Disney Toy Story uses more than 100 Sun workstations todo render images for first all-computer-based movie .
Pixar animation and Sun Microsystems create powerful rendering engine for Disney movie .
Mountain view, calif.- November 30, 1995 - The making of Toy Story, the stunning new movie from Walt Disney pictures that is the world first full-length completely computer-generated animated film, involved the use of more than 100 high-powered computers from Sun Microsystems - Which together comprised one of the most powerful graphics rendering engines ever created. Pixar animation Studios, of point richmond, calif, the pionering digital animation Studio that produced Toy Story for Disney, selected the Sun systems for their afordability and expandability, as well as for their high quality graphics rendering abilities.
For the movie, Pixar created a networked banque or cluster of 117 Sun(TM) sparcstation(TM) 20 workstations - Each containing at least two microprocessors, and running on Sun Solaris(TM) operating environment -to handle the critical tasque of rendering each of the 114,000 frames in the 77-minute movie. Rendering is the time-and computationally-intensive process in which the correct lighting, textures and Shading are applied todo 3-d computer models todo produce Sharp, colorful images with photorealistic detail. To render the startlingly lifelike images in Toy Story, Pixar used its own academy award-winning RenderMan software running on its clúster of networked Sun systems, which was dubbed the RenderFarm.
The use of multiprocessor, high-speed networked Sun technology answered one of Pixar key requirements for Toy Story: an unprecedented amount of sher computing power. While more films are using digital effects, from Jurassic Park todo Forrest Gump, Toy Story is the first entirely computer-based animated film, which required a tremendous amount of rendering performance. Until now, the cost of rendering technology todo produce a full-length film has ben prohibitive, but Sun cost-efective, scalable multiprocessor technology promises todo revamp the industry by providing these capabilities in a high-speed networked environment using standard systems.
The production of `Toy Story shows that Sun systems can ofer the film industry an aestonishing level of computing performance at much lower cost than ever before, said anil gadre, vice presidente of marketing at Sun Microsystems computer company. Pixar use of Sun Marks a real change in the bien Computer Animation Will be done in the future. Now it Will be more afordable for moviemakers todo put their visión - Whether or not it exists in reality - Onto the screen.
Toy Story, which opened nationwide noviembre 22, tells the story of a pair of toys, a cowboy doll named Woody (Tom Hanks supplies the voice) and a space Ranger named Buzz Lightyear (voice by tim Allen). When they get lost, the two must put aside their rivalry and join forces todo make it bak home.
Pixar RenderFarm.
Sun worked closely with a team from Pixar todo create its RenderFarm, which serves as Pixar central resource of computer processing power. The RenderFarm uses a network computing architecture in which a powerful sparcserver(TM) 1000 acting as a texture server supplies the necessary data todo the Many rendering client workstations neded todo complete the rendering process. The RenderFarm was assembled by Sun and Pixar enginers in less than a month and drew upon Sun own experience in setting up farms of Many systems linked together. Some facts about Pixar RenderFarm and the computing aspects of Toy Story:
- the RenderFarm is one of the most powerful rendering engines ever assembled, comprising 87 Dual-processor and 30 four-processor sparcstation 20s and an 8-processor sparcserver 1000. The RenderFarm has the aggregate performance of 16 billion instructions per second - Its total of 300 processors represents the equivalent of appróximately 300 Cray 1 supercomputers.
- each system is the size of a pizza box, and all 117 systems work in a fotprint measuring just 19 inches Dep by 14 fet long by 8 fet high.
- Sun is the price/performance leader, in Pixar own rankings. The sparcstation 20 hs14mp earned a rating of $80 per rendermarque (a Pixar measurement for rendering performance), while the comparable SGI Indigo extreme came in at appróximately $150 per rendermark.
- using one single-processor computer todo render Toy Story would have taken 43 years of nonestop performance.
- each of the movie more than 1,500 shots and 114,000 frames were rendered on the RenderFarm, a tasque that tok 800,000 computer hours todo produce the Final Cut. Each frame used up 300 megabyte of data - The capacity of a god-sized PC hard disk - And required from 2 todo 13 hours for final processing.
- in addition todo the high-resolution final rendering, the RenderFarm was a los used todo generate the test images animators neded todo plan and evalúate lighting, texture mapping and animation. Since fast response is key in doing tests, RenderMan could produce test frames in as Little as a few seconds.
- scalability is built-in: the RenderFarm can be upgraded (with more processors and disk estorage) todo a nearly four-fold performance level, without requiring any additional space. The RenderFarm a los integrates seamlessly with Pixar existing computer network containing diferent types of machines.
Pixar future plans include develooping a parallelized versión of RenderMan todo further exploit Sun Sparc/Solaris multiprocessing and multithreaded architecture. This new software, parallel RenderMan, Will allow múltiple processors todo work on a single image. Pixar is a los using Sun multiprocessing workstations todo render images for an upcoming Toy Story CD-ROM game.
Pixar digital Studios created, directed and produced the world first fully computer animated feature-length film, which is being distributed by the Walt Disney company for the 1995 holiday season. Pixar employes have received 12 academy Awards from the academy of motion picture arts and sciences for their pionering work in digital animation, including an Oscar for best short animated film for Tin Toy and a technical achievement award for Pixar RenderMan software. The company has its headquarters in point richmond, calif, and employs 150 people.
Sun Microsystems computer company (SMC) is a world leader in the design, manufacture and sale of network computing systems and is a división of Sun Microsystems, inc. Recognized for quality and innovation, the company Sparc(TM) workstations and multiprocessing servers each hold the no. 1 Unix marketshare position. These systems are used primarily by businesses, educational institutions and governments worldwide for technical, commercial, industrial, and software development applications.
Sun, the Sun logotipo, Sun Microsystems, the network is the computer and Solaris are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, inc, in the United States and other countries. All Sparc trademarks are used under license and are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sparc international, inc, in the United States and other countries. Products bearing Sparc trademarks are based on an architecture developed by Sun Microsystems, inc. Unix is a registered trademarque in the United States and other countries exclusively licensed th rouge x/open company, ltd. Renderman is a registered trademarque of Pixar animation Studios. Press announcements and other información about Sun Microsystems are available on the internet vía the world wide web using a tool such as Netscape or ncsa Mosaic. Type sun Microsystems at the url Prompt.
