Press Release

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MAXON IS IN THE "HOUSE"

Sony Pictures Imageworks "MONSTER HOUSE" uses MAXON software

Boston, Massachusetts, USA-August 1, 2006 - MAXON's BodyPaint 3D and CINEMA 4D software played an instrumental role in the development of Monster House, according to visual effects giant Sony Pictures Imageworks. While the texturing mapping department was hard at work creating complex textures in BodyPaint 3D, the matte painting department was equally busy crafting stunning matte paintings with CINEMA 4D.

In Columbia Pictures' comedy thrill-ride, Monster House, three kids (newcomers Mitchel Musso, Sam Lerner and Spencer Locke) cross over to the other side of the street to unlock a mystery, and experience the greatest adventure of their lives.

DJ (Musso), the kid across the street, has the plan, Jenny (Locke), the newcomer, has the brains, and Chowder (Lerner), DJ's best friend, doesn't have a clue.

Monster House is an utterly unique and cleverly conceived animated feature from visionary executive producers Robert Zemeckis and Steven Spielberg that brings together a stellar cast of actors including Steve Buscemi (Monsters, Inc.), Nick Cannon (Drumline), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Secretary), Kevin James (The King of Queens), Jason Lee (The Incredibles), Catharine O'Hara (The Nightmare Before Christmas), Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite), Kathleen Turner (Who Framed Roger Rabbit), and Fred Willard (Waiting for Guffman). The film is directed by Gil Kenan, produced by Steve Starkey and Jack Rapke, and executive-produced by Jason Clark. The screenplay is by Dan Harmon & Rob Schrab and Pamela Petler, from a story by Harmon & Schrab.

Sony Pictures Imageworks' texture lead Dennis Bredow commented on how essential BodyPaint 3D was in texturing all characters, costumes, environments and props for Monster House. BodyPaint 3D's ability to work in concert with Adobe Photoshop, apply textures to models and project paint directly onto surfaces, as well as handle extremely large files was invaluable in their pipeline.

"BodyPaint 3D provided us an opportunity to work with complicated models and massive textures. It allowed us the ability to use layers in the 3D environment, which saved us countless hours of seam removal and made it possible for us to plan for revisions. The flexibility and efficiency of the package allowed us to spend our time where it counted - developing the unique texture stylization of Monster House", stated Bredow.

To further demonstrate Imageworks' continuing interest in MAXON software, Apryl Knobbe, digital paint lead for Sony Pictures Animation first full-length feature film, Open Season, will be demonstrating texture mapping and matte painting techniques used in the film in MAXON's Booth # 603 at SIGGRAPH 2006.

Monster House follows closely on the success of Imageworks' other recent uses of MAXON software in "The Polar Express" and "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe".

Visit the Monster House website.

About Sony Pictures Imageworks
Sony Pictures Imageworks Inc. is an Academy Award® winning, state-of-the-art digital production studio dedicated to the art of visual effects production and character animation. Imageworks' production environment facilities four diverse pipelines including live action visual effects and character work, Imagemotion™ performance capture, all CG animation and Imageworks 3D steroscopic. The company has been recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with Oscars® for its work on SPIDER-MAN® 2 and the CG animated short film THE CHUBBCHUBBS!, as well as nominations for THE CHRONICLES OF NARNIA: THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, SPIDER-MAN®, HOLLOW MAN, STUART LITTLE, and STARSHIP TROOPERS. Imageworks continues to raise the level in the visual effects and character-animation industry, becoming a major force by providing leading edge technology to its world-class artists.