World Animation Celebration 1998: NATE

The New Animation Technologies Expo, although not technically a part of the World Animation Celebration and won't be next year, (it's moving to the Silicon Valley next year and will be back in the Los Angeles area in 2000) was one of the high spots of the week. The most exciting thing about NATE was illustration of the continued trend towards pro-quality computer animation tools running on inexpensive, off-the-shelf PCs and Macs. Packages like the 3D software Lightwave, 3D Studio Max, Softimage, promising new up-and-comer Martin Hash Animation and 2D packages like Animation Stand and AXA all run on more or less stock PCs. Lightwave, Hash and Animation Stand all have Power Mac counterparts. And one package, RETASpro, is a Mac-only product.

Between last year and this year, one of the most striking trends I observed was price. The software is getting more and more sophisticated, but the price is getting lower and lower. Hash Animation was going for a show price of less than $200...pretty impressive when you consider that the results artists were getting with it compared favorably with stuff I've seen on Reboot, Beast Wars and on CGI Animation tapes like the Mind's Eye series. Screenshot: Hash Animation
Screenshot from Martin Hash Animation,
Graphic courtesy of Hash, Inc.

To sum up my impressions of NATE, what I'm trying to say here is that the DIY animation studio is a reality. With powerful Pentium-class computers available from Mom and Pop clone shops for $1,000 or less and suitable Macs not too far behind, and packages like Hash and Ray Dream Studio 5 going for $500 or less, an animator can become a fully self-contained studio unto themselves. Whether a pro who wants to pursue personal projects or a young animator straight out of art school, the means of producing animation are getting easier and easier to obtain. And with the advent of the Web as the first new media without rich and powerful gatekeepers to keep the riff-raff out, the means of distribution are also within reach.