Computer Graphics World articles from May 2005

Computer Graphics World archives from May 2005

Mining for gold.(editor's note)(Computer games)(Editorial)
May 1, 2005... Most game players know that few games push the state of the art on more than one major front. But careful observers realize that a surprising number offer at least one golden idea that may be worth including in the next generation of rifles....

NewTek introduces TriCaster.(PRODUCTS: VIDEO)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Maker of 3D animation and video solutions, NewTek has unveiled its TriCaster production and presentation tool. TriCaster is a portable live production suite for the creation and delivery of live video presentations. For producing...

Adobe ships Creative Suite 2.(PRODUCT: DESIGN)(Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium Edition)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Adobe Systems has upgraded its Creative Suite to Version 2, and added a number of new tools in the process. Adobe Creative Suite 2 Premium Edition comprises Photoshop CS2, Illustrator CS2, InDesign CS2, GoLive CS2, and Acrobat 7.0...

AGEIA presents physics technologies.(PRODUCTS: MIDDLEWARE)(AGEIA Technologies)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... AGEIA Technologies has upgraded its NovodeX Physics SDK middleware physics engine, as well as unveiled the new PhysX chip. For the creation of dynamic physical environments on major game platforms, the NovodeX Physics SDK is a...

Autodesk unleashes Toxik.(PRODUCTS: COMPOSITING)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Autodesk's latest release, Toxik, is compositing software designed for the creation, management, and sharing of feature-film visual effects. Targeted at film studio and postproduction professionals, Toxik sports a collaborative engine that...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
May 1, 2005... In the article "DNA's Disk Storage Ensures Quality Effects for The Aviator" (April, pg. 36), a segment describing the work performed by Digital Neural Axis studio should have included the following information: DNA produced a total of 68 visual...

Freeze Frame.(USER FOCUS: BROADCAST)(Zoic Studios)
May 1, 2005... Visual effects house Zoic Studios recently "freeze-framed" a surprise ending to a car commercial, called "Green Light," that illustrates the downside to driving Ford's new Mustang convertible. In the spot, a police officer pulls up behind...

Suped-up presentation.(USER FOCUS: BUSINESS)(American Honda Motor Company Inc. Acura)
May 1, 2005... How does a corporate vendor show facts and figures using a PowerPoint presentation and still capture the audience's attention amid the "eye candy" at a large industry trade show? That was the dilemma facing Acura, Honda Motor Company's...

AMD makes a stand.(MARKET OUTLOOK)(Advanced Micro Devices Inc.)
May 1, 2005... In the past decade, workstations have undergone a sweeping transformation from proprietary systems to PC-derived machines. Intel has benefited most from this transition, as the dominant PC platform vendor ships its processors and chipsets in...

The Avid-Pinnacle puzzle.(viewpoint: Video)(Avid Technology Inc.)(Pinnacle Systems Inc.)
May 1, 2005... For someone who's been following the digital video industry for a long time, Avid's recent agreement to purchase Pinnacle Systems feels like a blockbuster. These are two of the biggest competitors in the business, and it's video-editing's...

Born to be wild: Madagascar breaks free from reality-based animation.(Film)
May 1, 2005... If you believe the startling success of 3D animated features forevermore pushed 2D cartoon-style animation out of full-length films, you haven't been paying attention. The 'toons have snuck back--inside 3D films. Last year, for example, the CG...

Tempting fate: WildTangent brings role-playing to the casual game space.(Gaming)(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2005... Once upon a time, an evil wizard cast a spell that prevented role-playing games from entering the casual gaming arena. So for years, RPG titles grew in popularity, especially among males, as players created virtual alter egos, gave them certain...

Dragonology: computer animation breathes life into beasts of legend.
May 1, 2005... If dragons actually existed, what would they be like? That is the question considered in Dragons: A Fantasy Made Real, an hour-long "docu-drama" from Animal Planet in which myth merges with reality, much as CG imagery merges with live footage....

Mastering mobility: today's mobile workstations present viable options for DCC professionals.(Technology)(Digital Content Creation )
May 1, 2005... It used to be that the graphics and processing power needed to create high-end graphics existed only in extremely large workstations. As processor speed increased, these much-heralded traits moved to the desktop. Now, a new crop of mobile...

Portfolio.(Three dimensional photorealistic image)
May 1, 2005... When Luciano Neves, a project coordinator for a Brazilian 3D production facility specializing in broadcast and cinema, creates digital artwork, the process usually becomes a reality check of sorts for him. That's because Neves virtually...

