Computer Graphics World articles from July 2006

Computer Graphics World archives from July 2006

Classics new and old.(Editorial)
July 1, 2006... After all these years, I am still amazed when it comes to the power of computer graphics. It has the ability to educate, to make our lives more efficient and safe, and much more. Above all, it has the ability to entertain. The medium can turn...

AutoDesSys improves its FormZ.(FormZ 6.0)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Enhanced with a number of new features and functionality, FormZ 6.0 will be released this month at SIGGRAPH by maker AntoDesSys. Some of the new features include animation, 3D printing with color and textures, and a number of others that extend...

The new virtual fashion basic.(E-frontier Inc., Virtual Fashion Basic for Poser)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... E-frontier has accessorized its product line with the new release of Virtual Fashion Basic for Poser, easy-to-learn design software for the creation of dresses, jackets, skirts, shoes, and other 3D design garments. Originally developed for...

RealViz offers a VTour.(image processing software)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Image-processing software developer RealViz has unveiled VTour, the latest addition to the company's content creation offerings. VTour draws on the technology of RealViz's Stitcher and Image Modeler products, offering users a solution for...

Houdini 8.1 appears in 3D for animators.(Side Effects Software Inc. )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Side Effects Software has released Houdini 8.1, featuring an animator-friendly Auto Rig, Muscle System, Character Picker, and Pose Library, as well as other enhancements to the Rigid Body and Wire dynamic solvers. The new version also supports...

Eyeon fuses together updates.(eyeon Software Inc., Fusion 5.02)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Eyeon Software continues to build momentum with the release of Fusion 5.02 by adding approximately 100 new features and enhancements to the compositing software's core architecture. Fusion 5.02's OpenGL acceleration with display views makes...

ArtVPS, Mental Ray Team on new Raytracing Solution.(Mental Images)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Two of the industry's largest commercial forces in rendering--ArtVPS and Mental Images--have formed a partnership that will result in an integration of their respective products, which will cater to the increasing demand for photorealistic...

Working under extreme conditions.(Extreme Makeover: Home Edition)
July 1, 2006... West Post Digital, a boutique postproduction facility specializing in HD and SD online finishing and color correction, recently completed work for Extreme Makeover: Home Edition--After the Storm. The work was for a series of four shows...

A TV commercial hits its target.(Target Corp. contracts with Radium)
July 1, 2006... The department store Target is known for its whimsical, stylized television commercials that feature men, women, and children--and, of course, the signature Target dog--moving at a fast pace within a setting dominated by its other signature of...

Animation 2.0.(computer animation will become the predominant quality determinant of next-generation video games )
July 1, 2006... The visual quality of video games has improved dramatically with the arrival of Microsoft's Xbox 360 and, soon, Sony's PlayStation 3. In fact, some games--in particular, racing titles--approach the much-promised goal of photorealism. However,...

Yo ho ho! ILM creates a sea monster and 15 lead characters in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest using innovative mocap and simulation.(Industrial Light & Magic)
July 1, 2006... After you've seen Davy Jones' beard writhe like a sea creature. After you learn that Industrial Light & Magic discovered a way to motion-capture the performances of multiple actors during principal photography without using one piece of...

Making the grade: HP workstations with ATI FireGL graphics serve up high-end power, performance, and graphics at Illinois Institute of Art.
July 1, 2006... In the world of digital content creation--and perhaps more so than in any other industry--many of us define ourselves by our work. How many times have you described yourself by citing the work you've done on a particular film, game, or novel...

This old house: Imageworks uses performance capture and hand animation to create 'dollhouse' realism.(Sony Pictures Imageworks)
July 1, 2006... Any animator who has spent months sculpting blendshapes or posing IK handles will tell you that the phrase "computer animation" is not only a misnomer for the person's art, but a borderline insult. Computers don't animate anything; people do....

Success is in the cards: making the right workstation and graphics choices can help you achieve greatness.
July 1, 2006... As a graphics professional in the entertainment industry, you don't compromise when it comes to your work--always striving for the highest quality, greatest realism, or most eye-catching effect. You push your creativity, imagination, talents,...

Leaps tall orders: Sony Pictures Imageworks creates a digital Superman for close encounters.
July 1, 2006... When Superman soared above Lois Lane's house in Warner Bros' Superman Returns, he flew on the wings of computer graphics technology and visual effects expertise that has taken superheroes and digital humans to new heights. Andy Jones,...

When worlds collide: what really happens when CAD models are transformed into art.
July 1, 2006... The premise is an obvious one: All the work that goes into creating a design for a product can be reused to create art for a video, documentation, or a slick magazine ad. But is the theory more attractive than the actual application? In...

On holy ground: unearthing the mysteries of The Da Vinci Code's Saint-Sulpice Church.
July 1, 2006... The Church of Saint-Sulpice, it is said, has the most eccentric history of any building in Paris. Built over the ruins of an ancient temple to the Egyptian goddess Isis, the church possesses an architectural footprint matching that of Notre...

Roundball: artists create a 3D animation, projected in 360 degrees, to promote EA's NBA Live 06.(Electronic Arts Inc.)
July 1, 2006... electronic arts recently challenged the digital artists at Brickyard VFX to a game of roundball, only the court, the players--and everything else involved--were completely digital. Electronic Arts wanted an animated piece promoting its EA...

Portfolio.(2006 SIGGRAPH Animation Festival)
July 1, 2006... >> "The setup, payoff, and comic timing make this one of the most humorous films this year." >> "Another example of great design, animation, and gag all coming together in a superb, technically tight edit. A hilariously funny piece." ...

