Path: utzoo!attcan!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!csd4.csd.uwm.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!suntc!jh34607
From: jh34607@suntc.UUCP (john howell)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: Re: state of the business
Summary: Changed Venue
Message-ID: <115@suntc.UUCP>
Date: 22 Aug 89 12:47:36 GMT
References: <4690@portia.Stanford.EDU>
Organization: Deere & Co. Technical Center, Moline,IL
Lines: 41

In article <4690@portia.Stanford.EDU>, rick@hanauma (Richard Ottolini) writes:
> 
> Is the entertainment computer graphics business increasing, decreasing, or
> reshuffling?  Someone stated that Digital Pictures, one of the first Cray-X
> customers, gave up the ghost some time ago.  Also, I haven't seen many long
> computer generated sequences in films such as TRON or The Last Starfighter
> recently.  Technique is continually improving as evidenced in this year's
> SIGGRAGH clips, so that can't be the problem.  The new RenderMan Companion
> book describes how ILM did Abyss special effects.  Some were so real that I
> thought they were model-based rather than computer generated.  At least the
> special effects people got top billing in the credits.

I'd say that there is very little interest these days in making complete
motion pictures using computer graphics techniques like "TRON" and "The
Last Starfighter".  It just doesn't seem to be economical yet.  On the
other hand the use of some Computer Graphics effects as a small part of
the movie is probably becoming more common.
Examples: "The Abyss", "Willow", "Roger Rabbit", "Witches of EastWick",
etc.

Add to that the computer generated imagery for almost all TV Sports
shows, most TV station logos, and many commercials, and I'd say the
market is expanding.

Some of the problems facing people in the business is the cost of doing
business.  If you got in early, the cost was _very_ high.  You had to
buy some _very_ expensive computer gear and develop all your own
software to render these effects.  Now, you can get into business with
some reasonably priced workstations and commercial software.  What this
means is if you got in early, bought a Cray for $15 million and spent
many man years on software development, it became very difficult to
compete with the "Johnny come Latelies".


========================================================================
John Howell			uucp:		uunet!suntc!jrh
Deere & Company			MCImail:	360-4047
Technical Center		CompuServe:	[76666,2505]
3300 River Drive		FAX:		(309)765-3807
Moline, IL  61265		Voice:		(309)765-3784
========================================================================