NewsForge: The Stallion and the Penguin: DreamWorks uses Linux to Create New Animated Film

"In late May, DreamWorks' new animated film 'Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron' will hit theaters and mark a major milestone for the studio, as well as for the Open Source community at large. 'Spirit' was created entirely on Linux.

"While 'Shrek' and other movies including 'Lord of the Rings' have used Linux to power server farms, the creators of 'Shrek' also used IRIX on SGI workstations. So 'Spirit' is DreamWorks' first animated feature using Linux both on the front and back ends.

"Pacific Data Images (PDI), the animation co-production arm of DreamWorks SKG, is best known for its cutting-edge animated films 'Shrek' and 'Antz,' and it pioneered computer-assisted animation and 3D rendering using high-powered SGI servers and workstations. But as the hardware began to show signs of age, PDI/DreamWorks looked for a better platform, according to Scott Chapin, with DreamWorks animation technical support..."

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• LinuxPower.com: Video I/O on Linux: Lessons Learned from SGI (Feb 28, 2002)
• apcmag.com: Tech wizardry (More on the Lord of the Rings visual effects team)(Jan 26, 2002)