AMD's new road map.(Advanced Micro Devices Inc. launched new energy-efficient processors)(AMD Athlon 64 X2 dual-core, AMD Athlon 64, and AMD Sempron )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... AMD recently unveiled a top-to-bottom energy-efficient AMD desktop processor road map for smaller, more elegant PCs that complement home and office environments, yet deliver the same performance as larger systems. Energy-efficient AMD Athlon 64...

Avid unveils VideoRAID family.(Avid Technology, Avid VideoRAID RTR320, Avid VideoRAID RTR320X)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Avid Technology announced the Avid VideoRAID family of storage systems that deliver up to 5TB of high-efficiency storage with real-time access for multi-stream, high-bandwidth, and SD and HD work flows. Unlike other systems that suspend...

Vicom delivers Xserve RAID.(Vicom Systems Inc. released data security device 'Vmirror')(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Vicom Systems announced Vmirror, a new family of high-availability and data protection appliances for Apple's Xserve RAID storage systems. Vmirror Fibre Channel appliances deliver continuous, high-availability access and mirrored data...

Holographic hardware.(InPhase Technologies has introduced holographic video recorder)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... InPhase Technologies, manufacturer of holographic data storage systems and media, has introduced the first holographic video recorder and accompanying storage media. The new solution is capable of recording up to 515Gb (or a half a terabit) of...

Xeon in the Boxx.(Boxx Technologies launched 3DBoxx 8300 workstations in conjunction with Intel Xeon 5100)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Boxx Technologies recently announced the new 3DBoxx 8300 Performance Series Workstation. The 3DBoxx 8300 is a high-performance personal workstation that leverages the power of the new Dual-Core Intel Xeon 5100 Series processors running in...

Quantel increases its eQ.(Quantel eQ FX, high defination computer system)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Boosting its eQ product range, Quantel introduced eQ FX, a complete high-specification HD system that meets the HD and multi-resolution postproduction needs of post and broadcast users at a reasonable price. According to the company, eQ FX will...

Panasonic, Sony develop new recording format.(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Panasonic and Sony announced specifications for AVCHD, a new high-definition digital video camera recorder format that the two companies jointly established. The AVCHD format allows the recording and playback of high-res, digital HD images...

Artists get in the zone.(DAZ Productions launched website 'ArtZone')(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... ArtZone, a focused online destination that brings community to art, is now available and free to artists worldwide at www.ArtZone.com. Backed by Daz Productions, a developer of 3D models and software, ArtZone brings a new environment that...

Pay-as-you-go PCs.(Microsoft and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. marketing thier personal computer model)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Microsoft and AMD announced a pay-as-you-go PC program to drive personal computing in emerging markets. The two companies will jointly support flexible business models powered by Microsoft FlexGo technology. The initiative reflects both firms'...

It's all a dream.(Activision plans to open a studio facility on DreamWorks' campus)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Activision plans to open a studio facility on DreamWorks' campus that will allow the game company and studio to collaborate on upcoming movie-licensed titles such as Bee Movie, Kung Fu Panda, Rex Havoc, and How to Train Your Dragon. With this...

Autodesk makes Sparks.(Autodesk Developer Network )(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Autodesk, announced the merger of its two existing Media & Entertainment developer programs, Autodesk Sparks and Alias Conductor Programs, under the global Autodesk Developer Network (ADN). New and existing members will be joining a full...

Digital Entertainment goes mobile.(Nvidia rolled out the Nvidia GoForce 5500 handheld graphics processor)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Nvidia rolled out the Nvidia GoForce 5500 handheld graphics processing unit (GPU), the first handheld GPU to enable true, fluid digital TV, high-fidelity surround sound, rapid multi-shot photography, and console-class 3D graphics. For years,...

Kona 3 2k support.(AJA Video recently unveiled video cards)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... AJA Video recently unveiled 2K-resolution video support with the V2 upgrade to Kona 3, the company's top-of-the-line uncompressed HD/ SD capture card. Kona 3 now provides customers with editing and finishing on an Apple Power Mac G5, with the...

Toon Boom sketches stories.(Toon Boom Animation, Toon Boom Storyboard)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Toon Boom Animation announced the release of Toon Boom Storyboard, a storyboarding system for visual storytelling. Storyboard helps users take an idea and translate it into a visual story that will become a complete animation. Toon Boom...

Blackmagic materializes software.(Blackmagic Design launched video editing software 'Multibridge Extreme' and video cards)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Blackmagic Design announced the immediate availability of Version 5.6 software for all Multibridge and DeckLink products. This release includes new support for Eyeon Fusion 5, 720p/50 on DeckLink high-definition cards, and new HDV playback...

E-on streams Vue 5.(E-on software, Vue 5 xStream)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... E-on software, a developer of natural 3D environment solutions, announced the prerelease of two new versions of its xStream suite of plug-ins: xStream for LightWave and xStream for Cinema 4D. Vue 5 xStream is a suite of plug-ins that enables...

Fur fun: Rhythm & Hues places an improved CG Garfield into 'hairy' situations in the fat cat's live-action sequel.(Bill Westenhofer)(Interview)
July 1, 2006... Rhythm & Hues has a long history of character animation, going back to the early '90s with the Coca-Cola Polar Bears. In 1995, with the Academy Award for Achievement in Visual Effects awarded to R&H VFX supervisor and co-founder Charles Gibson...