Archive notice: This article was originally published on June 15, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
At the renowned German Multimedia Congress on Tuesday evening at Berlin’s ewerk, innovative applications with particularly promising industrial potential received awards. Mackevision Medien Design GmbH’s F_BOX picture shooter won in the e-commerce category. The Stuttgart CGI specialist’s revolutionary web tool allows even users without 3D experience to create sophisticated, photorealistic 3D visualisations independently.
The German Multimedia Awards have recognised outstanding online, offline and terminal applications demonstrating the innovation and performance of interactive media since 1996. The German Multimedia Congress is organised by Baden-Württemberg location-development agency MFG and the German Association for the Digital Economy, BVDW.
This year’s awards in ten categories were held under the theme “Move,” intended as a signal of awakening and modernisation, especially during the crisis. The jury assessed 300 entries from 125 agencies, service providers and clients.
The jury presented the sole e-commerce award to Mackevision for F_BOX picture shooter. The easy-to-use tool belongs to the Stuttgart CGI specialist’s newly launched F_BOX family. It sets new standards in quality and implementation speed while significantly reducing costs by simplifying and accelerating the previously complex, time-consuming CGI image-creation process. At the same time, it offers the full creative range of CGI production and returns the design process to creatives.
Without lengthy training or 3D knowledge, users can create photorealistic 3D visualisations themselves simply and economically from prepared product data. No software installation is required because the web service is accessible from any computer through a browser.
To create an image, a user selects a vehicle and background, positions the vehicle, controls camera position and tilt, and chooses focal length and framing. The settings correspond to a real shoot without restrictions from location, weather, lighting or transport. Products can be placed freely; backgrounds and products can be combined, and users can upload their own backgrounds. Simple configuration tools define details such as colour, wheels and licence-plate text.
Generated image content is delivered at selectable resolutions from layout to proof quality. F_BOX picture shooter is therefore suitable not only for high-end imagery but also as a layout tool for moods, storyboards and concept studies.
Alongside the rendered image, the service automatically supplies auxiliary layers for retouching materials, paintwork and surface reflections, plus additional render passes for reflections and lighting. Simple controls can also generate automatic 360-degree walkarounds. The award is Mackevision Managing Director Armin Pohl’s first for a technological development and confirms the strategy of establishing the company as a provider of independent system solutions. “The DMMA 2009 award confirms that this new technology meets the needs of the moment. It allows us to guarantee customers innovative services without loss of quality even in difficult economic times,” he says.
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