Softimage Announces New Education Programs to Meet Rising Demand for Softimage Animators

New Programs and Introductory Pricing for Students and EducationalEstablishments for SOFTIMAGE|XSI and SOFTIMAGE|3D

Montreal, Quebec - Softimage Co., a subsidiary of Avid Technology,Inc. (NASDAQ: AVID), announced today new education programs for itsSOFTIMAGE|XSI software, the industry leading 3-D nonlinear productionenvironment and its SOFTIMAGE|3D software, Softimage’s productionproven 3-D animation system. These programs and associated introductorypricing are part of an educational strategy to increase the communityof trained Softimage artists for which the demand has significantlygrown due to the purchase of Softimage software by leading film, post,broadcast, creative and games companies around the world. As part ofthis program, softimage.com now features an expanded job and talentbank section to match trained animators and prospective employers(www.softimage.com/Corporate/Careers).

The new Softimage Student and Teacher program offers a permanentnon-commercial license of Softimage’s flagship product, theSOFTIMAGE|XSI Advanced software, at a limited-time introductory priceof $495 USMSRP. This version includes high-end and advanced tools, suchas real-time shaders, compositing, hair, batch rendering, particles,and subdivision math, which have been used by commercial companiesaround the world to create films such as Spy Kids 2 and gamessuch as NBA Live 2003, NBA Street and FIFA Soccer 2003from Electronic Arts. The student version comes complete withdocumentation and training materials. Students and teachers whopurchase these new academic versions of the SOFTIMAGE|XSI program priorto the release of version 3.0 will also be entitled to a free upgradeto the academic version of 3.0 when it releases.

The new education program also enables qualified educationalestablishments to purchase SOFTIMAGE|3D software for as little as$99.50 USMSRP per license, making it extremely affordable for students,teachers and schools to use the software that has produced over 15years of award winning special effects. For those looking to offer thewidest range of capabilities - from character design, animation,rendering and compositing, to picture and audio editing - SoftimageProduction Suites, which feature the SOFTIMAGE|XSI software and theAvid Xpress DV software, are available with pricing per seat as low as$1,500 USMSRP, including support and academic version upgrades for theSOFTIMAGE|XSI software.

Don Ramos, Dean of Education of CDIS Training School comments,“Based on industry changes and local demand CDIS has now shiftedto teaching the SOFTIMAGE|XSI software as the primary tool in our 3-Danimation program. We know that training with Softimage productsprepares our graduates for rewarding careers in the digital artsindustry.”

Leading the way for Softimage animators are the top companies infilm, broadcast and gaming development, including Bizarre Creations,Capcom, Cinégroupe, Electronic Arts, Giant Killer Robots, ILM,Janimation, Mainframe, PSYOP, Valve Entertainment and Pandemic Studios,which are all preparing for new productions.

“Creating next generation interactive entertainment productsrequires top-level tools and individuals,” comments Gabe Newell,co-founder and managing director, VALVE, L.L.C. “We recentlymigrated our 3-D production pipeline to the SOFTIMAGE|XSI system toensure our teams are working with the leading animation tools. Thedemand for exceptional animators versed in leading applications, suchas the SOFTIMAGE|XSI system, is at an all time premium, and that demandwill only increase as the proliferation of digital contentcontinues.”

“Requests from film, broadcast and gaming companies fortrained animators using Softimage products are rapidly growingworldwide. Companies and educators are turning to Softimage productsfor help in gearing up to meet the demand,” adds PierreTousignant, training manager at Softimage. “To meet the risingdemand for SOFTIMAGE|XSI and SOFTIMAGE|3D animators, Softimage createdthese new and innovative programs as part of an all out effort toenable every student, teacher and school to have access to theseindustry leading products.”

To find out more about the new Softimage education programs andintroductory promotions go to www.softimage.com/education.