MPC Licenses DMM Technology from Pixelux Entertainment

Geneva, June 1st, 2010. Pixelux Entertainment SA has licensed its DMM (Digital Molecular Matter) technology to VFX house, MPC (The Moving Picture Company). DMM simulates the deformation and fracture of any material ranging from jelly to diamond allowing the creation of simulation-based visual effects that were previously impossible to do economically by hand. MPC and Pixelux have been working together on integrating DMM into MPC’s large-scale production pipeline for destruction and physical simulation effects.

MPC R&D Lead, Ben Cole said, “Using a finite element-based solver for destruction enables our artists to create materials that flex, bend and splinter so they can create destruction effects that stand up to much closer scrutiny. Not only is this a step forward creatively but the ability to dynamically chop geometry at render time rather than manually cutting during the modeling phase means that we can turn iterations round more quickly than traditional approaches to destruction and allow our clients more freedom to art direct the simulations.”

Nick Cannon, MPC Vancouver’s Director of Technology underlined the relationship between Pixelux and MPC saying, “partnering with Pixelux has given us a rare opportunity to introduce a new family of effects into our pipeline as well as enabling higher productivity for our artists. Both teams have worked closely together to tightly integrate DMM into our pipeline in a tight timeframe and we are already seeing very exciting results that previously would not have been achievable in the time available.”

Eric Parker, Pixelux Entertainment’s CTO notes “When MPC contacted us about using DMM for their destruction effects, we loved the idea of having further refinements for using DMM in photo-real visual effects being driven by real requirements from a world-class VFX company. We have been very excited to work closely with MPC’s incredible R&D department to help them augment their pipeline with DMM. “

About MPC
MPC (a technicolor company) leads the world in postproduction and visual effects for the Feature Film, Advertising, Digital and Television industries.  Working with international motion picture studios and worldwide advertising networks the company has bases in Soho, London, Santa Monica, CA and Yaletown, Vancouver.  The facilities are centrally located, networked and have a dedicated digital infrastructure.   Recent international feature film includes Prince of Persia, (Mike Newell) ‘Robin Hood’ (Ridley Scott) and ‘Clash of the Titans,’ (Louis Leterrier).  Other 2010 releases include; ‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians; The Lightning Thief, ‘The Wolfman’ and in 2009 ‘Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince, (David Yates).  The team is currently working on the next outings for both the Narnia and Harry Potter  franchises and are completing sequences for Zach Snyder’s ‘Sucker Punch’ and Joe Carnahan’s ‘A-Team.’   

For more info; www.moving-picture.com

About Pixelux Entertainment
“DMM™” is Pixelux’s proprietary deformation and fracture system. It is designed to allow the easy creation of photo realistic CG Destruction and Deformation Visual Effects based on the Finite Element Modeling of Material Physics. The DMM Production Pipeline is available in Library, Command Line and Plug-In (Max and Maya) form for 64-bit Linux, Windows 32 and 64-bit (XP, Vista, and 7) as well as OS X .  DMM can easily be adapted into Custom Production Pipelines.

Pixelux Entertainment was founded in October 2003 with the mission of automating art asset production through physical simulation. Pixelux is a member of the Autodesk Developer Network.

For further information about Pixelux Entertainment and DMM, please visit http://www.pixelux.com or contact Pixelux at info@pixelux.com