Exhibitor News & Press Kits

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Newbury Park, Calif. and New Orleans – August 3, 2009 New Orleans – SIGGRAPH 2009 – (Virtual Press Office) - MAXON Computer, a leading developer of professional 3D modeling, painting, animation and rendering solutions, today announced that two of its customers, Nucleus Medical Art, and artist Betsy Kopmar, have created film projects using MAXON software that will be included in the prestigious SIGGRAPH `Computer Animation Festival', taking place during the SIGGRAPH 2009 Conference at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. The Computer Animation Festival, celebrating its 36^th year, is an internationally renowned forum for presentation of the world's most innovative and stimulating computer-generated animated films; festival screenings run today through August 7^th. {Editors' note: see screening schedule below.}  

Nucleus Medical Art's film, "Atherosclerosis", is part of the festival's Juried Films category. Juried Films include visual effects, animated shorts, student animations, scientific and musical visualizations, experimental subjects and more. The Best in Show Award qualifies the winner to be considered for nomination in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences `Best Animated Short Film' category. Betsy Kopmar's work, "Night Fishing with Cormorants", is a curated entry in the Visual Music category, which features films marrying music and imagery.   

"The SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival is legendary for showcasing some of the world's most stunning 3D animation and we're honored that two of our customers are represented in this year's program," said Paul Babb, president, MAXON USA. "These diverse pieces clearly demonstrate CINEMA 4D's broad range of capabilities which enable creative professionals to attain even their most complex 3D animation goals." 

Though vastly different in nature and scope, both Nucleus Medical Art and Kopmar chose MAXON CINEMA 4D to take their projects from concept to creation. On the reality-based end of the 3D animation spectrum is Atherosclerosis, a three-and-a-half minute-long animation that provides a realistic view of how plaque forms within a coronary artery over time; eventually breaking free and causing a heart attack. It is the most complex project that Nucleus has created to-date. The studio's creative team relied heavily on CINEMA 4D's Studio Bundle, and most particularly the MoGraph module, to quickly and efficiently develop the ultra-dense models required to create repeat structures such as blood flow, LDL, and blood vessel walls made of hundreds of cells. With realism paramount, Nucleus artists turned to MAXON BodyPaint 3D to simulate the texture of a living heart and utilized several other CINEMA 4D modules, including HAIR, for generating cellular pseudopods, the arm-like extensions on cells, and Dynamics to create the natural bounce that occurs when migrating cells bump into each other. In addition to direct application benefits, the Nucleus team also noted CINEMA 4D's intuitive workflow, ease-of-use and tight integration with Adobe After Effects as critical elements for the project's success. 

"Fast-paced action and visual special effects aren't subjects normally associated with educational films, but we knew we had to incorporate a sense of entertainment and excitement into Atherosclerosis if we were going to achieve our goal of setting a new standard for how people learn about the body," said Thomas Brown, animation director, Nucleus Medical Art.  "The CINEMA 4D Studio Bundle gave us all the tools we needed to push the boundaries of our animations, and undoubtedly helped us attain the level of quality, sophistication and realism necessary to be selected by the jury for inclusion in this year's SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival." 

Betsy Kopmar, painter, artist, animator and instructor at Ex'pression College for Digital Arts, explores CINEMA 4D as a fine-art medium, and used the 3D software in a free-form style to create her film "Night Fishing with Cormorants", selected by the Computer Animation Festival Programming Committee

for inclusion in the Visual Music category. The meditative piece was inspired in part by the 17^th Century Japanese screen painting by Kano Tanyu of the same title and the novel "Shipwrecks" by Akira Yoshimura. Kopmar's technique involves no sketches or storyboards. Instead, she uses CINEMA 4D's Cappuccino motion sketch tool within the MOCCA module to draw freehand and then connects the sketches with MoGraph objects, particles, colors and camera. The 3D renders are then mixed in Modul8, a VJ (video performance artist) software that allows Kopmar to work on footage clips in real-time and record to a QuickTime movie.  Much like an improvised VJ performance, each piece is recorded as-is with no corrections, in what Kopmar describes as a "visualist jam session". Audio is added once the visuals are complete.    

"I'm sincerely honored that Night Fishing with Cormorants has been chosen for inclusion in the SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival," said Kopmar. "Creating 3D visual music requires a palette of technology that allows for unrestrained, free-flowing artistic expression and CINEMA 4D's uniquely intuitive toolset gives me that freedom. The modules I use the most, MoGraph, MOCCA and Thinking Particles, all seem to have a special liveliness at their core that resonates deeply with me and allows me to work in a way that feels both musical and painterly. With the mix of CINEMA 4D and Modul8 I have a remarkable set of art-making tools and am delighted to share the results of this work with the audience here at SIGGRAPH."

Screening Dates, Times and Locations

Night Fishing with Cormorants – (Screening within the Visual Music Reel 1)

Monday, August 3^rd

1:45 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.  -  La Nouvelle Orleans Ballroom

6:30 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.  -  Room 271-273 

Atherosclerosis – (Screening within the Digital Schoolhouse Reel)

Friday, August 7^th

8:30 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. - La Nouvelle Orleans Ballroom

MAXON Booth Hours   

During the SIGGRAPH Exposition, August 4^th – 6^th, MAXON product demonstrations will take place during exhibit floor hours at Booth # 3219, as follows: 

Tuesday, August 4^th and Wednesday, August 5^th – 9:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.

Thursday, August 6^th – 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. 

For detailed information on MAXON's exhibitor participation at SIGGRPH, please visit: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/permalink/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20090708005250&newsLang=en 
 

About MAXON CINEMA 4D and BodyPaint 3D

MAXON CINEMA 4D and BodyPaint 3D software applications are celebrated for their intuitive interface, efficiency and significant boosts to workflow productivity. In 2009, both CINEMA 4D and BodyPaint 3D have continued to inspire artists from around the world who have relied on the software to develop imagery for such notable films as Watchmen, G-Force, and the upcoming Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs; the popular cinematic trailer for the futuristic video game Front Mission Evolved; an award-winning episode of  the cult-classic television series Doctor Who; and to create motion graphics for some of the broadcast industry's most widely recognized entities, including The Weather Channel, MTV, CMT, Comedy Central, Al Jazeera, NBC, FOX, NFL, Tru TV, National Geographic Channel, Univision, the BBC, and many more. In June of this year, CINEMA 4D garnered the "Best Animation and 3D Product" award at the Macworld (UK) Awards; its third award win in this category from the venerated magazine.  

Additional information on MAXON can be obtained on the Web at www.maxon.net.

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