Avid Media Illusion
Encyclopedia
Avid Media Illusion was a digital nonlinear compositing software by Avid Technology
targeted at the film and television markets. It ran on Silicon Graphics
workstation
s. The main features were paint, compositing, image manipulation and special effects.
Media Illusion was targeted at the high-end SGI post production market, which was at the time dominated by Discreet Flame.
In 2001, Softimage
, a division of Avid, introduced a new image compositing module in its 3D animation product Softimage XSI
2.0 which is based on Media Illusion 6.0. The product offers and augments many of the essential image compositing features of Media Illusion on Windows and Linux, but does not offer the video digitizing and playback support, and the OMFI media integration and editing which helped Media Illusion make its place in high end broadcast. The compositing module integrated in XSI 6.0 (2000 USD) targets RGBA file-based desktop compositing for the 3D artist.
Avid Technology
Avid Technology, Inc. is an American company specializing in video and audio production technology; specifically, digital non-linear editing systems, management and distribution services. It was created in 1987 and became a publicly traded company in 1993...
targeted at the film and television markets. It ran on Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics
Silicon Graphics, Inc. was a manufacturer of high-performance computing solutions, including computer hardware and software, founded in 1981 by Jim Clark...
workstation
Workstation
A workstation is a high-end microcomputer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems...
s. The main features were paint, compositing, image manipulation and special effects.
History
Illusion was originally developed by Parallax Software under the name "Advance". Avid later bought Parallax, and renamed "Advance" to "Media Illusion". The software was discontinued on December 6, 2001, officially due to lack of resources to support it any further.Media Illusion was targeted at the high-end SGI post production market, which was at the time dominated by Discreet Flame.
In 2001, Softimage
Softimage
Softimage, Co. was a company located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada that produced 3D animation software. Their flagship products, Softimage 3D and Softimage XSI, are used in the creation of computer animation for films, television advertisement, and video games...
, a division of Avid, introduced a new image compositing module in its 3D animation product Softimage XSI
Softimage XSI
Autodesk Softimage, or simply Softimage is a 3D computer graphics application, owned by Autodesk, for producing 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling, and computer animation...
2.0 which is based on Media Illusion 6.0. The product offers and augments many of the essential image compositing features of Media Illusion on Windows and Linux, but does not offer the video digitizing and playback support, and the OMFI media integration and editing which helped Media Illusion make its place in high end broadcast. The compositing module integrated in XSI 6.0 (2000 USD) targets RGBA file-based desktop compositing for the 3D artist.
Features
Media Illusion featured distributed rendering using multiple CPUs. Several specialized plug-ins were available from Sapphire, The Foundry, Primatte and Ultimatte, among others.Release history
| Version | Hardware | O/S | Release date | Price | Significant changes (selected) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Media Illusion 4.0 | ? | IRIX | 1997 | ? | ? |
| Media Illusion 4.5 | O2 and Octane | IRIX | 1998 | $24,800 for O2, $31,000 for Octane | ? |
| Media Illusion 6 | ? | IRIX | December 6, 1999 | $24,800 |
|
| Media Illusion 6.1v8 | O2,Octane, Onyx 2 SGI Onyx2 The SGI Onyx2, code name Kego, is a family of visualization systems developed and manufactured by SGI, introduced in 1996 to succeed the Onyx. The Onyx2's basic system architecture is based on the Origin 2000 servers, but with the notable inclusion of graphics hardware. In 2000, the Onyx2 was... |
IRIX | 2001 | $24,800 | ? |
See also
- Avid Elastic RealityAvid Elastic RealityElastic Reality was a warping and morphing software application available on Windows, Macintosh and Silicon Graphics workstations, discontinued in 1999.-Features:...
- Avid MatadorAvid MatadorAvid Matador was a paint application by Avid Technology targeted at the television and film markets. It ran on Silicon Graphics workstations. The main features were paint, mask creation/rotoscoping, animation and stabilization/tracking...
- Softimage XSISoftimage XSIAutodesk Softimage, or simply Softimage is a 3D computer graphics application, owned by Autodesk, for producing 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling, and computer animation...
- Avid TechnologyAvid TechnologyAvid Technology, Inc. is an American company specializing in video and audio production technology; specifically, digital non-linear editing systems, management and distribution services. It was created in 1987 and became a publicly traded company in 1993...