Something Seriously Missing In Avatar Movie Reviews
by Andrea Cordingly, for the Reallylinux.com OP/Ed Section
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As Avatar continues its climb among the top rated and top
grossing movies, I enjoy reading reviews in articles and news stories about the
complex CGI and how impressive the graphics.
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But then I realize the significant absence of credit for the
underlying operating system that made these extreme and complex computer
generated graphics possible.
Where are the accolades for Linux?
A review of the company that made the
Linux computer graphics happen, known as WETA Digital (Wellington, New Zealand, a Peter Jackson
spin off company), is notoriously absent from the articles.
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The underlying operating system, Linux RHEL (hundreds of HP
blade servers running as Linux cluster) is also utterly absent from even the
more technical news sources.
I am glad to at least see some news sources referring to the
HP Blade servers. But perhaps this is simply because some news media offer
detail in their stories that is explicitly related to the advertisers and the
ad dollars that support them.
However, it is a pleasant feeling to know that some of the
world's most complex CGI are created using 64-bit Linux-based software for
painting textures and 3D modeling.
It is also a joy to realize that Weta Digital uses one of
the world's largest Linux clusters for film rendering and now includes in its
successes the films: Lord of the Rings, Fantastic Four, King Kong, and Avatar.
But it is a bit odd to realize that the power and
versatility of Linux is taken for granted even when it serves as so integral a part
of major successes like Avatar.
Therefore, I write this article as an encouragement to all
those in the Linux community. I feel a need to present these facts since it is
obvious that the existence of GNU/Linux and thereby a part of the successes of major
motion pictures like Avatar belong to all of us!
This opinion piece should not be construed as factual information. It contains the opinions and personal
experiences of the author at the time of publication and where applicable includes the references to other
texts for further research. However, the opinions and personal experiences that have
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Inc. All other trademarks or registered trademarks in this opinion piece belong to their respective owners.
Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. All other trademarks or registered
trademarks in this opinion piece belong to their respective owners.
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