SCAD's Houdini Bootcamp

Savannah College of Art and Design's Visual Effects faculty signed on for a custom "Houdini Bootcamp" this month and came through with flying colors. Veteran Side Effects trainer Peter Robbinson put the educators through their paces. Kudos to bootcampers Bridget Gaynor, Kenneth Huff, David Kaul, Malcolm Kesson, Joe Pasqual, Stuart Robertson, Clarke Stallworth and John Rauh.

Fall 09 Training Recap

Wow! 13 classes and 2 bootcamps in 3 months. Time for the Holidays!
Your ideas for 2010 training are welcome. Please contact aliza@sidefx.com.

Houdini and Nuke Synergy

Brian Burke and Dan LeTarte of Method Studios teamed up to show how Houdini and Nuke can work together to create a highly flexible procedural system. This class filled very quickly and brought up many great areas to explore, so we plan to have another soon.

Training For Trainers

Side Effects Production Consultant Judith Crow shares her special techniques in this workshop designed to help studio training heads and educators learn how to get their teams and students going procedural in Houdini quickly and effectively.

In the Clouds!

We've had to keep a really cool thing tight under wraps at Side Effects for the past few months. And now we're allowed to talk about it!

Check out our HQueue Cloud Computing for Artists using the Amazon EC2!

Beta testing has officially begun and we're already getting tons of great input. Make sure you check out the really expansive Userguide on the link above and learn more about it!

Great Houdini 10 Event in UK

Thanks to all of you who turned out to see Jeff Wagner and Janet Fraser at the Canadian High Commission on November 17.

We had a great turn out, a great overview on new Houdini 10 Features, and a wonderful presenter, Jacob Clark from Framestore showing off some new work.

Here are a few photos from the event, kindly provided by our friend and FX artist, Alvin Yap.

Janet Fraser, Sr. Account Executive and Jeff Wagner, Snr. Technology Consultant

Jacob Clark, from Framestore London

Janet Fraser talks to local UK users.

Jeff Wagner continues to discuss Houdini 10 with presentation attendees.

Houdini in London on November 17th!

We will be hosting TWO Houdini Sessions on November 17th in London.

Afternoon Session: 11:30 AM - 2:30 PM

In this session Senior Technology Consultant and Houdini guru Jeff Wagner will cover working with grid based Fluid systems. The various ways of setting up a distributed and up res fluid simulation will be covered. Interaction with fluids and other dynamic objects will be investigated. Advanced concepts like adding advection stages to existing solvers to create custom fluid behaviour are explored and are a good step to understanding how extensible the fluid system is in Houdini. Many particle effects are now driven by volume primitives. Particle advection of various extracted volumes from the fluid simulation will be demonstrated.

Evening Session: 5:30 PM - 9:00 PM

In this session In this session Senior Technology Consultant and Houdini guru Jeff Wagner will be working with grid based Fluid systems. General set up and adding other Dynamic objects that interact with the fluids will be covered.

Many particle effects are now driven by volume primitives. Particle advection of various extracted volumes from the fluid simulation will be demonstrated.

Guest presenter FX Technical Director Jacob Clark will join us to present some examples of the work that Framestore has assembled for the upcoming feature film Prince of Persia. He will demonstrate how Houdini was used to create specific effects within the film pertaining to the "Sandroom" sequence.

For more details on the EVENING session and to register click HERE

** Please remember to use the appropriate link and RSVP for this event as space is limited.

Houdini Boot Camps In Santa Monica

In our training room, close to the beach, but no laps involved! These pictures show veteran Side Effects trainer, Peter Robbinson, at our September bootcamp. Attendees were from Idaho, Atlanta, Vancouver, Philly and Singapore. Our next bootcamp is next week, a rare class with our senior consultant, Judith Crowe. Keep an eye on sidefx.com for more classes to come.

Triggering Sounds and Virtual Audio Recording

The house was rockin' with Andrew Lowell as he walked the standing room only crowd through the making of a virtual sound track.

