a NEW open letter to Autodesk

2014-03-14 Thread adrian wyer
at David Saber's suggestion, i'll start a new thread so it doesn't get lost
in the noise;
 

Autodesk,

 

you probably don't know me, beyond a yearly
subscription payment, so allow me to tell you about myself.

I started in the 3D industry in the 1990s, using Softimage 3D at a small
games company, before that I'd been training myself on a 'demo' copy of 3DS
on Dos.

From day one using Softimage it was obvious the pedigree and artist driven
interface was light-years ahead of anything else I'd seen. When i moved to
the post industry in Soho a few years later, i made sure that, even though i
was working in a Lightwave house, they got me a copy of Softimage. Against a
backdrop of Lightwave evangelists, i consistently produced work faster, and
more elegantly than my peers. (this is purely down to the software, not my
abilities)

For a few years i was a senior artist at the Hive, i was adrift in a sea of
Maya users, but slowly convinced my peers that Softimage (and then XSI, as i
was involved in the beta program) was the better package for quick
turnaround commercial work. Gaining a regular stream of repeat clients,
asking for me by name.

Moving on i went to head up the 3D department at MillTV, producing work well
above the level of the budget, for television documentaries and drama. I
worked on the tests which would convince the BBC to bring Doctor Who back
from the dead.

 

My colleague and friend Dave Throssell, who again, you probably don't know,
but who was responsible for the success of Mill3D and their many award
winning commercials during the 1990s, all produced on Softimage, left the
mill with me, and we started Fluid Pictures in 2006.

The decision to use XSI as our primary application was a no-brainer, the
end-to-end ability of this software, to let an artist hit the ground
running, without fighting the interface, or having to be a programmer,
allowed us to produce work far in excess of the quality that the shrinking
budgets of television should have allowed.

There is LITERALLY NO WAY we could have competed in our market, with a small
team, using ANY other package.

Over the years ICE has become one of the reasons i come to work in the
morning! The challenges presented by our clients become a joy to solve when
i know i can jump into ICE, and figure out some clever way to shave hours or
even days off production time. For us as a company, there really is NO
alternative package, nothing does everything that Softimage does, nothing
comes close.

 

And when i get stuck, i have the Softimage community. 

The mailing list has been my online home since 1999, and i count some of its
members as dear friends, without whom, again, i would have struggled to
compete in the market place. The members are always there with words of
encouragement and advice (and no small amount of ribbing!) the atmosphere is
one of enlightened, grown up camaraderie.

A place where you can ask the simplest, or most complicated of questions,
and someone will usually be there to help you out.

 

Finally, i would like to posit a suggestion, that may be too late, but would
impress upon you to consider;

 

Softimage, with a little love, and a little investment, coupled with better
marketing strategy, could well be your missing effects pipeline. Your
Houdini.

Is there a way for the developers, and the third party guys, to work
together with you, to take Softimage forward, to bridge the gap until
Bifrost is mature, and become your fx software? By all means keep it in the
suites, concentrate mainly on bug fixes, but please, don't kill our baby!

 

a

 

Adrian Wyer
Fluid Pictures
75-77 Margaret St.
London
W1W 8SY 
++44(0) 207 580 0829 


 
blocked::blocked::blocked::blocked::blocked::blocked::mailto:adrian.wyer@fl
uid-pictures.com adrian.w...@fluid-pictures.com

www.fluid-pictures.com
blocked::blocked::blocked::blocked::blocked::blocked::http://www.fluid-pict
ures.com/  

 

Fluid Pictures Limited is registered in England and Wales.
Company number:5657815
VAT number: 872 6893 71

 

 


Re: a NEW open letter to Autodesk

2014-03-14 Thread Alastair Hearsum

Good stuff


Alastair Hearsum
Head of 3d
GLASSWORKS
33/34 Great Pulteney Street
London
W1F 9NP
+44 (0)20 7434 1182
glassworks.co.uk http://www.glassworks.co.uk/
Glassworks Terms and Conditions of Sale can be found at glassworks.co.uk
(Company registered in England with number 04759979. Registered office 
25 Harley Street, London, W1G 9BR. VAT registration number: 86729)

Please consider the environment before you print this email.
DISCLAIMER: This e-mail and attachments are strictly privileged, private 
and confidential and are intended solely for the stated recipient(s). 
Any views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do 
not necessarily represent those of the Company. If you are not the 
intended recipient, be advised that you have received this e-mail in 
error and that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing, or copying 
of this e-mail is strictly prohibited. If this transmission is received 
in error please kindly return it to the sender and delete this message 
from your system.

