Crest chose Softimage|XSI for sophisticated children's animation series

Leading digital studio Crest Communications exclusively used Softimage|XSI, the industry's leading nonlinear 3-D production environment, for 'Jakers! The Adventures Of Piggley Winks'.
Crest Communications, based in India, purchased 40 new licenses for the production of this children's TV series. The 40 half-hour episodes, aimed at four to seven year olds, launched on PBS KIDS in the USA on September 7 and are scheduled to appear on a variety of leading networks worldwide shortly. Other confirmed broadcasters include ABC Australia, TVO Canada, TF1 France, RTE Ireland and SVT Sweden.
Owned by Entara and produced by the Emmy nominated Mike Young Productions, the series has a film-quality look to its animation, with life-like 3-D characters performing in richly coloured backgrounds. To achieve this sophisticated look while working with the constraints of a tight budget common in programming for children's television, Crest Communications chose the Softimage|XSI software to provide them with a number of benefits.
Firstly, the team at Crest preferred the intuitive and user-friendly interface. Secondly, the Softimage|XSI environment provided major productivity benefits to the workflow, such as allowing for fewer keystrokes and more alternatives than any other software. Thirdly, it was chosen for its highly sophisticated texturing and rendering capabilities, which allowed the team to create the very lifelike and precise look of the characters.
In addition, the Softimage|XSI software's integrated use of the mental ray rendering engine allowed Crest to achieve the rich and photorealistic images.
A K Madhavan, VP International Business, Crest Communications, said: "The mental ray renderer is the most important feature in XSI. Ultimately, it is the final image that entertains people and fantastic results is what XSI gives any project."
Mike Young, CEO, Mike Young Productions LLC, added: "Crest has exceeded all expectations on this production. The SOFTIMAGE|XSI software has enabled them to produce a series that raises the bar on 3-D television production, while at the same time putting India on the map as a legitimate source of mainstream production."
(GB)