SIDEFX’S DRIVING FORCE

What keeps a privately owned company inspired to keep developing Houdini 3D software after more than 30 years?

“Watching an artist Closely to see What they’re trying to accomplish helps us find solutions Within houdini to help them accomplish their tasks in the simplest possible Way” Kim Davidson, president of Sidefx

Sidefx is the Toronto-based, Academy Award-winning developer of Houdini software – a 3D application best known as the tool of choice for visual effects in film, television, commercials and video games. If you see CG fire, smoke, destruction, explosions, ethereal dust, water/fluids, sand and crowds, there’s a very good chance the 3D artists used Houdini. Houdini is used in other capacities too – like fur and grooming, character animation, terrain-creation, lighting and rendering, and custom tool-making that comes in the form of vegetation, city-building, asset-scattering and much more.

THE EARLY YEARS

Sidefx has been developing 3D software for over 30 years. Houdini was launched at the 1996 SIGGRAPH conference, but started life in 1987 as a package called PRISMS.

PRISMS was born on the production floor at Omnibus in Toronto, Canada, where Sidefx co-founders Kim Davidson and Greg Hermanovic were working on computer animation and motion graphics projects for clients. As each project would begin, they would use the computer to create geometry, animate and render directly to tape. In a paper notebook, they would record each step taken to create the shot and all the settings used to get the desired results. When they showed the work to their clients who, inevitably, asked for changes, they would have to go back and rebuild the work to make the changes.

They soon had a eureka moment and realised that the steps and settings listed in their notebooks could be recorded on the computer. From this idea PRISMS, their first generation of content creation software, was born. Now when a client asked for a change, they could go to the appropriate step in the process, adjust a parameter and output the results. Over time, this evolved into a much more sophisticated solution with (potentially very large) networks of nodes – which can always be edited at any time. The director could ask for more changes and they could finish in the same amount of time. This was – and still is – the core principle of ‘proceduralism’. This is how Houdini artists are able to creatively iterate in a non-destructive workflow.

Soon after the launch at SIGGRAPH in 1996, the smart CG artists in Hollywood picked up on Houdini’s capabilities and started using it for VFX in blockbuster films – and in the past ten years Houdini’s appeal has broadened to other users, such as TV and advertising production teams, video game developers, plus other sectors such as scientific and architectural visualisation.

SIDEFX TODAY

Kim Davidson still helms the team at Sidefx, while Greg Hermanovic went on to focus on real-time projects and rich user experiences (think Amon Tobin’s ISAM) and created his own company – called Derivative, which makes Touchdesigner – to pursue that direction. Sidefx is still a proudly independently owned company, which allows its leaders to focus on the artists who use Houdini, and the team who develops it – rather than stock investors who demand profit metrics on a quarterly basis. This allows for longer-term planning and development roadmaps.

DEVELOPMENT COMPASS

Building great features into the software is key, but time and resources are always limited – so how does Sidefx decide which features get worked on and finished first?

From the early days to today, “Customers help us prioritise. We have strong and ongoing relationships with our users, and prioritise based on an assessment of effort and how critical the features are. If that sounds simple, it’s not – it requires an ongoing balance to make sure the dev team is working on the most important items,” explains Kim Davidson, president of Sidefx. “Ultimately the best way to improve the tool is seeing an artist at work. Watching closely to see what they’re trying to accomplish helps us find solutions within Houdini to help them accomplish their tasks in the simplest possible way.”

While Kim no longer writes code, Mark elendt – the first developer hired at Sidefx many years ago – still commits to the daily builds. When asked what drives the development of Houdini, Mark immediately responds, “Passion for enabling clients to

“We Work Closely With Clients, so We know and sympathise With the problems they have” Mark Elendt, developer, Sidefx

make extraordinary art.” Reinforcing Kim’s comments on client feedback, Mark says, “We work closely with clients, so we know and sympathise with the problems they have. There is a very thin layer between us; they are not hesitant to talk to us, because we are responsive and help them.”

LEARNING HOUDINI

In the early days of Houdini’s evolution, functionality was prioritised over new user experience (we’re probably grossly understating this!), and Houdini developed a well-entrenched reputation for having a ‘steep learning curve’. Starting about ten years ago, optimising user experience has become an ongoing priority. It’s still a big, powerful application that takes years to master, but it’s much more approachable and accessible than in the old days, and these days learning Houdini is no different than learning any other application – you start with the basics and grow from there. Today – with thousands of new artists discovering Houdini each year – Houdini is rapidly shedding its under-the-radar niche status, and becoming a well-known and widely adopted 3D platform.

So what drives Sidefx? In summary, it’s the original company DNA, the love of art and solving problems, using computers to make art, and working closely with clients!