On 14/03/2014 11:52, adrian wyer wrote:
at David Saber's suggestion, i'll start a new thread so it doesn't get 
lost in the noise;


Autodesk,

you probably don't know me, beyond a yearly subscription payment, so 
allow me to tell you about myself.


I started in the 3D industry in the 1990s, using Softimage 3D at a 
small games company, before that I'd been training myself on a 'demo' 
copy of 3DS on Dos.


From day one using Softimage it was obvious the pedigree and artist 
driven interface was light-years ahead of anything else I'd seen. When 
i moved to the post industry in Soho a few years later, i made sure 
that, even though i was working in a Lightwave house, they got me a 
copy of Softimage. Against a backdrop of Lightwave evangelists, i 
consistently produced work faster, and more elegantly than my peers. 
(this is purely down to the software, not my abilities)


For a few years i was a senior artist at the Hive, i was adrift in a 
sea of Maya users, but slowly convinced my peers that Softimage (and 
then XSI, as i was involved in the beta program) was the better 
package for quick turnaround commercial work. Gaining a regular stream 
of repeat clients, asking for me by name.


Moving on i went to head up the 3D department at MillTV, producing 
work well above the level of the budget, for television documentaries 
and drama. I worked on the tests which would convince the BBC to bring 
Doctor Who back from the dead.


My colleague and friend Dave Throssell, who again, you probably don't 
know, but who was responsible for the success of Mill3D and their many 
award winning commercials during the 1990s, all produced on Softimage, 
left the mill with me, and we started Fluid Pictures in 2006.


The decision to use XSI as our primary application was a no-brainer, 
the end-to-end ability of this software, to let an artist hit the 
ground running, without fighting the interface, or having to be a 
programmer, allowed us to produce work far in excess of the quality 
that the shrinking budgets of television should have allowed.


There is LITERALLY NO WAY we could have competed in our market, with a 
small team, using ANY other package.


Over the years ICE has become one of the reasons i come to work in the 
morning! The challenges presented by our clients become a joy to solve 
when i know i can jump into ICE, and figure out some clever way to 
shave hours or even days off production time. For us as a company, 
there really is NO alternative package, nothing does everything that 
Softimage does, nothing comes close.


And when i get stuck, i have the Softimage community.

The mailing list has been my online home since 1999, and i count some 
of its members as dear friends, without whom, again, i would have 
struggled to compete in the market place. The members are always there 
with words of encouragement and advice (and no small amount of 
ribbing!) the atmosphere is one of enlightened, grown up camaraderie.


A place where you can ask the simplest, or most complicated of 
questions, and someone will usually be there to help you out.


Finally, i would like to posit a suggestion, that may be too late, but 
would impress upon you to consider;


Softimage, with a little love, and a little investment, coupled with 
better marketing strategy, could well be your missing effects 
pipeline. Your Houdini.


Is there a way for the developers, and the third party guys, to work 
together with you, to take Softimage forward, to bridge the gap until 
Bifrost is mature, and become your fx software? By all means keep it 
in the suites, concentrate mainly on bug fixes, but please, don't kill 
our baby!


a

Adrian Wyer
Fluid Pictures
75-77 Margaret St.
London
W1W 8SY
++44(0) 207 580 0829


adrian.w...@fluid-pictures.com 
blocked::blocked::blocked::blocked::blocked::blocked::mailto:adrian.w...@fluid-pictures.com


www.fluid-pictures.com 

Re: a NEW open letter to Autodesk

2014-03-14 Thread Mirko Jankovic
really good one.
just wondering does it ever gets to anyone that has really any decision
power in AD what so ever?


On Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 1:33 PM, Alastair Hearsum
hear...@glassworks.co.ukwrote:

  Good stuff


  Alastair Hearsum
  Head of 3d
 [image: GLASSWORKS]
  33/34 Great Pulteney Street
 London
 W1F 9NP
 +44 (0)20 7434 1182
 glassworks.co.uk http://www.glassworks.co.uk/
  Glassworks Terms and Conditions of Sale can be found at glassworks.co.uk
  (Company registered in England with number 04759979. Registered office 25
 Harley Street, London, W1G 9BR. VAT registration number: 86729)
  Please consider the environment before you print this email.
  DISCLAIMER: This e-mail and attachments are strictly privileged, private
 and confidential and are intended solely for the stated recipient(s). Any
 views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not
 necessarily represent those of the Company. If you are not the intended
 recipient, be advised that you have received this e-mail in error and that
 any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing, or copying of this e-mail is
 strictly prohibited. If this transmission is received in error please
 kindly return it to the sender and delete this message from your system.
  On 14/03/2014 11:52, adrian wyer wrote:

 at David Saber's suggestion, i'll start a new thread so it doesn't get
 lost in the noise;


 Autodesk,



 you probably don't know me, beyond a yearly
 subscription payment, so allow me to tell you about myself.

 I started in the 3D industry in the 1990s, using Softimage 3D at a small
 games company, before that I'd been training myself on a 'demo' copy of 3DS
 on Dos.

 From day one using Softimage it was obvious the pedigree and artist driven
 interface was light-years ahead of anything else I'd seen. When i moved to
 the post industry in Soho a few years later, i made sure that, even
 though i was working in a Lightwave house, they got me a copy of Softimage.
 Against a backdrop of Lightwave evangelists, i consistently produced work
 faster, and more elegantly than my peers. (this is purely down to the
 software, not my abilities)

 For a few years i was a senior artist at the Hive, i was adrift in a seaof
 Maya users, but slowly convinced my peers that Softimage (and then XSI,
 as i was involved in the beta program) was the better package for quick
 turnaround commercial work. Gaining a regular stream of repeat clients,
 asking for me by name.

 Moving on i went to head up the 3D department at MillTV, producing work
 well above the level of the budget, for television documentaries and drama.
 I worked on the tests which would convince the BBC to bring Doctor Who back
 from the dead.



 My colleague and friend Dave Throssell, who again, you probably don't
 know, but who was responsible for the success of Mill3D and their many
 award winning commercials during the 1990s, all produced on Softimage, left
 the mill with me, and we started Fluid Pictures in 2006.

 The decision to use XSI as our primary application was a no-brainer, the
 end-to-end ability of this software, to let an artist hit the ground
 running, without fighting the interface, or having to be a programmer,
 allowed us to produce work far in excess of the quality that the shrinking
 budgets of television should have allowed.

 There is LITERALLY NO WAY we could have competed in our market, with a
 small team, using ANY other package.

 Over the years ICE has become one of the reasons i come to work in the
 morning! The challenges presented by our clients become a joy to solve when
 i know i can jump into ICE, and figure out some clever way to shave hours
 or even days off production time. For us as a company, there really is NO
 alternative package, nothing does everything that Softimage does, nothing
 comes close.



 And when i get stuck, i have the Softimage community.

 The mailing list has been my online home since 1999, and i count some of
 its members as dear friends, without whom, again, i would have struggled to
 compete in the market place. The members are always there with words of
 encouragement and advice (and no small amount of ribbing!) the atmosphere
 is one of enlightened, grown up camaraderie.

 A place where you can ask the simplest, or most complicated of questions,
 and someone will usually be there to help you out.



 Finally, i would like to posit a suggestion, that may be too late, but
 would impress upon you to consider;



 Softimage, with a little love, and a little investment, coupled with
 better marketing strategy, could well be your missing effects pipeline.
 Your Houdini.

 Is there a way for the developers, and the third party guys, to work
 together with you, to take Softimage forward, to bridge the gap until
 Bifrost is mature, and become your fx software? By all means keep it in the
 suites, concentrate mainly on bug fixes, but please, don't kill our baby!



 a



 Adrian Wyer
 Fluid Pictures
 75-77 

Re: a NEW open letter to Autodesk

2014-03-14 Thread Jacob Gonzalez
great stuff.


On Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 12:38 PM, Mirko Jankovic
mirkoj.anima...@gmail.comwrote:

 really good one.
 just wondering does it ever gets to anyone that has really any decision
 power in AD what so ever?


