He passed away unexpectedly in France on December 31st, 2008. This happened suddenly and without prior warning, with his wife Nikki by his side. Michael Lancaster, Richard’s good friend and Product Director of The Pixel Farm, says that Nikki “mentioned that he had been on the best of form for the two days prior to his death, laughing, joking – generally everything you would have expected of Richard.”
He is survived by his wife Nikki, a step-son whom he cherished like his own son, and 2 daughters from a previous relationship. Our thoughts go out to all of them and all of Richard’s close friends. He was 43.
Richard Spöhrer’s Life in the Industry
Richard Spöhrer’s training was as an Architect, but he became very interested in computer animation in the early days. With the help of his many friends, including Sadie Groom of Bubble & Squeak PR, fxguide learned a bit more about his life in the industry before The Pixel Farm.
Richard’s interests led him to work on large scale visualisation projects, back when hidden line was considered cool. Working closely with other software developers, Richard wrote and consulted widely on computer graphics and animation before setting up his own company, Hyper-M, offering computer graphic and multimedia services.
Richard next became the second editor of CGI magazine in 1996. The magazine aimed to be the UK alternative to Cinefex, and included news items and glossy feature stories. At this time Richard interviewed many of the world’s leading 3D artists, scoring many front cover images of films from the major US studios that would not normally be released to the press until after the film’s release date.
Richard managed to bring in a team of experienced freelancers who were all specialists in 3DS max, Softimage 3D and Alias Wavefront to write excellent tutorials and tips and tricks. As well as working on the magazine, Richard was a key force in the CGIX exhibitions which took place in Amsterdam and Barcelona. All this provided excellent contacts for a pool of worldwide speakers. ” He also managed to prop up the ever stressed events team i.e. Jane Stewart and I, with his great knowledge and sense of humour” recalls long time friend Sadie Groom.
With the launch of Sumatra closing in, Richard Spöhrer joined Softimage to run its international division. One day in early 2000, the Softimage team in Montreal came to the realization that the Sumatra name couldn’t be used officially for the product and they would have to find something else and pretty quickly as they were launching in about six weeks time. Brain storming for a new name became key and with a burst of inspiration from games codes, Richard said “how about XSI?”. And that was that…as they say.
Richard was very much a public figure at the XSI launch and its subsequent tour around every major city in the world. As Product Director of SOFTIMAGE|XSI, he would do all the customer meetings and launch presentations, jumping on stage at any time to take part in the press events and meetings – all whilst wearing one of his famous Hawaiian shirts.
Once the launch was over, Richard worked introducing and evangelising XSI to the many potential customers in the territories he covered. This included Manchester, in the United Kingdom, where he found Michael Lancaster working at a development company making F1 games. It wasn’t long before Richard persuaded Michael Lancaster to join Softimage and form a central team with Nikki Bridgman, James Rogers and Steve Read – “who all worked extremely hard with Richard to spread the XSI word” they recall.
After being approached at a UK trade show, Richard Spöhrer became Managing Director of Orad Hi-Tec Systems, a company which developed virtual studios. He set the company up in picturesque Kew, where he spent most of his time with a breed of people new to him: namely broadcasters . As was his nature he quickly managed to make friends with them all. In addition to simply working on sales, he enjoyed working with the development teams using his 3D and graphics knowledge.
Over the years, Richard Spöhrer and Michael Lancaster had many conversations about effects problems they knew they could solve with a product they could develop. Thus, The Pixel Farm was born. Working very closely with the Manchester Uni team of Simon Gibson and Jon Cook they not only created the landmark product but also some of the industry’s best t-shirts! “Richard once admitted: I am just going to sell t-shirts at NAB — we would make much more money!”, recalls Groom.
The Pixel Farm’s first show was IBC and having driven over from the UK with a van load of cider in a milk urn and cow t-shirts, they started informing everyone about The Pixel Farm and everyone wanted to hear. Further trade shows involved such things as a massive wooden cow , “they always stored the press kits in the bottom which I had to retrieve” recalls Groom – and even more t-shirts, including a favourite with the cow replacing the little girl in the BBC test card.
Looking ahead
One question that will invariably now come up is whether The Pixel Farm will be continuing on as before. We asked Michael Lancaster this directly and his reply? In a word: “Absolutely!” He responded explaining that while Richard Spöhrer was very much the public face of the The Pixel Farm,” there is a great team still in place and the company is still very strong. While I in no way would ever take anything away from Richard and his contribution to the company, as you know, The Pixel Farm is a small and focused team of people whom have all had their hand in the development of the products and sales channel, and all contribute to the character of this company,” he explained. “As a company we have a lost a colourful and larger than life character who envangelised our business, a true ambassador to both The Pixel Farm and the effects industry in which we all work.”
Tributes
imgcapright(09Jan/richard/fxgtv.jpg,Richard at Siggraph with one of the famous blue Pixel Farm shirts) The three founders of fxguide -,Jeff, Mike and myself , have always enjoyed getting together with Richard to discuss what was new from The Pixel Farm. He was just one of those people you meet and instantly get a good vibe from, and his enthusiasm for what they were doing at the Farm was clearly obvious. He will be sadly and greatly missed.
