Software To Get Award at Oscars

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) â€” Three people who developed software used to render scenes in such films as ``Titanic,'' ``The Matrix'' and ``Gladiator'' will receive a special Oscar

Tuesday, January 9th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. (AP) â€” Three people who developed software used to render scenes in such films as ``Titanic,'' ``The Matrix'' and ``Gladiator'' will receive a special Oscar for influencing the advancement of the movie industry.

Rob Cook, Loren Carpenter and Ed Catmull of Pixar will be presented the Award of Merit on March 3 at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' scientific and technical awards ceremony. A total of 17 awards will be presented.

``This is the first Oscar ever given specifically for the development of computer software,'' Academy President Robert Rehme said in a Friday statement.

The ``Renderman'' software allows multi-element computer-created scenes that can be seamlessly melded with other film footage. The software was used in the Pixar-created films ``Toy Story,'' ``Toy Story 2'' and ``A Bug's Life.''