Eden FX Turns to wondertouch's particleIllusion to Create Dynamic Particle Effects Sequences for Blockbuster Motion Picture, "Hellboy"

Leading Particle Effects Software Adds Explosive Depth and Dimension to Fantasy Thriller

St. Louis (April 14, 2004) - wondertouch™, a leading software developer specializing in affordable, high performance particle effects tools for the visual effects industry, today announced that Eden FX, a leading computer animation and visual effects studio, utilized wondertouch's powerful and efficient 2-D particle effects software, particleIllusion 3.0, for the creation of key effects sequences in the recently released Sony Pictures feature film, "Hellboy." Based on the Dark Horse comic book by Mike Mignola, "Hellboy" tells the story of a demon conjured up from the spirit world by the Nazis for nefarious purposes, that is then recruited by the Americans to fight evil instead. Animators at Eden FX leveraged particleIllusion's speed, agility and intuitive processes to quickly create the complex and dynamic particle effects necessary to bring the story to life.

particleIllusion's speed and ease-of-use proved to be a major asset for Eden FX when they were asked to create shots of smoke from a burn as well as augment live-action footage of columns exploding from gunfire during a shoot-out sequence. Steve Pugh, visual effects producer at Eden FX, explains, "We were under a very tight deadline on this project, so every tool had to perform. For one sequence, we had to deliver two shots of a smoke effect that would arise after Hellboy catches rosary beads in his hand and the crucifix burns his palm on contact. Using particleIllusion, the production crew was able to very easily track a smoke element onto the moving footage and quickly dial in just the right amount of speed, drift, turbulence, and opacity. In a library shoot-out sequence, Hellboy blasts through huge columns while trying to kill a demon - sending chunks of the columns flying. On-set charges provided some punch, but the director wanted more damage and intensity. Again we turned to particleIllusion for a quick turnaround - adding smoke, sparks, and debris to the explosions. The software made very short work of the shots and the end result was really fantastic."

Chris Zapara, Eden FX supervising artist, had a similarly positive experience with particleIllusion while working on shots that needed to convey the impression of great force, saying, "'Hellboy' abounds with effects such as explosions, dust hits, burning and steam, and by nature these types of shots must look exceptionally powerful and dynamic. particleIllusion has been invaluable in that regard. In one particular scene, Hellboy rips a piece of machinery from a wall and smashes it into another wall, causing the piece of machinery to gush steam. In the initial shots, the existing steam wasn't strong enough and was additionally corrupted by wires supporting the prop. With particleIllusion, we were able to quickly match the existing steam, track the nozzle onto the film plate, and effectively triple the amount of steam, giving the shot the appropriate look and feel."

"Eden FX did an outstanding job creating effects for "Hellboy," and we're proud of the role that particleIllusion played in the process, said Alan Lorence, president of wondertouch. "Eden FX's ability to create complex and dynamic effects for "Hellboy" in such a short period of time illustrates particleIllusion's core strengths in meeting tough production challenges - extreme ease-of-use, real-time pre-visualization previews and ultra-fast rendering of final output."

particleIllusion, which has been in use at Eden FX for two years, is also incorporated into its production pipeline to create a broad range of particle effects for such high-profile television series as "Star Trek: Enterprise" and "Navy NCIS."

About particleIllusion

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.

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 and 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.