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
[image: 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
25 Harley Street, London, W1G 9BR. VAT registration number:
867290000)
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