ARANZ is an established developer of 3D scanning and modelling technology for applications as diverse as movie making, geological modelling and medicine. The firm supplies both hardware and software solutions to industry.
Formed in 1995, specially to develop and commercialise the patented technology used in its very successful hand-held laser scanner, ARANZ was responsible for the device which brought to life the creatures of Middle Earth in the Oscar-winning Lord of the Rings films.
The scanner, now known as the Polhemus FastSCAN™, has found application in animation and graphics, prosthetics and orthotics, forensics, medicine, archaeology, biosciences and reverse engineering; enabling ARANZ to offer clients comprehensive solutions.
Through work initially carried out in conjunction with the Department of Mathematics, University of Canterbury, ARANZ has developed a variety of advanced software solutions for processing various types of 3D datasets using radial basis functions. ARANZ has also co-developed a software product for processing, viewing and interpreting drill-hole data in the mining industry, known as Leapfrog.
Web site: www.aranz.comE-mail: email@aranz.com
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Box Rocket Animation was founded in Wellington in 2003 by veterans of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, with the radical idea that computers should be making filmmaking easier, faster and cheaper; not just more spectacular.
They use state-of-the-art graphics hardware and software technology to craft high quality computer animated films, with a unique visual style – the bold look of a modern graphic novel. The studio’s unique methods also reduce the cost of production to a fraction of the Hollywood norm, making Box Rocket films – from minutes-long shorts to low-cost features – suitable for new channels of distribution like cell phones, portable games consoles and other non-standard outlets.
With its low-cost and vibrant look, Box Rocket engages in production partnerships to acquire, develop and produce hard-hitting material aimed at older teens and young adults – high-impact, mature ‘animated comic books’; tales of horror, action and adventure that blast far away from the family audience… extreme entertain-ment for the 21st century.
Web site: www.creativehq.co.nz/mainsite/box-rocket.htmlE-mail: steve@upstill.net
Character Animation Technologies Ltd, founded in 2002 by two Emmy-award nominated animators, is a New Zealand-based developer of next-generation character animation software.
CAT, as a software solution, is a high-level character rigging system – released as a plug-in for 3DS Max. The system is equally applicable for character animation in game development, film production and broadcast animation, and provides animators with the flexibility of a sophisticated custom rig, without the slowdown and technical complexity. With CAT, 3DS Max users have the most powerful commercially-available character animation toolset.
CAT allows artists to create any rig configuration in minutes. Its procedural 'walkcycle’ system means that walk sequences which took days can now be achieved in less than an hour. CAT’s superior non-linear animation system allows for greatly improved flexibility and efficiency. Further, the system is recognised as a leading character animation system and a mainstay of digital suppliers such as Rainbow Studios, Relic Entertainment and Relentless Software. CATMuscle software gives artists critical control over their skin deformations, with no view port slow-down. CATMuscle is also the only muscle deformation system that can be exported to a game engine.
Web site: www.catoolkit.comE-mail: scott@catoolkit.com
Founded in 1993, Click Suite is an international award-winning company with a well-deserved reputation for making innovative interactive media that audiences love!
Their philosophy is to focus entirely on the audience and create work that helps them connect with the client’s brand, learn something, be inspired or just have fun; while also utilising the best media solution for communications problems and for audiences.
The Click Suite team is made up of passionate individuals, currently working with clients around the globe, who generally choose to do a small number of large, high quality projects rather than taking a ‘factory’ approach to interactive media.
Their work ranges from web, DVD, kiosks and virtual reality, to games, digital art, exterior sculpture, screensavers, large-scale projections, CD-ROMs and more.
Animation, audience analysis, interactive development and concept generation are all part of the firm’s core business, along with copywriting, design, video, marketing, e-business, web, software development, strategy and project management.
Web site: www.clicksuite.comE-mail: discover@clicksuite.co.nz
Digital Post was established in Auckland in 1990 as New Zealand’s first digital post-production facility. The company has grown to be a major New Zealand provider of post-production services to the film, television and advertising industries.
Digital Post’s facilities include two telecine bays, Thomson Spirit Datacine and Cintel Millennium; seven avid editing systems; Maya 3D computer graphics; and Inferno, Flame, and Fire VFX. Digital Post also offers online editing, two audio post rooms, international broadband distribution and video conferencing.
International features include The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe for Disney Studios/ Walden Media – HD telecine dailies, offline and online editing facilities; Perfect Creature (NZ), RocMedia UK/Spice Factory – telecine dailies, 2K scanning for VFX and 2K post production of over 100 visual effects shots; and Sione’s Wedding for South Pacific Weddings Ltd – telecine dailies, offline editing facilities and digital intermediate.
In addition to their activity in the entertainment sector, Digital Post continue to service the leading television, advertising, film production and advertising companies in New Zealand, and have contributed to many international award-winning television commercials.
Web site: www.digitalpost.co.nzE-mail: howard@digipost.co.nz
Flux Animation Studio is an award-winning character animation specialist that can take a project from script to completion.
