CANADIAN EXECUTIVE JOINS CALARTS BOARD.

Byline: Daily News Staff Writer

Daniel Langlois, founder of Montreal-based Softimage Inc., has been elected to California Institute of the Arts' board of trustees.

Langlois has served as president, chief executive officer and chief technology officer since Softimage's inception in 1986, and he has guided the company to become a leader in the development of advanced digital media creation technology.

In 1994, he was named Canada's Entrepreneur of the Year. This year, with Rejean Gagne and Dominique Bolsvert, he won a Scientific and Engineering Academy Award for the development of ``Actor'' for the Softimage animation system.

Since 1990, many Hollywood films' special effects have been created using Softimage software, including ``Jurassic Park,'' ``The Mask,'' ``Casper,'' ``Twister'' and ``Dragonheart.''

Three years ago, Microsoft acquired Softimage. Langlois remains as president, with headquarters in Montreal.

``Part of my main motivation when I founded Softimage was to create tools that would enable artists to use the most advanced computer technologies to express themselves,'' Langlois said. ``I also wanted to explore the close relationship between art and technology. Despite the different natures of art and technology, advances on the technology side almost always have been associated with new modes of artistic expression.

``Today, the field of computer graphics is more accessible than ever, and therefore a larger number of artists should have access to it. I see it as part of my role to foster a context where students and creative people in general can push the limits of this new technology.''

Before founding Softimage, Langlois studied art for two years in college before transferring to the Universite du Quebec Montreal to study design. There, he used animation as a solution to design problems. He loved the idea of telling stories through motion.

After graduation, he worked for seven years as a film director, animator and designer, both independently and for the National Film Board of Canada. During that time, he became a major contributor to the field of computer graphics, creating, for instance, the first three-dimensional computer animation in the Imax film format. Last year, Langlois founded the Cinema and Multimedia Arts Center of Montreal and the Montreal International Festival of Cinema and New Media, of which he is president and chairman of the board. The new complex and film festival are dedicated to the support and diffusion of independent film productions.