LOS ANGELES
– At the Shotgun User Group during SIGGRAPH 2014 in Vancouver, Shotgun Software held the first
Pipeline Awards
to honor excellence in pipeline tool development, integration, engineering, and usage.
Members of the Shotgun community from around the world submitted inventive tools for consideration, and four were recognized with Pipeline Shotty Awards, distinguishing them as the best pipeline tools of 2014. Shotgun also recognized four individuals as "Pipeline Heroes," leaders who have had a significant impact on the pipeline community through their technical contributions and commitment to sharing ideas and best practices.
Bestowed with unique lightbulb-themed awards designed by steampunk artist Andy Nortnik, the inaugural class of Pipeline Heroes includes:
- Tony Barbieri, head of pipeline, Psyop
- Armando Ricalde, co-founder and director of technology, Cluster Studio
- Mike Romey, head of pipeline, Zoic
- Patrick Wolf, global head of pipeline, Pixomondo
Honorees for the top pipeline tools of 2014 each received a custom award by kinetic artist Kyle Auga that features a tightrope walker with a tool in hand. Recognized with Pipeline Shotty awards were:
- The Capture Lab (Yanna Kang): Motion Capture Tool. The Capture Lab’s mocap tool is a client-facing order tool that eases the process of selecting and ordering motion capture animation in Shotgun.
- Laika (Tony Aeillo and Owen Nelson): BB Gun. Laika’s BB Gun tool allows multiple departments with different requirements to use the task scheduling capabilities of Microsoft Project to publish task updates to Shotgun where everyone can see them.
- Park Road Post (Dave Alve, Siobhan Durkin, Pete Black): In-App Artist Tools. Park Road Post utilizes multiple custom pipeline tools including an Info Panel in Nuke, Time Log Tool, Reference Viewer, Asset Manager, QT Reference Importer, custom enhancements to Shotgun’s Screening Room, and integration with SGO’s Mistika environment.
- Burrows: Rhino Engine. Burrows leveraged Shotgun’s Pipeline Toolkit to create a comprehensive workflow for their CAD-based automotive designers, including the first ever custom-built integration with Rhino 3D.
“There are talented innovators inside so many studios who are developing awesome tools that make laborious processes better for humans,” said Don Parker, co-founder of Shotgun Software and senior director at Autodesk. “These people are the unsung heroes of the industry, and we wanted to shine a light on their impressive achievements publicly. The level of sharing that happens in this community is fantastic. We have such respect for all of these folks – their work truly impacts the whole industry. It’s important that this work is recognized.”