Second fxguidetv from Siggraph – Massive

massive.jpgThe second SIGGRAPH episode is up – this time we speak to the founder of Massive, Stephen Regelous about massive 3.0 and the windows version of the software. Massive also includes Mental Ray support and new hair and Lanes features. Click special SIGGRAPH box in upper right of this page to view.

Click below for more and to see the Massive’s teams favorite TVC spot !

In the upcoming episodes we talk to Paul Debevec, Rob Bredow (Surf’s Up) and even Syd Mead !
Check back as we are posting episodes twice a day !


Lynx Billions

Our favorite MASSIVE spot and also a major fave in NZ with the boys at Massive software – from the Mill last year in the UK.

Billions was directed by Fredrick Bond for BBH through MJZ. Post by the Mill London, the shot includes taking original photography and matching it to a matte painting 8 times the size, and then 100,000 cg girls were added, the final was comped in Flame. The Mill’s massive team was Rick Walia, Eric Deltour, Daimid Harrison.

SIGGRAPH PRESS NEWS
Massive Software today announced Massive 3.0, a major new upgrade to Massive, the artificial intelligence (AI) driven animation system. Massive 3.0 delivers more power to animators, offering improved dynamics, dynamic hair and fur, lanes, layer simulations and more.

“The release of Massive 3.0 marks a huge milestone for the company. Not only are we delivering a significant upgrade to the software-but releasing it simultaneously on Linux and now Windows delivers what our customers in the animation, visualization, and education community have been eagerly waiting for,” said Diane Holland, CEO, Massive Software.

Massive allows artists to create and direct anything from CG humanoids to birds, animals, cars and more to deliver realistic and emotive virtual performances. Massive ‘agents’ are 3D characters that use sight, sound and touch enabling them to interpret and react autonomously to the world around them. Massive incorporates procedural animation and AI, and is used by animation and effects artists.

New Massive 3.0 Features

Dynamic Hair and Fur – Use texture maps to control all hair parameters. Dynamic guide hairs can be interpolated in a render taking advantage of various details of implementation of the hair shader for either long or short hair.
Lanes – Lay down directional lanes in terrain and set up agents to follow lanes with this new automated feature. Designed to simplify traffic simulations with multiple layers, this feature is ideal for animating cars and streets, boats in a harbor or even groups of people in a building.
Subdivision Surfaces – Interactive viewing of subdivision surfaces on hundreds or thousands of agents is now available in the viewport via a specially developed and highly optimized level of detail algorithm. This feature enables users to build more high fidelity agents with a simplified pipeline.
Simulation Passes – Built-in simulation passes allow the user to set up multiple layers of simulation for such things as performance, dynamics, hair and cloth more quickly and efficiently. This feature saves time, improves workflow and allows for better collaboration between artists.
Improved Dynamics – It’s now possible for agents to seamlessly transition back from dynamics into performing motion captured or keyframed actions. This means that an agent could be violently knocked down to the ground with all the realism of a ‘smart stunts’ dynamic performance, and then get back up to continue the fight.
FBX Support – Easily import and export skeletal data in and out of Massive when using animation packages ranging from Autodesk Maya and Maxon Cinema 4D to Autodesk 3ds Max much more quickly and easily than before.