DOUBLE NEGATIVE LIGHT UP THE SKY WITH BOUJOU

boujou used to create realistic CG shots on the blockbuster film Stardust

06 December 2007, Oxford, UK: 2d3 a leading developer of visual effects software and part of the Oxford Metrics Group, has revealed that its technology enabled Double Negative to create the realistic CG shots for the blockbuster film Stardust. boujou software was used on a variety of sequences from the sky vessel montage to the witches lair, helping to give the film its amazing realistic quality.

Stardust, based on the book by Neil Gaimen, is the latest film from director Matthew Vaughn. It follows the story of a young boy trying to find a fallen star, which he promised to retrieve for his sweetheart, Victoria, to prove his love for her.

The matchmove team at Double Negative provided in excess of 60 scenes for the film using the boujou software. Tim Catchpole, lead matchmove artist on Stardust said: “boujou was used in most sequences in the film. We identified shots to use with Boujou, invariably these had plenty of detail, and good parallax, there were shots from the Crater, Sky Vessel Montage, Lamias Inn and the Witches Lair sequences.”

Catchpole continued. “When applied to a suitable shot it was frequently a time saver. There is one shot where the sky vessel appears to land onto water, which can be notoriously difficult to track.”

Tracking water is not usually an option as 2D points tracked on water do not maintain a rigid relationship to each other. Using boujou, Catchpole managed to lock the foreground detail to solve this particular move.

Nick Bolton, chief executive at Oxford Metrics Group said: “Stardust is a visually amazing film and something that we’re very proud to have been a part of. boujou is continually used on the best films in the industry proving that we’re still the number one for technical innovation.”

About boujou

Launched in 2001, boujou (boo-zhoo) was the first fully automated camera calibration and tracking system. Using advanced adaptive algorithms developed from vision science research, the application removes previous limitations on what is achievable in effects production by allowing 3D professionals to derive complex camera tracks and calibration data from film and video material automatically without the need for manual tracking input.

boujou has made a major contribution to high-profile television and film productions, music videos and commercials by facilitating the creation of visual effects that seamlessly combine live action and 3D. In 2002, 2d3 was awarded with a Primetime Emmy Engineering Award for boujou, which is also used for games development, architectural visualization and industrial design projects.

boujou three and boujou bullet run under Windows, Apple Mac OS X and Linux Red Hat on standard PC hardware.

About Oxford Metrics Group

Oxford Metrics (LSE: OMG) is a group of technology companies producing image understanding solutions for the entertainment, defence, life science and engineering industries. Be it for capturing the movements of actors (for the movie industry), sportsmen (for video games or improving team performance), children with Cerebral Palsy, rehab patients and animals (for medical, life science and research industries) or virtual reality displays (for engineering and development), the Group has the world leading market position and a strong international reputation for precision instruments.

Founded in 1984, the Group’s headquarters are in Oxford, UK, and has offices in California and Colorado, USA. It has customers in over 50 countries and is a quoted company listed on AIM, a market operated by the London Stock Exchange. The Group trades through three operating subsidiaries – Vicon, the world’s biggest motion capture and movement analysis company, 2d3, a manufacturer of specialised image understanding software for entertainment and defence applications and Geospatial Vision, our 3D mapping business.

Oxford Metrics’ global clients in science, medicine, sport, engineering, gaming, film and broadcast include major hospitals and research facilities such as Guy's Hospital, Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre and Loughborough University, engineering industry leaders including Ford Motor Company, BMW, Airbus, Caterpillar, and Toyota, and in the entertainment sector, Sony, Industrial Light and Magic, The Moving Picture Company (MPC), Sega, Nintendo, UbiSoft, EA, Square Enix and many others.

For more information about OMG and its subsidiaries, visit www.omg3d.com, www.vicon.com, or www.yotta.tv.

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Hayley Roberts / Sean Fleming

Clarity Public Relations

Tel: 0870 950 9670

Email: press@claritypr.co.uk