Former Effects Specialist from Digital Domain and Sony Pictures Imageworks to provide on-site support for studios using Houdini in production and to lead the Houdini Boot Camp

Sept. 7, 2005 – Santa Monica, CA – Side Effects Software, developer of the award-winning Houdini family of 3D software, today announced the appointment of industry veteran Garman Herigstad as Production Consultant. Herigstad will leverage more than 19 years of experience in 3D animation and visual effects at Digital Domain and Sony Pictures Imageworks to provide on-site production and training support to studios using Houdini software.

In addition, Herigstad will now lead Side Effects Software’s “Houdini Boot Camp,” which is a series of intensive one week training sessions in October and December that provides hands-on experience with Houdini and a working knowledge of Houdini in production. With a particular focus on visual effects and lighting, the “Houdini Boot Camp” will teach technical directors how to build more efficient pipelines. Please visit www.sidefx.com for more details.

As a visual effects production expert, Herigstad has nearly two decades of experience in this industry and is credited on dozens of feature films. Most recently, he served as sequence lead for Stealth and effects artist for The Day After Tomorrow while at Digital Domain. Herigstad was also with Sony Pictures Imageworks as an effects specialist while working on feature films, including Harry Potter: The Sorcerer’s Stone and Cast Away.

“Our production consultants are industry experts who work closely with customers to understand and respond to production challenges,” said Kim Davidson, CEO, Side Effects Software. “We’re thrilled that Garman has joined our team to share his expertise with our valued customers.”

Herigstad first taught Houdini at the Savannah College of Design ( www.scad.com) where he ran classes in particles and procedural modeling. Many Houdini users working in production today got their start in Garman’s classes. Recently, The Gnomon Workshop ( www.thegnomonworkshop.com) released a learning DVD authored by Herigstad titled “Houdini 101: Interface and Workflow “. This DVD provides a great way for people to begin learning Houdini especially if they can’t make it to LA for the boot camp.

About Houdini
The Houdini family of animation software offers digital artists an unprecedented level of power, flexibility and control based on award-winning technology. The comprehensive feature set includes modeling, rigging, animation, particle effects, channel editing, compositing, integrated rendering, and much more. All Houdini applications work together seamlessly and are available for the Windows and Linux operating systems. Houdini has been used to create stunning digital animation in blockbuster films, including The Day After Tomorrow, Spider-Man (1 & 2), The Polar Express, I,Robot, Chronicles of Riddick, XMen, X2: X-Men United, the Harry Potter series, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Matrix trilogy, and most recently Sin City, Stealth, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Valiant.

About Side Effects Software
Established in 1987, Side Effects Software is a world leader in the development of advanced 3D animation and special effects software for use in film. Side Effects Software leads the field of procedural animation with its unique, award-winning, Houdini technology. Houdini is used by numerous digital content creation leaders including C.O.R.E., Digital Domain, Disney Feature Animation, DNA Productions, Framestore-CFC, The Orphanage, Rhythm and Hues, and Sony Pictures Imageworks among others.

Elana Altshuler
mPRm Public Relations
323-933-3399 x258
Email Contact