Computer Graphics World articles from September 2003

Computer Graphics World archives from September 2003

Reader report card.(editor's note)
September 1, 2003... Exactly one year ago, the team at Computer Graphics World decided to chart a new course for the magazine. Our mission would be to address the needs of digital content professionals in the entertainment markets--including film, TV, digital...

SIGGRAPH rocks San Diego.(industry event)
September 1, 2003... The staff of Computer Graphics World ventured to the West Coast for SIGGRAPH 2003, the 30th Annual International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques. The editors were among 24,332 attendees from 77 countries, as well as...

2d3 introduces SteadyMove Pro.(stabilization)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... A developer of 3D camera-tracking software solutions, 2d3 recently released SteadyMove Pro. Designed for film and video professionals and prosumers, SteadyMove Pro is a shot-stabilization software plug-in for Adobe Premiere, Adobe After...

Business presentations benefit from 3D.(effects)
September 1, 2003... Instant Effects made its public debut in the computer graphics industry at SIGGRAPH 2003. The new company previewed its graphics technology targeted at the business presentation market. In fact, the company's frilly customizable FXThemes are...

Apple upgrades DVD authoring.(DVD Studio Pro 2)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Apple has announced the availability of its professional DVD authoring application, DVD Studio Pro 2. Newly re-designed to simplify the authoring process, DVD Studio Pro 2 offers an array of new and upgraded features, including tighter...

Sharp debuts Actius RD20.(workstations)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Sharp Systems of America has amended its Actius RD line of desktop-replacement notebook computers with the RD20 high-performance mobile system. The RD20 benefits from an Intel Pentium 4 3.06GHZ processor, a Microsoft Windows XP Home...

Accelerating the OpenGL initiative.(graphics cards from 3Dlabs)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Graphics accelerators gained significant attention from attendees at SIGGRAPH 2003. A leader in the field, 3Dlabs demonstrated the OpenGL Shading Language on its Wildcat VP990 Pro graphics card in conjunction with the RenderMonkey shader...

Invisible effects.(from ComputerCafe)
September 1, 2003... Visual effects facilities often are given the task of making CG imagery look so realistic that the intended effects are invisible to the audience. Recently, ComputerCafe (Santa Maria, CA) pushed the unseen to new limits while crafting digital...

Divine sculpting.(using Cyberware's laser scanners)
September 1, 2003... With braided hair, simple clothing and bare head and arms, the 8-foot-tall statue of the Virgin Mary in the recently dedicated Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles deviates from her usual portrayal with flowing robes, a veil, and...

Big brother is talking.(video)
September 1, 2003... A novel combination of surveillance and Internet technologies designed to track individuals in public environments and communicate with them using narrowly focused sound beams was demonstrated in the Emerging Technologies exhibition at SIGGRAPH...

Planned investments.(market outlook)(Industry Overview)
September 1, 2003... Computer workstations continue to top the list of items that studios are planning to buy during the second half of 2003 and early 2004, according to a new Visual Effects/Dynamic Media Report from TrendWatch. Seven out of 10 studios plan to make...

Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Alias/Wavefront not only announced a name change to Alias Systems, but also introduced a new logo.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Celebrating its 20th anniversary Alias|Wavefront not only announced a name change to Alias Systems, but also introduced a new logo and new branding during SIGGRAPH 2003 in San Diego.

NewTek.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... NewTek received the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Emmy Engineering Plaque for 2003 for its LightWave 3D animation software. The company also revealed that all five Emmy nominees in the Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Series...

SPEC/GPC.
September 1, 2003... SPEC/GPC's Application Performance Characterization (SPECapc) project group introduced a benchmark and total system performance results based on Maya 5, the latest version of Alias's 3D animation and effects software. For details, visit...

GameWyze.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... In an effort to expand its reach and better serve game enthusiasts, GameWyze is offering the opportunity to open franchise centers across the U.S. Each game center would serve as a community hub--complete with the latest computers, consoles,...

Discreet.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Discreet has entered into a strategic partnership with Criterion Software, makers of RenderWare, to develop and promote tools designed to improve the game-development pipeline between 3ds max and RenderWare.

Crossing over: digital film stars take their place alongside real people in the real world.(Film)
September 1, 2003... On March 16, in a stark, all-white gallery at the San Francisco Museum of Art, Annlee died, her final resting place a white coffin embellished with a vase of white carnations. Pinned to the wall behind was a document titled, How to Kill...

Adobe "Premieres" Pro: with support from Matrox and Canopus, Adobe optimizes its flagship DV editing system.(DV)
September 1, 2003... According to Adobe, the newest version of its flagship video editing product, Premiere, represents the most significant upgrade to the program since its initial introduction in 1991--so significant that the company has abandoned its existing...

Labor of love: The Mill delivers a stylized virtual baby for a European TV commercial.(Broadcast)
September 1, 2003... Using Maya and Softimage|XSI, artists at The Mill created an idealized model of a fetus inside its mother's womb. The model (inset) consisted of 21,000 polygons prior to the application of subdivision surfaces. Camera-projected 2D photographic...

Painting the town: digital matte painters create virtual environments with 2D and 3D tools.(Film)
September 1, 2003... There aren't many islands in the world where you can find a beautiful beachfront mansion surrounded by low-rent houses. Yet in the film Bad Boys II, you see exactly that in a scene crafted at Sony Pictures Imageworks. A camera mounted on a...

Siggraph 2003 San Diego: 27-31 July 2003: Computer Animation Festival.
September 1, 2003... CONFERENCE 27-31 JULY 2003 EXHIBITION 29-31 JULY 2003 SAN DIEGO CONVENTION CENTER, SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA USA www.siggraph.org/s2003 Digital actors can be demanding. Thankfully, our workstations are equally accommodating. Today's...

