Subject: Movie credits
Date: 20 May 94 09:37:32 EDT
From: John Foust - Syndesis Corporation <76004.1763@CompuServe.COM>

To: Imagine

Mike McCool <mikemcoo@efn.org> writes:
>         It WAS Imagine that was used to do the sets for Beauty and the 
> Beast. And it WAS Imagine that was used to do the setups and interiors 
> before shooting started on Jurassic Park.  I assume you've heard of these 
> two films?  I haven't seen either of them, but I have heard of them. 

NewTek lays claim on seaQuest and Babylon V, often giving credit to
the Toaster when LightWave is responsible.  They also claim LightWave
was used for early tests on Jurassic Park.

Maybe they used Imagine, too.  Maybe they used a half-dozen programs
beyond that.  Electric Image hypes the nuke explosion in Terminator. 
Strata flogs the ABC logo.  It never ends.

Should I start wearing a "seaQuest" baseball hat because they used
InterChange for some aspect of production?  Should I put Babylon V
screen shots in our next ad, to make you think you can get your own
TV show if you use InterChange?

All this hype is akin to wanting to wear the same pair of sneakers as
promoted by your favorite sports star.

Get a grip!  The people behind the scenes on these shows are busting
their butts to get serviceable animation done on a tight schedule,
under the demands of the boss, just like the guy doing animated
church bells for wedding videos at Video Hut in your local mall.

If they could render with Excel macros, they'd do that, too.
There is little correlation between your results and their results.
Your Keds do not make you run faster or jump higher.

>From my experience, the stuff that gets used in TV and movies is
often what the techies can get for free, in exchange for fostering
whatever free PR hype the company can generate.  What, you think they
use Product X because it's the "best"?  No, it's probably because
they're getting special treatment from the company.  Of course, it
still has to do the job...  but many packages could do that.

(A few weeks ago, I got a call from a set guy from an upcoming
DeVito-Schwarzenneger movie.  He wanted free product because he said
he *might* be able to put it amongst the stacks of computer-oriented
crap in a laboratory scene, and then we'd be in the movies!  Of
course, he didn't want empty boxes, he wanted the software, too.)

And of course, the producers like to keep everything as low-budget as
possible.  Maybe they're using Product X because they didn't have the
budget to buy Program Y.




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