Carrera Alpha-Based Systems Used to Render More Than 800 Shots for "Casper Meets Wendy"
LAGUNA HILLS, Calif., July 8, 1998
Twenty animators at Pixel Magic, a division of post production and digital effects house
OCS/Freeze Frame, have begun post production on "Casper Meets Wendy" using 25
Carrera Alpha-based Systems running Lightwave 3D animation software by Newtek Inc. The
made-for-video project
partners Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment, Saban Entertainment and The Harvey Entertainment
Company. The video is a follow-up to the blockbluster home video "Casper, A Spirited Beginning," which was released September '97 and has become a worldwide best-seller. "Casper Meets
Wendy" is a live action and animated movie containing more than 40 minutes of visual
effects work, including the creation of CGI photo-real objects within 38 minutes of 3D
character animation. The video is scheduled for release in Fall '98.Carrera provided OCS its rack-mounted rendering farm consisting of eight 500MHz 21164 Alphas, each with 512MB RAM. Animators worked in shifts at 16 Alpha-based Carrera Cobra workstations, each running NT 4.0 and using a minimum of 256MB RAM, with some having as much as 512MB RAM. Carrera also installed four Intel-based compositing systems. Carrera's solutions can be customized for a variety of demanding applications. Most systems, however, are designed around the 21164 Alpha microprocessor, the most powerful microprocessors in the world. Standard Cobra systems offer more than 1GB/sec memory bandwidth, 12-speed CD-ROM, a 64-bit PCI accelerator with 2MB RAM, and 2GB disk capacity. Depending on configuration, prices start at $4,995. Founded as a traditional film optical house named Optical Cinema Services (OCS) by Ray McIntyre Sr. in 1985, OCS/Freeze Frame/Pixel Magic has now become one of the leading digital effects facilities in L.A. for feature film and television. The facility's credits include, "Casper, A Spirited Beginning," "Independence Day," "Jungle 2 Jungle," "Eraser," and "Wild America." In 1996 Raymond McIntyre Jr. and Dave Fiske received an Emmy nomination for their work on HBO's acclaimed "Tuskeegee Airmen." Carrera Computers has distinguished itself, most notably among computer graphics artists, as a company that designs, delivers and services, with unparalleled 24x7 responsiveness, application-specific NT-based workstation solutions. Founded in 1990, Carrera Computers designs, manufactures and services high-powered custom solutions which are installed worldwide for graphics, scientific, engineering and other applications demanding the utmost computer power and speed. Carrera headquarters are at 23181 Verdugo Drive, Bldg.100, Laguna Hills, CA 92653 (800) 576-RISC, www.carrera.com. |
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