| FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NewTek's LightWave 3D® Powers
Mars Animations
Emmy®-Winning Application
Used to Depict NASA Mars Exploration Rover's
Journey and Landing
San Antonio, Texas --
February 3, 2004 -- NewTek, Inc.,
manufacturer of industry-leading 3D animation
and video products, today announced that LightWave
3D® was used to visualize the journey and
landing of NASA's Mars Exploration Rovers (MER),
Spirit and Opportunity, in animations created
by digital artist Daniel Maas, of Maas Digital,
LLC., under the guidance of Principal Investigator
Prof. Steve Squyres at Cornell University.
LightWave® is also being used by Zareh
Gorjian, a member of technical staff at JPL,
to create new images and animations to illustrate
the current status of the vehicles on the surface
of Mars, including a 3D anaglyph, by combining
Maas' 3D model of a Rover with actual data
received from Spirit. Dr. Eric M. De Jong at
Jet Propulsion Laboratories (JPL) is overseeing
that work.
"We're extremely pleased
that LightWave was chosen as the 3D tool to help
communicate these historic endeavors," said
Dr. Andrew Cross, PhD., Senior Vice President
of Engineering for NewTek, Inc. "LightWave's
wide range of strengths make it shine for uses
as diverse as motion picture special effects
and scientific visualization, and NewTek is committed
to extending that range of strengths with each
new generation of development."
Daniel Maas began work on visualizing
Mars missions for NASA in 1998, using LightWave
in combination with other applications, including
custom plugins for physical simulations that
were not available natively in LightWave at the
time. "Most 3D elements in the video were
modeled, animated, and rendered with LightWave
3D®," said Maas. "Everything in
the video is as accurate as possible to the real
mission. I created an excruciatingly-detailed
digital model of the Mars rovers based on blueprints
from NASA/JPL. The model includes virtually everything
on the real rovers down to every last nut, bolt,
and wire. I created similar models of the Boeing
Delta II rocket that sends the rovers to Mars."
"I like LightWave's speedy
interface and intuitive toolset," Maas concluded. "LightWave's
polygon modeling is excellent, and it handles
very complex scenes without any problems. There
are many useful plugins available for it, and
the renderer is extremely fast."
At NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratories,
3D animator Zareh Gorjian has been using LightWave
3D to create animations and stills to illustrate
missions and concepts for about eight years. "I've
made animations and stills for the Galileo, Mars
Pathfinder, Mars Odyssey and the current MER
(Mars Exploration Rovers) missions in addition
to many other smaller missions and proposals," said
Gorjian. "Most of my animations are space-based,
but I've done a few having to do with water and
underwater scenarios. These days I usually render
my animations at HDTV resolution (1920x1080)
and sometimes in stereo HDTV, suitable for viewing
with liquid crystal stereo glasses."
Videos of the MER mission
animations can be viewed at:
Stills of the MER missions can be viewed
at:
Animation and Image Credit: NASA/JPL/Cornell
Animation generated by Daniel Maas, Maas Digital,
LLC.
Directed by Dr. Stephen Squyres
Additional animations and stills by Zareh Gorjian
Directed by Dr. Eric M. De Jong
Rover and Lander Model by Daniel Maas, Maas Digital,
LLC.
The PBS NOVA special "Mars
Dead or Alive", which includes 6 minutes
of new animation related to the MER missions,
created by Daniel Maas, can be viewed at: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/mars/program.html
Pricing and Availability
LightWave 3D [7.5] is available now for Mac and
Windows platforms for $1595US, and those who
purchase from now until LightWave 3D [8] ships
will receive a free electronic upgrade (on
CDs) to LightWave [8]. Registered owners of
LightWave 3D [7.5] or earlier are eligible
to purchase an upgrade to LightWave [8] for
$495US. Also available through the date that
LightWave [8] ships, purchases of full seats
or upgrades will include DFX+, a $995 value,
Module 1 - Visual Effects, a $495 value, and
Module 4 - 3D Tools, a $295 value, at no additional
charge. Purchasers who would prefer to receive
upgrades in full package form with manual in
printed rather than in electronic form will
be able to purchase a Convenience Upgrade option
for $99, directly from NewTek. For more information
on the items offered and to purchase direct
from NewTek, visit: http://www.newtek.com or
call NewTek Sales at 1-800-368-5441, overseas
callers dial +1-210-370-8000.
About NewTek
With headquarters in San Antonio, Texas, NewTek
is a leading provider of full-featured video
editing, animation and special effects tools
including VT[3]TM, and LightWave 3D®, winner
of the 2003 Primetime Emmy® Engineering
Award. NewTek launched the desktop video revolution
in 1990 with the release of the legendary Video
Toaster®. The company's products are used
worldwide on projects ranging from home video
to feature film. Recent television and film
projects using NewTek software include The
Last Samurai, Threat Matrix, Children of Dune,
Firefly, Taken, Smallville, Star Trek: Enterprise,
Star Trek 10: Nemesis, Matrix Reloaded, Collateral
Damage, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen,
Agent Cody Banks, Daredevil, Spy Kids II, We
Were Soldiers, Panic Room, Hart’s War,
Driven, A.I., Oscar®-nominated Jimmy Neutron:
Boy Genius, Final Fantasy, Blackhawk Down,
The Time Machine and Star Trek: The Motion
Picture - Director’s Edition DVD. Recent
game titles include Doom III, Unreal Tournament,
Serious Sam for XBox, Age of Mythology, Civilization
III, Dead to Rights, Baldur's Gate II, EverQuest
and Escape From Monkey Island. Website: http://www.newtek.com.
-- End --
• Video Toaster, LightWave
and LightWave 3D are registered trademarks
of NewTek.
• VT[3], VT[2], VT-Edit, Aura Video Paint, LightWave Express, VT-CG, VT-Vision
VT-Scope, VT-DRR, Tool Shed, Tool Chest, SX-8 and RS-8 are trademarks of NewTek,
Inc.
• All other products or brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered
trademarks of their respective holders.
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