LAUNCH TAKES OFF WITH VICON MOTION CAPTURE

Design House Devises Commercial Pre-Visualization Pipeline With VICON Mo-Cap

Los Angeles, CA (February 20, 2007) – VICON, developer of Academy Award®-winning motion capture systems and a division of OMG plc, Oxford Metrics Group, announced the sale and installation of a 14-camera VICON MX motion capture system to Launch, a spin-off of NYC animation studio Charlex.

Launch, which started out three years ago as the commercial test division of post production giant Charlex, is using the VICON system to create fully-realized animatics for advertising agency clients on such campaigns as Acuvue, Dasani water, Dentyne gum, Gillette Fusion and Gillette Venus, Trident, Nyquil and Oral-B, among others. Launch’s proprietary pipeline depends on the latest generation of VICON’s MX40 cameras to produce spectacular 3D animated test commercials on an extremely tight timetable.

Launch has worked with BBDO, Euro, J Walter Thompson, McCann Ericson, Publicis, and every other major advertising agency in New York to help bring commercial concepts to life. Typically a client will engage Launch by delivering static storyboards that block out a spot concept. Working independently, or under the guidance of an ad agency art director or creative director, the Launch team will capture performances based on the storyboards and preview the animation data mapped onto 3D characters in real-time.

The final take is processed and rendered out using Launch’s proprietary tools and Autodesk animation software. Launch completes all of its pre-visualizations with a cel shader to give the animation a somewhat hand drawn look so that agency executives and their clients can focus solely on execution and viability of a concept

.

Launch’s first experiment with motion capture was for a commercial spot featuring a dancing character. “We knew we couldn’t properly animate the spot within our client’s timeframe using traditional keyframing methods—nor could we achieve the level of realism desired,” explained Joe Weil, president of Launch. “I realized that motion capture was the future for us, and soon after we purchased the system from VICON.”

“We went with VICON because of its longevity in the industry and reputation for having the highest level of support,” Weil continued. “And, the fact that the company was just rolling out its newest cameras was also very attractive.”

Launch can produce fully animated versions of their client’s spot concepts in less than two days. Their 3D motion capture workflow has enabled the company to create a robust library of characters that also allows for on-the-fly revisions. “Our goal is to provide clients with an extremely clear communicative expression,” Weil said.

“The addition of VICON’s MX system to our production pipeline has positioned us at the forefront of major development initiatives within the industry,” Weil remarked. “It’s so validating to see our clients doing more and more animatics. Our goal of changing the industry standard for test commercials is succeeding, and a number of clients are consolidating all of their work with us.”

Launch employs 35 people, including two full time actors that are suited up for motion capture every day, often performing dozens of different commercial scripts in a given week. The team is capable of capturing simultaneous full body, facial and hands and achieves remarkable throughput based on their highly efficient motion capture pipeline.

VICON MX systems deliver breakthrough precision, performance and practicality and are the most advanced motion capture systems in the industry. All MX cameras work with CMOS sensors and feature on-board intelligent image processing and revolutionary 10-bit grayscale processing for accuracy far beyond what’s possible with edge-grayscale or edge-only motion capture processing. Different VICON MX cameras can be mixed and matched within the same system to meet different project specs and needs. For more information about VICON MX, please visit www.vicon.com.

About VICON
Academy Award®-winning VICON is the world’s largest supplier of precision motion tracking systems, serving customers and CG animation applications in film, visual effects, computer games, and broadcast television, as well as engineering and life science industries. VICON operates in four offices worldwide, including its Los Angeles-based Entertainment headquarters, a 26,000 square-foot facility equipped with three performance capture stages for VICON’s service company House of Moves as well as 125 VICON MX40 cameras.

VICON is the largest holding of OMG (Oxford Metrics Group - LSE: OMG), plc., a group of technology companies that produces image understanding solutions for the entertainment, defense, life science and engineering markets. Other holdings include Emmy Award®-winning 2d3 and newly founded Geospatial Vision Ltd.

VICON’s and OMG’s global clients include: life science leaders University of Pennsylvania, the VA Hospitals, Shriners Hospitals for Children, Titleist Golf, National Pitching Association; engineering industry leaders Ford, BMW, Airbus, Lockheed, Pratt-Whitney, NASA, Caterpillar, International Truck, and Toyota; and entertainment companies Sony Pictures Imageworks, Sony Computer Entertainment, Industrial Light and Magic, Sega, Nintendo, UbiSoft, Vivendi, Electronic Arts, Square Enix and many others. For more information about OMG and its subsidiaries, visit www.omg3d.com, www.vicon.com, or www.2d3.com.

####

VICON and VICON MX are trademarks of OMG plc. Academy Award is a trade or servicemark of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.