Discreet Inks Large Desktop Software Sale to Educational Sector.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 27, 2003

The Art Institutes Purchases 4,000 Licenses to Prepare

Students for Increased Industry Demand for Discreet

Software Artists and Operators

Discreet, a division of Autodesk, Inc. (Nasdaq:ADSK), today announced one of its largest desktop software sales to date with long-time partner The Art Institutes, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Education Management Corporation. The Art Institutes will incorporate more than 4,000 licenses of Discreet's award-winning 3ds max(R) and character studio(R) animation software, combustion(R) 3D compositing and visual effects software, and cleaner(TM) encoding and media mastering software. The software licenses will be distributed among 26 Art Institute locations in the United States and Canada. Offering innovative curriculum in digital design, animation, visual effects and motion graphics, The Art Institutes will train students and fill the growing need for Discreet software artists and operators in 3D, compositing visual effects and encoding.

The latest purchase marks a continuation of the strategic, decade-long relationship between Discreet/Autodesk and The Art Institutes, which last autumn purchased more than 2,000 Discreet licenses. Part of the latest Art Institutes sale is composed of Discreet "Superpacks" -- a specially priced product bundle for PCs that includes 3ds max, character studio, combustion and cleaner XL -- and more than 1,000 licenses of Autodesk Comprehensive Educational Solutions (ACES) for the study of architectural design.

"As a premier educator of students in the applied arts, our mission is to prepare students for real life," said David J. Pauldine, president, The Art Institutes. "We best fulfill that mission by training our students on the most current tools in their chosen fields. For the past ten years, we have worked closely with Discreet to ensure that our students have hands-on experience on the industry standard design and animation tools they will use in an entry-level position."

With a dedicated educational channel, special educational pricing and programs like Superpack, Discreet continues its commitment to placing 3D, visual effects, and digital design tools in the hands of aspiring artists and designers. The Art Institutes award underscores the value of the Discreet solution set, and the desire for students to become future Discreet artists.

"3ds max totally rocks! It has awesome polytools, a cool rigging set-up and an easy, open material editor," stated Adam Perin, media arts and animation student from The Art Institute of Portland. "It's super intuitive -- I really like how it's easy to model things in this program."

"Given that Discreet has the largest installed base of professional 3D users in the world, and that combustion and cleaner are rapidly becoming the solution of choice in compositing, visual effects and encoding, high-quality education programs, such as those offered by The Art Institutes, are essential to train more aspiring artists and operators on Discreet products," said Paul Lypaczewski, Discreet General Manager and Autodesk Executive Vice President. "The Art Institutes, a leader in creative education, understands the importance of job opportunity for students and faculty alike and we are proud of our long standing partnership."

Discreet 3D, visual effects and encoding solutions, as well as Autodesk ACES solutions, are available to educational institutions and students at special pricing programs. For more information, visit www.discreet.com/education or contact 1-800-869-3504.

About The Art Institutes

The Art Institutes is a system of schools, (www.artinstitutes.edu), with 29 campuses located throughout North America, providing an important source of design, media arts, fashion and culinary professionals. The parent company of The Art Institutes, Education Management Corporation (http://www.edmc.com) is among the largest providers of private post-secondary education in North America, based on student enrollment and revenue, with 46 primary campus locations in 30 cities, and approximately 46,000 students as of fall 2002. EDMC's education institutions offer a broad range of academic programs in the media arts, design, fashion, culinary arts, behavioral sciences, education, business and health sciences fields, culminating in the award of associate's through doctoral degrees. EDMC has provided career-oriented education for 40 years.

About Discreet

Discreet empowers media professionals to realize the visual experience and transform their most evocative and ambitious visions into reality. Discreet's award-winning solutions are designed for digital media creation, management and delivery -- across all disciplines from film and television visual effects, color grading and editing to animation, game development, web/interactive, and design visualization. Discreet is based in Montreal, Quebec and is a division of Autodesk, Inc, the world's leading design and digital media creation, management, and distribution company. Product and corporate information: www.discreet.com.

Discreet is a division of Autodesk, Inc. Discreet, 3ds max, character studio, cleaner and combustion are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Autodesk, Inc./Autodesk Canada Inc. in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names, or trademarks belong to their respective holders. (C) 2003, Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.