Alias/Wavefront Previews Maya Fusion 3 at SIGGRAPH; Flow Layout Capability and New Tool-Caching Architecture Speed Compositing Workflow.

Business Editors, High-Tech Writers

SIGGRAPH 2000

NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 25, 2000

Continuing a successful development with eyeon Software, Alias/Wavefront(TM), an SGI (NYSE:SGI) company, today announced that Maya Fusion 3(TM) software will be previewed at SIGGRAPH(R) 2000.

Visual effects artists, 3D animators and on-line editors creating digital content for film, television and multi-media productions will benefit from dozens of new features and enhancements added to Fusion's(TM) award-winning, multi-threaded architecture. New integrated paint capabilities, more productive workflow, a revolutionary 3D text tool, plus further compatibility with Maya(R) 3 are included in the new release slated for delivery this fall.

With Maya Fusion 3's new features and enhancements, artists will be able to tackle more complex projects. The arduous task of creating seamless composites of CG with live action and stunning visual effects production are more attainable then ever before. For example, non-destructive animateable paintbrush strokes, which drastically reduce the need to jump back and forth between different applications, are available with seamlessly integrated paint capabilities. The new Flow Layout system, with nested grouping capabilities, offers a simplified way to manage intricate combinations of tools and data. The new Text tool introduces true 3D text capabilities with unique per character styling. Additionally, productivity is enhanced with new pre-caching technology, which facilitates task-based workflow within Fusion's existing procedural metaphor.

"As digital content creation becomes a more complex craft, our tools must evolve to continue to empower artists," commented Shai Hinitz, product manager, Maya Imaging for Alias/Wavefront. "Maya Fusion 3 goes beyond just the addition of impressive features like paint and 3D text. It represents a unique synergy of procedural and task-based workflows, offering a powerful advantage over systems limited to the layer based approach."

Key Features in Maya Fusion 3

-- Integrated Paint tool -- seamlessly offers non-destructive,

animateable, pressure-sensitive strokes, to paint, roto-scope,

clone, mask, touch-up and brush-on effects into image

sequences. Both uncommitted and overwrite modes are available.

Artists no longer have to switch between compositing and paint

applications to complete shots.

-- Flow Layout system -- enables artists to freely add, insert

and move tools anywhere in the composition space, then select

multiple tools and collapse them into user-defined nested

group nodes. This introduces a simplified and productive way

to manage complex tool arrangements.

-- Text tool -- new tool includes true 3D-character generation

featuring animateable per character fonts, styles,

transformations and path following options. Artists now have

unprecedented control of text for titling and font animation.

-- Tool caching mode -- allows any tool (and upstream

connections) to be interactively pre-processed, cached and

available on-line. This speeds interactivity and real-time

response. Furthermore, cached results can be saved and re-used

directly for final production.

-- Import edit lists -- industry standard EDL formats including

OMF(R) files can now be used to automatically recreate

timelines generated in editing suites. This integration allows

high-resolution auto-conform and also facilitates the addition

of frame accurate transitions, filters and effects into

imported editing projects.

"Maya Fusion 3 has some really fantastic improvements," said Dirk Bialluch, Lead 3D Artist, for Software 2000. "The new Flow Layout is extremely easy to work with. My absolute favorite feature is the new Text tool. Thanks for all that cool new stuff!"

Pricing & Availability

Maya Fusion 3 for Windows NT(R) and Windows(R) 2000 Professional is scheduled to ship this fall and is priced at $5,000 USD. Prices will vary outside of the U.S. For upgrade details and further availability, contact an authorized Alias/Wavefront reseller in your area, or visit www.aliaswavefront.com.

About Alias/Wavefront

Alias/Wavefront provides artists with open workflow solutions for creative advantage. As the world's leading innovator of 2D and 3D graphics technology, Alias/Wavefront develops software for the film and video, games, interactive media, industrial design, and visualization markets.

Alias/Wavefront's film and video customers include Blue Sky, Cinesite, CNN, Digital Domain, Industrial Light & Magic, Pacific Data Images (PDI), Pixar, Sony Pictures Imageworks, The Secret Lab, The Walt Disney Company, and Warner Feature Animation.

Games customers include Acclaim Entertainment, Core Design, Electronic Arts, Factor 5, Kodiak Interactive, LucasArts Entertainment Company, Midway Games, Naughty Dog, Nihilistic, Nintendo, Rare Ltd., Retro Studios, Sega, Single Trac, Sony Computer Entertainment, Square, Timeline Studios, Valkyrie Studios, Relic Entertainment and Westwood Studios.

Alias/Wavefront is a wholly owned, independent software company of SGI(TM) with headquarters in Toronto and technical centers in Seattle and Santa Barbara. Please visit the Alias/Wavefront web site at www.aliaswavefront.com or call 1-800-447-2542 in North America. Readers in Europe can call [phone] or 800 791 174 in Italy; [phone] in the Middle East and Africa; 8 1 3 3470 8282 in Asia-Pacific; and 525 203 0030 in Latin America for the nearest sales office or authorized reseller in their area.

About eyeon Software

eyeon Software prides itself on providing the industry with professional tools and quick responses to user needs. With a background in visual effects and production, the creators at eyeon developed Digital Fusion(R) software in 1988 to meet the increasing demands of post-production work. Maya Fusion 3 joins eyeon's suite of award winning software.

Alias/Wavefront and the Alias/Wavefront logo are trademarks of Alias/Wavefront, a division of Silicon Graphics Limited. SGI is a trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc. Maya is a registered trademark and the Maya logo is a trademark of Silicon Graphics, Inc., exclusively used by Alias/Wavefront, a division of Silicon Graphics Limited.

Fusion is a trademark of eyeon Software, Inc. used under license. Windows and Windows NT are a registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp. Siggraph is registered trademark of The Associate for Computing Machinery, Inc. Digital is a registered trademark of eyeon software, Inc. OMF is a registered trademark of Avid Technology, Inc. All products or companies mentioned are trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. Alias/Wavefront, 210 King Street East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, M5A 1J7, Tel: [phone], FAX: [phone].

NOTE TO EDITORS: Throughout this release the vertical bar symbol in the company name Alias/Wavefront has been changed to a "/", since the vertical bar causes transmission problems on many systems.