Computer Graphics World articles from November 2008

Computer Graphics World archives from November 2008

Viewer choices.(Editor's Note)(Editorial)
November 1, 2008... When I was a child, going to the movies on a Saturday afternoon was a treat. That's because films geared to youngsters were few and far between. In 1971, for instance, Disney released two family movies: The Million Dollar Duck and Bedknobs and...

AMD rolls out new brand, releases accelerator pair.(PRODUCT: GRAPHICS CARDS)(Advanced Micro Devices Inc.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... AMD recently unveiled a new brand for its professional graphics accelerators, the ATI FirePro, and then announced two new professional graphics accelerators--the ATI FirePro V5700 and V3700--as the first offerings in that new line. The ATI...

Boxx showcases Viz solution.(PRODUCT: COMPUTING)(Boxx Technologies Inc.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Boxx celebrated its 10th anniversary at SIGGRAPH 2008, but instead of blowing out candles, the company demonstrated a number of its recently released products, including the VizBoxx, its first offering to power virtual-reality systems and very...

Sony unveils cell platform.(PRODUCT: PROCESSING)(Sony Electronics Inc.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Sony Electronics showed a new workflow solution for faster processing of high-resolution effects and computer graphics when it unwrapped Zego. This technology platform is based on the Cell/BE (Cell Broadband Engine) and RSX technologies,...

Autodesk signs agreement with Avid to buy Softimage: acquisition to accelerate Autodesk's games strategy; complements digital entertainment and visual communications offering.(NEWS: ACQUISITION)
November 1, 2008... Late last month, Autodesk and Avid Technology signed a definitive agreement for Autodesk to acquire substantially all the assets of Avid's Softimage business unit for approximately $35 million (see "Changing Hands," pg. 8). ...

Changing hands: Autodesk goes on another spending spree, buying Softimage.(News Analysis)
November 1, 2008... Autodesk to buy Softimge. The news came during a wild and scary late October week in the world economy, and in certain corners of the content creation world, those words were as surprising and game-changing as a stock market plunge (or rise, or...

Rethinking moviemaking: animation and visual effects studios discover creative possibilities in three dimensions.(Sterescospy)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Could we be about to witness a revolution in filmmaking as profound as the introduction of sound and color? Proponents of stereoscopic 3D films think so, and it looks like they might be right. In 2005 when Disney...

Back to the future: Disney Animation Studios sends a small CG dog on a large adventure in Bolt.(CG ANIMATION)(Cover story)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IT isn't easy being a superdog, as the little American white shepherd dog with the black lightning bolt on his side discovers in Bolt, Disney's latest animated film. Bolt, the dog, stars in an action-packed TV show,...

Workstations on the move: today's latest mobile devices are truly worthy the 'workstation' label.(Hardware)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] This year, 2008, marks the year Moore's law gave us the most mobile workstations ever. They are laptop computers with 17-inch or greater screens, powerful dual- and quad-core processors with gigabytes of fast DDR2...

Zero to hero: two con men save the day in Dragon Hunters, a unique CG film created by a multinational crew.(CGI)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] They can be found in every society, con men who take advantage of others while capitalizing on their victims' weaknesses and fears. In real life, their deceitful deeds are no laughing matter. But in the world of...

The A,B,Cs of 3D: Autodesk Animation Academy teaches students about 3D, within the context of other subjects and topics, including environmental awareness.(Knowledge & Career)
November 1, 2008... Autodesk Animation Academy is a program designed to teach secondary school students about the company's Maya, 3ds Max, Mudbox, and MotionBuilder software products in the classroom. But this doesn't mean that the curriculum has to focus solely...

Simulation: Vue 7 previews.(SOFTWARE)(E-on Software )(Vue 7 xStream )(Vue 7 Infinite )(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... E-on Software previewed its Vue 7 xStream and Vue 7 Infinite professional software solutions for natural 3D environments. Vue 7 xStream is the latest version of E-on's tool set for creating natural environments and rendering them in Autodesk...

Compositing: Fusion 6.(SOFTWARE)
November 1, 2008... SIGGRAPH attendees were the first to witness Fusion 6, an upgrade to Eyeon Software's flagship compositing application. Version 6 offers various new and enhanced features, including a stereoscopic and multi-layer imaging system, stereoscopic...

Middleware: GeForce Experience Pack.(SOFTWARE)(NVIDIA Corp.)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Nvidia debuted its first online GeForce Experience Pack, which takes advantage of Nvidia PhysX technology, at SIGGRAPH. The pack includes: the full Warmonger action game, Unreal Tournament 3 PhysX Mod Pack boasting...

Allegorithmic ProFX.(SOFTWARE)(ProFX 2.6)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... Allegorithmic, developer of procedural texturing tools for real-time 3D content, released ProFX. ProFX middleware enables game developers to professionally render high-quality procedural textures. It is designed to quickly produce small texture...

Motion tracking: Imagineer Systems in LA.(SOFTWARE)(Imagineer Systems )
November 1, 2008... During SIGGRAPH, Imagineer Systems demonstrated Mocha for After Effects, the newest addition to its product portfolio. A planar tracking tool, Mocha-AE was developed specifically for Adobe After Effects artists and modeled after Imagineer's...

Motion tracking: Intersense VCam.(HARDWARE)(Intersense Inc. to introduce IS-900 VCam Virtual Camera Tracking System)(Brief article)
November 1, 2008... InterSense introduced a new virtual production system, the IS-900 VCam Virtual Camera Tracking System. Being referred to as the "InterSense Camera," early versions have been used to streamline pre- and postproduction in animated features and...

Backdrop: interview with Chief Editor Karen Moltenbrey.(Interview)
November 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Jean-Philippe Agati is general manager of Sparx Animation, a production studio founded in 1995 and specializing in keyframe animation, with facilities in France and Vietnam. In the recently released CG feature...