Media Design School receives significant software donation

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Media Design School receives significant software donation

11th August 2014

A partnership between Auckland’s Media Design School and FXGear, a South Korean software development company that specialises in creating software for the Visual Effects (VFX) and 3D Animation industry, will enable Media Design School students to have access to some of the world’s most advanced VFX software.

FXGear has donated over 200 software licenses for the school’s computers as part of its software donation program; a deal worth over $3 million New Zealand Dollars.

The agreement will give both Media Design School’s Bachelor of Art and Design and Creative Technologies students access to a whole suite of new software. The software donated to Media Design School includes: FluX, a fully scalable fluid simulator with distributed computing capability; Qualoth, a robust multi-layer cloth simulator; FXHair; and ezCloth, a collision-protected bone- based model simulator which is used to create realistic clothing for animated characters.

This software will enable Media Design School’s students an opportunity to further develop a comprehensive technical skillset that will enable them to work in world-class animation studios upon their courses’ completion.

Bachelor of Art and Design Lecturer Oliver Hilbert is thrilled with the company’s generous donation: “As a school, we are always training in the latest emerging technologies and actively looking for partnerships that will be beneficial for our students.”

“These tools are high-grade visual effects products used in studios such as Bluesky, Disney, and Blizzard” said Hilbert.

“The fact that software companies are approaching our school and offering to donate software in the interest of seeing our students success indicates just how well-regarded Media Design School is by the wider industry, both in New Zealand and overseas”

Hilbert believes that this partnership will be mutually beneficial to both Media Design School and FXGear.

“By giving our students access to this impressive suite of VFX and Computer Graphics software, we will be able to further enable our students to produce award-winning animated short films” he said.

Previous VFX work produced by the Media Design School has been received with high acclaim. In 2013, a number of short films that were created and worked on by Bachelor of Art and Design students won awards at festivals such as NY Shorts Fest, LA Movie Awards and New Zealand’s Uni Shorts. Their most recent film, Over The Moon, was selected to screen at both the New Zealand International Film Festival and San Diego’s Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival.

ENDS

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