By Jason Veitch
(Apr/May 2006)
James Earl Jones's booming (and highly commercial) voice once uttered the words "Build it and they will come!" Capitalizing on the truth of that mantra, Softimage has released one of the greatest leaps in animation since Michael Jordan went one-on-one with Bugs Bunny in Space Jam. Until now, computer animated characters on the big screen have lacked a certain something named... "realism," or rather, "realistic expression," without which true emotion cannot be conveyed. A subsidiary of Avid Technology, Inc., Softimage is focused on finding the 3-D modeling and animation solutions of the entertainment industry at large. Working with some of the world's leaders in computer animation, Softimage conducted extensive anatomical research to fully understand the gap between current facial animation and where animation needs to be in the future. The goal identified was the creation of believable digital acting through the design of believable facial expression. The resulting software, "Face Robot," eliminates the need for the tedious manual creation of the hundreds of three-dimensional shapes required to form the plethora of facial expressions needed to make a character truly come to life. Gifting the consumer with the tools to demand digital double chins as well as bewilderment and crazed astonishment, the software enables the cinematic visionary to concentrate on the hard-enough task of creating reality in the virtual world! Should silver screen celebrities get nervous about the possibility of becoming a permanent member of the audience? Not just yet. However, with the introduction of Face Robot, the moviegoer's world will be less burdened by the constraints of animated realities, and with today's technology facing obsolescence within minutes of its arrival, boundaries will continue to shift in favor of virtual virtuosos. | 
