Archive notice: This article was originally published on August 26, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Entertainment and design software from Autodesk, Inc. was used to create state-of-the-art content for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. Leading digital-content developers used Autodesk technology for projects ranging from stadium visualizations and mascot design to broadcast graphics and advertising for global brands.
China Central Television (CCTV)
China’s largest national television network created its “One Dream, One World” and “Olympics Age” packaging and promotional material with Autodesk Smoke. CCTV also used Smoke daily to create content throughout the Games.
Crystal CG
Official Beijing 2008 graphics-design supplier Crystal CG used Autodesk 3ds Max to create architectural visualizations of the Bird’s Nest stadium and related facilities. 3ds Max and Autodesk Maya were also used for television commercials, promotions and an educational sports program. Crystal CG produced five animated films featuring the Olympic mascot Fuwa with Maya.
Psyop/Stink
Psyop/Stink used Autodesk Maya to create four commercials—“Together,” “Zheng Zhi,” “Hu Jia” and “CVA”—for Adidas’s “Together in 2008, Impossible is Nothing” Olympic campaign. They featured computer-generated crowds and a pencil-sketch effect.
“Elements for almost every shot were created in Autodesk Maya and composited with live footage,” said Psyop technical director Tony Barbieri. “Maya let us fill scenes with hundreds of different cheering fans. About thirty fan variants were modeled and rigged in Maya. Using one rig for each gender, we captured motion and created custom animation cycles to populate the entire crowd.” Psyop supplies 3D animation, visual effects and digital content for advertising.
Seven Network
The Australian network’s in-house team used Smoke to produce Olympic promotional material for Channel Seven. “Smoke is the only system capable of handling Seven’s enormous workload. As a daily production system, it is invaluable,” said senior editor Suzique Doughty.
südlich-t
Special-effects and animation studio südlich-t used Maya and Autodesk Combustion to create Olympic spots for German public broadcasters ARD and ZDF. Live-action athletes transform into 3D ink strokes and droplets. Combustion handled compositing and visual effects, while Maya’s fluid and particle systems created the athlete-to-ink transitions.