Flux animators and designers have worked on advertising campaigns for major New Zealand brands, including Telecom New Zealand, New Zealand Dairy and Tip Top Ice-cream. Internationally, their clients include Westpac bank of Australia, Wrigley’s, Nesquick, and Sweet and Low. Flux has won multiple awards in the Australian and New Zealand advertising awards for the last four years. They have also produced several of their own series’ for New Zealand’s leading broadcaster, TVNZ.
Flux’s award-winning 3D animation team produces complex character design animation and environments. Using mostly Lightwave and some Maya, they offer complete services for each project. Flux offers a motion-capture facility for animation that reflects realistic performance, while delivering highly skilled services in developing animated interactive media. The firm sees Flash-based animation for television as a growth sector for the industry and offer a high level of expertise in this area.
Web site: www.fluxmedia.co.nzE-mail: brent@fluxmedia.co.nz
The Human Interface Technology Laboratory New Zealand (HIT Lab NZ), established in 2002, is a leading-edge human-computer interface research centre.
The HIT Lab has strong links to partner industries and research institutions, both in New Zealand and internationally, and provides a multi-disciplinary approach to research and teaching. The Lab’s mission is to empower people through education, research and the commercialisation of human-computer interface technologies that enhance intelligence, improve quality of life and link minds globally.
The lab’s goals include providing a multidisciplinary, project-based learning environment for students, a world-class centre of excellence in human interface technology; and developing an industry-leading human/computer interface.
HIT Lab’s basic research focus is to develop computer interfaces that enhance both face-to-face and remote collaboration.
HIT Lab also has a research and development focus on where the three fields (AR, PUI, TUI) converge, accessing expertise in academia and industry, providing research capability to industry for industry led projects, and developing intuitive next-generation interface technology.
Web site: www.hitlabnz.orgE-mail: info@hitlabnz.org
La Luna Animation Studios is an environment where talent, creativity and the latest technology are brought together to create a centre of excellence in the areas of computer graphics, 3D animation, special effects and multimedia.
La Luna use Academy Award-winning Alias Maya Software exclusively - the most powerfully integrated 3D modelling, animation, effects and rendering solution on the market.
La Luna has over eight years’ experience in commercial production for the international market, and can provide high quality animation and character-driven content development for advertising agencies and corporate clients. The firm’s experienced 3D artists are capable of creating different styles using a wide range of tools and techniques, with the experience to deliver detailed modelling of architectural spaces and environments, and rendering those models to achieve photo-realistic quality.
Entire 3D environments can be created, or a rendering can be placed within a photograph or video for exact site visualisation. The general production for the projects includes the use of 3D computer models and digital photography to generate architectural animations and virtual environments.
Web site: www.lalunastudios.comE-mail: chris@lalunastudios.com
Massive is the premier 3D-animation solution for generating crowd-related visual effects for film and television. Using the system, an animator can design characters with a set of reactions to what is going on around them.
However, Massive can be used to create much more than human characters in the background – artists can also design and create just about any type of character and action/reaction sequence.
Springing into existence to help artists solve real production needs on the Lord of the Rings films, Massive Software is the leading developer of artificial intelligence-based 3D crowd animation systems.
Now a standalone, commercially-available product, Massive has been embraced by top digital production and effects studios, and has received a Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for being the best crowd animation solution.
Massive Smart Stunts™ delivers responsive digital stunt agents that are well integrated and ready to drop into the pipeline. Massive Live™ allows artists to leverage Massive’s underlying realism to generate and collaborate on facial animation, full-body animation and digital stunts; while Massive Cloth can be used to generate flowing materials and much more.
Web site: www.massivesoftware.com
The Media Design School is a private niche school in Auckland, providing production-based learning for the worldwide creative technology sector.
The school is heavily integrated with New Zealand industry, providing a key talent resource for production, post-production and creative companies. It is New Zealand’s largest pool of specialised designers and developers for high level capability projects such as 3D animation, visual effects, 3D imagery and visualisation, digital media, graphic design, creative technologies and game development.
The Media Design School believes learning should be collaboration between the school, the students and the international creative technologies industry. In pursuit of this, they provide access to visionary thinkers, specialist talent and the leadership which inspires students to obtain success at the highest level.
Qualifications are production and project orientated; are industry relevant, and are based around investing in global industry and tutoring experts who apply and encourage ‘around the corner thinking’.
The Media Design School utilises a range of software, including Alias Maya, Combustion and After Effects, and is also the only school in the world to teach Massive software, the Academy Award-winning software for crowd-related visual effects.
Web site: www.mediadesign.school/E-mail: frances@mediadesign.school.nzE-mail: caroline@mediadesign.school.nz
Established in 2001, One Glass Eye (OGE) is one of New Zealand’s largest animation studios. The company creates digital animation and special effects content for local and international television and commercial productions, producing 3D animation from concept, design and storyboarding, modelling and texturing, composition and rendering.
