Toronto-based Alias|Wavefront has been nominated for a 1999 Academy Award.

The maker of Maya 3D animation software is being considered for a scientific and technical award for its Interactive Photorealistic Rendering technology.

ipr allows for interactive editing of shaders, lights, texturing, and many special effects inside the actual rendered image, says Chris Ford, Alias|Wavefront’s Maya product manager. ipr comes as part of Maya 2.0 and is being refined for the software’s 2.5 upgrade, which is due out this fall.

‘Artists previously often had to wait hours to update each frame. ipr increased the productivity of artists and animators by allowing near instantaneous visual feedback,’ Ford says.

The technology, he says, was originally developed by tdi of France, which was acquired by Wavefront Technologies before it merged with Alias.

Alias|Wavefront software has been used to create visual effects in several major motion pictures, including Armageddon, A Bug’s Life, Contact, Men in Black, The Truman Show and Titanic.

The award is given based on overall achievement rather than use in any particular film.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces such nominations early to avoid any patent infringement issues, says scientific and technical committee chair Richard Edlund, in a statement released by the Academy.

The Academy will present the award on March 4, 2000 in Los Angeles.