Former "Avatar" animation technical director and virtual art department supervisor accepts new role at NewTek
LOS ANGELES - SIGGRAPH - July 26, 2010 - NewTek, worldwide leader of 3D animation and video products, today announced that Rob Powers has been promoted to vice president of 3D development. Powers will oversee the design and development of NewTek's 3D products, leveraging his extensive experience in the visual effects and film production industry.
"Rob has played a pivotal role in the development of LightWave over the last several months," said Jim Plant, president and chief executive officer, NewTek. "He has a clear understanding of what artists and filmmakers need from their 3D technology and that makes him the ideal candidate to lead NewTek's 3D development efforts. Under his guidance, LightWave will continue to deliver innovative, groundbreaking technologies that meet the growing needs of visual effects producers everywhere."
In his role as senior director of entertainment and media development for NewTek, Powers acted as a liaison between studios, 3D artists and NewTek, sharing the benefits of LightWave with the visual effects community, and relaying the studios' and artists' needs to the NewTek LightWave development team. Prior to joining NewTek, Powers worked with James Cameron, serving as animation technical director and virtual art department supervisor for "Avatar," and as CG supervisor for "Aliens of the Deep." Powers also worked with Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, serving as virtual art department supervisor for "Tintin." He worked on Disney's "Honey I Shrunk the Kids" and Jet Li's "The One," and was the lead animator of the famous 3D dancing baby on "Ally McBeal." NewTek also enlisted Powers to use LightWave 3D to create the first 64-bit Windows animation, which was presented by Bill Gates in a keynote address.
Powers graduated from the University of Southern California's Cinema Production program, and attended the Academy of Motion Pictures, American Film Institute.
About LightWave
NewTek LightWave 3D combines a state-of-the-art renderer with powerful, intuitive modeling, and animation tools. Tools that may cost extra in other professional 3D applications are part of the product package, including 999 free cross-platform render nodes, support for Windows and Mac UB 64 and 32-bit operating systems, free technical support and more. LightWave is enjoyed worldwide, as a complete 3D production solution for feature film and television visual effects, broadcast design, print graphics, visualization, game development, and Web. LightWave is responsible for more artists winning Emmy Awards than any other 3D application.
About NewTek
Benefiting producers and artists with cost-effective and groundbreaking technologies, NewTek is a worldwide leader in 3D animation and special effects tools, portable live production and video editing including LightWave 3D, the TriCaster product line and 3PLAY. NewTek has won numerous industry accolades, including two Emmy Awards.
NewTek products have been used in blockbuster films and television shows, including "Avatar," "Repo Men," "Alice in Wonderland," "Tintin," "The Dark Knight," "Iron Man," "Caprica," "V," "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," "Lost," "Fringe" and more.
NewTek is privately owned and based in San Antonio, Texas. For more information, please visit: www.newtek.com.
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--LightWave 3D is a registered trademark of NewTek.
--The TriCaster product line includes TriCaster, TriCaster PRO, TriCaster STUDIO and TriCaster BROADCAST, which are trademarks of NewTek.
--LightWave, 3PLAY, DataLink, TriCaster VM, TimeWarp, LiveControl, SpeedEDIT, VT[5], iVGA, LiveSet, LiveMatte, LiveText and 3D Arsenal are trademarks of NewTek.
--All other products or brand names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