Porsche Spot

Asylum Visual Effects in Santa Monica just recently wrapped this spot for Porsche.





Millimeter magazine posted a recent story on the spot featuring a few of our friends on the credits list, mainly Zach Tucker - CG Sup.

Lead Technical Designer: Jeff Willette

Effects Animator: Jens Zalzala



Great work guys!

VES Production Summit 09

A gang of us attended the VES Production Summit last Saturday. It was a great event, attended by several hundred industry members and senior management folk convening to discuss various issues affecting production and post production.

We had several executives from Toronto come join us, including our President and Co-founder, Kim Davidson.

He was also kind enough to give me the photos below, which turned out far better than those taken on my iPhone.

Upcoming Events! October 2009

A quick post to let you all know about a few upcoming events.

First off, this Saturday the 24th we'll be the Featured Speaker and Luncheon Sponsors for the VES Production Summit 2009.

Come join us to meet and greet a few Side Effects Staff, including our Founder and President, Kim Davidson.

Later next week, we'll be offering a Mantra Class by our ex-wonder intern Brian Burke from Method Studios in the Santa Monica training center.

We look forwarding to seeing you all!

Side Effects looking for a Houdini Trainer in Los Angeles

The successful candidate for this position will be responsible for specialized effects animation training. Responsibilities include hands-on large and small group classroom presentations of Houdini software tools and techniques.

* Intermediate to advanced experience with Houdini.
* 3+ years experience as a TD specializing in FX production.
* Ability and enthusiasm to develop and conduct training classes.
* Excellent interpersonal and communications skills required.
* A passion for staying up-to-date on latest software versions.
* Committed to education and the visual effects industry.
* Available to travel both domestic and internationally
* Possibility for flexible schedule
* Recent experience using Houdini in production
* Must be based in Los Angeles

DESIRED ADDITIONAL SKILLS AND QUALIFICATIONS

* Training experience for feature film production or broadcast media
* Experience in public speaking for small to large groups
* Working knowledge of at least one other major 3D app
* Familiarity with the curriculum development process
* Experience creating, designing, and maintaining training documentation and tutorials.

Applications should be submitted to recruiting@sidefx.com by e-mail in Word, OpenOffice, PDF, or plain text format. Please add HOUDINI TRAINER to email subject line when responding

While we thank all candidates for applying, only successful candidates will be contacted for an interview.

HOUPLA Presents: Mantra 10

Thanks for everyone who came out last night to our event in the Santa Monica office. Andrew Clinton had a great time meeting all the users and chatting about new features in Mantra 10.

Also, thanks for those of you who showed me how to properly pour from a keg. It's the little things that seem to matter.

The room was packed, and the corridors filled with people and cups of Fat Tire. A great way to help the local users meet one another, catch up, or explore Houdini for the first time ever.

A few photos from the evening:

Nordin Rahali points at old co-worker from Framestore, Dan Seddon.

James Kirk and Ken Ibrahim in the standing area checking out the presentation.

John Courte (AKA, St John), showing how it's done while spinning the tunes.

R&H TD, Victor Grant reviews Houdini intern Dan Letarte's latest work.

Soaking up the knowledge with a brew :).

** Please let us know if you're interested in teaching any classes in Houdini or doing an Houdini Intern Mentorship program. All inquiries can be sent to Aliza Sorotzkin, aliza@sidefx.com.

Mantra 10 Focus Week

HOUPLA Presents: Focus on Mantra
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
6:30pm - 9:00pm

Side Effects invites you to join us for an evening with 3D Graphics Programmer, Andrew Clinton and learn about some key feature enhancements (such as IPR and PBR) in Houdini's world class renderer, Mantra version 10.

The evening will follow with refreshments, and music spun by Side Effects' own John Courte, Senior Houdini Artist.

