MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA and CAMBRIDGE, UK (May 31, 1995) --Silicon Graphics, Inc. (NYSE: SGI) and Cambridge Animation Systems Limited have announced plans to make Cambridge's Animo 2D software available on the Silicon Graphics platform. Cambridge will work with Silicon Graphics' entertainment subsidiary, Silicon Studio, Inc., to port this software solution. In addition, Silicon Graphics plans to make a minority investment in Cambridge Animation Systems.
"Silicon Graphics and Cambridge share the same vision of providing tools that drive the entertainment industry to a powerful, completely digital space," said Mike Ramsay, president of Silicon Studio. "With this new paradigm, the impact of digital media on content creation will fundamentally change the way entertainment is created."In a separate announcement, DreamWorks has selected Silicon Graphics' and Cambridge Animation's technology as key components of its Digital Studio of the 21st Century. Silicon Studio will work with the DreamWorks technology group to develop a completely digital production studio for creating, storing, managing and retrieving creative content. DreamWorks chose the Cambridge, U.K. company to provide the key cel animation component of its state-of-the-art computer production system named DAD (Digital Animation Dreammachine) and plans to install more than 100 Cambridge Animo 2D software systems to provide digital ink and paint compositing, line testing, camera and effects. Cambridge's Animo 2D software will be powered by a network of Silicon Graphics systems and software which will act as a foundation of the DAD system.
"Silicon Graphics' powerful 3D and compute capabilities combined with the animation techniques and production tools available in Cambridge's software will provide us with a solid foundation for developing our completely digital production studio," said Jeffrey Katzenberg.Formed in 1990, Cambridge Animation Systems Limited is based in Cambridge, England with an office in Hollywood, CA. The company's mission has been to develop creative software solutions for the production of cartoon animation. Cambridge's Animo 2D animation software is used in over 80 animation studios around the world to create animation for feature films, television series, commercials, games and multimedia productions."We are thrilled to be working with Silicon Graphics and DreamWorks to create the future of entertainment," said Peter Florence, joint managing director of Cambridge Animation. "The Silicon Graphics platform is the gold standard for entertainment production. The high-performance capabilities of Silicon Graphics systems will enable DreamWorks to achieve their goal of creating the ultimate feature animation studio."
Dreamworks SKG is an entertainment studio formed in October 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen to create motion pictures; animated films; television programs for network, cable and syndication; a record company; and interactive products.
Silicon Studio, Inc. delivers authoring and production solutions based on Silicon Graphics systems to the entertainment and interactive media industries. The company has headquarters in Mountain View, CA., with a Training Studio in Los Angeles, CA.; and London and Berlin Training Studios opening in 1995. Silicon Studio is a wholly owned subsidiary of Silicon Graphics, Inc.
Silicon Graphics, Inc. is the leading manufacturer of high-performance visual computing systems. The company delivers interactive three-dimensional graphics, digital media and multiprocessing supercomputing technologies to technical, scientific and creative professionals. Its subsidiary, MIPS Technologies, Inc., designs and licenses the industry's leading RISC processor technology for the computer systems and embedded control markets. Silicon Graphics has offices worldwide and headquarters in Mountain View, California.
Silicon Graphics and the Silicon Graphics logo are registered trademarks of Silicon Graphics, Inc. Animo is a trademark of Cambridge Animation Systems Limited.
