Luminetik, a pro-Mac, cross-platform 3D animation and effects studio in New York city, has really taken off since their first profile article here on Architosh over a year ago. We wanted to point out some of their work that is in the spotlight these days.

A Lightwave Powerhouse

Luminetik is a user of NewTek's Lightwave 7 and has developed some useful techniques for obtaining the level of realism desired in their renderings. A feature article on NewTek's site details the firm and its projects very well.

Luminetik, a Manhattan-based 3D animation and visual effects studio, is known by its commercial clients for creating uncannily realistic product shots that look like still photography—until they come to life. Radiosity, which simulates how lightwaves bounce off surfaces, is a critical technique for making softer shadows and more realistic images.

Moving More to the Mac Side

"We've done [radiosity] previously in other applications and now we're pushing it for Lightwave. We haven't had time to really develop [it] in Lightwave until now," says CEO / executive producer Kevin Cahill. Luminetik used radiosity in a :30 UltraMax spot for Arm & Hammer deodorant, featuring the Yankees' Jason Giambi pitching 3D baseballs. The studio is creating all the visual effects, product shots and titles; models, animation and images were created with Lightwave. The software runs on PCs and Power Mac G4's but the shop is moving more to the Mac side, preferring the color containment and synchronization between the various Mac packages. In addition, Luminetik is installing its first Mac OS X server this summer.

Radiosity

For this Stanley Steemer spot, Welcome to the Jungle, Janimation employed Softimage|XSI 2.0. For Luminetik, David Isyomim was visual effects supervisor and Sean James was animator. The spot will air this summer. It was created in less than two weeks time. "Radiosity makes it look better. We've worked a lot in other packages that used more mathematical lightscapes with radiosity. We tend to put it in a volume to keep the bounce effect to a minimum. If you enclose it, it gives you better results. It's more predictable," says Cahill, who notes that they're still fine tuning the technique. Due to its cost effectiveness and rendering engine, which produces RenderMan-like quality, he adds, LightWave is increasingly getting the nod for commercials.

Luminetik in the News

Luminetik Shines from Web to Film

Luminetik's Post Magazine Cover

Post Magazine Dannon Image