Pixar Animation Studios is celebrating the 20th anniversary of its Academy Award-winning RenderMan rendering solution at SIGGRAPH, where it has unveiled details of the latest version of its RenderMan Pro Server software. Set to ship this fall, RenderMan Pro Server 14.0 introduces significant performance enhancements including accelerated ray-tracing, faster processing of large polygon datasets, optimized hair performance, faster AOV’s and enhanced threading scalability.
New core features that facilitate the development of custom tools include a re-rendering mode for accelerated interactive shading and lighting, a new SDK for easy linking, a Python binding for simplified integration, user-defined structures in the RenderMan shading language (RSL 2.0), an API for reading brick maps, and a new format for point clouds. The update also offers full compatibility with 64-bit Windows Vista desktop and 64-bit Windows HPC Server 2008, expanding the choice of available render-farm pipeline configurations.
‘What began as an interesting artistic exercise is now an indispensable tool,’ says filmmaker and Lucasfilm founder George Lucas. ‘It’s notable that 20 years after putting its first pixels on the screen, RenderMan remains the benchmark for all rendering technology.’
RenderMan Pro Server 14.0 is compatible with Mac OS X, Linux, Windows XP, Windows Vista 64 bit, and Windows HPC Server 2008. Upgrade pricing from RenderMan Pro Server 13.5 will be available. In addition, Pixar’s maintenance program benefits customers with access to ongoing support and upgrades for an annual fee. For more information go to www.pixar.com or contact rendermansales@pixar.com.
The next film release from Disney/Pixar is Up, which stars Ed Asner as the voice of an old man who attaches balloons to his house and flies to a remote area of Venezuela. Director Pete Docter (Monsters, Inc.) is readying the pic for a May 29, 2009 release.
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