The Woodlands, Texas - May 12, 2000 - When The Woodlands Operating Company L.P. needed a tool to help prospective tenants, residents and the press understand their vision for the new Waterway project, they didn't need to hire a Hollywood special effects company to get the job done. "We found a company literally down the street that specializes in 3D animation and architectural simulations," said Ted Washington, Manager of Visual Communications for The Woodlands Operating Company. Last week, Washington awarded the epic software group, inc. the contract to create a multimedia presentation and 3D "fly-through" of the new Woodlands Waterway project.

The Woodlands Waterway, a 1.25-mile river that links over one million square feet of office and commercial real estate. Waterway taxis, broad promenades, and tree-lined paths will make navigating the Woodlands Waterway both efficient and fun.

For large construction projects, the ability to visualize designs even before construction begins is often critical. epic software group President Vic Cherubini said, "We will begin the project by taking architectural sketches and constructing a 3D version of each building." We add an additional level of realism by creating every architectural element (example: street lights, signs, etc.) in and around The Waterway. "Next, we place each 3D object in its exact position in the scene and add some virtual people. Finally, we fly a camera through the 3D scene, and the resulting animation is a very realistic view of project", Cherubini went on to say. Even with the very powerful computers epic uses, this process (known as " rendering") can take several weeks to complete.

Only a few years ago, architects created small-scale, physical models and drew 2D perspectives to study designs. This traditional modeling process made visualizing design changes difficult and costly. Today, companies like epic use software programs such as LightWave 3D to create virtual sets. LightWave 3D is the same animation program used for the special effects in blockbuster Hollywood Hits such as Titanic and Lost in Space.