Computer Graphics World articles from March 2006

Computer Graphics World archives from March 2006

Game on.(management of Game Developers Conference )(Editorial)
March 1, 2006... It's March, and those in the gaming community are preparing to "head West" in anticipation of the annual Game Developers Conference in San Jose. This journey, which has been made by many an ambitious and talented game developer, ends and begins...

VTour creates 3D environments from 2D pictures.(new product from RealViz)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... RealViz has introduced VTour, new content-creation software based on the company's Stitcher and ImageModeler programs for the creation of photorealistic 3D environments from 2D pictures or panoramas. Using digital photos or 360-degree...

Alienware adds new Nvidia options to MJ-12 workstations.(PRODUCTS: WORKSTATIONS)(MJ-12 7500i, MJ-12 7500a )(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Alienware's new MJ-12 7500i and MJ-12 7500a workstations for creative professionals feature Nvidia Nforce 4 SLI X16-based motherboards with two full-bandwidth 16-lane PCI Express slots for optimized and scalable performance. Both the...

Make XStream environments.(new product Vue 5 XStream for Windows 2000/XP from E-on Software)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... E-on Software's Vue 5 XStream for Windows 2000/XP is a suite of plug-ins that integrate 3D projects created using 3ds Max and Maya in Vue environments. With the plugins, Vue 5 Infinite environments are matched with Max or Maya scenery in one...

Get creative with Manga Studio.(PRODUCTS: ANIME TOOLS)(Efrontier, TokyoPop, partnership)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... Efrontier has teamed with TokyoPop to release Manga Studio 3.0, manga and comic-book creation software for aspiring and professional artists. The software includes the tools to create manga-style comics without the use of other graphic...

VT4 integrated production suite update available.(new product VT4 Integrated Production Suite 4.6 from NewTek)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... NewTek is offering a free upgrade to Version 4.6 of its VT4 Integrated Production Suite to registered owners of the system. The new features of the upgrade include improved 3D animation and motion-graphics tools, enhanced support for multiple...

Matrox Systems support Adobe Production Studio.(new product from Matrox Graphics Inc.)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... The Matrox Axio suite of HD and SD editing platforms now support the new Adobe Production Studio and Adobe Premiere Pro 2.0, offering users real-time multi-camera editing and real-time SD clip upscaling in an HD timeline. The Axio systems also...

Furnace 3 plug-ins heat up shake.(new product from The Foundry)(Brief article)
March 1, 2006... The Foundry has released Furnace 3 for Shake, a new suite of plug-ins for Linux or OS X versions of the software that include DeBlur, to automatically remove motion and out-of-focus blur; MatchGrade, for color histogram matching; and Tracker, a...

Aping film: Ubisoft adds a touch of Hollywood to its King Kong video game.(UbiSoft Entertainment, Peter Jackson, partnership)
March 1, 2006... Representing a new breed of video game, Peter Jackson's King Kong is one of the first interactive titles conceived by an A-list movie director. Working with developer Ubisoft, Jackson provided creative direction for the game, along with...

A digital revolution: in a novel approach, crews create many of Vendetta's effects in DI.(Film)
March 1, 2006... The Wachowski brothers' film noir-styled "kung-fu meets sci-fi" movie, The Matrix, won a visual effects Oscar in 2000 for, among other effects, the stylish "bullet-time" shots in which Keanu Reeves's actions happened in extremely slow motion...

Bug's-eye view: a filmmaker's short animated tale about a couple of high-tech bugs creates a buzz.(CG Animation)(Josh Staub)(Cover story)
March 1, 2006... Although Josh Staub fell into his career as a digital artist by chance, his animated short movie, The Mantis Parable, happened very much on purpose. And now, those efforts are paying off: His eight-minute short about a caterpillar and a praying...

Portfolio: DreamWorks' Matte Department.(DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc.)
March 1, 2006... Images from the upcoming film Over the Hedge, to be released by DreamWorks Animation. Creating matte paintings for CG animation requires a different approach than it does for live-action films with digital effects, according to Ronn Brown,...

ILM's state-of-the-art (storage) studio: Industrial Light & Magic uses high-speed NAS servers with a distributed file system, 10GB/sec Ethernet, and a 5000-node renderfarm to store and move 170TB of content.(Storage in the Studio)(Lucas Digital Limited L.L.C. Industrial Light & Magic Div.)
March 1, 2006... When George Lucas moved a large part of his filmmaking empire from San Rafael, California--a small town north of San Francisco--into a state-of-the-art, four-building complex on 17 acres of parkland in San Francisco's Presidio, he spared no...

Storage stokes the creative process; high-speed data transfers and collaborative content sharing top the storage priorities at DCC facilities.(CASE STUDIES)
March 1, 2006... Change is a constant in today's studios as they struggle with crunching deadlines, the need to juggle multiple projects at once, and the prospect of overhauling their server, storage, and networking architectures to make way for the growing...

Endorphin 2.5: creating realistic character animation is easier when models get physical.(Product/service evaluation)
March 1, 2006... Motion-capture systems allow the acquisition of actual human performances, with all the timing, body mechanics, and gravity that make for compelling natural motion in animation. However, there are certain types of captures that only the...

Space devices: SpacePilot, SpaceBall, and SpaceTraveler: alternatives to input and manipulation.(Product/service evaluation)
March 1, 2006... Years ago, when I first started working with computer graphics, trackball input devices were the rage. Back then, utilizing a computer mouse was for "ordinary" users. However, if you were a part of the creative crowd working with digital...

Role model: conquering the expansive, complex world of MMORPGs requires vision, a solid game plan, skill ... and a bit of luck.(backdrop)(massively multiplayer online role-playing games)(Rob Denton and Mark Jacobs)(Interview)
March 1, 2006... Once the domain of techno and hard-core garners, massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) have expanded in recent years to include a wider demographic than ever before. Identifying this trend early on, Rob Denton and Mark...