the package I keep returning to, simply because I can get what I need done fast and it's very straight
forward to get around and create things. It's a pleasure not having to Mickey Mouse around
to get something simple done."
-Emile Smith, Zoic Studios
Babylon 5
Battlestar Galactica - The Series
Dark Angel
Family Guy
Firefly
Lost
Stargate Atlantis
Stargate SG-1
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Star Trek: Enterprise
Star Trek: Voyager
The X-Files
LightWave has often been called "Hollywood's best kept secret" because smart artists and production facilities know that they can rely upon LightWave to get work done. In television production where time and resources are limited, a 3D animation and visual effects solution has to be straightforward and deliver stunning results, on time, every time. The beauty of LightWave is that all aspects of the program from modeling and animation to texturing and lighting, including rendering, can be mastered by a single artist. LightWave does not require a team of programmers to customize the application to make it work in a production pipeline. As a result, LightWave-based production facilities are extremely efficient, artists can move from one element of a project to another, not having to replace specialists. 999 free render nodes per license means an extremely affordable render pipeline and the final rendered images and animation are second to none.
As a result, LightWave is used consistently on Emmy® nominated and winning shows, often in multiple categories in a single year. Teams of artists from LightWave facilities have taken home Emmy Awards eight times in the last nine years for their stellar work in television shows such as: Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, Lost, Firefly, Frank Herbert’s Dune and Children of Dune. The winning trend continues this year with Emmy nominations for LightWave artists working on Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Jericho, Battlestar Galactica and Life After People.
In the production of television commercials, where time and budgets can be even tighter, the benefits of LightWave's value, speed and flexibility really shine. LightWave artists prove time and again that they deliver for their clients on projects from Land Rover's super-widescreen display at the Detroit and Geneva motor shows to the BBC's recent trailer for the Euro 08 soccer competition.
"LightWave is very fast. It's an all-in-one solution, you can do lighting, modeling and even some compositing in the package itself. The renderer is quick and looks very photorealistic. You get a great image really fast."
-Chris Zapara, Visual Effects Artist, EdenFX
Category: Television
Jamie Clark is a artist with a wide range of credits to his name. In addition to his work on the shows CSI, CSI: Miami, Cold Case and Justice, his portfolio also includes a number of box covers for the Need for Speed game series, a documentary for NASA, and the cover of the October 2006 issue of Popular Mechanics. Currently working as a VFX artist at Zoic Studios, Jamie took some time out to talk to us about his experience in the industry and with LightWave 3D producing work for both the small screen and the printed page.
Category: Television
Radical 3D is the VFX house behind the History Channel special Dogfights: The Greatest Air Battles. Utilizing LightWave 3D, Radical 3D produced over 270 FX shots, nearly 45 minutes of original animation for the show, on only four workstations. The animation was of sufficient quality to make some History Channel representatives believe they were viewing actual historical camera footage. With the success of the special, Radical 3D is now working with the History Channel to produce an ongoing series, Dogfight, to begin airing this fall. We recently spoke to Jason McKinley, owner of Radical 3D about his experiences trying to get this new series off the ground.
