Leading post and animation/FX software makers are preparing to display their wares on the massive show floor at NAB2006. The result will be a buffet of new and upgraded systems and software for post practitioners, plus attempts to draw them to booths through a combination of star quality and cutting-edge eye candy.

Based on the information available at Playback’s press time, manufacturers are hoping a mix of new features and more affordable purchasing options – such as a Softimage rental program – will help seal some deals. However, there doesn’t seem to be any widespread price-slashing planned – a strategy famously employed by Alias at NAB2002, when it dropped the price of its Maya Complete package by nearly 75%.

Softimage, the Montreal-based FX/animation division of Avid, will be highlighting its new Softimage|Face Robot facial animation product at this year’s show.

‘Because the human face is made up of many small muscle groups, it’s very hard to animate,’ says Gareth Morgan, Softimage’s senior product manager. ‘Face Robot gets past this problem by applying what we’re calling a ‘jellyfish facial tissue solver’ to a facial mesh. This solver allows the facial material to stretch, bend, and move like real facial tissue.’

New York FX house Spontaneous recently used Face Robot to create a digital version of singer Bono for U2’s Original of the Species music video.

With a price tag of US$95,000, Softimage|Face Robot is a pricey piece of software, which is why shops like Spontaneous can rent it for a three-month period for specific projects, a deal that Softimage will be offering to delegates at NAB2006. Softimage will also be promoting version 5.1 of its flagship XSI software at its NAB location within the Avid booth.

The challenge in previewing companies’ NAB strategies is that many are playing their cards close to the vest right up until the trade show doors swing open at the Las Vegas Convention Center on April 24,

and Avid is no exception. The company has issued a statement promising that it is ‘gearing up with a brand new booth and a series of announcements that are sure to have the industry abuzz.’

Avid was crowing last month about how all the feature films nominated for best picture and best editing at the recent Academy Awards employed Avid systems, and, holding true to past patterns, the firm will likely have some of the involved talent performing demos at its booth. (Editors Dylan Tichenor, who cut Brokeback Mountain, and Hughes Winborne, Oscar-winning editor of Crash, are already confirmed to be at NAB for the NAB Post|Production World Conference.)

Also look for Avid to prominently feature its Symphony Nitris HD editing platform.

The rivalry for show-floor eyeballs intensified last year, with the facing booths of Avid and Apple each attracting huge crowds. Undoubtedly, Apple is succeeding in convincing buyers that its traditionally more affordable Final Cut Pro editing application can now be used for higher-end projects. Calls to Apple about its NAB plans were not returned.

Adobe is also pushing hard to make inroads in the professional post community with its Production Studio package. Various Adobe products will be featured at NAB, both at the company’s booth and in 24 sessions at the NAB post conference (April 21-26).

With eyes on the dominant Avid and Final Cut Pro systems, Adobe hopes that Production Studio’s integration of the nonlinear editing Premiere Pro system and After Effects’ compositing and FX functionality – plus its ability to e-mail PDF files with embedded video clips for client review – will convince the production industry that Adobe’s time has come.

Certainly one of the more interesting questions at this year’s show will be how tech giant Autodesk markets its various post offerings following its January acquisition of Toronto-based software manufacturer Alias, along with its animation/FX systems Maya and MotionBuilder, bringing them under the same banner as the Discreet line of systems, which formerly represented a chief rivalry.

‘Throughout the show, Autodesk will present on its digital media pipeline, 3D portfolio, digital daily workflow for film, and data-centric workflow for TV production,’ Autodesk says in a statement. ‘Customers will also present in the Autodesk booth’s three theatres each day.’

Autodesk will also be unveiling version 8 of its 3ds Max animation/FX package and demonstrating for the first time the interoperability between Maya and the Toxik collaborative digital compositing software aimed at the feature film market. The company is also touting Toxik’s interactive painting system for altering high-resolution, high-dynamic-range imagery.

-With files from Mark Dillon

www.softimage.com

www.avid.com

www.adobe.com

www.autodesk.com