Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/161463
SiggRaph NewS Reallusion offers low-cost animation app S AN JOSE, CA — At SIGGRAPH, Reallusion (www.reallusion.com) showed off iClone5, its realtime 3D animation tool, which includes digital actors, virtual environments, motion capture capabilities and run-time puppeteering. The release is designed to empower artists who don't have extensive 3D backgrounds. Template-based content and motions allow users to get started quickly. Assets are also easily converted for use in applications such as Photoshop, Daz 3D, Zbrush, Maya and 3DS OptiTrack shows live mocap C ORVALLIS, OR — At SIGGRAPH this year, OptiTrack (www.optitrack.com) featured markered skateboarders shredding a half-pipe in its booth. The 30-by-20-foot set-up included 24 Prime 17W cameras powered by the recently-released Motive:Body software. Specially-engineered skateboards featuring LED markers embedded on their decks, trucks and wheels allowed them to be tracked alongside the skateboarders' movements. Motion was being captured, delivered and rendered in realtime. Launched earlier this year, the Prime 17W is the latest offering in OptiTrack's Prime Series line of high-performance motion capture and tracking cameras. A 70-degree-by-51-degree field of view and 50-foot range offers users flexible system deployment and camera configuration.The wide-angle field of view delivers clean, continuous data with fewer cameras and also captures up to 360fps with full-frame, global shuttered precision. OptiTrack's low pricing makes it well suited for animators, engineers, clinicians and researchers at facilities large and small. OptiTrack's Motive software works with the full range of OptiTrack cameras to create a simple and high-fidelity, motion-capture pipeline that is fast and easy to set up. The skateboards were tracked with Motive's new rigid-body engine, which enables highly accurate motion capture results. The Motive:Body software includes time-saving features, including one-click subject calibration for quick character set up, easy skeleton export to Autodesk MotionBuilder, precision finger tracking and kinematic labeling. "OptiTrack's core technology is remarkably extensible," explains Brian Nilles (pictured), chief strategy officer. "Motion capture set-ups that were formerly considered to be very difficult and unthinkable in live exhibition settings are just really easy for OptiTrack systems. The skate ramp is a great example of the Prime 17W's ability to pack large capture volumes into small spaces." Reallusion CEO Charles Chen at SIGGRAPH. Max. New features include MixMoves, which smoothly transitions from one animation cycle to another; human IK and foot contact; rigid and soft body dynamics; ambient occlusion; a toon shader; and new characters. IClone5 Pro is priced at $199.95 and offers realtime animation and video compositing, inscreen motion editing and facial puppeteering, advanced timeline editing with transition curves, and the ability to animate in realtime using a motion-capture device. A lesser-featured iClone5 Standard edition is priced at $79.95. hp releases Z Displays, shows entry-level workstation F 38 Post • August 2013 ORT COLLINS, CO — HP (www.hp.com) used SIGGRAPH 2013 as an opportunity to introduce three new pro monitors. The company had a suite off the show floor, showing the Z22i, Z23i and Z24i ISP (in-plane switching) displays, which are now shipping and make use of Gen 2 panels, providing lower power consumption and improved off-axis viewing. The new models make up the Z Display family, but do not surpass the quality of HP's DreamColor displays. Priced at $399, the 24-inch Z24i offers great color accuracy and a display resolution of 1920-by-1200. The 21.5-inch Z22i ($239) and 23-inch Z23i ($259) offer a display resolution of 1920-by-1080.The monitors' "black stretch" feature allows users to pull out further detail in dark areas of the image. All three displays are Energy Star qualified and EPEAT Gold registered. They also include a four-way adjustable stand. HP also showed off tower and small form factor versions of its new Z230 workstation, which ships this month. The entry-level Z230 is the successor of the Z220 and will have a starting price of $999 for a quad-core configuration. (HP says dual-core configurations will be offered at a later date for a lower price.) The tower version can be configured with up to 32GBs of memory and features four USB3 ports along with two USB2 ports. Three digital outputs allow for the powering of numerous displays without the need for additional graphics cards. www.postmagazine.com