Richard, Michael, and all the other folks at The Pixel Farm have been incredibly generous to us, helping us in the early days of fxphd with getting our camera tracking/PFTrack curriculum up and running. Of course, they knew us from fxguide.com, but Richard was still taking a chance getting involved with a new type of vfx training company such as ours. Our successful courses taught by Victor Wolansky really help set the standard for our offerings. I remember several times forgetting to update the license for PFTrack on our fxphd VPN server and having it expire. A quick email off to the UK and in the middle of night Richard would quickly generate me a new license — the middle of his night, not mine.
We asked several of our contacts in the industry who worked with Richard to provide us their thoughts. If you would like to share your own, feel free to post url(/forums/showthread.php?t=6660,in the thread) in our forums.
“Always ready to help, nights, weekends, it does not matter when, he was always ready. He was very king and generous, thanks to his generosity a lot of people was able to get a proper training in 3D tracking.”
Victor Wolansky, Artist/ fxphd 3D Tracking Professor
“Having Richard over here in India, the one thing I immediately noticed was his ability to blend into things so quickly, he never made anyone feel he was not unconfortable, enjoy whatever he ate
or wherever he stayed. In fact he used to tell me he genuinely enjoyed India everytime he came here and proved that by getting his family over for a new year holiday in Kerala.
He was also the kind of person who was always willing to take a problem head on by himself and show a solution for the same quite quickly with his skills. Anyone who has met Richard in the studios here remember him very fondly and just cannot believe that he is no longer there. Its a huge loss for the community and I hope his family gets strength knowing that a lot of people worldwide really loved Richard.”
Vivek Malhotra , F/X GRAPHICS
“Under Richard’s leadership the Pixel Farm have had a significant impact on post-production technology. He was a good friend to the Foundry and was always great company on the trade show circuit.”
Bill Collis, The Foundry
“RSP relies heavily on pfTrack as part of our arsenal and we are very saddened to hear of the passing of Richard. He was a hugely important part of the visual effects community.”
Ian Cope, Rising Sun Pictures
“Customers, the press and his colleagues all loved working with Richard – there was never a dull moment and his kindness would stretch for miles for a friend which I was very lucky to be. Without him there would be no Bubble & Squeak, I wouldn’t have crashed the REM aftershow party and asked Michael Stipe for a light and I wouldn’t have worn a t-shirt with a large blue cow on it. Richard was a legend and will be greatly missed.”
Sadie Groom, Managing Director, Bubble & Squeak PR
“Richard was a very clever man, but above all he was a good friend to a lot of people. I am so going to miss seeing him at trade shows, and just having him about… I know a lot of other people will feel the same. He will be missed.”
Vikki Hamilton, The Foundry
“Richard was a beautiful soul, and probably the most positive person I’ve ever met. His energy and contagious smile could light up a room. His is a great loss for our entire community…Richard’s warmth, wit, and presence shall be very much missed, and will never be forgotten.”
Dan Kraus
“I worked with Richard at Softimage based in Avid’s office at Pinewood Studios. The office was corporate and dull but Richard’s arrival each day lit the place up. He was always enthusiastic, irrervant and fun. You always knew that lots would be achieved with numerous humours interludes to keep everyone going. Our paths didn’t cross often after our time together at Softimage but I did meet Richard at various tradeshows over the last few years. It was always a pleasure to see him again and I always felt like we were still working together. Richard was a very special person and he will be missed by all of us that worked with him.”
Richard Craig-McFeely
“Dealing with Spud Spohrer was only ever fun! What I enjoyed most doing business with Richard was that he just did things!!! While most people dither and miss opportunities whilst they are making their mind up, Richard was the opposite! Spud made quick decisions, almost always the right ones, following his head and his heart. His willingness to follow his beliefs was an inspiration to anyone who worked with him”.
Simon Westland, Blackmagic Design
“My favorite memory with Richard (that I can talk publicly about) was when I first met him. Darren Blencowe and I had just started Voodoo Animation and we went to Riclhard for advice and to see if he could help us. As two young guys who had spent the majority of our time behind a computer screen meeting the great Richard Spohrer was like going to see the Pope. We were both nervous as hell but when he actually came into the room we werent sure it was him. In walks this hilarious young guy who seems just as pleased to meet us as we were to meet him.
Everything was going well until Richard said “Hey who wants to go for SUSHI”. At this point neither I or Darren had ever eaten SUSHI in our lives and the idea of eating raw fish scared the crap out of me. I didnt want to look like a fish and chip eating northern yokel so I said “Yeah sure I love sushi”. When we got to the restaurant I had no idea what to order but I saved myself by asking Richard to order because he knew the place.
When the food arrived I did what any non SUshi eater would do and I started to pour soy sauce directly on it to drown the taste and eat it straight. I had no idea what I was doing. Anyway at the end of the meeting Richard said the following “I like you John, anyone who would pretend to like raw fish to make a contact is alright in my book”, he had obviously rumbled me. When I asked him when he realised he said it was in the office when my mouth said “I love sushi” and my face said “oh shit”. This was the beginning of my friendship with the great Richard Spohrer.