**Space is limited, please RSVP **

Time:

• 6:30 - 7:00 Registation
• 7:00 - 7:30 Presentation
• 7:30 - 9:00 Social Hour and Music

**Also be sure to attend Andrews training class on Thursday, Sept 24 from 7pm - 9pm. Volumetric rendering will be discussed - including an overview of the volumetric rendering pipeline in Mantra, how to render fire and smoke, and optimization techniques for volume renders, and much, much more.**

LA Event: HOUPLA Presents Mantra 10

We're going to have our developer Andrew Clinton, in charge of Mantra, down from Toronto in a few weeks.

To celebrate, we'll be throwing a small social gather, following his presentation on the latest and greatest in Mantra.

Check out the link to RSVP for this event. Space is limited, so we can't let those not on the list enter.

Also, Andrew will be doing a master class on Volumetrics in Mantra the following day!

Tokyo Roundup - September 2009

Just got back from our visit with the Houdini users in Tokyo and IndyZone, the Japanese reseller of Houdini for almost 2 years now.

This was my 3rd time going to the Land of the Rising Sun, and John Courte's (Senior Houdini Artist) first.

Our primary purpose there was to meet with several long time clients and to get together with the Houdini Gurus in the area, many of whom were long time devotees and users of Prisms.

We also attended the CEDEC conference in Yokohama as part of the SGI presence. SGI was kind enough to have over all the way from Amsterdam, Paulus Bannink, Lead Technical Director at Guerrilla Games. He was kind enough to re-present his talk at SIGGRAPH 2009 in New Orleans on using Houdini for Games in Killzone 2.

Just wanted to thank everyone who helped organize another wonderful trip while we were there. Especially the folks at SGI for not just our attendance at CEDEC, but hosting the Houdini Usergroup Meeting at the beautiful Yebisu Garden Place, home of SGI.

Here are a few photos of our time in Tokyo:

Hanging out with Daniel Ferreira, now at SEGA Sammy. He helped us build the Houdini 10 Crumpling and tearing tools while working on GI Joe at Digital Domain.

Paulus' presentation at the CEDEC conference in Yokohama.

American tourists in Tokyo. John and I on a photo-taking journey of Yokohama.

SGI slide showing a legacy of machines just before the Houdini Usergroup Meeting at Yebisu Gardens.

Ichiro Tanaka of IndyZone introducing John Courte.

Explaining some new UI enhancements in Houdini 10

Japanese users gather.

After party. Here I am with Abe-san from Square!

Japanese users eating and drinking!

We'll see you again in December Japan, for SIGGRAPH Asia!

Houdini 10 Review on VFX World

Not sure if you checked this out already, and sorry for the tardy post. But Dean Grubb over at Digital Domain recently wrote a review of Houdini 10 on VFX World.


Thanks for the positive review Dean !

SIGGRAPH 2009 Wrap Up

Thanks everyone who came to our Education Booth at the show and said hello! We had a great turn out for Go Procedural t-shirts and Learning DVDs.

Here are a few pictures of our week at SIGGRAPH in NOLA this year.

Having drinks with Rhythm & Hues (Mark Elendt, David Horsely, Lucio Flores, Jeff Lait). These guys did a great technical talk on "Land of the Lost".

Houdini and Side Effects sponsor Thursday's SIGGRAPH Reception at Mardi Gras World.

Side Effects Team: Richard Hamel, Peter Robbinson, Aliza Sorotzkin, Jeff Wagner, Janet Fraser, Leyla Tirgari

See you in New Orleans!

We'll be at SIGGRAPH 2009 soon and promoting Houdini Education at our booth.

Even though we won't be doing any public presentations ourselves, do check out some stuff from our clients!

• Our friends at Rhythm & Hues, Lucio Flores and David Horsely will present on using Distributed Sims on "Land of the Lost"
  

• Guerilla Games' Paulus Bannink talks about how to use Houdini in Games Pipeline (as done in Killzone 2).

Houdini at 50% off!

We don't do them that often, so take a look at the promotion we have going for Master licenses right now!

GO|Procedural and save 50% on a Master Bundle where you get one year AUP included!

wall flowers

Once again, we've been surprised by a new way of using Houdini. This game never gets old, really.

