Eden FX Deploys wondertouch's particleIllusion
Software to Meet Extensive Visual Effects Creation Challenges in the Production of Hit TV Series "Star Trek: Enterprise"
particleIllusion's Speed and Interface Interactivity Cited as Major Factors for Integrating
Particle Effects Software into Eden FX's State-of-the Art Post Production Pipeline
ST. LOUIS (October 2, 2003) - wondertouch,
a newly established software developer specializing in particle effects for
the visual effects industry, today announced that Eden FX, a leading computer
animation and visual effects studio, has integrated its particleIllusion™
software into its production pipeline to handle the extensive visual effects
creation demands on the production of Star Trek: Enterprise. Eden FX, the
primary provider of CG effects for the legendary syndicated Paramount
Television series, received three Emmy Award nominations for its visual
effects contributions to the show which has entered into its third season
last month on UPN. Cited for the speed and interactivity of its interface
which allows artists to quickly and efficiently deliver effects in real- or
near-real time, particleIlllusion is also serving facility-wide at Eden FX on
the studio's upcoming feature film project.
particleIllusion is a standalone particle effects application designed as an
easy-to-use, low-cost, high performance tool to quickly and simply add
particle effects to any image, animation, or video footage. particleIllusion
features an ever-growing collection of hundreds of preset effects such as
smoke, fire, explosions, water effects, sparkles, colorful artistic effects,
and many others. particleIllusion features OpenGL hardware acceleration to
provide real-time (or near real-time) previews of most effects and ultra-fast
rendering of final output.
According to Steve Pugh, executive visual effects producer at Eden FX, the
facility has been experimenting with particleIllusion since the first season
of "Star Trek: Enterprise." In addition, Pugh notes that with the growth
spurt in visual effects technology over the last couple of years, programs
like particleIlllusion are even more useful. "Tools like particleIllusion
are letting us add even more realistic details and textures to our shots, and
they're letting us do so with more speed and artist-friendly interactivity
than ever before.
"We are excited about the new effects we are producing this season for
'Enterprise' and are very pleased to be able to widely use the
particleIllusion toolkit in conjunction with the creation of massive beam
weapons, air bubbles and underwater atmospherics effects that the scripts
require, as well as in shots featuring the 'aquatic Xindi' - one of the two
new entirely computer-generated alien species being introduced this season.
We are also looking forward to using particleIllusion on an upcoming film
feature which requires that we track in similar underwater elements into a
scene where the actor was filmed dry-for-wet."
"We could not be more pleased that our particleIllusion software is being
used by Eden FX to help the production team push the boundaries of
live-action and digital effects in their work on 'Enterprise' and future high
profile projects," said Alan Lorence, president, wondertouch.
"particleIllusion is definitely being put to its paces in a high-pressure
production environment, offering professionals real-time advantages in
quickly pre-viewing and making rapid changes to complex shots."
particleIllusion Tackles Numerous Effects Challenges
Among the challenges that Eden FX faced while creating the visual effects on
"Star Trek: Enterprise" was in conjunction with a scene in the season
premiere episode where one of the crew members has a nightmare about a
devastating beam that wreaks havoc across the Florida Peninsula. The
mile-wide beam has to create an enormous wave of smoke, fire, steam, and
debris as it cuts into the Earth.
"We selected particleIllusion for the creation of all the smoke and fire
elements because the constant approach of the beam made the use of stock
elements problematic. Due to critical time constraints, particleIllusion was
the right choice over using 3D volumetric elements," said Chris Zapara,
supervising visual effects artist at Eden FX.
"particleIllusion's real-time previews provide instantaneous prototyping
feedback, and the GL renderer with motion blur is almost as fast as playing
the clip itself. I was able to easily create smoke and steam elements in
minutes by modifying basic emitters from the libraries, and the new
super-emitters made a dynamic, traveling explosion in only a few minutes
more. In the end, particleIllusion not only allowed me to finish the shot on
time, but it also allowed me to integrate several client changes on a
restricted budget."
particleIllusion 3.0 feature set highlights
Feature set highlights in particleIllusion include:
- Forces: allows for influencing particles after they are created; wind for example.
- Super emitters: allows for the automatic creation of emitters, to achieve a new level of realism and creativity.
- Color options: including "get color from layer" allow users to simulate "displacement" effects in realtime.
- Library manager: allows easy movement of emitters between libraries.
- Dozens of interface and productivity improvements.
About Eden FX
Established in 2000 by visual effects and post-production notables John Gross
and Mark Miller, Hollywood-based Eden FX offers its clients the creation and
production of original imagery for projects in all media, including
television, film, music video, commercials, and the Internet. The company
specializes in visual effects work in the areas of 3D animation, character
animation, 3D tracking, compositing, direction, on-set supervision, and
conceptual design and consultation. In the area of design, the company
provides services in the areas of titles, broadcast design, motion graphics,
print, and web design. Eden FX contributes the visual effects to the hit
syndicated TV series "Star Trek:Enterprise," as well as for many other hit TV
shows and major motion pictures. Additional information on Eden FX can be
obtained on the Web at www.edenfx.com
About wondertouch
wondertouch is a software developer specializing in particle effects for the visual effects industry. The company's flagship
product, particleIllusion, is focused towards the needs of creative professionals working in the film post-production, film
pre-visualization, standard and HD video and commercial broadcast industries.
wondertouch founder Alan Lorence was the original programmer for Impulse's Illusion software. After acquiring rights for Illusion
in July 2002, the company was established to continue the development, sale and support of the product under the name
'particleIllusion.'
wondertouch software products are currently available directly from wondertouch. The company is headquartered in St. Louis, Mo.
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