Category: Visual Effects

MTV Networks Europe will deploy Pinnacle Systems' Liquid blue, chrome and Liquid Edition (formerly Liquid purple) editing tools within their new, shared workflow operations in Benelux. The purchase is part of an extensive program by MTV Networks Europe to build a fully networked broadcast environment for their MTV, TMF and Nickelodeon TV channel groups within the region.

The Digital Animation & Visual Effects School has added Ron Thornton to its team of instructors. Thornton was a founder of the legendary Animation house Foundation Imaging in Valencia, California, and a pioneer in the use of computers for vfx. His credits include BABYLON 5Babylon 5 (for which he won the Emmy for best visual effects), STAR TREK VOYAGER, DEEP SPACE 9 and ENTERPRISE. He was recently nominated for his work on the series finale of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER.

STAR WARS: EPISODE III wrapped principal photography at Fox Studios Australia on Sept. 17, 2003, five days ahead of schedule, according to a Lucasfilm announcement.

"It's almost unheard of for a major motion picture to come in under-schedule," boasted producer Rick McCallum of the shoot that was originally scheduled for 12 weeks.

HOLES, the family adventure concerning an ancient family curse and kids forced to dig holes to build character, comes to DVD (Walt Disney Home Entertainment, $29.99) on Sept. 23, 2003. Starring Stanley Yelnats (Disney Channel's EVEN STEVENS), HOLES is based on the Newberry award-winning book by Louis Sachar.

Luma Pictures helped to conjure up a dark and formidable world of werewolves and vampires in providing visual effects services for Lakeshore Entertainment's new horror thriller UNDERWORLD (opening Sept. 19, 2003). A team of some 20 artists from the studio took part in the project, crafting visuals ranging from 3D matte paintings of central Budapest, to the partial transformation of a man into a werewolf, to the creation of microorganisms representing creature transformations on a cellular level.

Pinnacle Systems Inc. announced a new product aimed to help consumers enjoy their PC-based music, photos and video on the television in their living room. Pinnacle ShowCenter is a set-top device that connects to wireless and wired home local area networks (LAN) and enables streaming of multimedia files from any PC on the network to any television or home entertainment system in the house.

Spiral Graphics announced the release of its anticipated Genetica seamless texture maker. Genetica, the industry's first node-based texture maker to specialize in the generation of seamless textures, intends to dramatically improve the productivity of game designers, 3D artists and others.