Softimage hop on 'The Magic Roundabout'

Softimage|XSI software, the industry's leading nonlinear 3-D production environment, has been chosen by French animation studio Action Synthèse to play a starring role in the animated feature film 'The Magic Roundabout'.
Action Synthèse chose to switch their existing 3-D pipeline mid-production to the Softimage|XSI software in order to better meet the creative, schedule and budget requirements of this highly demanding and entirely computer generated movie.
Based on the 1960's children's cult European TV series of the same name, 'The Magic Roundabout' is scheduled for release in France and the UK in 2004 and will feature the original cast, as well as two entirely new characters.
In addition to the Softimage|XSI software, the production companies Film Action France and Pathé UK have also signed-on some of the world's hottest talent for this widely anticipated movie. Australian pop star Kylie Minogue will lend her voice to the cartoon character Florence (Margotte), fellow singer Robbie Williams will provide the voice for the world-weary shaggy dog Dougal (Pollux) and 'Absolutely Fabulous' actor Joanna Lumley will be Ermintrude (Azalée), the whimsical cow.
Action Synthèse needed a robust, extensible and flexible 3-D software that could meet the challenges of creating an animated CG feature film. The superior creative toolset, highly-productive workflow capabilities, industry-leading integration of 'mental ray' rendering technology and flexible nonlinear environment were key in the animation studio's choice to move their pipeline to the Softimage|XSI environment.
(GB)