GenArts Software Dominates List of 2010 Visual Effects Oscar Nominees

CAMBRIDGE, MA--(Marketwire - February 4, 2010) - GenArts Inc., the premier provider of specialized visual effects software for the film, television and video industries, has again dominated the list of visual effects Oscar nominees. The company says artists who worked on nominees such as Avatar, District 9 and Star Trek created many of the films' stunning visual effects using GenArts Sapphire™, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences took note for the 13th consecutive year.

"At Hydraulx, GenArts Sapphire™ was our go-to tool of choice to help us attain a realistic feel in the shots we worked on in Avatar," said Eric Liles, Visual Effects Supervisor at Hydraulx. "Anything that comes directly out of CG is super crisp and sharp. It just looks fake -- nothing in the real world is that razor-sharp. Sapphire takes the edge off. It just makes CG look more realistic. From the simplest to the most complex comps, we consistently count on Sapphire to achieve the look we're striving for."

"District 9 would not have been nearly as believable without state-of-the-art visual effects software like GenArts Sapphire," said Stephen Pepper, compositing supervisor for District 9, The Embassy. "Almost 90 shots were focused on the creation of the Exo-suit weaponry at the end of the film. We used Sapphire extensively to blend CG elements into the background plates. For example, a clean and shiny metal Exo-suit in the middle of the dusty shantytown would certainly detract from the authenticity of the sequences."

"As visual effects have become essential to the art of storytelling, they have evolved into the unique role of creating reality in action/adventure and fantasy sequences," said Steve Bannerman, CMO GenArts. "Today's CG characters are so sophisticated that they look out of place once composited into our imperfect world. It's truly an honor to know that so many of the world's best artists rely on GenArts Sapphire to create incredible films like Avatar, District 9 and Star Trek. Congratulations to the talented men and women who helped bring these amazing entertainment experiences to life for audiences around the world."

Since the company's founding in 1996, GenArts software has been utilized in hundreds of films, television broadcasts and commercials, including more than 20 Oscar-nominated pieces such as Titanic; I, Robot; Armageddon; Star Wars Episode I, II and III; The Matrix trilogy; The Lord of the Rings trilogy; Pearl Harbor; Spider Man; Pirates of the Caribbean; Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban; Transformers; The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; and many more.

To read more about how GenArts Sapphire was used in District 9, please visit http://www.genarts.com/aboutus/newsmedia/stories/district9

The complete list of films that have utilized GenArts Sapphire can be found at www.genarts.com/aboutus/credit. For more information about GenArts products, please visit www.genarts.com.

About GenArts

GenArts, Inc. is the premier provider of specialized digital visual effects for the film, broadcast and video industries. The GenArts Sapphire™, Monsters™ and Raptors™ portfolio equips digital artists with a collection of state-of-the-art image processing and synthesis effects such as glows, light rays, lens flares, lightning, film damage, fire and fluid effects. The effects seamlessly integrate as software plug-ins into leading editing and compositing systems from Adobe, Apple, Avid, Autodesk, Assimilate, Eyeon, FilmLight, The Foundry, Quantel and SGO.

In November 2009 GenArts acquired wondertouch, an award-winning software developer specializing in particle effects. Their flagship product, particleIllusion™, is considered one of the most popular solutions for particle effects creation, enabling artists to create natural effects such as smoke, fire, sparkles, fireworks and countless abstract effects. GenArts was founded in 1996 in Cambridge, Mass. www.genarts.com.

Contact Information: For Further Information Please Contact: Nicole Panas GenArts Inc. T: 617-492-2888 E: nicole@genarts.com Ashley Wilkinson BOCA Communications T: 415.738.7718 x4 E: ashley@bocacommunications.com