Super 78, the global attractions design and production studio and creators of the real-time animation system Geppetto, has announced a partnership with Microsoft.
Super 78 is proud to use Microsoft Surface Studio in order to power Geppetto, the real-time animation system which brings animated characters to life without using motion capture. The system allows Geppetto-generated characters to interact directly with audiences in real-time. The company uses Microsoft Surface Studio to deliver more digital firepower for its employees in each workstation than they had in two rooms full of servers.
Super 78, co-founded by Dina Benadon and Brent Young, has a team of creatives who use Surface to bring characters to life. Surface can handle the whole process, from the initial design to production, all on a single device.
Powering creativity
Floyd Norman was one of Disney’s legendary animators, and now is lead story artist at Super 78. Working for Disney back in the 1950s, he was able to produce 5 to 10 seconds of animation a week. But, thanks to Microsoft, this animation can now be done in a fraction of the time it would take to hand draw each frame, or even to create traditional digital animation.
“Surface Studio is an amazing, versatile piece of technology,” says Young. “It’s not just our input and our training and our real-time system. It’s also a production tool that we use on a daily basis.”
Super 78 recently showcased Geppetto at a special Emmy event at the Television Academy in LA. The company was invited by the Television Academy to present at the Celebration of Excellence event, where more than 250 members and nominees had a chance to experience the real-time animation system.
A new Geppetto character was created for the Television Academy event. The character served as a co-host for the evening, providing fun and entertainment for nominees and interacting with them.