Handmade Wallpaper done by Alex Stephan based in Toronto. Here's a little blurb about how it's all done, but you can't get too technical with everyone :).

Houdini Education at SIGGRAPH 2009

Join us this SIGGRAPH in New Orleans at our Houdini Education Booth!


We'll also be sponsoring the Thursday reception, so we hope to see you all there!

You can contact us for personal demonstrations or meetings through community@sidefx.com.

See you all there :)

Transformers and Houdini Mentions from DD

Matthew Butler, a long time Houdini user and VFX Supervisor at Digital Domain has been mentioned in today's LA Times!

No green screen or motion capture was used when shooting actress Isabel Lucas. But it took seven months for a team of 20 to create countless layers of effects, devised with complex equations and meticulous rendering with the software Houdini to create the six-second shot.

An even more in-depth look here on the LA Times Blog!


Nice work Matthew!

More nerdery can be found in Millimeter here from Paul Palop.

“I think we did 30,000 CG ball bearings,” Palop say. “We had to develop a crowd system in [Side Effects Software] Houdini to be able to control their behaviors. Houdini can assign a charge to a particle and you can set up rules that define how that charge changes over time depending on what’s happening around it. We could define, based on the reference from Michael’s photography, what these guys needed to do to make it to seem like they had some level of intellect. The approach we took was to simulate particles, give them a behavior, and stamp prebaked animation cycles from our library onto those particles. Our system chooses—depending on the action required—which animation cycles we would stamp on the particles.”

Special thanks to Tim Enstice over at DD for giving us props :)

Terminator Salvation Case Study Posted

Check out the great case study on Terminator Salvation recently posted on the Houdini site!

Great thanks to Asylum Visual Effects for helping us bring public the great techniques utilized through Houdini to make a great FX film.

PS: Trivia for you kids out there. John Courte, recently hired as our LA based Senior Houdini artist just recently wrapped at Asylum before joining us back in March!

John Courte, Jeff Lait, Jenny Blacklock, Silvinna Rocca, and Martin Sawtell at the Side Effects headquarters office in Toronto.

New York Pics and event highlights

Thanks to everyone for coming out during the rain for our Houdini 10 Launch at NYU's Cantor Theater!

Spencer Lueders, FX TD, did a wonderful presentation on the Framestore NY Pepsi spot below:



Then Andy Boyd, Head of 3D at Method LA, showed us his latest commercial work and highlighted uses of Mantra's PBR.

Then Jeff showed the crowd the newest things in Houdini 10.




Later, we all enjoyed a drink at the reception down the street.

(Andy Boyd and Jeff Wagner)

(Janet Fraser and Andy Boyd)

(Spencer Lueders and David Mellor from Framestore, me from Side Effects)

NYC Houdini 10 Reception Location announced!

Hey everyone, I just wanted to make you all aware of the location we're holding our cocktail reception at for the Houdini 10 New Launch event!

After our presentaion, please join us at Bar 13's rooftop for some drinks and bites from 9pm to 11 pm.





Please note, this portion of the event is 21 and over only and you will be ID'd at the door.

See you all there!

NEW YORK EVENT: June 18th

Hey Everyone in the NYC area, we're happy to announce an event at the NYU Cantor Theater on Thursday, June 18th!


DETAILS:

Thursday, June 18, 2009
6:30pm-10:00pm

With the recent announcement of Houdini 10, Side Effects is pleased to announce a special presentation at NYU's Cantor Film Center on Thursday, June 18th. Houdini 10 is designed to make artists more productive while equipping studios with the most powerful tools in the industry.

The evening begins with two presentations by Houdini artists Spencer Lueders, Technical Director from Framestore NYC and Andy Boyd, Head of 3D from Method Studios in LA. They both have some amazing work to show you along with a look behind the scenes.

