For the 15th consecutive year, every Oscar-winning movie for Best Visual Effects was created with the help of filmmaking tools from Autodesk. Autodesk Digital Entertainment Creation software was also used to help shape this year’s nominees and winners for Achievement in Cinematography, Best Animated Feature Film, and Best Animated Short Film. Read More…

From start to finish, software from Autodesk, Inc. , played a pivotal role in helping James Cameron and Lightstorm Entertainment pioneer new methods of virtual moviemaking, for Cameron’s history-making motion picture “Avatar“. Read More…

Each year, Game Developer magazine looks at the powerful lineup of new products and new releases of important tools, from game engines to books, and selects the top five products in each category. Front Line Awards finalists represent the most innovative, user-friendly, and useful products from behind the scenes of the world’s best video games. Read More…

Autodesk and Parallels, a worldwide leader in virtualization and automation software, announced that they have signed an agreement to make Parallels Desktop for Mac Autodesk’s preferred Mac virtualization software. Read More…

Autodesk has signed a definitive agreement with Avid to acquire substantially all of the assets of Avid’s Softimage business unit for around US$35 million. This will mean that Autodesk will own three of the main 3D suites: 3ds Max, Maya and Softimage|XSI.

The company says that it intends to continue developing and selling Softimage’s core product line, while integrating certain Softimage technology into future versions of Autodesk solutions and products. Autodesk plans to acquire and continue developing the core Softimage|XSI suite, the Softimage|Face Robot facial animation software, the Softimage|Cat character animation plug-in for 3ds Max and the Softimage|Crosswalk ‘interoperability solution’ – which will be integrated with Autodesk’s own sharing technology.

“As we have demonstrated since the acquisition of Alias in 2006,” said Marc Petit, senior vice president, Autodesk Media & Entertainment, “we’re committed to giving our customers choice when it comes to their 3D tools. We plan to maintain and grow the Softimage product line, and through Autodesk FBX provide better interoperability between Softimage products, 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya. FBX also provides interoperability between Softimage products and our specialised applications such as Autodesk Mudbox, Autodesk MotionBuilder, Autodesk ImageModeler and Autodesk Stitcher, as well as numerous third-party applications.”

Softimage was founded in 1986 by Daniel Langlois and is headquartered in Montreal, Canada. Softimage|XSI is used by leading VFX houses and games companies including Digital Domain, Ubisoft, SEGA Corporation, CAPCOM, Animal Logic and The Mill. Over the last few years, XSI has become more focussed on larger workgroups of animators and modellers, dropping the entry-level Foundation version when XSI 7 was released in August.

More than 30 Super Bowl XLII TV commercials for Bridgestone, Budweiser, Coca-Cola, FedEx and other advertisers were created using Autodesk, Inc. technology. Autodesk’s visual effects, editing/ finishing and 3D modeling, animation and rendering software were used to deliver computer-generated imagery, including digital animals and environments.

“With a viewership of over 97 million people, this year’s Super Bowl commercials have exceeded expectations and delivered the inspired entertainment we look forward to year after year,” said Karim Salabi, Autodesk Media & Entertainment vice president of marketing. “Once again, leading post-production facilities relied on Autodesk solutions to deliver high-impact TV commercials, all within the strict deadlines of commercial post-production.”

Numerous post-production facilities worked on the creation of Super Bowl commercials with Autodesk solutions:

Method Studios completed two Bridgestone Tires spots.  The Autodesk Flame visual effects system was used on Unexpected Obstacles, while The Scream was completed with Autodesk Maya 3D animation, modeling and rendering software to mold, rig and animate seven animals.

The Mill used the Autodesk Smoke editing and finishing system, Autodesk Mudbox brush-based modeling software, Flame and Maya to create a variety of commercials, including Coca-Cola’s It’s Mine (Mudbox, the nCloth functionality in Maya, Flame and Smoke).

Filmworkers Club used the Autodesk Inferno visual effects system, Smoke and Flame to create several spots, including Budweiser’s Clydesdale Team.

Framestore NY used Maya for modeling, look development, animation and rendering of computer generated birds in FedEx’s Carrier Pigeons, as well as Flame for compositing.