ATI FireGL visualization series: ATI's latest FireGL boards range from the high end to the entry level.
May 1, 2005... PCI Express is taking the graphics world by storm. The new interface offers much higher bandwidth and features for high-end graphics applications. Graphics card vendors have been understandably busy creating new cards that take advantage of...

Wacom Intuos3: Wacom's pressure-sensitive tablet sports new and enhanced features.(TABLET)(Product/Service Evaluation)
May 1, 2005... As digital content creators with a preference for such traditional media as pencil and paper, we're always interested in innovations that enable us to work more naturally in the digital realm. For this reason, the latest generation of Wacom's...

HD video boards.(Snapshot)
May 1, 2005... Perhaps no acronym has been used as much this year as HD (high definition). It's the topic of conversation and guest of honor at industry trade shows, addresses and keynotes, technology conferences, and even online forums and blogs. Chances...

AJA Video Systems.(Snapshot)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... AJA has announced the availability of software release 1.1 and three free downloadable utilities for its Kona 2 uncompressed capture card. Compatible with HD, Dual Link HD, and SD, Kona 2 features PCI-X 133MHZ bus technology and the company's...

Blackmagic Design.(Snapshot)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Blackmagic Design has announced DeckLink for Mac OS Version 48 software for users of its DeckLink broadcast video cards The company boasts two high-definition models--DeckLink HD Pro, priced at $1995, and DeckLink HD Plus, for $995. Designed...

Bluefish444.(Snapshot)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... A division of Digital Voodoo, Bluefish444 unveiled its latest uncompressed video card, Catalyst, during NAB 2005. Catalyst joins the company's HD Fury, HD Lust, and HD Iridium XP video boards. Supporting Windows XP, Windows 2000 Pro, and Linux...

Canopus.(Snapshot)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Canopus offers its Edius NX for HDV, priced at $2098, and Edius SP for HDV, at $3999, for video professionals Both boards are powered by Edius Pro 3--the company's NLE software for editing and processing HDV, uncompressed SD, DV, MPEG-2, and...

Brush expansion.(PAINTING)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Win * Mac Corel, in conjunction with Wacom Technology's launch of its 6D Art Pen, has introduced Corel Painter IX Art Pen Brush Pack. The new offering is a collection of Corel Painter brushes designed to take advantage of the six-dimensional...

Partaking of particles.(PARTICLE EFFECTS)(Wondertouch Particle Emitters )(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Win * Mac Wondertouch has unveiled a collection of preset particle effects, Wondertouch Particle Emitters for Motion, designed for use with Apple's Motion software. Wondertouch's latest offering provides various particle effects, the parameters...

A Roto route.(ROTOSCOPING)(Silhouette FX LLC)(Silhouette Roto)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Win * Mac Silhouette FX LLC has started ship ping Silhouette Roto, a plug-in for Adobe After Effects and Apple's Final Cut Pro. The rotoscoping plug-in offers beziers, b-splines, a multi-frame editing mode, support for 8- and 16-bit depths, and...

Events.(Brief Article)(Calendar)
May 1, 2005... MAY 17-20 E3 2005, held in Los Angeles. Contact 877-216-6263, www.e3expo.com. JUNE 23-24 Games, Learning & Society Conference 2005, held in Madison, WI. Contact Games + Learning + Society, 608-263-6657, www.glsconference.com....

Modern manipulation.(CONTROLLERS)(SpacePilot Intelligent Motion Controller)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... 3Dconnexion, a Logitech company, has introduced the SpacePilot intelligent motion controller for content creation, design, and analysis applications. Designed to increase productivity, SpacePilot offers 3D motion control, function keys with...

Pen in 6D.(CONTROLLERS)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Wacom Technology has developed, with the support of Corel, the 6D Art Pen designed to provide digital artists and designers with six dimensions of pen control while working in Corel Painter IX. The 6D Art Pen, priced at $70, is compatible with...

Deko in HD.(VIDEO)(Pinnacle Deko 1000HD)(High Definition)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Pinnacle Systems, in the process of being acquired by Avid Technology, has released Pinnacle Deko 1000HD, its broadcast-quality system for creating and playing back HD graphics. Based on the company's standard-definition Deko solutions,...

Alienware announcement.(WORKSTATION)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Alienware has presented its MJ-12m 7700 mobile workstation, designed with video-production engineers and digital content creators in mind. An Intel Pentium 4 processor 530 with HT technology and a choice of the new Nvidia Quadro FX Go 1400 or...

Clip collection.(STOCK OPTIONS)(Video-Traxx 2)(Brief Article)
May 1, 2005... Digital Juice has introduced its second volume of royalty-free stock footage, Video-Traxx 2. Delivered as QuickTime files in the NTSC television standard format, each piece of footage in the collection was shot professionally on film and video...