Next is an overview of Houdini 10 which will take you through new features such as Pyro FX, distributed simulations, crumpling and tearing, Progressive IPR, Motion FX and Stereoscopic 3D. This is a feature-rich release and there will be a lot of info packed into the presentation.

There will be a draw for a license of Houdini Apprentice HD followed by a cocktail reception at a soon-to-be revealed location.

Come on down and learn what Houdini can do for you!

Agenda:
6:30 - 7:00 p.m. Registration
7:00 - 8:00 p.m. Framestore/Method Presentations
8:00 - 8:45 p.m. Houdini 10 Overview
8:45 - 9:00 p.m. Houdini Apprentice HD Drawings
9:00 - 10:00 p.m. Cocktail Reception (location TBD)

Location:

Cantor Film Center
Theater 101
36 East 8th Street
NY, NY 10003

This event is by RSVP only, so please register on the event page here.

And while we're mentioning Framestore ... please check out the Fireflies Ride benefiting Leuka and their Leukaemia work. Don't forget to support our Framestore friends Dave and Kevin and donate to a great effort.

EVENT: Toronto Technical Evening on Crumpling and Tearing

Come join us in Toronto this week :)

Crumpling and Tearing in Houdini 10
Thursday, June 4th, 2009
7:00pm - 9:00pm

This technical evening will cover the new crumpling and tearing features that are available in Houdini 10's physically-based cloth solver. These include support for plastic deformation, dynamic tearing and changing topologies. The presentation will include direction on basic workflows, and fundamental physical properties of cloth objects. Many of these concepts will be supported by working example videos including smashing cars, cutting fabric and collapsing buildings! Presenters for this event will be Side Effects Developer Michiel Hagedoorn, and Side Effects intern Martin Sawtell.

Come along for an informal and interactive evening to see what Houdini 10's cloth simulations tools have to offer.

The evening will conclude with refreshments.

Please register on the event page here.

Freelancer wanted for Motion Graphics design company

Must have at least 3 years experience and be familiar with:

-Particles and dynamics
-Voxel and particle fluids
-VOPs
-Mantra shaders/rendering
-Digital asset creation and management
-Basic rigging skills
-Workflow between other apps (such as Maya or Cinema 4D)
- Scripting knowledge a plus but not necessary.


Serious applicants with showreels only need apply.

Please submit resume and reel to design@prologue.com

Jeff Wagner Presentation at FMX - Lighting and Rendering in H10

Just a quick post to show you the most recently published video of Jeff's Fire and Smoke presentation from yesterday.

Once again, sorry for the TERRIBLE video quality and editing. Still nice to hear him talk a bit and show some new stuff from Houdini 10.

Thanks for all those who attended :)

Fire and Smoke in Houdini 10 at FMX 2009 from Houdini Nerd on Vimeo.

Axis Animation and BlackMountain VFX presentations at FMX|09

First day presentations are up on Vimeo. Please pardon the lack of proper lighting, editing, and all other things you serious quality control visualists normally have. Remember now, I recorded on my clunky Canon SD and edited in iMovie ... ON THE FLY.

Axis Animation Houdini Presentation at FMX 2009 from Houdini Nerd on Vimeo.

BlackMountain VFX Houdini presentation at FMX 2009 from Houdini Nerd on Vimeo.

FMX Day 1

Hey ... this place is pretty nice. If you're looking for chez Houdini on the show floor, come by List.Saal 2.3.



That's German for Exhibit booth (ich denke), but we're right next to the Autodesk, ;).

As you come in, we'll be on the left of the main double doors.


Today, we're having our clients from Axis Animation and BlackMountainVFX present on using Houdini at their facilities.

Workshop: Houdini in Production
Tuesday, May 5th
17:00 - 18:00 in Raum Reutlingen
Instructor: Jeff Wagner, Senior Technology Consultant, Side Effects Software

Black Mountain VFX and Axis Animation share their local experiences in Europe with Houdini.

Join us for an hour long presentation and gathering to discuss how Houdini has been implemented and leveraged to create ground breaking 3D animation at two local European companies; BlackMountain VFX in Stuttgart, Germany and Axis Animation, in Glasgow, Scotland.

