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MillimeterBeta Sight: Autodesk Toxik
Apr 10, 2009 12:00 PM, By Christopher Wirth, executive vice president and creative director, Universal Images
Universal Images puts Toxik through its paces.
Universal Images added Autodesk Toxik to its compositing pipeline to complement its stable of Autodesk products. Pictured: Christopher Wirth, executive vice president and creative director, Universal Images.
As executive VP and creative director of Universal Images, I’m responsible for evaluating and purchasing equipment, managing creative teams, hiring and recruiting, new business development, and overseeing every commercial and television project that comes through the company. This position means I’m constantly researching the latest tools and technologies out there that will keep my company competitive.
We made the decision in 2003 to standardize our entire visual-effects, editing, and finishing pipeline on Autodesk tools. We did it with utter confidence that we were adopting a workflow and toolset that would enable us to deliver the best-quality creative work and help grow our business.
Six years later, our company has expanded to a staff of 73, and we’re taking on an increasing number of commercial and entertainment projects. We’ve completed a 2-hour History Channel special called Journey to 10,000 BC, a high-tech graphic novel look at prehistoric America. We’re also in production on eight 1-hour episodes for History Channel miniseries titled Battles BC—a new, intense, and highly stylized visual treatment of the world’s most famous ancient battles. David W. Padrusch directed both groundbreaking projects.
Seamless interoperability with the Autodesk pipeline
About a year ago, we added Autodesk Toxik to our compositing pipeline to complement our stable of six Autodesk Flames, nine Autodesk Smokes, three Autodesk Backdrafts, two seats of Autodesk Maya, 10 seats of Autodesk 3ds Max, and a whole slew of Autodesk Combustions. Of course, Toxik fit into our workflow absolutely seamlessly, and we now push virtually every project at Universal Images through our Toxik system.
We now have a total of five Toxik licenses—three running on Lightbeam Systems Reel Six, running Windows XP Professional x64, and two installed on 3D workstations so our 3D artists can get a quick preview of their work.
As with any new tool, getting up to speed on Toxik wasn’t immediate. In fact, we joked when it was first installed that we all needed Ph.D.s to run it. We were pleasantly surprised, however, that after we got used to the interface, we found Toxik to be incredibly intuitive and were amazed at how much more efficiently we were working in Toxik than with the other compositing software options out there. And if you’re already accustomed to working in a node-based compositing environment or with other Autodesk products, Toxik will feel pleasantly familiar.
Continue the discussion on “Crosstalk” the Millimeter Forum.