One Glass Eye is comprised of a highly skilled team with a proven ability to deliver world-class quality. It provides animation and special effects content to a range of local and international production companies, with clients including the BBC, Fox’s Animal Planet and the Discovery Channel. Additional work includes services for straight-to-video productions and augmented-reality projects through OGE’s relationship with the Human Interface Technology Lab.
The team of artists at OGE provides expertise in conceptual design, graphics, animation and special effect design. Notable international work includes: The Ant that Ate America – NHNZ and Discovery Channel, Time Flyers – BBC and Buggin’ With Rudd – Animal Planet (NHNZ); utilising platforms such as Softimage XSi, 3DStudio Max, Combustion and After Effects.
Web site: www.oneglasseye.co.nzE-mail: info@oneglasseye.co.nz
Right Hemisphere is a venture-backed, enterprise software company based in Silicon Valley, California, with R&D and operations in Auckland, New Zealand. The leading provider of product graphics management software, Right Hemisphere’s solution occupies a new category of enterprise software that integrates CAD/PDM and publishing systems, automates graphics publishing processes and manages product graphics in over 120 formats.
Capital goods manufacturers such as Daimler Chrysler, Lockheed Martin and Halliburton rapidly implement Right Hemisphere software to streamline multi-channel publication of rich technical publications, interactive training, product catalogues, marketing, communication, manufacturing instructions, extended design collaboration and more.
These customers and hundreds more rely on Right Hemisphere to accelerate the time to market for new products and support offerings; increase revenue and competitive advantage from graphically differentiated offerings; and reduce graphics creation costs tenfold.
Sold via direct sales and a reseller channel, Right Hemisphere’s product graphics management software is available around the world.
The firm’s target markets include the aerospace, defence, automotive and transportation industries, as well as construction and agricultural machinery, and industrial equipment.
Web site: www.righthemisphere.comE-mail: jack.johnson@righthemisphere.com
Terabyte is an interactive media pioneer in New Zealand and has become recognised as an industry leader through innovation, technology and creative excellence.
The firm has used its experience to create a project framework that ensures they deliver on their promise of outstanding creativity and intuitive functional-ity, built on robust IT systems.
Terabyte have made a signature style of focussing on quality and, over the past 15 years, the firm has worked on a diverse range of projects which are infused with their unique blend of creativity, functionality and passion.
As one of New Zealand’s largest interactive creative teams, Terabyte are able to offer their clients fresh thinking from project to project; delivering a level of excellence and intelligence – in conjunction with the latest technologies – that deliver compelling and highly engaging solutions.
Terabyte has performed work for many of New Zealand’s largest companies and has won numerous projects offshore with their specialist skills in education, sports and gallery interactive media. The firm continues to build a worldwide reputation in these key areas and is committed to leveraging this experience in their work.
Web site: www.terabyte.co.nzE-mail: rowan@terabyte.co.nz
Truescape delivers survey accurate, in-context photo and video simulations for civil, residential, commercial and industrial capital projects. Their clients use these simulations to improve project design, simplify the public consultation process, obtain resource consent, or market and sell a development prior to construction. By utilising Truescape’s visual reality simulations you can reduce the risks and costs of development, and gain improved project profitability.
Truescape’s simulations add value at every stage of a capital development project’s lifecycle – from the design and consultation phases through to tendering, financing and finally the marketing phase. Their work covers video simulations to support land-rezoning approvals, and internal and external video simulation for design, consultation and marketing.
Truescape’s product range falls into two major categories: design and development – including a range of products designed to communicate early concepts and identify design constraints, and promotional simulations – photo-realistic images and video simulations which assist with marketing developments prior to construction.
The Truescape team has extensive practical experience in all core disciplines essential to the business, including 3D modelling, surveying, engineering, architecture and landscape architecture.
Web site: www.truescapevisualreality.comE-mail: enquires@truescape.co.nz
Unlimited Realities, formed in 1996 by brothers David and Russell Brebner, is a well established software develop-ment company which focuses on the design and development of customised solutions in the fields of e-commerce, e-content and e-management.
UR has developed its own suite of products and boasts an impressive stable of clients, including New Zealand’s largest multinational - Fonterra, Toyota New Zealand and leading educational institution Massey University.
UR is set to take a major step forward with the pending release of a revolutionary new software platform, BLAZE – a system which provides a platform for bringing documents to life with rich graphics, sound, video, 3D and animation.
Targeted at the IT education and training market, BLAZE will greatly accelerate the training process for software developers, animators and 3D design engineers.
Broken down into three topics, the Knowledge Base involves Visual Basic – a huge resource of VB programming gems; .Net – a section covering aspects of the new Microsoft .Net Framework; and Web – covering a wide range of web-based technologies including Flash, ASP, HTML and Javascript.
Web site: www.ur.co.nzE-mail: david@ur.co.nz
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