Escape Studios will Launch its First Houdini Class in Late November

London: November 14, 2005 -- Escape Studios and Side Effects Software today announced a partnership to provide training in the UK animation and visual effects market for the Houdini line of products. Houdini has long been recognized as a key contributor to feature film production pipelines and is a popular choice for technical directors working on high-end visual effects.

"Houdini has a great reputation as a solution for high-end visual effects work," said Mark Cass, Business Development Director, Escape Studios. "At Escape, our goal is to provide students with access to tools such as Houdini that play a key role in the industry."

Escape Studios is launching the partnership in late November with the Houdini Kick-start class which will provide a comprehensive look at Houdini and its award winning approach to 3D animation and visual effects. This course will include an introduction to Houdini's new dynamics architecture and will help people learn the best approach to developing Houdini skills. This course is also a pre-requisite for anyone interested in becoming a certified Houdini instructor.

After this initial class, Side Effects Software and Escape will work together to bring a series of training programs to market for both new and existing Houdini users. This includes a Houdini boot camp and the development of courses that show how Houdini offers a complete pipeline solution that goes well beyond visual effects work.

"Escape Studios has a fantastic reputation and provides top-notch training for the UK and European markets" says Aliza Sorotzkin, Training and School Accounts Manager. "There is a demand for Houdini skills in the industry and this kind of quality training will help provide the right talent for our customers."

About Escape Studios

Escape Studios is a hub for 3D animation and visual effects expertise. It has built its reputation delivering software, training and new talent to the CGI industries. Professional clients include Aardman Animations, the BBC, Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, Electronic Arts, Rockstar and Nissan.

About Houdini

The Houdini family of animation software offers digital artists an unprecedented level of power, flexibility and control based on award-winning technology. The comprehensive feature set includes modeling, rigging, animation, particle effects, dynamics, compositing, integrated rendering, and more. All Houdini applications work together seamlessly and are available for the Windows and Linux operating systems. Houdini has been used to create stunning digital animation in blockbuster films, including The Day After Tomorrow, Spider-Man (1 & 2), The Polar Express, I,Robot, Chronicles of Riddick, XMen, X2: X-Men United, the Harry Potter series, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Matrix trilogy, and most recently Sin City, Stealth, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Valiant.

About Side Effects Software

Established in 1987, Side Effects Software is a world leader in the development of advanced 3D animation and special effects software for use in film. Side Effects Software leads the field of procedural animation with its unique, award-winning, Houdini technology. Houdini is used by numerous digital content creation leaders including C.O.R.E., Digital Domain, Disney Feature Animation, DNA Productions, Framestore-CFC, The Orphanage, Rhythm and Hues, and Sony Pictures Imageworks among others.