Computer Graphics World articles from November 2005

Computer Graphics World archives from November 2005

Timing is everything.(Autodesk is acquiring Alias)
November 1, 2005... "Autodesk is acquiring Alias." On October 4, at approximately 5:30 EST, those four words struck fear in the hearts of the creative community. Phones rang, forum postings appeared, and text messages emerged--all spreading the news: Autodesk and...

Identical color in HD.(new product from Ecinema Systems)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Ecinema Systems has recently introduced the DCM23 reference-grade, color calibrated high-definition LCD monitor for HD and digital intermediate workflow. Enabling color grading and picture evaluation with color-matched viewing within a...

3D additive included.(new product FilmLight Baselight V3)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... FilmLight has upgraded its Baselight color-grading system with new creative tools, support for the Baselight Blackboard controller, and a four- or eight-cluster architecture built on the new AMD Opteron 880 processors. Slated for release by...

Da Vinci resolves digital mastering.(new products Resolve FX, Resolve DI, Resolve RT and PowerPlant)(Da Vinci Systems)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... At IBC2005, Da Vinci introduced three distinct hardware configurations and a new PowerGrid acceleration platform for its Resolve digital mastering suites. The new offerings--Resolve FX, Resolve DI, and Resolve RT--are designed to address...

Dual core battles on.(competition between Advanced Micro Devices Inc. and Intel Corp.)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... Earlier this year, AMD challenged Intel to a dual-core duel--a live, public battle pitting the two companies' comparable dual-core processor platforms against each other. Although the challenge has yet to materialize, the threat of an impending...

Quantel unleashes Pablo.(new products Eiger 3.5, The Pablo Suite and Zone Magic)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... IBC2005 attendees were among the first to witness The Pablo Suite, Quantel's latest advancement in color correction technology. Designed by colorists, The Pablo Suite consists of three models--the iQ2 Pablo Suite for HD applications, the iQ2...

Tracking with Boujou.(new product Boujou Bullet 2.0 from 2d3)(Brief Article)
November 1, 2005... 2d3 has re-engineered and updated Boujou Bullet 2, an automatic tracking and match-moving system for challenging shots. The technology, borrowed from the company's Boujou Three software, offers a new feature-tracking engine that the company...

Graphics on the green.(USER FOCUS: BROADCAST)(use of graphics software)
November 1, 2005... Once a Sunday afternoon-only televised sporting event, golfing has, on occasion, hit a round or two in prime time, as was the case with the recent The Battle of the Bridges on ABC. Even though the event had plenty of star power with golfing...

HDV everywhere: inexpensive and flexible, HDV offers the creative community plenty of options.(high definition video)
November 1, 2005... HDV is creating a swell within the industry, and the wave will soon be crashing the banks of video production, bringing with it confusion and excitement about what HDV is, and more importantly, what it is not. HDV is not a new tape size or...

The sky's the limit: Chicken Little leads Disney into the digital frontier.(Animation )(Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Studios, contract)(Cover Story)
November 1, 2005... Over a span of 77 years, Walt Disney Studios pioneered and perfected the relatively young art form of hand-drawn animation. From squash and stretch and overlapping and secondary action, to slow in and slow out, Disney founded the fundamental...

The game's afoot: digital effects help shift time and space in the movie Zathura.(Film)(Chris Van Allsburg, Zathura)
November 1, 2005... The question is, What if board games were real? Author and illustrator Chris Van Allsburg has turned that flight of fancy into two children's storybooks, and the storybooks have become films that rely on effects rather than Allsburg's drawings...

Out of character: filmmakers take virtual actors out of the game and into a Web sitcom.(Rooster Teeth Productions)
November 1, 2005... Whoever said you can't mix business and pleasure never met the guys from Rooster Teeth Productions: They produce Webisodes, or Web-based episodic shows, using content from their favorite computer game, Halo. The weekly episodic CG series,...

Take one: Psyop employs a holistic approach to animation using simultaneous full-body and facial mocap.(Broadcast)
November 1, 2005... Two motion-capture sessions are not necessarily better than one, particularly when it comes to recording both the subtle movements of the face and the larger, more expansive actions of the head and body for a single performance. Until...

Portfolio.
November 1, 2005... Clockwise from top left: Mozaic Lady Land (2000) This ink jet print, part of the "Cuzin Series," was created on an IBM IntelliStation using Painter. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Clown Cuzin (2000) An ink jet print, this collage was made...

Maya 7: advanced modeling, effects, and animation tools inspire creativity.(Product/Service Evaluation)
November 1, 2005... Maya 7 stats Price: $6999 for Maya Unlimited, $1999 for Maya Complete Minimum System Requirements: Windows Intel Pentium III or higher, AMD Athlon processor; Macintosh Power Mac G4 and G5, Linux: Red Hat Linux 9.0 and Red Hat...

RenderMan for Maya: Pixar interfaces with Maya for advanced rendering options.(Product/Service Evaluation)
November 1, 2005... RenderMan stats Price: $995 Minimum System Requirements: Apple Mac OS X Version 10.3.1 (or higher), Linux 32-bit (2.2, 2.3), Linux 64-bit (2.3), or Windows XP Pro, 2000 Pro (Service Pack 2 or later). Pixar ...

No streaking here.(VISUAL EFFECTS)
November 1, 2005... Win * Mac RE:Vision Effects has improved its Twixtor 4.5 timing software and ReelSmart Motion Blur software for Avid systems offering greater control of timing and motion. Twixtor 4.5 has been rewritten to allow for more accurate tracking of...

XSI training made easy.(TRAINING)
November 1, 2005... Win Digital Tutors has unveiled Fundamentals of Soft and Rigid Bodies in XSI and Fundamentals of Mental Ray in XSI training kits for Softimage XSI 5.0. Offering up to 2.5 hours of project-driven training and guides, along with a free trial...

Unleash the NURBS.(3D MODELING)
November 1, 2005... Win power Software has released Power NURBS 1.0, an innovative hybrid modeling system that brings surfacing, solids modeling, analysis, and tessellation to Autodesk Media and Entertainment's 3ds Max and Viz software programs. Power NURBS boasts...

From DV to HD, and beyond.(STORAGE)
November 1, 2005... Ciprico has introduced two storage solutions designed to increase work flow productivity in DV, SD, HD, and 2K and 4K film formats for the broadcast and postproduction markets. The Ciprico DiMeda 10G NAS system--targeted at DV, SD, and...

Events.(products)
November 1, 2005... NOVEMBER 2-3 Montreal International Game Summit (MIGS), held in Montreal, Canada. Contact Alliance numeriQC, www.montrealgamesummit.com. DECEMBER 7-9 Digital Video Expo West, held in Los Angeles. Contact 888-234-9476,...

Recurring nightmare: Deane Taylor adapts his visual style from The Nightmare Before Christmas for the interactive CG world of computer gaming.(back drop)(Interview)
November 1, 2005... As Hollywood continues to embrace the computer game industry, film artists are looking at new ways to express their creative genius with interactive technology. In 1993, legendary filmmaker Tim Burton released his stop-motion movie The...