Houdini artists and production managers will share what made Houdini an efficient and integral part of their pipelines, and be available for a casual Q&A session. This workshop is a great opportunity for 3D artists to learn about Houdini recruitment around the world as well from the SESI team.

BTW - you can follow our FMX Tweets at the new Houdininerd Twitter page (http://twitter.com/houdininerd)

**Please remember to contact Janet Fraser if you want a private meeting set up while we're in town. Her UK mobile number is +0 44 7946 01933 (janet@sidefx.com).

Houdini 10 Launch Event in Tokyo!

Our friends over at IndyZone (our Japanese Reseller) are throwing an event in Tokyo on April 27th.

Please check out their blog for the event details for the launch of Houdini 10 in Japan!

Houdini 10 is OUT!

Welcome our newest baby, Houdini 10 is now out for public download.



Here's a video overview of the new key features on the Houdini 10 Launch SideFx page!

Don't forget to give us any feedback on the forums or Support if you are currently on AUP.

Side Effects at FMX 2009

Side Effects is pleased to announce its participation at FMX 2009 in Stuttgart, Germany.

The conference dates are from May 5 - May 8, and we will be present all four days, running 3 workshops and available to demo from our booth , 2.3 List.Saal.

Below is a listing of all the Houdini workshops, but please feel free to book a private demo or discussion in advance with Janet Fraser, Senior Account Executive (janet@sidefx.com).

We look forward to seeing you!

(FMX 2008 with Jeff Wagner, Janet Fraser, and me)

(Jeff Wagner teaching a workshop last year)

WORKSHOPS:

Tuesday May 05
17:00 - 18:00
Raum Reutlingen

Black Mountain VFX and Axis Animation share their local experiences in Europe with Houdini.

Join us for an hour long presentation and gathering to discuss how Houdini has been implemented and leveraged to create ground breaking 3D animation at two local European companies; BlackMountain VFX in Stuttgart, Germany and Axis Animation, in Glasgow, Scotland.

Houdini artists and production managers will share what made Houdini an efficient and integral part of their pipelines, and be available for a casual Q&A session. This workshop is a great opportunity for 3D artists to learn about Houdini recruitment around the world as well from the SESI team.

Wednesday May 06
18:00 - 19:00
Raum Reutlingen

Fire and Smoke in Houdini 10
Jeff Wagner, Senior Technology Consultant, Side Effects Software, www.sidefx.com

In this presentation, Jeff Wagner demonstrates recent advances in the creation of realistic fire and smoke using Houdini 10’s new Pyro tools. Bringing together an artist-friendly interface, production-ready shaders and the ability to distribute fluid simulations over the farm, Jeff will show how Houdini 10 is a must-have for VFX artists serious about their craft.

Jeff Wagner has been an integral part of the technical support department for over fourteen years and has amassed a wealth of knowledge about Houdini. Wagner has consulted on numerous visual effects and CG feature work and often travels the world teaching people about Houdini's procedural way of working.


Thursday May 07
16:00 - 17:00
Raum Reutlingen

Lighting and Rendering in Houdini 10
Jeff Wagner, Senior Technology Consultant, Side Effects Software, www.sidefx.com

In this presentation, Jeff Wagner demonstrates recent advances in lighting and rendering found in Houdini 10. Jeff starts with the new progressive Interactive Photorealistic Rendering (IPR) tools, then moves on to new advances in Physically-based rendering (PBR), production-grade render pass workflows and the addition of Stereoscopic rendering, Jeff shows you how Houdini 10 helps you become more productive while achieving the highest-quality renderings.

Jeff Wagner has been an integral part of the technical support department for over fourteen years and has amassed a wealth of knowledge about Houdini. Wagner has consulted on numerous visual effects and CG feature work and often travels the world teaching people about Houdini's procedural way of working.

(complete schedule for FMX can be found here)


Sincerely,
Side Effects FMX Team