Autodesk Film and TV Solutions Help Grow Post-production and Broadcast Businesses

Autodesk Film and TV Solutions Help Grow Post-production and Broadcast Businesses

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., April 9 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In an increasingly competitive market, broadcasters and post-production facilities are differentiating and growing their businesses by investing in Autodesk, Inc.'s (NASDAQ:ADSK) visual effects and finishing solutions. These solutions provide digital artists and editors with the professional tools necessary to quickly produce high-value content. Facilities that have benefitted from recent purchases of Autodesk systems include BSkyB, Sight Entertainment, Mere Mortals, E3 Post and Channel 4.

BSkyB

In the United Kingdom, London-based BSkyB's in-house creative department has invested in an Autodesk Smoke software system for editing and finishing to work alongside its Autodesk Flame software system for visual effects and Autodesk Backdraft Conform software as the media management solution. These Autodesk products are used for promos, titles and channel branding across BSkyB's news, entertainment and sports channels.

"Flame is key to our smooth workflow at BSkyB," said Nassreen Akhtar, the facility's creative facilities and operations manager. "On our major projects, you simply couldn't accomplish our 2D/3D work in any other environment. Since we moved to Flame, things have just become better and better, especially with Linux, which has made a huge positive difference in our production pipeline. Autodesk systems are also great for working directly with clients. Autodesk's environments are much more interactive than other offerings. Whether it's our own in-house producers or clients from external production companies and agencies, Flame and Smoke help us accomplish collaborative, top-quality work at a speed difficult to match."

Sight Entertainment

After six years of production-proven satisfaction with Autodesk Combustion software, California-based Sight Entertainment has added an Autodesk Smoke system to its pipeline. Since adding the Smoke system less than three months ago, Sight Entertainment has used it to complete multiple projects, including an effects-heavy spot for Japanese client Suntory and a music video for Radical Media director Zach Merck.

Sight Entertainment owner and effects supervisor, Yuzaburo Saito, said, "Sight Entertainment is a growing visual effects studio. After our first demonstration of the Smoke capabilities, our decision to convert from a competitive product to Autodesk was simple. Autodesk solutions have helped us gain the trust and respect of international and domestic clients. Smoke has been instrumental in providing the speed necessary for compositing 2D and 3D elements and finishing. The system has accelerated our workflow and has given us the confidence to solve tricky shots in real time, right in front of the client."

Mere Mortals

In the United Kingdom, Newcastle-based facility Mere Mortals invested in an Autodesk Smoke editing/finishing system to grow its business. Steve Walmsley, Mere Mortals managing director, said, "In addition to work from clients in the thriving regional film and advertising industry, our new Smoke system is attracting a substantial amount of business from outside the North East of Britain. Big budget productions filmed in Newcastle have traditionally sent their editing work south because local facilities weren't available. The technical capabilities of Smoke, with its real-time, mixed-resolution interactivity for all types of creative editorial work, offer film and post-production clients everything they need. Smoke allows us to compete with rivals across the UK and gives our business the edge required to win more jobs."

E3 Post

Washington, D.C.-based E3 Post added an Autodesk Flame visual effects system to its facility, and as a direct result, has seen a steady increase in its client base. The Flame system has enabled E3 Post's transition and ultimate growth into more corporate, commercial, and political work. Victor Wolansky, visual effects artist at E3 Post, said, "Flame gives you so much freedom, flexibility, speed and creative control -- exactly what I found lacking in competing systems I've worked with. I immediately got into Action, Batch and the 3D compositing environment, and I'm still learning new things every day. Flame just has so much to offer."

Wolansky goes on to say, "I've never had this kind of experience with any other product. I've had more creative and career success with Flame over the past year and a half than with all the other competitive systems I've used throughout my 17 year career."

Channel 4

United Kingdom-based Channel 4 has invested in a Smoke system for its post-production arm called 124 Facilities. The system was selected after rigorous testing alongside systems from other vendors. Smoke will be used to finish trailers for three channels: Channel 4, E4 and More4.

"We were finding that more and more finishing was being done out of house, so we decided to invest in a finishing/effects system, enabling us to grow our business by offering these services in-house," said Tony Chamberlain, 124 managing director. "Smoke proved to have all the right tools for our needs and, from a user point of view, it's the system that the editors and clients are most happy with."

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. is the world leader in 2D and 3D design software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art digital prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualize, simulate and analyze real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk, visit http://www.autodesk.com/.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, Backdraft, Combustion, Flame and Smoke are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. and/or Autodesk Canada Co. in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

   (C) 2008 Autodesk, Inc.  All rights reserved.   (Logo:  http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20050415/SFF034LOGO)     Contacts:  Nicolina Servello, 514.954.2838 / Karen Raz, 310.450.1482    Email:     nicolina.servello@autodesk.com / karen@razpr.com  

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Source: Autodesk, Inc.

CONTACT: Nicolina Servello of Autodesk, Inc., +1-514-954-2838,
nicolina.servello@autodesk.com; or Karen Raz, +1-310-450-1482,
karen@razpr.com, for Autodesk, Inc.

Web site: http://www.autodesk.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment