Archive for August, 2011

Company to showcase new version with unique renderfarm-in-a-box demo at SIGGRAPH 2011

At SIGGRAPH 2011 Thinkbox Software will announce the public beta of Deadline 5.1, the newest version of the company’s popular render farm management solution for Windows, Linux and Mac OSX-based render farms. In addition to feature and performance enhancements, the new release includes integration with the Shotgun production management and collaboration system, and with Draft, Thinkbox’s image templating and slating system. The software’s full feature set will be showcased in demonstrations with a unique renderfarm-in-a-box configuration.

Deadline is a hassle-free administration and rendering toolkit that offers management options for render farms of all sizes, and the flexibility to run the software on a wide range of platforms and rendering packages. Because Deadline enables studios to communicate seamlessly across locations, the tool is gaining popularity among visual effects companies with massive global render farms. Version 5.1 adds:
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Will introduce standalone cross-platform volumetric particle renderer, Krakatoa SR 2.0

At SIGGRAPH 2011 in Vancouver, Thinkbox Software will unveil Krakatoa MX™ 2.0, the latest version of its high volume particle rendering, manipulation and management toolkit, with new creative features and improved performance. The company will also introduce Krakatoa™ SR 2.0, a standalone cross-platform particle renderer for Linux, Windows and Mac.

Krakatoa MX provides an efficient pipeline for particle acquisition, caching, modifying, deforming, shading and rendering inside Autodesk 3ds Max. It enables artists to recreate natural phenomena and solid objects, or create abstract images in unparalleled detail. Key new features in Version 2.0 include:

• Hair rendering support – Krakatoa™ MX supports the conversion of 3ds Max Hair&Fur, Hair Farm and regular Bezier splines into particles. The dedicated PRT Hair object provides optional view-dependent particle distribution and advanced controls over hair shading using Krakatoa Channel Modifiers. Krakatoa™ more

New spot directed by Scott McCullough for Sherry Matthews Advocacy Marketing highlights the dangers of secondhand smoke in outdoor environments.
AUSTIN, Texas—A new public service campaign for Austin, Texas’ Live Tobacco-Free program makes the point that secondhand smoke is a danger wherever it occurs, indoors or out. Conceived by Sherry Matthews Advocacy Marketing, Austin, and directed by Scott McCullough, the new 30-second spot, in English and Spanish versions, shows a large tanker truck driving through Austin as a worker in a haz-mat suit sprays unsuspecting residents with thick, billowy clouds of noxious fumes.
People at an outdoor restaurant, kids playing in a park and pedestrians strolling along a path react in horror and disgust as they are enveloped by the sooty smoke. The voiceover notes that secondhand cigarette smoke contains 7,000 chemicals, many harmful to humans, and directs consumers more

New York/Los Angeles, August 1, 2011 — Gravity, an international creative content and brand communications company, produced over 130 visual effects shots for the Warner Bros. Pictures romantic comedy, “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” which opened nationwide, July 29th. Zviah Eldar, Gravity’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Creative Officer, made the announcement.

Recently, Gravity was the lead visual effects house on Universal Pictures’ “The Adjustment Bureau,” and produced all of the visual effects for the Warner Bros. comedy, “Arthur.”

ABOUT GRAVITY:

Gravity is an international creative, content and brand communications company with proven expertise in three integrated divisions: Features & Television, Commercials and Digital. With 250 talented professionals across offices in New York, Los Angeles, Stamford CT, and Tel Aviv, the company is a widely renowned generator of high-end visual effects, creative content, motion graphics, animation, branding and more