Since its initial launch last summer, the powerful Curious gFx raster paint, rotoscoping and retouch software has won acclaim from companies as diverse as Phoenix Editorial and ESC Entertainment in the US and Weta Digital in New Zealand, winner of the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects on all three films of the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Available in 8-bit and 16-bit configurations, Curious gFx software provides all the tools required for painting and rotoscoping in an effects environment. Both configurations, Curious gFx Pro and Curious gFx Pro+, are now shipping in version 2.5, and offer the most powerful paint engine for moving images; the most sophisticated new roto-matte system and a superb range of features for wire and rig removal or content restoration. All of these features are fully integrated into a resolution independent layered compositing and effects system, with a single intuitive and powerful user interface, making Curious gFx the new choice for paint, retouch, and rotoscoping in television, HD and film.

Wellington-base Weta Digital was among the first to discover the versatility of this new software. Quentin Hema, Weta's Paint and Roto Supervisor, says: "For the past three months, the Weta Digital 2D Paint Department has been using Curious gFx and has found it to be an excellent package. Curious has been very quick to implement change requests and product suggestions. We have found Curious great to deal with."

Weta Digital offers world-class visual effects for international feature films and commercials. Best known for its visual effects work on New Line Cinema's The Lord of the Rings trilogy, the company has most recently been involved in the Theatrical Film and Extended DVD Version of The Return of the King and has delivered shots for the action adventure Van Helsing (2004: Universal). Weta Digital is also in production on I, Robot (Fox) and is in pre-production for King Kong (Universal), scheduled for release in 2005.

Another Curious gFx enthusiast is Matt Plec, 2D Pipeline at ESC Entertainment, a company that was established in 2001 with the purpose of creating groundbreaking visual effects for feature films. Based in the San Francisco Bay area, ESC Entertainment was awarded the signature visual effects sequences for THE MATRIX sequels, THE MATRIX: Reloaded and THE MATRIX: Revolutions. These were delivered in 2003 and included such unforgettable effects as the freeway chase, Trinity falls, burly brawl, sentinel reveal and the siege sequence, featuring the Hand of God shot.

Most recently the company has been working on Joel and Ethan Coen's The Ladykillers, staring Tom Hanks; Cat Woman, staring Halle Berry and Constantine staring Keanu Reeves.

Commenting on his experiences with Curious gFx, Matt Plec says: "As we evaluated applications capable of 16 bit paint/roto, the rich set of brush controls and deep tool set in gFx made it a compelling choice. The development team has been very responsive and it's been encouraging to see the pace at which gFx is developing to meet our industry's unique needs."

Plec's views are endorsed by Matt Silverman, director of effects and design at Phoenix Editorial, another San Francisco-based company specializing in feature film work. Silverman says: "As a visual effects artist working on tight deadlines, there are a few aspects of my job that require time consuming work, which I cannot get around. Rotoscoping is at the top of this list, and when it comes time to paint thousands of frames or cut articulate mattes I need a dedicated rotoscoping application. Curious gFx is now the main tool that I turn to when we need to get this type of work done fast. The 16-bit raster based paint engine allows me to clone and paint on high-resolution plates without it bogging down like other vector based paint systems, and the b-spline masking tools allow me to cut mattes in a fraction of the time it would take with a bezier masking tool. Curious has really taken professional roto to the next level."

The latest versions of Curious gFx Pro and gFx Pro+ offer a host features including memory storage for moving sequences, memory management, time offset in merge painting, shape grouping in roto-matte creation and restore brush functions. Pricing for the Curious gFx Pro range starts at $999 / E999.

For more information about the Curious gFx series, and to download a 30-day evaluation copy of Curious gFx Pro, please see here.

go back...