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HOUDINI IN SINGAPORE Side Effects Software Establishes Asia Pacific Headquarters in Singapore SINGAPORE, 12 December 2008 - Singapore’s visual effects industry is set to receive a huge boost with the setting up of Side Effects Asia Pacific to provide and support high-end software technologies. The industry here will have direct access to award-winning Houdini now that Side Effects Software has opened an Asia Pacific Headquarters. Side Effects celebrated this important occasion in collaboration with the High Commission of Canada and the iDA of Singapore in an event designed to coincide with SIGGRAPH Asia. The launch event was a celebration of 3D animation and visual effects and showcased the latest version of Houdini along with the work of industry leaders. Houdini, a two time Academy-Award winner for Technical Achievement, is the leading solution for high-end visual effects and has been used in more than 300 feature films and motion pictures including block-busters Superman Returns, Spider-Man 3, Bolt, Transformers and The Incredible Hulk among others. Houdini is available for Mac OS X, Linux and Windows and offers digital artists an unprecedented level of power, flexibility and control. During the launch event, Senior Production Specialist, David Robert introduced Houdini 9.5 to local and regional artists as well as Houdini users who came to Singapore to participate in SIGGRAPH Asia. Guest speaker, Brett Feeney, Head of Production at Dr. D Studios in Sydney, Australia, spoke about Houdini's role in their feature animation pipeline. Dr. D Studios also used this event to recruit Houdini talent for Happy Feet 2 which is currently in production. Local Houdini user Alvin Yap also spoke about his use of Houdini at Rising Sun Pictures for effects in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. With Side Effects establishing a local presence, Singapore and Asia will be more strongly connected to other Houdini users in high-end animation and visual effects production studios in Hollywood and Europe, as well as other key markets such as Japan, Australia and India. Initially focusing on skills development in the region, Side Effects Asia Pacific plans to create a wealth of new learning and working opportunities for local talent. Developing Houdini skills will prove invaluable to artists interested in careers in feature film and games, as well as visualization and simulation. Side Effects Asia Pacific will work in collaboration with local digital media training institutions as well as the industry to develop and upgrade local skills to align with the high expectations typically found in Hollywood productions. Consistent with this goal, Side Effects will be hosting student and industry interns starting in 2009 in its LA office where they will see first-hand how Hollywood studios achieve such high production standards.
About Side Effects and Side Effects Asia Pacific Established in 1987, Side Effects Software Inc. is a world leader in the development of advanced 3D animation and special effects software for use in film. Side Effects Software leads the field of procedural animation with its unique, award-winning Houdini technology. Houdini is used by numerous digital content creation leaders including: Disney Feature Animation, PSYOP, Framestore, Asylum FX, The Mill, Method Studios, C.O.R.E., Digital Domain, Rhythm and Hues, and Sony Pictures Imageworks among others. Side Effects Asia Pacific, based in Singapore, will work closely with studios and educational institutions in the Asian region to deliver Houdini support and training. Media Contacts:
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