 On Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 1:33 PM, Alastair Hearsum 
 hear...@glassworks.co.uk wrote:

  Good stuff


  Alastair Hearsum
  Head of 3d
 [image: GLASSWORKS]
  33/34 Great Pulteney Street
 London
 W1F 9NP
 +44 (0)20 7434 1182
 glassworks.co.uk http://www.glassworks.co.uk/
  Glassworks Terms and Conditions of Sale can be found at glassworks.co.uk
  (Company registered in England with number 04759979. Registered office
 25 Harley Street, London, W1G 9BR. VAT registration number: 86729)
  Please consider the environment before you print this email.
  DISCLAIMER: This e-mail and attachments are strictly privileged, private
 and confidential and are intended solely for the stated recipient(s). Any
 views or opinions presented are solely those of the author and do not
 necessarily represent those of the Company. If you are not the intended
 recipient, be advised that you have received this e-mail in error and that
 any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing, or copying of this e-mail is
 strictly prohibited. If this transmission is received in error please
 kindly return it to the sender and delete this message from your system.
  On 14/03/2014 11:52, adrian wyer wrote:

 at David Saber's suggestion, i'll start a new thread so it doesn't get
 lost in the noise;


 Autodesk,



 you probably don't know me, beyond a yearly
 subscription payment, so allow me to tell you about myself.

 I started in the 3D industry in the 1990s, using Softimage 3D at a small
 games company, before that I'd been training myself on a 'demo' copy of 3DS
 on Dos.

 From day one using Softimage it was obvious the pedigree and artist
 driven interface was light-years ahead of anything else I'd seen. When i
 moved to the post industry in Soho a few years later, i made sure that,
 even though i was working in a Lightwave house, they got me a copy of
 Softimage. Against a backdrop of Lightwave evangelists, i consistently
 produced work faster, and more elegantly than my peers. (this is purely
 down to the software, not my abilities)

 For a few years i was a senior artist at the Hive, i was adrift in a seaof
 Maya users, but slowly convinced my peers that Softimage (and then XSI,
 as i was involved in the beta program) was the better package for quick
 turnaround commercial work. Gaining a regular stream of repeat clients,
 asking for me by name.

 Moving on i went to head up the 3D department at MillTV, producing work
 well above the level of the budget, for television documentaries and drama.
 I worked on the tests which would convince the BBC to bring Doctor Who back
 from the dead.



 My colleague and friend Dave Throssell, who again, you probably don't
 know, but who was responsible for the success of Mill3D and their many
 award winning commercials during the 1990s, all produced on Softimage, left
 the mill with me, and we started Fluid Pictures in 2006.

 The decision to use XSI as our primary application was a no-brainer, the
 end-to-end ability of this software, to let an artist hit the ground
 running, without fighting the interface, or having to be a programmer,
 allowed us to produce work far in excess of the quality that the shrinking
 budgets of television should have allowed.

 There is LITERALLY NO WAY we could have competed in our market, with a
 small team, using ANY other package.

 Over the years ICE has become one of the reasons i come to work in the
 morning! The challenges presented by our clients become a joy to solve when
 i know i can jump into ICE, and figure out some clever way to shave hours
 or even days off production time. For us as a company, there really is NO
 alternative package, nothing does everything that Softimage does, nothing
 comes close.



 And when i get stuck, i have the Softimage community.

 The mailing list has been my online home since 1999, and i count some of
 its members as dear friends, without whom, again, i would have struggled to
 compete in the market place. The members are always there with words of
 encouragement and advice (and no small amount of ribbing!) the atmosphere
 is one of enlightened, grown up camaraderie.

 A place where you can ask the simplest, or most complicated of questions,
 and someone will usually be there to help you out.



 Finally, i would like to posit a suggestion, that may be too late, but
 would impress upon you to consider;



 Softimage, with a little love, and a little investment, coupled with
 better marketing strategy, could well be your missing effects pipeline.
 Your Houdini.

 Is there a way for the developers, and the third party guys, to work
 together with you, to take Softimage forward, to bridge the gap until
 Bifrost is mature, and become your fx software? By all means keep it in the
 suites, 

Re: a NEW open letter to Autodesk

2014-03-14 Thread Morten Bartholdy
Love it Adrian. I think it would be great if all open letter writers also
posted in the Autodesk Community alongside Alastairs, so they would pile up
visually too, for all to see and not least, Autodesk decision makers. I
have a sneaky feeling the decision makers do not heed all of the advice or
take notice of all info from the AD representatives present here.

