Daniel Langlois
Encyclopedia
Order of Canada
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order, admission into which is, within the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, the second highest honour for merit...
is the president and founder of the Daniel Langlois Foundation
Daniel Langlois Foundation
The Daniel Langlois Foundation is a non-profit, philanthropic organization endowed by Daniel Langlois and chartered in 1997 with the mission to support artistic and scientific projects and research dedicated to further general human awareness as well as the understanding of human relation with its...
, Ex-Centris
Ex-Centris
eXcentris is a performing arts center and cinema located on Saint-Laurent Boulevard in Montreal, Quebec.The complex was conceived by Daniel Langlois as a laboratory for digital media production as well as a state-of-the-art screening venue...
, and Media Principia Inc.
Daniel Langlois also founded Softimage Inc., serving as its president and chief technology officer from November 1986 to July 1998. The company is recognized in the fields of cinema and media creation for its digital technologies and especially its 3-D computer animation techniques. Softimage software was used to create most of the dazzling 3-D effects in the blockbuster movies Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace is a 1999 American epic space opera film written and directed by George Lucas. It is the fourth film to be released in the Star Wars saga, as the first of a three-part prequel to the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as the first film in the saga in terms...
, The Matrix
The Matrix
The Matrix is a 1999 science fiction-action film written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, and Hugo Weaving...
, Titanic
Titanic (1997 film)
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed, written, co-produced, and co-edited by James Cameron. A fictionalized account of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, it stars Leonardo DiCaprio as Jack Dawson, Kate Winslet as Rose DeWitt Bukater and Billy Zane as Rose's fiancé, Cal...
, Men in Black
Men in Black (film)
Men in Black is a 1997 science fiction comedy film directed by Barry Sonnenfeld, starring Tommy Lee Jones, Will Smith and Vincent D'Onofrio. The film was based on the Men in Black comic book series by Lowell Cunningham, originally published by Marvel Comics. The film featured the creature effects...
, Twister, Jurassic Park
Jurassic Park (film)
Jurassic Park is a 1993 American science fiction adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg. The film is based on the novel of the same name by Michael Crichton. It stars Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Richard Attenborough, Martin Ferrero, and Bob Peck...
, The Mask
The Mask (film)
The Mask is a 1994 American superhero comedy film based on a series of comic books published by Dark Horse Comics. This film was directed by Chuck Russell, and produced by Dark Horse Entertainment and New Line Cinema, and originally released to movie theatres on July 29, 1994 through New Line...
and The City of Lost Children
The City of Lost Children
The City of Lost Children is a dystopian French fantasy/drama film by Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet released in 1995. The film is stylistically related to the previous and subsequent Jeunet films, Delicatessen and Amélie. It was entered into the 1995 Cannes Film Festival.-Plot:A mad scientist,...
.
Before establishing Softimage Inc., Mr. Langlois earned a bachelor of design degree from the Université du Québec à Montréal
Université du Québec à Montréal
The Université du Québec à Montréal is one of four universities in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.-Basic facts:The UQAM is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québec , a public university system with other branches in Gatineau , Rimouski, Rouyn-Noranda, Quebec City, Chicoutimi, and...
. He also worked eight years as a film director and animator for private companies and the National Film Board of Canada
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada is Canada's twelve-time Academy Award-winning public film producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary, animation, alternative drama and digital media productions...
. During this time, he made contributions to the film industry and especially to the field of computer graphics. In addition, he has gained recognition for his work on Transitions
Transitions (film)
Transitions was the world's first IMAX film in 3D. It was created for Expo 86 in Vancouver. The film was co-directed by Colin Low and Tony Ianzelo and produced by the National Film Board of Canada.-External links:*...
, first stereoscopic 3-D computer animation
Computer animation
Computer animation is the process used for generating animated images by using computer graphics. The more general term computer generated imagery encompasses both static scenes and dynamic images, while computer animation only refers to moving images....
in IMAX
IMAX
IMAX is a motion picture film format and a set of proprietary cinema projection standards created by the Canadian company IMAX Corporation. IMAX has the capacity to record and display images of far greater size and resolution than conventional film systems...
format (presented at Expo 86
Expo 86
The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, or simply Expo '86, was a World's Fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from Friday, May 2 until Monday, October 13, 1986...
). He also had a hand in the 1985 film Tony de Peltrie, which has garnered several international awards.
Mr. Langlois has received many honours throughout his career. In 1994, Ernst & Young chose him as Canada's national entrepreneur of the year. The University of Sherbrooke bestowed an honorary doctorate degree in administration on Mr. Langlois in 1996. In 1997, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary organization dedicated to the advancement of the arts and sciences of motion pictures...
presented him with a Scientific and Technical Oscar.
In 1999, he became a Knight of the National Order of Quebec
National Order of Quebec
The National Order of Quebec, termed officially in French as l'Ordre national du Québec, and in English abbreviation as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec...
and was named as an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2000.