eyeon Software Inc., maker of the award-winning Fusion™ compositing application, announced its new SWAT certification program to ensure that new and established VFX artists receive the training and support they need to realize their full creative potential. With the new SoftWare Artist Training (SWAT) umbrella program, the company has expanded its international network of trainers, colleges, online resources, and in-house product support personnel to ensure that every eyeon artist is up-to-speed on the latest versions of Fusion™, Generation®, Rotation®, and Vision®. eyeon will launch the new program at NAB, April 20-23, 2009, in Las Vegas.

“Artists who are trained rise to the top of their fields,” said Fusion artist, Aurore de Blois, who won an Emmy® for her work on the popular Battlestar Galactica television series. “eyeon’s new SWAT team approach to training people worldwide is exactly what visual effects artists need.”

As a key component of SWAT, eyeon will send trainers to assist new customers on site to ensure that their artists are able to transition seamlessly to the new software. In addition, the SWAT umbrella consolidates all of the available training options for eyeon applications through eyeon’s VFXPedia.com resource web site. Training partners on track to become SWAT-certified include Class-on-Demand, cmiVFX, Digital Tutors, NADS, NYU, Seneca College, Sheridan College, and many others.

“It is not easy to get a good understanding of a new software package in such a short time, but I came away from the course with a real insight into
Fusion and its capabilities,” said Mark Beardall, a Flame/VFX artist who recently received eyeon training in London. “We covered a wide range of real world tasks allowing me to see the software’s creative possibilities. It also answered all questions that I had regarding feature comparisons of Fusion with Flame.”

“Software will come and go, but training will always be needed in any field of expertise,” said Chris Maynard, founder of cmiVFX, which offers high-end training for VFX and CG artists and is part of the eyeon SWAT initiative. “When experienced artists are introduced to Fusion, they are blown away at the speed of construction and direct feedback from the system. Now, with Generation, it’s to the point where the VFX community is reconsidering the studio workflow. Training can expedite transitions like this exponentially.”

“The new frontier is knowledge,” said Joanne Dicaire, Director of Business Development and Marketing at eyeon Software. “Innovation is no longer just about the technology; it’s about the knowledge of the tools. Seasoned veterans don’t want to feel like beginners when they move to a new application. Shake artists, for example, have done some of the best VFX work in the world, and when they move to Fusion, we want them to produce work that reflects their true abilities right away.”

The SWAT program goes beyond the compositor’s work. With eyeon’s new Generation products, facilities now have a means to visualize and manage their whole pipeline with a degree of ease not previously available on the market. “Generation is not just new software, it’s a new class of software,” explained Dicaire. “With SWAT, we are able to ensure facilities that implementing and operating a new system will be a smooth process that delivers immediate results.”

eyeon will unveil the new SWAT program during NAB at booth SL1915, at the Las Vegas Convention Center, April 20-23, 2009. For more information, email [email protected].