Side Effects Software Hires Judith Crow as Senior Production Consultant
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Santa Monica, Calif. (May 16, 2003) -- Side Effects Software announced new hires and executive promotions in an effort to support the rapid growth of the Houdini community. Film effects veteran Judith Crow joins SESI as Senior Production Consultant. Experienced computer effects artist Dean Sadamune joins the company as a Production Specialist. Crow will work closely with existing and new customers addressing workflow efficiency and pipeline set-up requirements; Sadamune will assist SESI's customers on specific issues related to production implementation.
On the executive team, Tony Cristiano moves from General Manager to COO and VP of US Operations, and Dr. Paul Salvini adds VP of Canadian Operations to his existing role of Chief Technology Officer. Cristin Barghiel becomes Director of Product Development, leading the design and development of Houdini, and managing the day-to-day activities of the product development team. SESI founder Kim Davidson will now be officially serving as the President and CEO, while continuing to provide the overall vision for the company.[an error occurred while processing this directive]Under the leadership of Kim Davidson, the company has transformed itself and expanded its focus to provide the best and most cost-effective animation solutions available in the industry today. The company has built a first-class team of customer-oriented staff, award-winning technology, and a prestigious set of industry-leading customers. With years of production experience himself, Davidson is the driving force behind a company obsession for creating the highest level of production value.
³At Side Effects, we are constantly working on ways to help our customers deliver higher levels of quality and greater production efficiencies through the results of innovative product development and tailored, comprehensive support and services,² said Tony Cristiano, COO and VP of US Operations. ³Judith can quickly size up the problems and inefficiencies of large-scale film production; with her experience she can help many of our customers save millions on production budgets. Dean brings us a production insider¹s perspective and will play an active role in leveraging the SESI team to optimize artists¹ workflow on various projects. We are very excited to have these key new talents on board with us.²
Judith Crow has over ten years of experience in visual effects at esteemed facilities including Digital Domain and Disney¹s The Secret Lab. She has worked on ground-breaking effects projects for blockbuster films including ³Fight Club,² ³Titanic,² ³XXX,² ³The Time Machine² and ³Apollo 13², just to name a few. She comes to Side Effects Software from Digital Domain where she served as Creative Director, Digital Production and Technology. Crow will help formulate end-to-end pipeline solutions and key production processes for Houdini customers. She will consult with digital effects supervisors, senior production artists, technical directors and facility executives to yield the best possible production results.
Dean Sadamune joins SESI from Cinesite, where he worked as Lead FX Technical Director on high-profile film effects sequences. More recently, Dean has earned credits on films such as ³X2: X-Men United,² ³XXX,² ³Cats and Dogs,² and ³Scooby-Doo.² As Production Specialist for Side Effects Software, Dean will play an active role in studying and understanding specific field production needs, and in conveying the pros and cons of various workflows and approaches. He will also be instrumental in bridging artist production and technical development efforts across many customer facilities.
About Houdini
The Houdini family of animation software offers digital artists an unprecedented level of power, flexibility and control based on award-winning technology. The comprehensive feature set includes modeling, animation, character tools, particle and channel operations, compositing, integrated rendering with Houdini Mantra, and much more. All Houdini applications work together seamlessly and are available for the NT, Linux, IRIX and Solaris operating systems. Houdini has been used to create stunning digital animation in blockbuster films, including ³X 2: X-Men United,² ³Daredevil,² "Spider-Man," "XXX," "The Sum of All Fears," "Black Hawk Down," "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," "X-Men" and "The Matrix," among many others.
About Side Effects Software
Established in 1987, Side Effects Software is a world leader in the development of advanced 3D graphics and special effects software for use in film, broadcast and game development. Today, Side Effects Software leads the field of non-linear animation with its unique, award-winning Houdini technology. Houdini is used by numerous digital content creation leaders including Digital Domain, DreamWorks SKG, Electronic Arts, Namco, Nickelodeon, Rhythm & Hues, Sega, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Walt Disney Feature Animation and Weta Digital Ltd.
For more information about Side Effects Software and its products, please visit http://www.sidefx.com.
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