NewTek Launches “Next Dimension Training Tour”

Tour Brings the Best in LightWave 3D® Training to 26 Cities in North America and Hawaii

San Antonio, Texas -- September 5, 2002 -- NewTek, Inc., manufacturer of industry-leading 3D animation and video products, in association with LearnLightWave®.com, today announced the NewTek Next Dimension Training Tour – a series of affordable two-day training seminars on 3D animation, visual effects and graphic design. Tour seminars are to be held in cities across North America and in Hawaii this fall and winter. The lecture-style training, which is being co-sponsored by companies such as plug-in developers Worley Laboratories and Dynamic Realities, is priced at only $199 for the two-day seminar. Class instructors will vary from location to location, but will include Keyframe Magazine editor Lee Stranahan, FX Academy Distance Learning director Larry Shultz, and former Disney Institute instructor Graham Toms. Complete information and signup instructions are available on the NewTek.com website.

“Training unlocks the power of LightWave 3D® for all users,” said Jim Plant, CEO and president of NewTek. “As part of NewTek’s ongoing commitment to helping people learn to get more from our products, we’re pleased to bring affordable classroom training with the best instructors to people across the continent and in Hawaii.”

LightWave® users from beginner to expert will find the two-day class full of useful tips and detailed techniques on topics such as modeling tricks, creating environments, motion graphics, and character animation. Tour participants will also receive written training materials, as well as a DVD, and a content CD loaded with instructional materials, extra software, cool videos and informative interviews with some of the top LightWave® users in the world, so that the learning goes on long after the seminars are over.

“These classes will teach you a faster workflow and take quite a bit of mystery out of certain functions such as gradients, expressions, precision lighting and more,” said Darrell Wright of DigitalVideØ in Colorado Springs, CO, after recently attending a class by the tour instructors. “I recommend the courses even if you are an advanced user. We even went into multi-layer compositing work, and I thought I knew a lot, but with their excellent instruction it only gets better. You'll learn HyperVoxels, Motion Designer, ParticleFX, and best of all the training is truly affordable. Get it while you can get a seat!”

Pricing and Availability:
The NewTek Next Dimension Tour two-day training is priced at $199. For complete information and to sign up now, see http://www.newtek.com/nextdimension (NewTek’s tour page will link to LearnLightWave®.com for registration). The NewTek Next Generation Training tour is being held in conjunction with the NewTek VT[2] Showcase Tour. Each stop on the Tour also will also include a free NewTek VT[2] Showcase Event on the first evening of the stop where attendees can learn about the exciting NewTek product line, including VT[2] and LightWave® [7.5].

Tour Co-Sponsors
Worley Laboratories is dedicated to producing advanced software for 3D rendering, and has developed plug-ins such as Sasquatch, a hair and fur rendering system for LightWave®, and the new G2 plug-in which adds amazing new control to lighting and rendering. Tools from Worley Labs are in use at major studios all around the world, and LightWave® [7.5] ships with Sasquatch Lite. For further information see http://www.worley.com.

Dynamic Realities has created such popular tools for LightWave 3D® as Impact (a rigid body dynamics and physics simulation system), Pyro (a flame and smoke simulator), Napalm (an advanced particle system) and Nature FX (which creates oceans, rainbows and other natural phenomena). For further information see http://www.dynamic-realities.com.

NewTek Next Dimension Training Tour Instructors
Lee Stranahan has helped thousands of people worldwide learn desktop video and 3D animation for more than a decade. His professional experience includes work as a writer, director, producer, visual effects supervisor, and effects artist. He’s also an award winning photographer and the Editor in Chief of Keyframe magazine.

Larry Schulz is an experienced LightWave® artist and trainer with extensive 3D credits in games, film and television, including work at Foundation Imaging and Netter Digital. Larry is the Director of Distance Learning at FX Academy, and has taught at schools in California and New Mexico.

Graham Toms is an accomplished artist in both traditional and CG forms, a former NewTek staff artist and evangelist, and a former instructor at the Disney Institute in Orlando, FL.

Next Dimension Training Tour Schedule:

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®, LightWave 3D® and Aura Video Paint™. NewTek launched the desktop video revolution in 1990 with the release of the legendary VT®. The company’s products are used worldwide on projects ranging from home video to feature film. Recent film and television projects using NewTek software include We Were Soldiers, Panic Room, Hart’s War, Driven, A.I., Oscar®-nominated Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius, Final Fantasy, Blackhawk Down, The Time Machine, Black Knight, How The Grinch Stole Christmas, The 6th Day, Jurassic Park III, Behind Enemy Lines, X-Men The Movie, Star Trek: The Motion Picture, Director’s Edition DVD, Pitch Black, Dracula 2000, Star Trek: Enterprise, Roughnecks: Starship Troopers, Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Smallville, The X-Files, The Family Guy, Ally McBeal, Dune: The Miniseries, Dawson’s Creek and Family Law. Recent game titles include Deus Ex, Serious Sam I and II, Twisted Metal: Black, Civilization III, Unreal, Quake 3 Arena, Moto Racer World Tour, Giants for PS2, Baldur’s Gate II, EverQuest, Planescape: Torment, Dead To Rights, and Escape From Monkey Island. Website: http://www.newtek.com

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