Maybe forward all open letters to the main CG forums such as fxGuide and
others, so they could create new noise on the topic.

Morten






Den 14. marts 2014 kl. 12:52 skrev adrian wyer
adrian.w...@fluid-pictures.com:

 at David Saber's suggestion, i'll start a new thread so it doesn't get lost
 in the noise;
 
 
 Autodesk,
 
 
 
 you probably don't know me, beyond a yearly
 subscription payment, so allow me to tell you about myself.
 
 I started in the 3D industry in the 1990s, using Softimage 3D at a small
 games company, before that I'd been training myself on a 'demo' copy of 3DS
 on Dos.
 
 From day one using Softimage it was obvious the pedigree and artist driven
 interface was light-years ahead of anything else I'd seen. When i moved to
 the post industry in Soho a few years later, i made sure that, even though
 i was working in a Lightwave house, they got me a copy of Softimage.
 Against a backdrop of Lightwave evangelists, i consistently produced work
 faster, and more elegantly than my peers. (this is purely down to the
 software, not my abilities)
 
 For a few years i was a senior artist at the Hive, i was adrift in a sea of
 Maya users, but slowly convinced my peers that Softimage (and then XSI, as
 i was involved in the beta program) was the better package for quick
 turnaround commercial work. Gaining a regular stream of repeat clients,
 asking for me by name.
 
 Moving on i went to head up the 3D department at MillTV, producing work
 well above the level of the budget, for television documentaries and drama.
 I worked on the tests which would convince the BBC to bring Doctor Who back
 from the dead.
 
 
 
 My colleague and friend Dave Throssell, who again, you probably don't know,
 but who was responsible for the success of Mill3D and their many award
 winning commercials during the 1990s, all produced on Softimage, left the
 mill with me, and we started Fluid Pictures in 2006.
 
 The decision to use XSI as our primary application was a no-brainer, the
 end-to-end ability of this software, to let an artist hit the ground
 running, without fighting the interface, or having to be a programmer,
 allowed us to produce work far in excess of the quality that the shrinking
 budgets of television should have allowed.
 
 There is LITERALLY NO WAY we could have competed in our market, with a
 small team, using ANY other package.
 
 Over the years ICE has become one of the reasons i come to work in the
 morning! The challenges presented by our clients become a joy to solve when
 i know i can jump into ICE, and figure out some clever way to shave hours
 or even days off production time. For us as a company, there really is NO
 alternative package, nothing does everything that Softimage does, nothing
 comes close.
 
 
 
 And when i get stuck, i have the Softimage community.
 
 The mailing list has been my online home since 1999, and i count some of
 its members as dear friends, without whom, again, i would have struggled to
 compete in the market place. The members are always there with words of
 encouragement and advice (and no small amount of ribbing!) the atmosphere
 is one of enlightened, grown up camaraderie.
 
 A place where you can ask the simplest, or most complicated of questions,
 and someone will usually be there to help you out.
 
 
 
 Finally, i would like to posit a suggestion, that may be too late, but
 would impress upon you to consider;
 
 
 
 Softimage, with a little love, and a little investment, coupled with better
 marketing strategy, could well be your missing effects pipeline. Your
 Houdini.
 
 Is there a way for the developers, and the third party guys, to work
 together with you, to take Softimage forward, to bridge the gap until
 Bifrost is mature, and become your fx software? By all means keep it in the
 suites, concentrate mainly on bug fixes, but please, don't kill our baby!
 
 
 
 a
 
 
 
 Adrian Wyer
 Fluid Pictures
 75-77 Margaret St .
 London
 W1W 8SY
 ++44(0) 207 580 0829
 
 
 adrian.w...@fluid-pictures.com
 blocked::blocked::blocked::blocked::blocked::blocked::mailto:adrian.w...@fluid-pictures.com
 
 www.fluid-pictures.com
 blocked::blocked::blocked::blocked::blocked::blocked::http://www.fluid-pictures.com/
 
 
 
 Fluid Pictures Limited is registered in England and Wales .
 Company number:5657815
 VAT number: 872 6893 71
 
 
 
 


Re: a NEW open letter to Autodesk

2014-03-14 Thread Tenshi Sama
That's what i was thinking.
I don't think everyone at AD is reading this. We need to create noise
everywhere; that's the only way we could reach a lot of users.


