wondertouch particleIllusion 3.0 for Mac OS X Chosen by The Asylum To Create Thrilling Particle Effects for Demanding Roster of Sci-Fi, Horror and Other Stylish Genre Feature Films

Company's Fully Featured Mac OS X Version Praised for its Ease of Use, Speed, and Advanced Features

LOS ANGELES (August 2, 2005) - At the Siggraph 2005 convention, wondertouch™, a leading software developer of high performance particle effects creation tools, today announced that The Asylum, the leading Los Angeles-based independent feature film studio, has selected particleIllusion 3.0 for the Mac OS X as its primary particle effects creation tool to deliver groundbreaking particle effects for a demanding roster of science fiction, horror, supernatural, and other stylish genre feature film titles.

The Asylum production pipeline is exclusively based on the Macintosh platform. particleIllusion 3.0 has been deployed throughout facility and is being used in conjunction with Adobe After Effects for tracking, matting and compositing, as well as with Apple Final Cut Pro HD 4.5 for editing. Citing its speed, real-time rendering capabilities and the overall workflow advantages provided by access to its more than 1300 preset emitters, the visual effects team is leveraging the particle effects tool on a number of productions including the recently-released "H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds," and the upcoming sci-fi horror features, "Legion of the Dead," "Frankenstein," and "The Beast of Bray Road."

David Michael Latt, co-founder, producer and award-winning filmmaker at The Asylum recently completed beta testing particleIllusion 3.0 for Mac OS X; having installed particleIllusion SE (the introductory version of the software) on Mac OS X earlier this year in February. He explains that the facility's heavy production schedule involves the production of two film titles a month into the video/DVD market for leading retail chains Hollywood Video and Blockbuster as well as film trailer and other commercial projects

"With a relentless production schedule, every tool in our production pipeline has to perform to the highest standards. Integrating particleIllusion as our primary particle effects tool has been an important aspect in adding value to our feature film production efforts," said Latt. "We initially purchased particleIllusion SE the first day it became available as a solution to create fire effects on the feature film "Jolly Roger." We were immediately impressed with its speed and versatility and recognized its nearly unlimited potential for customizing and creating dazzling effects on vastly different projects and genres. We're excited about the advanced features in particleIllusion 3.0 that will allow us to add even more realistic details and textures to our shots," said Latt.

"We are pleased that Mac-oriented facilities like The Asylum now have access to the advanced particle creation features of particleIllusion 3.0 to help them meet the needs of its diverse schedule of entertainment projects" said Alan Lorence, president of wondertouch. "Windows artists have been doing amazing work with particleIllusion 3.0 for quite a while, and we're excited to see what the Mac artist community will be able to do now."

For the recently released film adaptation of "H.G. Wells 'War of the Worlds," sci-fi classic, starring C. Thomas Howell (The Hillside Strangler, Red Dawn, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial), Jake Busey (Contact, Starship Troopers, Identity), and Peter Greene (Pulp Fiction, The Mask). The Asylum created close to 200 visual effects shots, relying on particleIllusion for elements such as fire, smoke and a comet's trail, to effectively portray civilization laid to ruin when a race of super aliens invades Earth.

"We hired an A-Team of top visual effects artists who due to budget and time constraints were only able to complete a certain amount of work," Latt continues. "Although I am not 'schooled' in visual effects, using particleIllusion I was able to produce effects that were credible and stood up to the discerning eye of the film's visual effects supervisor. Additionally, since we master our 35mm films in HD, the quality really had to measure up - which it did. "In a crucial sequence where the lead actor climbs a hill and looks back at aliens destroying his city, I needed to create visual effects to convey this information. With particleIllusion in hand, I took the plate shot of the actor's point-of-view and starting with preset emitters was quickly able to custom generate and fine tune multiple layered effects for adding fires to the houses, wind shifts and smoke. Throughout post production we continued to be amazed at particleIllusion's speed and its level of compatibility with our other software applications," he added. For feature film, "Legion of the Dead," a mummy-horror film, starring Bruce Boxleitner (Babylon 5), Zach Galligan (Gremlins), and Andy Lauer (Caroline in the City, Screamers), scheduled for release this month, particleIllusion was critical in enabling the Asylum team to create an 'energy' ball to represent the 'lifeforce' of the newly animated mummies.

"Using particleIllusion preset emitters we were able to create organic, fiery, pulsing balls of red, yellow and white that were inserted in place of the mummy's heart. The challenge was to integrate this vibrant, vital energy ball into the live actor's mummy costumes so that it looked like it was shot on the day of production. Being able to preview the composited effects in real-time and the super fast rendering of final shots in conjunction with lightning, camera shakes, and matting techniques, we were able to produce credible composites,' said Latt.

About particleIllusion 3.0 for Mac OS X

Widely regarded as one of the most artist-friendly and affordable software solutions for creating high-quality, complex particle animations, the release of particleIllusion 3.0 for Mac OS X affords digital content creation professionals working on Apple's advanced operating system all the advantages that Windows users have already been enjoying, including access to particleIllusion's library of more than 1300 preset particle emitters, to deliver a range of exceptional effects including smoke, fire, explosions, water effects, sparkles, colorful artistic effects, for unprecedented flexibility and enhanced productivity. 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 The Asylum

Established in 1996, The Asylum, based in Los Angeles, produces, acquires and distributes genre pictures throughout the world, operating as a self-contained micro-studio. Through a relationship with Hollywood Video and Blockbuster, Asylum Home Entertainment releases two titles a month into the DVD/video market. The company also operates pre and post facilities to create, produce, and deliver feature films for in-house ventures. The company is best known for feature films, "King of the Ants," "H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds," and "Killers."

About wondertouch

wondertouch, headquartered in St. Louis, Mo., is an award-winning software developer specializing in particle effects for the visual effects industry. The company's flagship product, particleIllusion, a sprite-based particle effects application is focused towards the needs of creative professionals working in film post-production and pre-visualization, standard and HD video, commercial broadcast and Web graphics industries. A spectrum of recent entertainment projects shaped by the software include feature films "Stealth," "Wedding Crashers," "H.G. Wells' War of the Worlds," "Sin City," "The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3D," "Fantastic Four," and "Constantine;" the hit soap opera, "Passions;" syndicated entertainment news program "Access Hollywood;" interactive game title "MX vs. ATV Unleashed;" episodic television series' "JAG" and "Navy/NCIS," various sports programs including: "NBA on TNT", "NASCAR on TNT;" national commercials including Cadillac/Saab (GM); music video projects for Dave Matthews Band, and many, many more.

wondertouch software products are available directly from wondertouch. Additional information on wondertouch can be obtained on the Web at www.wondertouch.com.