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January/February 2013 • Vol. 36 • Number 2 Innovations in visual computing for DCC professionals 6 Features COVER STORY Shaping Middle-earth 14 Jackson's vision JRR Tolkien's Middle-earth the big screen, creating breathtaking 6 Artists atforWetatofiDigital bringinPeterHobbit trilogy. of environments and effects the rst movie The By Barbara Robertson Of Gollum and Wargs and Goblins, Oh My! Digital modelers and full creating a wide range digital characters and creatures that 14WetaHobbit: AnofUnexpectedanimators had their hands appear in The Journey. By Barbara Robertson Winging It 22 27 Departments Editor's Note 2 Personal Printing Once the domain of industrial designers at large shops, 3D printing is now making its mark in the mainstream market, thanks to the introduction of smaller, less expensive machines that use a wide range of materials and colors. artists Triggerfish, an Africa, embarked on a journey make animated feature inspired by 22Whendidthetheytoknowat theanchallenges animationfilmstudio inButSouththeir homeland, little they would face. face them they did, and the rewards were worth their efforts. By Douglas King Consolidation in the Digital-Reality Industry a amount of a new surfaced in the 3D printing as and have become 27Inarena,shortacquisitionstime, mergersreality pulled intocommonplace, and complementary technologies have been this new ecosystem known as "digital reality." By Kathleen Maher Spotlight The Foundry's Vicon's Blade 2. Display. Autodesk's 2013. Eyeon's 3Advisor, ZR2330w PerformanceNuke 7.0. holding steadySmokeHP's Performance Generation AM. GPU market overall. Animation Products News SEE IT IN Mentor builds distributed pipeline, offers VFX curriculum. News names nine 2013 Sci-Tech winners. 31Academyxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx x xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx 32 Keep pace with the latest awards news on www.cgw.com. www.cgw.com January/February 2013 There and There and Back Again Again Back The Hobbit's digital enigmas • Are you using social media in your business? • Reality TV: tons of footage, challenges. • Robert Zemeckis on directing Flight. • Unsung audio post gear. ON THE COVER Back Products Recent hardware and software releases. . The Hobbit's digital enigmas $6.00 USA $8.25 Canada A lot of technological innovation has occurred since the last time audiences visited Middle-earth, enabling the artists and animators at Weta Digital to create even more compelling characters than ever before, including a younger version of Gollum for the new trilogy, The Hobbit. See pages 6 and 14. January/February 2013 CGW0113-TOCpfin.indd 1 1 1/31/13 4:58 PM