ENGINEERING

TORONTO, CANADA -- Alias/Wavefront(TM), an SGI (NYSE:SGI) company, today announced that its recently unveiled mental ray(R) for Maya(R) technology is now shipping. As an optional, plug-in renderer for the award-winning Maya 3D software package, mental ray for Maya provides customers with a tightly integrated rendering solution that maximizes the strengths of both products. In addition to this new rendering option, Alias/Wavefront is also offering mental ray stand-alone licenses for increased interactive rendering speed within Maya as well as for use in batch rendering. "Both Maya and the mental ray renderer from mental images are regarded within industry circles as world-class production tools," states Chris Ford, senior Maya product manager, Alias/Wavefront. "For some time there has been a strong push from within the industry for us to unite the two. In response, we are delighted to release mental ray for Maya, a product which provides a seamless workflow between the mental ray renderer and Maya's unparalleled capabilities." mental ray for Maya is an optional and fully integrated plug-in renderer for Maya that offers the features and tools available in the renowned mental ray renderer version 3.0 from mental images(R). The new Alias/Wavefront offering will be available to customers in either node locked or floating license configurations. As a mental ray for Maya early access site, Boy Wonder Visual Effects in Culver City, California had the opportunity to use the product for their work on the upcoming trailer for a major Hollywood studio's feature film commercials. "The time constraints were incredibly tight, still we had to insure that we produced the most high-resolution, photo realistic images possible," explains company President Burt Ward. "mental ray for Maya with its strengths in global illumination, motion blur and light fall off ensured that we could deliver high quality, photo realistic shots to the client, on time." For additional information visit www.aliaswavefront.com