Digital Domain Turns Once Again to LightWave for Crucial Effects in the Summer
Blockbuster Movie
NEW ORLEANS, SIGGRAPH 2000, July 24 /PRNewswire/ -- NewTek, Inc.,
(Booth 2117) manufacturer of industry-leading 3D animation and video products,
today announced that Digital Domain used its LightWave 3D animation software
to create key animations in one of this summer's hottest movies, X-MEN.
"Dealing with high polygon counts like we encountered in the animations
for this movie is something at which LightWave excels," said David Prescott,
Digital Domain's computer graphics supervisor.
In addition to creating all of the Statue of Liberty shots for X-MEN,
Digital Domain used LightWave for color and lighting the X-Jet, for the
"strap" sequence that takes place inside the Liberty head and for the statue's
torch destruction scene at the end of the movie.
"LightWave's ability to render photorealistic environments made up of
high-resolution data sets and texture maps, and to do it quickly, is an asset
we relied upon for many scenes in X-MEN, such as the Statue of Liberty," said
Branden Smith, a digital extension lead at Digital Domain.
Production time pressures helped guide Digital Domain toward LightWave, a
known and proven tool in the digital studio's 3D arsenal. "X-MEN had a short
production schedule and LightWave was certainly up to the task at hand," said
Prescott.
"We wanted to be able to give the director, Bryan Singer and Mike Fink, as
much flexibility as possible, which meant giving them as much time as they
needed to tweak each shot without worrying about being able to deliver on
schedule," said Smith. "We counted on the productivity that the LightWave
environment offers to get the job done."
Digital Domain uses LightWave frequently in a variety of projects,
including the feature films Titanic, The Fifth Element, Red Corner and many of
its TV commercials, such as Pontiac "Metal City" and "Metal Desert," some
Dodge spots currently airing and the new American Express "Blue" campaign.
"Over the years, LightWave has become one of our foremost tools," said
Prescott.
About LightWave
LightWave, the recognized leader in special effects production in the film
and television industry, provides the most complete feature set of any
3D animation tool available. LightWave offers breakthrough rendering
technologies, advanced animation tools and a new modeling paradigm as well as
improved workflow, better control over texturing, customizable user interface
and extensive improvements to real-time views. LightWave is the only 3D
software system that runs on Macintosh, Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows 98,
Alpha and Silicon Graphics systems.
About NewTek
With headquarters in San Antonio, NewTek is a leading provider of
full-featured video editing, animation and special effects tools. The
company's products are used worldwide on projects ranging from home video to
feature film. Recent film and television projects include X-Men The Movie,
Scary Movie, Pitch Black, Shakespeare in Love, the latest James Bond film,
The World is Not Enough, Roughnecks: Starship Troopers, Star Trek: Voyager,
The X-Files, Ally McBeal and Family Law. Recent game titles include
Daikatana, Deus EX, Torment, HALO, and Kiss Psycho Circus. Contact NewTek at
8200 IH-10 West, Suite 900, San Antonio, TX, 78230. Phone: 210-370-8000,
fax: 210-370-8001, website: http://www.newtek.com.
NOTE: LightWave is a trademark of NewTek, Inc. All other brand names
mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
SOURCE NewTek, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.newtek.com
CONTACT:
Hollie Wendt of Wendt Communications,
831-688-1193, or Hollie@earthlink.net, for NewTek, Inc.; or
NewTek, Inc., General Information, USA and International,
210-370-8000, or sales@newtek.com
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