Archive notice: This article was originally published on September 7, 2015. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
Pixar is now responding to the needs of the CG and games industry with the open-source Universal Scene Description (USD) project : The authoring, reading and scene description system makes it possible to exchange complex scenes between graphic applications much more efficiently.
USD functions such as file references, layer transformation, variation and inheritance have been completely revised; in accordance with the design of Pixar’s Presto animation system, which was originally developed for the film “Brave.”
USD can be used to create embeddable direct 3D visualisations that are realised with the help of Pixar’s rendering software. Furthermore, the package also contains several plug-ins for creating various key visual effects and digital effects, comprehensive documentation as well as tutorials and a complete Python connection.
Although the system is still in the testing phase, it has already been in use for a year in the production of the Nemo sequel Finding Dory. For an initial assessment, before the project began Pixar already involved providers such as The Foundry and Fabric Software.
All further information about Pixar’s USD here.
All open-source fans are also recommended to read our DP 05 : 2015.