3D for Hollywood power users ... and artists everywhere.
September 1, 2003... Aristomenis "Meni" Tsirbas is a LightWave[R] master, putting his skills to use at high-end Hollywood effects houses including Digital Domain and EdenFX. Meni has put LightWave through its paces in the production of many feature films,...

Own a piece of Camelot: players of the MMO game Dark Age of Camelot can purchase real estate in the virtual world.(Gaming)
September 1, 2003... Players of Dark Age of Camelot can feel more at home than ever in this virtual online game world thanks to a new expansion package that enables their cyber counterparts to purchase and decorate houses with a range of detailed 3D models. ...

Graphics grows up: programmable hardware advances are fueling a new generation of 3D accelerators.(Graphics Cards)(and related article)
September 1, 2003... At first glance, it might seem as if the high-end 3D graphics accelerator market hasn't changed much in the past year. The big three manufacturers--ATI, Nvidia, and 3Dlabs--are still the big three. Programmable hardware continues to be the hot...

Jackie Chan untagged: a digital stand-in helps the martial arts action star achieve his latest stunt.(Digital Video)
September 1, 2003... In a new "Go Tagless" TV ad campaign to promote the Hanes Tagless Undershirt, action star Jackie Chan becomes so irritated by his itchy T-shirt tag that he performs daring acrobatic feats in an effort to scratch the offending area. In the...

Houdini apprentice challenge.(Art Studio)
September 1, 2003... Side Effects Software's Houdini modeling and animation software is gaining momentum as a content-creation solution within the feature-film industry. To highlight new animation talent for the leading studios using Houdini within their visual...

Cinema 4D Version 8: Maxon's dark horse gains momentum.
September 1, 2003... Cinema 4D has been slowly gaining respect in the 3D world. The software provides excellent modeling, animation, and rendering tools for both Mac and PC platforms at less than $600 for the base package. Version 8 further strengthens Maxon...

Softimage upgrade.(Softimage/XSI 3.5)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Softimage Upgrade Win * Linux * Irix Sharing a booth with the robot from Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Softimage demonstrated Version 3.5 of its Softimage|XSI non-linear 3D production environment. The upgrade features a robust SDK,...

Maya expansion.(Alias Systems' Maya 5.0 and Maya Personal Learning Edition 5.0)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... Win * Mac * Linux * Irix Alias Systems, formerly Alias|Wavefront, introduced Maya 5, an upgraded version of its flagship modeling and animation tool, and Maya Personal Learning Edition 5. Maya 5 provides a unified work flow for a variety of...

BOXX bundles.(Workstations)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... BOXX Technologies has upgraded its HDBOXX, an uncompressed HD editing and compositing system running under the Windows OS, to include in-sync's Speed Razor HD 2.0 software. Based on a strategic relationship with Discreet, BOXX is offering 3ds...

New SGI solutions.(Tezro and Onyx4 Ultimate Vision workstations)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2003... SGI premiered two visual computing products not only priced lower than, but also exceeding the performance of, the company's current systems. Available now in configurations starting at $20,500, the Tezro visual workstation delivers quad...

Events.
September 1, 2003... October 28-30 Digital Arts World and LEAF (London Effects and Animation Festival), held in London. Contact: Advanstar Communications; www.digmedia.co.uk/ November 12-15 SMPTE, held in New York City. Contact: SMPTE;...

Hewlett-Packard Company.(Company Profiles)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
September 1, 2003... Workstation Global Business Unit Headquarters 3404 East Harmony Road 6 Fort Collins, CO 80525 hp workstation mission statement Improve the productivity and effectiveness of power users by offering a family of systems that are the most...

Immersion: Immersion is revolutionizing the way people interact with technology, enabling them to become more immersed in their systems and applications through 3D digitizing, simulation, and the sense of touch.(Company Profiles)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
September 1, 2003... A LEADER IN 3D CAPTURE AND INTERACTION Immersion 3D Capture products include the MicroScribe" family of 3D digitizing systems. These accurate and affordable systems offer both CAD/CAM and 3D graphics solutions that allow users to quickly...

NewTek, Inc.(Company Profiles)(Company Profile)
September 1, 2003... The Vision NewTek, founded in 1986, set out with a mission to make it possible for anyone to realize the dream of creating broadcast television and film. The NewTek team, a group of frustrated filmmakers, has a passion for creating the...

Softimage: depuis 1986.(Company Profiles-Valve Software)(Company Profile)
September 1, 2003... Half-Life 2 By Valve SOFTIMAGEJXSI was used exclusively by Valve Software to create all the characters, models and props for the new game Half-Life 2. "We started work on Half-Life 2 with the goal of once again leap-frogging the...

Sony Flat Panel LCD and FD Trinitron[R] CRT displays.(Company Profiles)(Company Profile)
September 1, 2003... IT'S AS CLEAR AS IT GETS. With over 30 years experience and two Emmy[R] awards * for groundbreaking technological achievement, the Sony name has become synonymous with quality, reliability and style. If those characteristics are important:...

ATI FireGL[TM] workstation graphics accelerators.(Company Profiles)(Company Profile)
September 1, 2003... WORKSTATION GRAPHICS ACCELERATORS ATI Technologies Inc. has been delivering innovative graphics acceleration solutions since 1985. While the technology has radically changed since then, ATI continues to deliver powerful, robust workstation...

Vicon Motion Systems and 2d3: 3D from the moving image.(Company Profiles)(Brief Article)(Company Profile)
September 1, 2003... VICON MOTION SYSTEMS Vicon Motion Systems, is the world's largest provider of passive optical motion capture systems serving dozens of customer groups. Cutting edge hardware technology such as the Vicon 8i system and the Mcam2 camera...