D animation tools. Version 5.0 enables users to draw, animate,...

Apple add-on.(COMPOSITING)
August 1, 2006... Conduit, a new visual effects compositing tool from DVGarage, is a plugin to Apple's Motion 2 that offers a variety of visual effects compositing utilities that are easy to use and render in real time. Conduit provides Motion 2 users with HD...

Lip service.(LIP SYNCHRONIZATION)
August 1, 2006... Win Di-O-Matic has upgraded its Voice-O-Matic lip-sync software tool, reportedly the only lip-sync plug-in available for Autodesk 3ds Max. Version 2 employs an intelligent phonetic engine to analyze audio files and automatically assign up to 40...

Physics-based lighting.(SIMULATION)
August 1, 2006... Win * Mac * Linux Following three years of research and development, Next Limit Technologies has introduced Maxwell Render 1.0, The Light Simulator. The Maxwell render engine is designed to be easy to use, automatically optimizing its internal...

Westinghouse widescreen.(DISPLAY)
August 1, 2006... The LCM-22w2 from Westinghouse Digital Electronics is an HD-Grade 22-inch multifunctional flat-panel display. Priced at $500, the widescreen desktop monitor boasts an ultra-fast 5 msec response time and a 700:1 contrast ratio. Its wide 16:10...

Stereo system.(PROJECTOR)
August 1, 2006... Fakespace Systems has recently released the Beacon 8MP stereoscopic projection system with 8.85-megapixel native resolution. Well suited to data- and image-critical applications, Beacon 8MP employs the company's patent-pending shutter...