Products: Animation System

While 3D animation might the darling of the multiplex, 2D animationstill delivers, turning up in not only feature animations, but alsotelevision series, commercials, games, and multimedia development.

With such a wide range of uses, not only must the software workwell, but the app also needs flexibility in how it's managed. With therelease of Animo 5.0, Cambridge, England-based Cambridge AnimationSystems directly addresses that need.

Hiring a team of animators who work in another country? Animo 5.0now allows studios to use almost any language they wish on the XSheet,the cover sheet, the slate, palettes, filenames, and other elements ofthe program.

Improved ease of use and greater file compatibility also play theirpart. For example, users can now retrieve meta-information about Animofiles (scenes, backgrounds, soundtracks, levels and color models, andeven the links between them) directly from Windows Explorer, withoutneeding to run Animo. Meanwhile, the Animo output panel now supportsJPEG, PNG, and RLE-compressed TGA file formats, and it provides accessto such options as sound, letterboxing, and batch rendering. www.cambridgeanimation.com