I have seen the future, and it is here.
What do I mean by that, you ask?
If it’s the future, how can it be here?
Isn’t that the present? Yes, but also
no. Let me explain…

I have been getting familiar with the new
Sandbox 2 editor that comes with the
demo for Crysis, the new game from
Crytek and EA that comes out in 2 weeks
or so (November 16). In fact, the image
that is at the head of this post was
rendered in real-time with this game
engine (click to make larger).

It is, quite simply put,
unlike anything you have ever seen. It is
an animation program, real-time renderer,
game modder, shader creation tool and all around
incredible software accomplishment all wrapped
up in a free (yes, FREE) software download. In this one
program you have everything you need to create your
own animated movie. Really. I am dead serious. You have
characters (which can be totally recreated with external
applications like Softimage XSI and others), lip-synch tools
motion capture tools, motion detection/tracking algorithms,
terrain creation and texturing tools, vehicle dynamics,
cloth dynamics, ai, real-time shadows, volumetrics… Need I go on?

Of courase, the one thing you don’t have, that you have to provide,
is a great story. Funny thing is, that has always been the hardest
part to get! Well, it still is. But now, assuming you have that, a great
script, great voice actors, etc., you can achieve what, literally, last week
was impossible. You can create a cinematic-quality movie with limited
hardware and software cost.

So, if this is here now, what is the future part, Perry?

It’s only going to get better from here, that’s the future part. More and
more of these type of programs will no doubt be making debuts
in the years to come. As real-time rendering gets more sophisticated,
it will completely replace off-line rendering. After all, why wait when you
don’t have to. For those of us that use the mental ray renderer, goodness
is already here, because mental images has ported their entire renderer
to run on nVidia cards and within the framework of the Cg shader language.

The future is indeed bright and shiny!

Pinch me all you want, because I am not dreaming anymore.
I had foretold this day about 5 years ago, and shared it
with some of the people I worked with at the time. We all agreed it
would happen some day.

Looks like someday is today! Here’s to tomorrow…

Click here to read article on SoftImage.com. 

Montréal, Québec – October 15, 2007 –Softimage Co., a subsidiary of Avid Technology, Inc., today announced that the new education institution, Flashpoint, The Academy of Media Arts and Sciences, is offering SOFTIMAGE®|XSI® training as part of its digital arts curriculum. Flashpoint Academy, the first digital arts college to open inside Chicago’s prestigious “Loop” in 40 years, provides a hands-on, collaborative approach for students embarking on a career in digital media arts, where 3D training is an essential course requirement for a large portion of the students. 

“Our primary objective at Flashpoint Academy is to train students to harness their artistic ability, and to learn to observe the world around them, in order to become better animators, visual effects artists and story tellers using 3D tools like SOFTIMAGE|XSI software,” said Perry Harovas, Chair, Visual Effects and Animation Department at Flashpoint Academy. “With the growing demand for skilled 3D artists—now is an excellent time for anyone to come to Flashpoint Academy and embark on a career they will love, and one that will challenge and reward them every day,” added Harovas.

Flashpoint Academy has over 100 students enrolled for its first term, nearly half of whom will receive training on SOFTIMAGE|XSI software. Students will be exposed to multiple disciplines of 3D—from modeling, rendering, character design and animation for the game industry—to visual effects, pre-visualization, and 3D lighting techniques for film students.

The college is additionally a BETA test site for Softimage, reviewing and testing new technology that Softimage constantly innovates. Flashpoint Academy hopes to provide a fresh talent pool of professionally trained animators, programmers and technical directors for film, visual effects, and game development companies such as EA Chicago, currently developing game titles using a SOFTIMAGE|XSI-based game development workflow.

SOFTIMAGE|XSI is professional 3D modeling, rendering and animation software used by 3D artists and technical directors working on cutting-edge games and films. XSI software was used in the making of games like Half Life 2, Fable 2, and Lost Planet, as well as films like the Academy Award-winning Happy Feet, Charlotte’s Web, and the highly stylized 300—a film adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic novel.

Not a long post today, but just wanted to log the feelings
I think a lot of us felt today as we kicked off
the start of something magical.

Magical, not in the way we teach (although
I’d like to think the students think the experience is magical),
but in the way it will change
the way media arts education is taught from here on out.
When something as groundbreaking and impactful
as Flashpoint comes to a field as important
and fast-paced as the media arts,
the effect upon the way it’s taught from this
point forward will change as if it was done
with a snap of the fingers, leaving no doubt
in anyone’s mind that it is the best way to teach this.

I felt the awe and wonder in some of my students that I recognized
as feelings I felt when I first started working in the industry (but
NEVER felt when I was in school). I am so happy that they are
able to have that experience even before they enter the fields of
their choice. It’s that excitement, that sense of wonder, of, yes, MAGIC,
that will have to carry them through the hard 2 years that lay ahead of them.

I have no doubt that it will be enough. More than enough.
The way I felt today, and the looks I saw on their faces,
were proof positive that this journey
we are teaching them how to take,
will be one that they will
never forget and will serve them
for the rest of their professional lives.

Congrats to our students on their first day!

All of us at Flashpoint are so excited to be helping to teach them to be
the artists they want to be, and in doing so, they are helping us to be
the type of teachers we want to be
(and the type we always wished we would have had).