On Fri, Mar 14, 2014 at 8:04 AM, Morten Bartholdy x...@colorshopvfx.dkwrote:

   Love it Adrian. I think it would be great if all open letter writers
 also posted in the Autodesk Community alongside Alastairs, so they would
 pile up visually too, for all to see and not least, Autodesk decision
 makers. I have a sneaky feeling the decision makers do not heed all of the
 advice or take notice of all info from the AD representatives present here.



 Maybe forward all open letters to the main CG forums such as fxGuide and
 others, so they could create new noise on the topic.



 Morten










 Den 14. marts 2014 kl. 12:52 skrev adrian wyer 
 adrian.w...@fluid-pictures.com:

   at David Saber's suggestion, i'll start a new thread so it doesn't get
 lost in the noise;


  Autodesk,



  you probably don't know me, beyond a yearly
 subscription payment, so allow me to tell you about myself.

  I started in the 3D industry in the 1990s, using Softimage 3D at a small
 games company, before that I'd been training myself on a 'demo' copy of 3DS
 on Dos.

  From day one using Softimage it was obvious the pedigree and artist
 driven interface was light-years ahead of anything else I'd seen. When i
 moved to the post industry in Soho a few years later, i made sure that,
 even though i was working in a Lightwave house, they got me a copy of
 Softimage. Against a backdrop of Lightwave evangelists, i consistently
 produced work faster, and more elegantly than my peers. (this is purely
 down to the software, not my abilities)

  For a few years i was a senior artist at the Hive, i was adrift in a sea
 of Maya users, but slowly convinced my peers that Softimage (and then XSI,
 as i was involved in the beta program) was the better package for quick
 turnaround commercial work. Gaining a regular stream of repeat clients,
 asking for me by name.

  Moving on i went to head up the 3D department at MillTV, producing work
 well above the level of the budget, for television documentaries and drama.
 I worked on the tests which would convince the BBC to bring Doctor Who back
 from the dead.



  My colleague and friend Dave Throssell, who again, you probably don't
 know, but who was responsible for the success of Mill3D and their many
 award winning commercials during the 1990s, all produced on Softimage, left
 the mill with me, and we started Fluid Pictures in 2006.

  The decision to use XSI as our primary application was a no-brainer, the
 end-to-end ability of this software, to let an artist hit the ground
 running, without fighting the interface, or having to be a programmer,
 allowed us to produce work far in excess of the quality that the shrinking
 budgets of television should have allowed.

  There is LITERALLY NO WAY we could have competed in our market, with a
 small team, using ANY other package.

  Over the years ICE has become one of the reasons i come to work in the
 morning! The challenges presented by our clients become a joy to solve when
 i know i can jump into ICE, and figure out some clever way to shave hours
 or even days off production time. For us as a company, there really is NO
 alternative package, nothing does everything that Softimage does, nothing
 comes close.



  And when i get stuck, i have the Softimage community.

  The mailing list has been my online home since 1999, and i count some of
 its members as dear friends, without whom, again, i would have struggled to
 compete in the market place. The members are always there with words of
 encouragement and advice (and no small amount of ribbing!) the atmosphere
 is one of enlightened, grown up camaraderie.

  A place where you can ask the simplest, or most complicated of
 questions, and someone will usually be there to help you out.



  Finally, i would like to posit a suggestion, that may be too late, but
 would impress upon you to consider;



  Softimage, with a little love, and a little investment, coupled with
 better marketing strategy, could well be your missing effects pipeline.
 Your Houdini.

