Conference The State of VFX Then & Now
ON SITE Bertha-Benz-Saal Thursday, May 07, 10:00

Untold stories about the start of Softimage

Réjean Gagné was there at the early days of the groundbreaking and beloved 3D tool Softimage. So, how was the tool developed? How did it find a user base, especially at ILM where it came to be used on seminal VFX projects such as Jurassic Park? How did things evolve from there? Réjean and visual effects journalist Ian Failes from befores & afters will guide us through this early history of Softimage with stories you might never have heard previously, plus a look at how Softimage’s architecture was engineered. Are you an old (or even current!) Softimage user? This presentation will also be highly interactive and we look forward to discussing the tool’s history, quirks and usage stories with you.

Réjean Gagné

Réjean Gagné, Softimage 3D animation product development

Bachelor degree - Electric Engeneering + Computer Science @ University of Sherbrooke (1982-1987)
Developper for Benoit Mandelbrot (fractals research) @ IBM Thomas-J Watson R. Center (1987-1988)
Graduate student - Master in Computer graphics + Dynamic Simulation @ University of Montreal (1988-1990)
Software Developer - Actor module @ Softimage (1990-1991)
Team Lead - 3D Animation @ Softimage (1992-1997)
Product Design Lead - Sumatra/XSI @ Softimage (1997-2005)

Scientific and Technical Academy Award
For the development of the "Actor" animation component of the Softimage computer animation system. Awarded in 1998, for work done in 1991 and 1992. The Actor module was first to create 3D animation effects in movies such as Death Becomes Her, and then Jurassic Park. Softimage was widely known as the best 3D animation package providing advanced yet intuitive tools.

 


 

Ian Failes

Ian Failes, Editor-in-Chief, befores & afters

Ian Failes is a journalist based in Melbourne specialising in visual effects and animation. Ian publishes the industry VFX and animation publication called befores & afters (beforesandafters.com) and an accompanying print magazine. He has written for fxguide, Cartoon Brew, VFX Voice, 3D Artist, 3D World and many other publications. Ian is the author of the books, 'Industrial Light & Magic: 50 Years of Innovation' and ‘Masters of FX’. He holds the world's largest collection of memorabilia from the film Speed.