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Disney Switches To Linux For Animation

Posted by timothy on from the intuhlectual-property dept.

EEEthan writes: "It looks like Linux is really the next big thing for movie graphics houses. The New York Times is reporting that Disney has switched over to Linux-based HP workstations for animation. Although Disney has historically been known for their hand-drawn animation, this is a big move to Linux for what might be the world's most famous producer of animated films."

12 of 489 comments (clear)

  1. Their Software by jmu1 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    is great. I saw it in action when I went to Disney World for my honeymoon in May. I asked several questions about the software and about GNU/Linux and they seemed to be quite enthusiastic about it in general. It makes sense really. They write all of their own software, so why not have an OS that they can completely manipulate, without paying extra for the code!

    1. Re:Their Software by jmu1 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      It's one of their tours at MGM/Disney Studios. They have a Q&A session towards the end and you get to see lots of the stuff in action behind great big glass walls. I was(of course) plastered to them most of the time trying to get a glimpse(they were using SGI machines for the most part).

    2. Re:Their Software by MAXOMENOS · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Maybe somebody should inform Mike Eisner that it CBDTPA passes, their Linux software will become illegal.

      --
      Finding God in a Dog
  2. Steve Jobs tried before by mr100percent · · Score: 5, Interesting
    Steve Jobs once flew to LA to meet Disney's head of feature films, Jeffrey Katzenberg. He tried to sell them some top-of the line NeXT workstations, running Pixar's software for 3D movies.

    Jeffrey cut Steve off when the animation was being demoed. "This is art. I own animation, and nobody's going to get it. It's as if someone comes to date my daughter. I have a shotgun. If someone tries to take this away, I'll blow his balls off." -The Second Coming of Steve Jobs

    Apparently Disney felt seriously threatened that Pixar could make full-length animated movies, which could smash Disney's monopoly. They didn't buy the software, and threatened to crush Pixar, until they hired them for a movie, Toy Story. Funny how it seems so different now.

    1. Re:Steve Jobs tried before by mr100percent · · Score: 3, Interesting

      "Disney and Pixar had a good working relationship at that time"

      Not really, Pixar wanted to sell their technology, and Disney only got their software, not their animating equipment, and threatened to roll over Pixar like a steamroller if they tried making animation. Disney dominated the animation business.

      The problem was that in the 1970's and 1980's, Disney went into a slump, and put out a bunch of mediocre movies. Animators were quitting, like Tim Burton, and going onto big success (like Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, Beetlejuice, and Batman). Meanwhile, Pixar went to Paramount and WB to search for work, knowing full well that Disney was aware.

      That might be why in 1990, Disney and Pixar went into talks for a feature film. Before the meeting Jeffrey's people were arrogant and condescending, implying that Pixar was nothing and Disney runs the show. Once they met, Disney was willing to talk, provided Pixar went to no other studios.

      Yes, Jeffrey is an amazing negotiator, and he brokered the deal (driving a really hard bargain) and setup a three-movie deal.

  3. Irony by Target+Drone · · Score: 5, Interesting

    I find it rather ironic that a company that tries to squeeze every last cent out of people for the IP it creates is using an OS created by people who have freely donated their IP.

  4. Switching to Apple? by AIXadmin · · Score: 3, Interesting

    One has to wonder. With Apple's string of aquisitions, and invetiable future string of aquisitions of 3D and other content creation tools.
    Will shops starting switching to Mac OS X. I imagine several all ready have Mac OS X in their environments for Photoshop.
    So far Apple has kept the Linux versions on most of the applications and dumped NT. What happens if they dump Linux?

  5. Add DMCA waiver clause to open source licences by bwt · · Score: 5, Interesting


    What if we added a clause to the GPL and all other OSI licences that said "by accepting possession of this software, you agree to grant technological protection measure access rights that otherwise would be reserved under the anti-circumvention provisions of the DMCA to any software developer who releases the resulting software under this licence (or any other OSI approved licence) in a way that does not otherwise infringe the copyright"?

    Such a clause would immunize open source software developers from DMCA claims by corporations that use *any* open source software. That sounds like a fair trade to me: we work for free to build software for them in return for the right to not be sued under the DMCA.

  6. CGI in disney cartoons since Aladdin by peter303 · · Score: 3, Interesting

    A few parts in each summer animated movie since Aladdin have been CGI. Dinosaur was the first full CGI film. The magic carpet and cave scene were cgi. The ballroom dance scene in Beauty and Beast was CGI. The wildebest stampede in Lion King was CGI. The street crowds in Hunchback were CGI. The Olympic clouds in Hercules were CGI. The soldier armies in Mulan were CGI. Disney talked about these at the national and L.A. SIGGRAPH meetings.

  7. Re:Not really.... by donglekey · · Score: 3, Interesting

    This is false. SGI was the high end and has been dying very slowly. For 3D NT and 2000 have really been the mainstay. Mac never had any good 3D programs except for Lightwave, and just recently Maya. Look at the backbones of high end 3D, Softimage|3D/Softimage|XSI, PowerAnimator/Maya and Houdini. First they were on SGI, then SGI and NT, and now they are all on Linux. Mac's aren't a player on the animation side of things, but Apple seems to be trying to change that quickly. What is one tool for Mac that isn't available on windows?

    The tools they are using on Linux ARE THE SAME TOOLS they were using on windows. That is why they are switching, because they can port stuff over, and the upper end of 3D and animation (Softimage, Maya, Houdini, Shake, etc. etc.) are available on Linux.

    --

    This Wiki Feeds You TV and Anime - vidwiki.org
  8. Linux is destroying Unix by duck_prime · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Aside from a few test stations, Windows isn't used at Feature Animation, and only a few people are lobbying for it.

    We've seen this before... Linux rarely pushes out Windows, and often pushes out other Unices. I do believe we will soon see Linux squeezing all the profit out of proprietary Unix implementations.

    You may see this as a good thing, or not. But once the other Unices die, we'll really see if GPL hobbyists can compete with Microsoft.

    This promises to be interesting.

  9. Re:Wait by The+Cat · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Care to elucidate? In terms of pure technical skill, they are.

    Yes, I like anime better.

    Doesn't this answer your question? Disney animation 40-50 years ago was incredible. Disney animation now is assembly line crap.

    Anime is out-Disneying Disney. There are still background images in CardCaptor Sakura that by themselves are more entertaining than "The Emperor's New Groove" or whatever it is, and certainly are more entertaining than the latest "sequel of the week."

    Disney needs to hire and fund some creative people and leave them alone long enough (about 15 years for a start) to come up with something truly new and innovative, otherwise anime is going to eat their lunch.