WYSIWYG Experts Praise R29

Industry response to WYSIWYG R29, the brand new version of CAST Software's pre-visualisation suite, has been overwhelming, with professionals hailing the release a triumph for productivity and accuracy in event design, the company says.

R29 was released to members only earlier this month and quickly received widespread commendation for the variety of new features that expand the software's potential. Particular attention has paid to the breakthrough six degrees of freedom camera and shaded view selection -- next generation functionality acknowledged as having the power to help WYSIWYG professionals.

The addition of another three degrees of freedom to the WYSIWYG cameras is of huge importance because it means the orientation of the camera is no longer restricted to a slightly robotic three dimensions. Users are now able to position the camera absolutely any way they choose - mirroring the complete freedom of movement that they would have with a physical camera in a live situation. The company suggests WYSIWYG's greatest asset has always been that what the user sees on screen is exactly what they get at the event on the day, and the 6D camera takes this even further by allowing the user to see not only exactly what they are going to get, but to see it from any imaginable angle.

"One can now get a much more 'lifelike' experiencing when playing back animations in WYSIWYG," explains video designer and lighting visualizations specialist, Miguel Ribeiro. "This takes the professional quality of animations to a whole new level and makes for presentations of the highest calibre, helping us win more pitches. Let's take the example of a televised rock 'n' roll event: in the venue, as the event is being filmed, the cameras are hardly operated in a manner that keeps them perpendicular with the stage -- they are rolled and pitched frequently to add dynamics to the shoot. Now if you can represent this in your animation and show precisely what the film will look like when it hits the TV, then you're much more likely to secure the business."

The 6D camera alone would be enough to justify the upgrade for most WYSIWYG users, the company says, but the innovative enhancements don't stop there. In addition, CAST's addition of shaded view selection has made the process of selecting fixtures and changing characteristics while in design mode quicker and easier for the user.

Nick Calthrop of Calthrop Design explains: "The introduction of the shaded view selection is going to speed up every WYSIWYG user's design mode work flow rate by at least 10 to 20 percent. Being able to select individual or multiple fixtures in shaded view has eliminated the need to work in either quad view -- with a small shaded view window showing how the fixtures are reacting -- or flipping between the main wireframe views and the shaded view window to select fixtures as required."

"In the short time that I have been using shaded view selection, it has changed the way that I work in WYSIWYG. I am spending less time switching between screens and more time getting the looks that I want within the shaded view. This has made me significantly more productive with the limited time I have available," concluded Calthorp.

WYSIWYG R29 is available now from the members only section of the CAST Software website.

See CAST Software at PLASA Focus: Stamford, November 12-13.