EXTREME DIGITAL PRODUCTIONS SELECTS WONDERTOUCH PARTICLEILLUSION FOR VISUAL EFFECTS SEQUENCES IN HBO/LOVETT PRODUCTIONS DOCUMENTARY - "TOO HOT NOT TO HANDLE: A GLOBAL WARMING PRIMER"

particleIllusion's Speed and Real-time Render Options Enabled Creative Team to Successfully Deliver Extreme Climatic and Atmospheric Effects and Accommodate Producers' Requests for Modifications

ST. LOUIS, MO - (April 18, 2006) - wondertouch™, a high performance software developer of particle effects creation tools, today announced that Extreme Digital Productions, an expanding New York City-based specialist in high end 2D/3D graphics and effects for television and feature film projects, deployed its award-winning particleIllusion™ particle effects creation tool for a range of provocative effects depicting the complexities of global warming in the new HBO/Lovett Productions documentary, "Too Hot Not Too Handle: A Global Warming Primer." Commending its ability to deliver effects in real- or near-real time, and overall speed and flexibility in allowing artists to respond to producers expectations under a tight deadline schedule, the Extreme Digital Productions visual effects team relied extensively on the software to deliver sequences involving the Earth spinning with plumes of greenhouse gas rising from the surface, smog, water evaporation, air pollution, and more. "Too Hot Not to Handle" is a cautionary documentary that offers a guide to the effects of global warming in the United States. The documentary offers in-depth discussions from leading scientists from the nation's most esteemed educational institutions including Harvard University, Yale University, Princeton University and Stanford University on such subjects as the greenhouse effect, hurricanes, snowpack, hybrid vehicles and alternative power. The film also shows how businesses, local governments and citizens are taking positive actions to reduce global warming emissions. It is executive produced by Laurie David in conjunction with Lovett Productions and HBO. The film debuts on Earth Day, April 22 and will air exclusively on HBO.

According to Vincent MacTiernan, founder, Extreme Digital Productions, particleIllusion has been an effects staple since 2001, serving alongside Adobe After Effects and NewTek Lightwave. Extreme Digital used particleIllusion to create a majority of the visual effects on the documentary film and noted that its superior workflow efficiencies allowing artists to quickly create photorealistic effects was crucial to the studio being awarded the role of graphics and animation provider. - more - "Landing this job came about serendipitously. While I stopped by a facility I do occasional work for, I noticed members of the HBO production staff reviewing graphic shots for a documentary on global warming. It was obvious the elements were not what they expected and they needed shots turned around right away. I offered to provide them with some sample atmospheric effects," said MacTiernan. "Because of the immediacy required to turn around the samples, using a 3D particle program was out of the question. Having used particleIllusion on a number of high profile projects I was confident I could quickly generate a 3D image of Earth that included their request for photorealistic smoke and smog elements.

"Having the right tool set enabled us to win the confidence of the producers who were impressed with the quality and turnaround of the shots. Shortly after showing our fx shots we were asked to officially join the production team in a graphics and animation capacity. Of all the thousands of dollars invested in our software and hardware pipeline, the one tool that continually proves its worth is particleIllusion - an investment of under $400!"

"I am always impressed when smaller facilities like Extreme Digital Productions are able to depend on particleIllusion as a reliable and flexible production tool and push it to its limits to satisfy client needs and stay competitive," said Alan Lorence, president of wondertouch. "It's especially rewarding to see our tools being used to create imaginative effects that portray an important environmental message like global warming."

In a particular sequence involving greenhouse gas emission, Extreme Digital Productions was challenged to create a 3D model of the Earth slowly spinning with realistic plumes representing toxic carbon dioxide rising from the Earth's surface, gradually increasing in volume.

"We started out by selecting basic particleIllusion smoke presets - some of the best we have ever seen. With just a few changes to the color and size we were able to easily customize the plume effects without having to go back to square one or to a new 3D scene. Next, we showed the client real-time, full resolution previews of just how the plumes would look. The client appreciated being able to approve the look of the effect in particleIllusion right away without having to wait hours or even days to see a render. The approved plumes were then rendered out with an alpha channel and imported into After Effects. This gave us better control on how to manipulate the effects with the 3D backplate," added MacTiernan.

Extreme Digital artists also accessed particle Illusion's preset effects to give the look of water evaporating into space. "These shots required us do many test runs. Having access to the extensive particleIllusion library, we were able to speed up the overall workflow and quickly dial in the subtle yet elegant look the producers required," said MacTiernan.

About Extreme Digital Productions

New York City-based Extreme Digital Productions ( extremedigitalpro.com) was founded in 2001 by visual effects artist Vincent MacTiernan. Since then, the facility continues to expand as a provider of state-of-the art 3D/2D graphics and visual effects. Extreme Digital's film credits include the HBO/Lovett Productions film documentary, "Too Hot Not to Handle: A Global Warming Primer," and "Oldham County." The company has also contributed effects, directly or indirectly, to a growing roster of television networks including the History Channel, the Weather Channel, VH1, ABC, ABC Sports, Comcast, ESPN, MTV1, MTV2, Comedy Central and VH1. Extreme Digital's visual effects work can also be seen on music videos and promos for leading recording artists such as Usher, Outkast and Mariah Carey, and on behalf of commercial campaigns for AOL/Road Runner, Washington Mutual Bank, New Jersey Journal, and others.

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 designed to provide the most comprehensive effects creation tool and efficient workflow. Considered one of the most popular solutions for effects creation, particleIllusion is now used worldwide by creative professionals working in film post-production and pre-visualization, standard and HD video, commercial broadcast, motion graphics and game content creation.

A spectrum of recent entertainment projects shaped by the software include feature films "North Country," "Stealth," "Wedding Crashers," "Sin City," "The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl in 3D," and "Fantastic Four;" the hit soap opera, "Passions;" syndicated entertainment news program "Access Hollywood;" interactive game titles "Crash Tag Team Racing," and "MX vs. ATV Unleashed;" episodic television series' "Battlestar Galactica," "JAG," and "Navy/NCIS;" various sports programs including: "NBA on TNT", "NASCAR on TNT;" national commercials including Kellogg Company, NAMCO and Cadillac/Saab (GM); music video projects for Dave Matthews Band, and many others.

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