annoucing 3D-Equalizer 4

Science.D.Visions Unveils 3DEqualizer4—New Version of Industry-Standard Match Move Software

Re-Written Calculation Engine Produces 50 to 100 Times Faster Performance when Reconstructing Complex Camera and 3D Match Moves; Adds New Productivity Features and User Interface

Dortmund, GERMANY, July 31st 2009 — Science.D.Visions today announced 3DEqualizer4, the latest version of its match moving software, winner of an Academy Award® in 2002 for Technical Achievement. With a comprehensive re-write of nearly 90 percent of its core code, 3DEqualizer4 is literally a new product, and will offer visual effects artists and technical directors (TD’s) a substantially faster workflow that generates extremely precise results on multiple operating platforms including Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux. 3DEqualizer4 is available now in solid Beta, and is expected to ship in autumn 2009. For more information about purchasing or upgrades, visit: www.3dequalizer.com/index.html?site=sales&id=090623_01

Match moving is a visual effects technology that helps post production engineers insert virtual objects into real footage with the correct position, scale, orientation and motion in relation to photographed objects in a scene, so that a virtual camera move can be reproduced by relying on traditional 2D motion tracking techniques. The intent is that when the virtual and real scenes are composited together they will have the same perspective and appear seamless.

Science.D.Visions has been a pioneer of match moving software for over 12 years, with a customer list including: Weta Digital (Wellington, NZ), Cinesite (London), Double Negative (London), The Moving Picture Company (London), The Mill (London), Animal Logic (Sydney), Framestore/CFC (London), Hybride (Montr?al)—and many other studios that rely on 3DEqualizer to make cinematic magic.

“With 3DEqualizer4, the ability to customize our workflow requirements has been taken even further with the new user-definable interface and hot key shortcuts which allows our team to create their own working style,” said Lee Bramwell, Weta Digital Camera Supervisor, Wellington, New Zealand. “Additionally, the new dynamic lens distortion system in 3DEqualizer4 ensures even more accurate integration with the most difficult zoom shots. Consistently, 3DEqualizer has proven itself to be the best available solution for the wide range of tasks the Weta Digital Camera department has to deal with. Its continuing hands-on user based development makes 3DEqualizer the package that we will be relying on to keep us ahead of the game in the future,” added Bramwell.

3DEqualizer4 Features and Benefits:

3DEqualizer4 comes with many new productivity features including: new lens distortion and survey data tools, improved 2D tracking engines and a re-imagined, customizable graphical user interface to complete this extensive new re-write as one of the film industry’s most relied-upon match moving solutions.

- New calculation core—automatically computes an individual weight for each point on a frame-by-frame basis

- Lens distortion features—new "Matrix Tool" for extraction of lens distortion and focal length data from grid shots and animate-able lens distortions in relation to focal length

- Comprehensive tools for working with survey data—user friendly functions for managing line geometry that streamlines alignment process for intuitive match move workflow

- Improved 2D tracking engines—rewritten from scratch to provide more precise tracking results

- New user interface—rewritten from the ground up to support native Windows GUI

To review the fully detailed feature list for 3DEqualizer4 please visit: www.3dequalizer.com/index.html?site=products&id=080430_02

Pricing and Purchasing Information:

3DEqualizer4 is available now in Beta and is expected to ship in autumn 2009. For purchase, upgrade or educational licensing information, contact a direct sales manager for an individual consultation and pricing information at: www.3dequalizer.com/index.html?site=contact

PRESS: High-resolutions images for 3DEqualizer4 are available to the media at www.3dequalizer.com/index.html?site=download&id=090730_01

About Science.D.Visions Based in Dortmund, Germany, Science.D.Visions is an independent software company, developing technology primarily for the digital media industry. Its focus is to develop and market high-end computer graphics software combining years of production-tested knowledge in the areas of mathematics, physics and computer science. The strong research and development team at Science.D.Visions is equipped with a brain-trust to create unique, high-quality solutions that maintain essential advantages over all competing technologies on the market. The highly successful market-leading brand "3D-Equalizer" is used by countless international post-production companies around the world to generate today's most sophisticated special effects for commercials, games and feature films.

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© 2009 Science.D.Visions. All rights reserved. 3DEqualizer and Science.D.Visiosns are trademarks of Science.D.Visions. Product features, specifications, system requirements, and availability are subject to change without notice. Oscar is a trademark and service mark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Other names are for informational purposes only and may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

Media Contacts:

Kevin G. Clark, (514) 754-0343, keving@kgkdpr.com
Rolf Schneider, +49 231-1675-450 rolf@sci-d-vis.com


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QUOTE SHEET:

Lee Bramwell, WETA Digital Camera Supervisor

For more than 10 years, The Weta Digital Camera department has been using 3DEqualizer to integrate CG elements in to some of the most challenging live action sequences ever created for cinema. From the beginning we realized that 3D-Equalizer gave us the most precise estimation of real world camera attributes and the most accurate camera matches of any software of its type.

The continuing development of 3D-Equalizer has helped the Weta Digital Camera department to increase the speed and accuracy of our 3D scene set ups to the point where a time estimate for a sequence is often halved without sacrificing the accuracy of the final product. The key to this speed and accuracy is the ability to customize 3D-Equalizer to suit any situation we encounter, from different cameras types, camera moves, 3D match moves, terrain generation and more.

With 3DEqualizer4 this customization has been taken even further with a new user definable interface and hot key shortcuts which allow the user to create a working environment that is tailored to their working style. In addition to this, the new dynamic lens distortion system ensures even more accurate integration with the most difficult zoom shots.

Time and time again 3DEqualizer has proven itself to be the best available solution for the wide range of tasks the Weta Digital Camera department has to deal with. Its continuing hands-on user based development makes it the package that we will be relying on to keep us ahead of the game in the future.

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Matthew d'Angibau, Senior Lead Match mover, Cinesite U.K.

"At Cinesite we find 3DE to be consistently the best match move software for our tracking pipeline. With shots and sequences becoming ever more demanding 3de gives the user huge flexibility and control to get the job done. Its survey, reference frame and photogrammetry capabilities are fast and easy to use, making integration with Lidar and Total Station survey data seamless."

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Lafleche Dumais

Technical 3D Supervisor, HYBRIDE (a division of Ubisoft, Montr?al)
3DE has been part of Hybride’s toolbox since we’ve started working on feature film productions. We find it to be extremely reliable, easy to use, and the 3DE team offers great and always helpful technical support.

Basically, we believe it to be the most complete tracking software - giving us an edge for those “impossible” shots to track.

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