LADYDRAGON.COM - AMD Processors Fuel New Dimensions of Creativity in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over

Friday July 25, 2003

AMD Processors Fuel New Dimensions of Creativity in Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over

TroubleMaker Studios and Janimation use AMD processor-based systems to create stunning special effects for all-digital film

AMD (NYSE: AMD) today announced its collaboration with TroubleMaker Studios and Janimation in the digital production of Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over.

This third installment of Robert Rodriguez' highly successful family movie features stereoscopic elements enhanced with 3-D glasses. To achieve the impressive special effects, animators tapped the power of AMD processors with hardware support from BOXX and NVIDIA, as well as software from Microsoft and Softimage.

"TroubleMaker Studios and Janimation harnessed the power of AMD processors to create 3-D effects that keep moviegoers young and old on the edge of their seats," said Marty Seyer, vice president and general manager of AMD's Microprocessor Business Unit. "Today, digital rendering plays a critical role in film production, and AMD processors are providing the power and performance to help make special effects incredibly realistic and improve the overall cinema experience."

"We are particularly pleased with Spy Kids 3-D because we had the resources in place to create brilliant 3-D effects in a very short timeframe," said Alex Toader, TroubleMaker Studios' visual effects artist. "The performance of the AMD processors gave us a boost, and I'm greatly anticipating using an AMD Opteron^TM processor-based 64-bit platform to tackle even more complex rendering tasks and realize Robert Rodriguez' vision for digital cinema."

"We were able to produce 75,000 high-definition frames in only three weeks. The 3-D requirements doubled the normal workload because each frame must be rendered for both the left and right eye," said Greg Punchatz, Janimation's director of animation. "This challenging animation was made a lot easier than we expected, thanks to the powerful AMD processor-based systems. The stability allowed us to focus on the creative details that help make Spy Kids 3-D a stunning visual success."

Hardware Support

"The power delivered by AMD processors continues to enable BOXX's digital content creation customer base to fully utilize the latest software tools available," said Ed Caracappa, director of sales and marketing for BOXX Technologies. "BOXX is now delivering dual AMD Opteron processor-based workstations and render nodes, and fully expects these systems to proliferate the content creation market."

"NVIDIA Quadro professional graphics solutions give studios like TroubleMaker and Janimation the necessary tools for efficient modeling, animation, and a variety of effects processes," said Jeff Brown, director of workstation product management at NVIDIA. "NVIDIA graphics hosted on the AMD64 platform have ushered in a new era of capability for the film production pipeline."

Software Support

"Microsoft® Windows® XP operating system provides the security, reliability and performance movie production studios require to create the rich digital media and special effects audiences will enjoy in Spy Kids 3-D," said Brian Marr, Windows product manager. "There's no limit to the creativity of digital content creators and Microsoft is currently working with AMD to support their efforts by developing a native 64-bit version of Windows for the AMD Opteron and upcoming AMD Athlon 64 processors, which will enable even more efficiency and innovation within the film industry."

"We are proud that Janimation once again used SOFTIMAGE|XSI to create the visual effects for the Spy Kids series," said Alan Waxenberg, business development manager 3rd party and education. "The superior toolset of SOFTIMAGE|XSI combined with the flexibility of Softimage's Processing & Rendering family of products, all powered by AMD processor-based systems, provided Janimation an unbeatable combination for creating complex and imaginative effects in Spy Kids 3."

About AMD

Founded in 1969 and based in Sunnyvale, California, AMD (NYSE: AMD) is a global supplier of integrated circuits for the personal and networked computer and communications markets with manufacturing facilities in the United States, Europe, Japan, and Asia. AMD, a Standard & Poor's 500 company, produces microprocessors, Flash memory devices, and silicon-based solutions for communications and networking applications.