  Is there a way for the developers, and the third party guys, to work
 together with you, to take Softimage forward, to bridge the gap until
 Bifrost is mature, and become your fx software? By all means keep it in the
 suites, concentrate mainly on bug fixes, but please, don't kill our baby!



  a



  Adrian Wyer
 Fluid Pictures
 75-77 Margaret St .
 London
 W1W 8SY
 ++44(0) 207 580 0829


  adrian.w...@fluid-pictures.com

  www.fluid-pictures.com



  Fluid Pictures Limited is registered in England and Wales .
 Company number:5657815
 VAT number: 872 6893 71









Re: a NEW open letter to Autodesk

2014-03-14 Thread Cristiano Policarpo
+1

Cristiano Policarpo
BaloOm Animation Studios
www.baloom.co
---
PoustEx - CG Animated Short Film
www.poustex.com

On Mar 14, 2014, at 8:52 AM, adrian wyer adrian.w...@fluid-pictures.com 
wrote:

 at David Saber's suggestion, i'll start a new thread so it doesn't get lost 
 in the noise;
  
 Autodesk,
 
  
 
 you probably don't know me, beyond a yearly 
 subscription payment, so allow me to tell you about myself.
 
 I started in the 3D industry in the 1990s, using Softimage 3D at a small 
 games company, before that I'd been  training myself on a 'demo' copy of 3DS 
 on Dos.
 
 From day one using Softimage it was obvious the pedigree and artist driven 
 interface was light-years ahead of anything else I'd seen. When i moved to 
 the post industry in Soho a few years later, i made sure that, even though i 
 was working in a Lightwave house, they got me a copy of Softimage. Against a 
 backdrop of Lightwave evangelists, i consistently produced work faster, and 
 more elegantly than my peers. (this is purely down to the software, not my 
 abilities)
 
 For a few years i was a senior artist at the Hive, i was adrift in a sea of 
 Maya users, but slowly convinced my peers that Softimage (and then XSI, as i 
 was involved in the beta program) was the better package for quick turnaround 
 commercial work. Gaining a regular stream of repeat clients, asking for me by 
 name.
 
 Moving on i went to head up the 3D department at MillTV, producing work well 
 above the level of the budget, for television documentaries and drama. I 
 worked on the tests which would convince the BBC to bring Doctor Who back 
 from the dead.
 
  
 
 My colleague and friend Dave Throssell, who again, you probably don't know, 
 but who was responsible for the success of Mill3D and their many award 
 winning commercials during the 1990s, all produced on Softimage, left the 
 mill with me, and we started Fluid Pictures in 2006.
 
 The decision to use XSI as our primary application was a no-brainer, the 
 end-to-end ability of this software, to let an artist hit the ground running, 
 without fighting the interface, or having to be a programmer, allowed us to 
 produce work far in excess of the quality that the shrinking budgets of 
 television should have allowed.
 
 There is LITERALLY NO WAY we could have competed in our market, with a small 
 team, using ANY other package.
 
 Over the years ICE has become one of the reasons i come to work in the 
 morning! The challenges presented by our clients become a joy to solve when i 
 know i can jump into ICE, and figure out some clever way to shave hours or 
 even days off production time. For us as a company, there really is NO 
 alternative package, nothing does everything that Softimage does, nothing 
 comes close.
 
  
 
 And when i get stuck, i have the Softimage community.
 
 The mailing list has been my online home since 1999, and i count some of its 
 members as dear friends, without whom, again, i would have struggled to 
 compete in the market place. The members are always there with words of 
 encouragement and advice (and no small amount of ribbing!) the atmosphere is 
 one of enlightened, grown up camaraderie.
 
 A place where you can ask the simplest, or most complicated of questions, and 
 someone will usually be there to help you out.
 
  
 
 Finally, i would like to posit a suggestion, that may be too late, but would 
 impress upon you to consider;
 
  
 
 Softimage, with a little love, and a little investment, coupled with better 
 marketing strategy, could well be your  missing effects pipeline. Your 
 Houdini.
 
 Is there a way for the developers, and the third party guys, to work together 
 with you, to take Softimage forward, to bridge the gap until Bifrost is 
 mature, and become your fx software? By all means keep it in the suites, 
 concentrate mainly on bug fixes, but please, don't kill our baby!
 
  
 
 a
 
  
 
 Adrian Wyer
 Fluid Pictures
 75-77 Margaret St.
 London
 W1W 8SY 
 ++44(0) 207 580 0829
 
 
 adrian.w...@fluid-pictures.com
 
 www.fluid-pictures.com
 
  
 
 Fluid Pictures Limited is registered in England and Wales.
 Company number:5657815
 VAT number: 872 6893 71