desktop post: products

Mac Effects 

By Michael Goldman

The Cave, which premieres in August, is a horror film chock full of creature-oriented visual effects (250 shots), but the workflow was anything but typical....

Edit Integrate Review — Autodesk 3ds Max 7 

By Frank McMahon

One good thing about Autodesk's updates to its 3D design and rendering program 3ds Max 7 is that you know exactly what has been improved. The company...

HDV@Work 

Tornado Redux 

By Michael Goldman

ILM's Oscar-nominated visual effects work on The Mask (1994) was a keystone in the history of visual effects, according to Mike Schmitt, visual effects...

HP xw9300 

By S. D. Katz

The HP xw9300 is HP's latest smoker for digital content creation and the company's first workstation based on the AMD Opteron 200 chipset. When it comes...

Cinematic Sluggers 

By Michael Goldman

"There have been some great fight films, and I wasn't sure I wanted to take that on," says Ron Howard of his hesitation to direct Cinderella Man. "I found it daunting to face the challenge of trying to present boxing in a more compelling fashion than has been done in the past." A conversation with actor Russell Crowe, who stars in the film as the Depression-era fighter, James J. Braddock, however, convinced Howard to take up the challenge. ...

Hope's Approach 

By Michael Goldman

To efficiently produce a non-profit, eight-minute, HD art film promoting a message of peace, called Hope, filmmakers at Luna Media, San Francisco, decided...

Step by Step:
Kingdom Of Heaven  

By Ellen Wolff

Modern visual effects techniques like CG sets, virtual extras, and digitally enhanced stunts are making it possible to mount period pieces on a scale that would have pleased Cecil B. DeMille. ...

Perfecting a Pipeline 

By Michael Goldman

DreamWorks' latest CG film, Madagascar, represents the culmination of two important evolutionary steps for the studio's animation pipeline. First, Madagascar's...

Tascam GigaStudio 3 

By Gary Eskow

Seven years is a very long time in the technology business. Back in 1997, a revolutionary product called GigaSampler changed the way musicians thought...