At last ! the voice of the big guys !
Thank you ! thank you !
Le 10/03/2014 11:20, Alastair Hearsum a écrit :
Folks
Dan Y and other folks, I hope this comes across as firm but
reasonable. I will post it on other appropriate sites. Any ideas on
that front?
*
An open letter to Autodesk.
Dear Autodesk
My name is Alastair Hearsum. I'm a founding partner, director and head
of 3d at Glassworks. If you haven't heard of us, we are a small to
midsized company which has been creating VFX and animation for TV
commercials for markets around the world, for the past 20 years. We
have branches in London, Amsterdam and Barcelona. We create innovative
and multi award winning work and we use Softimage.
Your announcement that you are retiring Softimage has left us
saddened, disappointed and not a little angry. The anger for two
reasons; that you have shot the racehorse of the 3d software world in
the head in its prime but also that you didn't consult with us about
this assassination or discuss any of your plans for the future with
us. We have no idea what the future from you holds. We are big and
longstanding users of other Autodesk products as well as Softimage.
The puzzling thing is, technologically speaking, there was no writing
on the wall as there was with Henry and Flame, for example, or these
days with Flame and Nuke.
We have been punching above our weight, in London, for the past 20
years competing well with the much larger organisations of MPC,
Framestore and The Mill. One of the reasons we have been able to do
that, apart from the deep talent of our crew is, I believe, because of
the software that we chose. I'm nearly 150 years old now but I still
sit at the computer making pictures for TV commercials to the same
arduous schedule that I always have. So I know what I'm talking about.
For a period a few years back we had a 50/50 split of Maya and
Softimage. We chose to go 100% Softimage. Its better for the work that
we do and the sector we are in. Its no coincidence that all the
finalists in the recent British Animation Awards (tv commercials) did
their work in Softimage. Similarly, both silver and gold award winners
in the 3d animation category at this year's British Television
Advertising Craft awards were Softimage companies.
You may well go on to list major work that's been done in Maya. Sure
there has, and great work too. But Maya is used as a shell in the
major film effect companies. It is heavily customised and
unrecognisable as the product you ship. We have our proprietary
software and tailored workflow as well, but Softimage remains pretty
much untouched. It is lean, efficient, and the ICE environment is
innovative and empowering.
So you've done it. What's next? Like I said we have had vague
information about what the future holds. We hear rumours about
bi-frost and that's about it. From what I understand from various
sources there are no plans to replicate the efficient workflow and
full ice functionality that made us so productive. You have offered
free transitionary licenses of Maya with the threat of having to
discontinue using Softimage in 2 years time.
The final thought is not just about what software is best for our
future but also about what sort of software supply company we want to
get into bed with. The attributes that come top of my list: listening
to customers, acting on their recommendations, speedy development,
innovation. Now does that sound like you?
Alastair Hearsum
Glassworks.*
--
Alastair Hearsum
Head of 3d
GLASSWORKS
33/34 Great Pulteney Street
London
W1F 9NP
+44 (0)20 7434 1182
glassworks.co.uk <http://www.glassworks.co.uk/>
Glassworks Terms and Conditions of Sale can be found at glassworks.co.uk
(Company registered in England with number 04759979. Registered office
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