Glendale, CA – August 8, 2014 –DreamWorks Animation (Nasdaq: DWA) today announced their contribution to Pixar Animation Studio’s OpenSubdiv project (opensubdiv.org). The contribution refactors the front end of OpenSubdiv, creating a new low-level layer that separates the mathematics of subdivision from OpenSubdiv's existing data structures and providing a simplified and accessible core for the standard. New data structures have been built upon this core to eliminate restrictions on the kinds of meshes that can be processed, significantly accelerating both general CPU processing and GPU pre-processing. The work was undertaken by DreamWorks Animation’s Principal Engineer Barry Fowler, in consultation with Pixar.
Pixar confirms DreamWorks Animation’s contribution will be released in OpenSubdiv 3.0 (expected release later in 2014).
"This is a significant and important contribution to OpenSubdiv," said Dr. Steve May, Chief Technology Officer at Pixar. "Barry Fowler's approach not only improves the front end for easier adoption, but makes the back end faster too by directly facilitating a more efficient compute strategy for GPUs. It's great to get such a fundamental contribution from another animation studio."
"Pixar has taken a bold and positive step toward standardizing surface modelling with the development of OpenSubdiv," said Dr. Lincoln Wallen, Chief Technology Officer at DreamWorks Animation. “We are excited to collaborate with Pixar by sharing our technical expertise in integrating optimizations, modifications, and re-structured code into the standard further benefiting our creative community.”
About DreamWorks Animation
DreamWorks Animation (Nasdaq: DWA) creates high-quality entertainment, including CG animated feature films, television specials and series and live entertainment properties, meant for audiences around the world. The Company has world-class creative talent, a strong and experienced management team and advanced filmmaking technology and techniques. DreamWorks Animation has been named one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” by FORTUNE® Magazine for five consecutive years. In 2013, DreamWorks Animation ranks #12 on the list. All of DreamWorks Animation’s feature films are produced in 3D. The Company has theatrically released a total of 29animated feature films, including the franchise properties of Shrek, Madagascar, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, Puss In Boots, and The Croods.
About OpenSubdiv
OpenSubdiv is a set of open source libraries that implement high-performance subdivision surface (subdiv) evaluation on massively parallel CPU and GPU architectures. The resulting limit surface matches Pixar’s RenderMan to numerical precision. The code embodies decades of research and experience by Pixar, and a more recent and still active collaboration on fast GPU drawing between Microsoft Research, Pixar, and others.
About Pixar Animation Studios
Pixar Animation Studios, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company, is an Academy Award®-winning film studio with world-renowned technical, creative and production capabilities in the art of computer animation. Creator of some of the most successful and beloved animated films of all time, including "Toy Story," "Monsters, Inc.," “Cars,” "The Incredibles," "Ratatouille," "WALL•E," "Up," "Toy Story 3” and “Brave,” the Northern California studio has won 30 Academy Awards® and its films have grossed more than $8.7 billion at the worldwide box office to date. “Inside Out,” Pixar’s fifteenth feature, will be release on June 19, 2015.
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DreamWorks Animation
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