Avid Announces Spin-Off of Two of its High-End 2-D IRIX-based Products.LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 10, 1999-- Avid(R) Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ NASDAQ in full National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations U.S. market for over-the-counter securities. Established in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD), NASDAQ is an automated quotation system that reports on :AVID) today announced at SIGGRAPH (Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics, www.siggraph.org) The arm of the ACM that specializes in computer graphics and interactive techniques. Providing publications, workshops and conferences, it has served technicians and researchers as well as the artist and business community 99 its intent to spin-off The situation that arises when a parent corporation organizes a subsidiary corporation, to which it transfers a portion of its assets in exchange for all of the subsidiary's capital stock, which is subsequently transferred to the parent corporation's shareholders. two of its IRIX-based graphics and effects software products, Media Illusion(tm) and Matador matador In bullfighting, the principal performer, who works the capes and attempts to dispatch the bull with a sword thrust between the shoulder blades. Most of the techniques used by modern matadors were established in the 1910s by Juan Belmonte (b. 1894–d. (tm), to a newly-formed independent company. Called Blue Software Ltd., the new company will be based in London, and will take on responsibility for developing, marketing, distributing, and providing support for these high-end 2-D graphics products. Avid will retain a minority investment stake in Blue Software. This spin-off will result in the creation of a dedicated and responsive organization ideally suited to serving the needs of Media Illusion and Matador customers in the film effects and high-end 2-D markets. Patrick Dumas, Vice President of Worldwide Product Marketing at Avid, explained the rationale behind this move: "High-end 2-D effects and compositing systems running on SGI (SGI, Sunnyvale, CA, www.sgi.com) A manufacturer of workstations and servers, founded in 1982 by Jim Clark. The company was founded as Silicon Graphics, Inc., but changed to its acronym in 1999. workstations have to date been a niche market A niche market also known as a target market is a focused, targetable portion (subset) of a market sector. By definition, then, a business that focuses on a niche market is addressing a need for a product or service that is not being addressed by mainstream providers. for Avid. Blue Software will have the dedicated resources to ensure a very responsive relationship with customers in the high-end 2-D effects market. We plan to hold a minority investment in the new venture and will be working with Blue Software to facilitate the interoperability between the Media Illusion and Matador systems and Avid's editing, 3-D and effects products." Former managers and developers from Avid Technology "Avid" redirects here. For the "Advancement Via Individual Determination" educational program, see AVID. Avid Technology, Inc NASDAQ: AVID is an American company specializing in video and audio production technology; specifically, digital non-linear media editing (NLE) Europe Ltd.'s Graphics and Effects group will initially staff the company, with Simon Cuff cuff (kuf) a small, bandlike structure encircling a part or object. musculotendinous cuff one formed by intermingled muscle and tendon fibers. , the former product manager for Matador and Illusion, as the new Chief Executive Officer. The new organization, that is still in the process of being formed, is expected to be up and running by October 1, 1999. "Focusing resources and providing a dedicated organization with a clear mission we will be able to provide exceptional service to Media Illusion and Matador customers. Blue Software is well positioned to respond quickly to the very specific needs and demands of this market and we'll be able to develop a close working relationship with its customer base," commented Simon Cuff. Avid expects to release Media Illusion version 6.0 effects compositing system as scheduled in September 1999 and will continue to fulfill technical support obligations for Media Illusion and Matador until the new company is running smoothly, at which point they will transition over. About Media Illusion and Matador Media Illusion is a powerful resolution independent compositing and effects system used in feature film, broadcast design and video post-production. Based on a highly interactive process tree, Media Illusion, gives digital artists and compositors total and unlimited creative control. Matador is a resolution independent 2-D paint and animation system used extensively for rotoscoping Creating animated characters by tracing an action movie with real actors frame by frame. Performed via the computer today, rotoscoping was originally accomplished in the early 1900s by projecting each movie frame onto a frosted glass easel, from which the illustrator traced and redrew the , digital matte painting Matte paintings are used to create "virtual sets" and "digital backlots". They can be used to create entire new sets, or to extend portions of an existing set. Traditional matte painting is done optically, by painting on top of a piece of glass to be composited with the original , animation and broadcast design. About Avid Technology, Inc. Avid Technology, Inc., of which Softimage Co. is a subsidiary, is an international, industry-leading provider of digital audio and video tools for information and entertainment applications. Avid's products are used by a variety of customers worldwide including film, television and interactive content producers, TV news broadcasters, corporate communicators and consumers. For more information, visit Avid's Web site at www.avid.com or the Softimage site at www.softimage.com (c) 1999 Avid Technology, Inc. All rights reserved. Product specifications subject to change without notice. Avid and Softimage are registered trademarks and Matador and Media Illusion are trademarks of Avid Technology, Inc., or its subsidiaries or divisions. All other trademarks contained herein are the property of their respective owners. |
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