John Attard
“Richard, Or Spud as we liked to call him, will be very sadly missed. Not only as a genuinely good bloke and friend to all, but also as the jolly, often suntanned man who’d bounce around with a large cow’s head displayed across his chest. My first real experience of working with Richard closely was in 2004 at NAB. Richard and the other boy’s went against the grain by turning up to our booth with a life size wooden cow with cans of beer stuffed up it’s backside. I can honesty say that the world, this industry and friends and family have lost a true Gent and wonderful person. Thanks for the memories.”
Stuart Ashton, Blackmagic Design
“On behalf of his friends and colleagues at The National Film and Television School I would like to
offer
our sincerest condolences to Richard’s family. Like everyone
who knew Richard, this sad news has come as a terrible shock.
During the time I was working
within the software trade show circus, Richard was ever-present – always enthusiastic, dedicated and good-humoured. There is no question that he was one of the good guys and it was always a pleasure chatting to him at numerous trade events.
Over the last two years
Richard and the Pixel Farm team have been tremendous supporters of the National Film and Television School, where he was instrumental in enabling us to incorporate PF applications into our Digital Post Production and SFX/VFX MA courses, so that we could
teach a new generation of visual fx artists essential techniques and skills. We remain indebted to him for his generosity.
Richard was extremely well liked and respected throughout the film and television industry and will be sorely missed.”
John Rowe, Head of Digital Post-Production and SFX/VFX, National Film and Television School
“Richard and I were traveling to China for err work apparently.
From London to somewhere in China-Land connecting through Hong Kong.
We were stuck somewhere at the back of the plane and decided to make the most of the 13 hours by standing in the galley and having a few drinkies.
Naturally we met some splendid people including a chap whose birthday it was.
We ordered champagne and cabaret.
The champers arrived and so we supplied the cabaret.
After 7 hours of this we decided to have a bit of a sit-down.
(Replace the words “we decided” with “were compelled” and “sit-down” with “snore loudly”)
The poor chap stuck in the window seat never had a chance.
We awakened upon landing.
Yay!
We were a tad fragile. Doh!
We were not allowed into the BA lounge for some technical reason, which I imagine was the smell.
So we made our way to the local food court.
There was quite an offering, though all seem to involve innards.
So I ordered chicken soup and Richard meat-ball soup.
I guess it was justice for our double-act on the plane that my soup was actually fragmented chicken wing bones (no meat) which punctured my cheek and Richard’s was actually sheep testicles, which punctured his pride.
My how we laughed and groaned. They were always happy days with Sporelli, though the mornings were often questionable.”
Chinny
“I met Richard when I first joined Softimage around 10 years ago at SIGGRAPH in Los Angeles. I always liked his upbeat attitude and great sense of humor. He was fun to be around. It was nice knowing that my counterpart in London shared my enthusiasm for our industry. We kept in touch after both of us left Softimage and we would see each other at the annual SIGGRAPH Conference. Our mutual friend, Cliff Edson of RFX, would keep me up to date on what Richard was up to and always spoke highly of him.
I remember the last time Richard and I met each other. It was at the Softimage User Party at SIGGRAPH 08 in Los Angeles. The volume at the party was so loud that we had to scream at each other in order to be heard. We both had a big laugh that this was the only way to be understood in this crazy
environment. If you didn’t know that we were friends, a stranger would have thought that we were having an argument. I am sad that this was my last contact with Richard. We said goodbye and I remember he had this great infectious smile. I am lucky to have known him. I will miss him.”
Bob Shafron
Donations
On behalf of Nikki, Richards wife, is that these two charities are publicized for their great work, they were charities that were close to both RIchard and Nikki’s hearts as they had personal involvement with both. Nikki has requested that donations be sent to either of these charities, rather then people send flowers.
Kanjanji Children’s Village
Richard and Nikki often talked about taking time out to try to do something worthwhile in the third world. Richard was incredibly practical being a skilled craftsman and would have loved to be able to pass on his skills to people who would derive enormous benefit. They visited Zambia on holiday and were so touched by their experiences decided they wanted to do more. They gave up their jobs as a dentist and pharmacist and moved! They have built an orphanage to help underprivileged, orphaned children by giving them a loving home, food, clothing and an education in order to give them a better chance in life. The web site is url(http://www.kanjanji.com,http://www.kanjanji.com).
Helen and Douglas House
Helen and Douglas House is a registered charity providing respite and end of life care for children and young adults with life shortening conditions, as well as support and friendship for the whole family. The two hospice houses are bright, vibrant and positive places, where the emphasis is on living life to the full, even when that life may be short.
Children and young adults can stay at Helen House, along with their families for short periods of time for rest and recuperation, treatment of distressing symptoms, end of life care and support. The web site is url(http://helenanddouglas.org.uk,http://helenanddouglas.org.uk).