Massive Wins Technological Innovation Award At 3D Festival
Wednesday 5 May 2004
Innovative animation software Massive has won the award for Technological Innovation at the 2nd Annual International 3D Awards at the 3D Festival in Copenhagen, Denmark
Massive, developed for use in "The Lord of the Rings" films, can be seen in action in the spectacular crowd scenes such as the battle of Helm’s Deep in "The Two Towers", and throughout the final film "The Return of the King", including hundreds of shots in the incomparable end battle sequences.
The awards recognize all areas of the industry from digital visual effects, animation and 3D design, to game development. Following their introduction in 2003, the awards are a highly anticipated event at the 3D Festival, one of Europe’s largest and foremost events for digital technology, art, and design.
The technical achievement of Massive was also recognised by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, with the presentation of the prestigious Scientific and Engineering Award to developer Stephen Regelous at this year’s ceremony held earlier this year.
This academy award essentially signals to the industry that Massive is the premier software for generating crowd-related visual effects. The Sci Tech award is only given after an arduous process which compares its approach and quality of product to all other software performing a similar function, which in this case would be crowd simulations for feature films.
A committee of experts is assigned by the Academy to investigate technologies to be considered for the awards and evaluate them compared to others in the same field - a process that can take in excess of two months. The committee presents its findings to the Academy Board of Governors who ultimately determines the level of recognition each is to receive.
The Academy plaque and the 3D Award for Tech Innovation awarded to Massive is indicative of its high level of achievement after only a very short time. Past winners have enjoyed considerable success following the award and continue to advance the industry in their respective fields.
Jordi Bares of The Mill, who accepted the 3d Award on behalf of the Massive team in Copenhagen, spoke to festival attendees about this commercial success. "[Massive] have tested this product in the most complex and challenging film project ever made. They have raised the bar to a level that will be the standard in the years to come", he commented, referring to Massive’s integral involvement in New Line Cinema’s "The Lord of the Rings" films.
Coming up, animation created with Massive will be seen in "I, Robot" from 20th Century Fox, the animated feature "Happy Feet" to be released by Warner Bros., and Universal Studio’s "King Kong".
