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REBOOT
100%
DIGITAL
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ReBoot animation transcends anything else seen on network television today.
It's the world's first 100 percent computer-animated series, telling the story
of Bob, Dot and Enzo, 3D characters living in the city of Mainframe. ReBoot
creators produce a whopping 40 minutes of completed animation in just six weeks.
Fans love ReBoot so much, it has been renewed for a second season.
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Facing The 3D Challenge
How does BLT face the unprecedented 3D challenge of
producing the quantity of animation with the quality they expect? According to
Chris Welman, BLT's director of software development, the solution was found in
Softimage 3D. "We're using Softimage 3D exclusively."
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SOFTIMAGE-A
NATURAL
CHOICE
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High-Quality Characters
"We can animate faster with Softimage 3D than with any other package I can
think of," states Welman, "Because we're dealing with a lot of character
animation, we're using the skeletons with path animation, inverse kinematics,
flexible skin and envelopes extensively." Using Softimage 3D to endow characters
with fluid motion, including natural facial expressions, hand movements and
lip-synch is what makes ReBoot a ratings winner in the Saturday morning toon
market.
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Rendering At Full Throttle
And what about the unique challenges in producing the weekly CGI series?
Christopher Brough, the show's producer says, "It's getting an enormous volume
of animation out of the computer and onto digital tape." Welman concurs
stating, "There are few people producing the quantity of 3D animation with the
quality that we are today. With 21 minutes of footage to produce every few
weeks, rendering time is obviously of concern. The Softimage renderer is really
pretty quick, and with their mental ray renderer, it looks like they will stay
ahead of the competition in terms of photorealistic and customizable rendering."
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Combining Toolsets
BLT, at times, finds it convenient to combine toolsets by writing their own
software because "it's nice to be able to write our own effects to extend the
package if we have to," states Welman. Softimage 3D tools in the hands of
talented ReBoot animators delivers network television's first highly-rated
3D animation series.
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Softimage Used
In TV's First 3D
Animation Series
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Gavin Blair, co-ordinator and supervising animator of ReBoot, says quality of animation is
what makes ReBoot a ratings winner.
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THE
COMPANY
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ReBoot was created by The Hub, and is a co-production of BLT Productions and
Alliance Communications. It's also the only animation series produced
entirely in one dedicated CGI facility in Vancouver, British Columbia,
where a crew of 30 talented animators is busy delivering 23 half-hour
episodes to the world.
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Realistic character animation differentiates
ReBoot from the usual morning toon fare.
Here, Dot protects her territory by doing
battle with one of the User's many henchmen.
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