LOS ANGELES, July 24 /PRNewswire/ --Jim Henson Interactive (JHI), the
interactive division of The Jim Henson Company, announced today that live,
digital Muppets, including Kermit the Frog, Fozzie and Dr. Bunsen Honeydew,
would address attendees of SIGGRAPH 2000, the 27th Annual Conference on
Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques. The digital characters utilize
the proprietary Henson Digital Performance Studio (HDPS) and blend puppetry
and computer-generated graphics into a new art form that has wide-ranging
applications. The conference and exhibition in New Orleans began on July 22
and will conclude this Friday, July 28.
"We have combined the traditional skills of the Henson puppeteers with our
proprietary system for real-time performance of computer-generated characters,
thereby creating a whole new level of performance in the digital realm. This
new art form allows for a more theatrical approach to direction and
improvisation, and has a visibly different texture from conventional key-frame
animation," says David Barrington-Holt, Creative Supervisor, Jim Henson's
Creature Shop, Los Angeles.
"Our proprietary HDPS is not only a medium to deliver entertaining digital
Muppet performances, but is a technology that we plan to license to others.
This technology has applications ranging from personalized web browsers to
compelling next-generation video game content, to digital television,"
explained Craig Allen, JHI's General Manager.
Developed by JHI, the HDPS has been used most recently in a series of
MuppeToons that can be seen at the MuppetWorld theme park on the web,
http://www.muppetworld.com.
Formed in 1998, Jim Henson Interactive (JHI), a division of The Jim Henson
Company, is responsible for the worldwide digital expression of all
intellectual property owned by the organization including such globally
embraced and commercially successful brands as THE MUPPETS, FARSCAPE, BEAR IN
THE BIG BLUE HOUSE, MOPATOP'S SHOP, CONSTRUCTION SITE! and THE DARK CRYSTAL.
The Jim Henson Company, an established leader in family entertainment for
more than 40 years, is a multimedia production company; one of the top
character licensors in the industry; a leading publisher of children's books;
and home to Jim Henson Television, Jim Henson Pictures, Jim Henson Interactive
and Jim Henson's Creature Shop(TM). The Company is headquartered in Los
Angeles with offices and production facilities in New York and London. The
Jim Henson Company website is located at: http://www.henson.com.
The Jim Henson Company has recently been acquired by EM.TV & Merchandising
AG based in Munich, Germany.
SOURCE The Jim Henson Company
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Related links:
http://www.henson.com
CONTACT:
Kirk Green, kirk@green-communications.com, or
Monica Pierce of Green Communications, 949-459-2165, for The Jim
Henson Company; or Dolores Richardone of The Jim Henson Company,
323-802-1563, Drichardone@henson.com
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