Some really great news has just come off the wire for all us Nuke Compositors out there! FXGuide is reporting that ILM has purchased a bunch of Nuke licenses. Raising the question, “Is ILM shelving their proprietary compositing system Saber?”

Well I’m sure they wouldn’t completely throw out their old pipeline, because the cost to do so would just be enormous. But it is very cool to see a major studio finally jumping on board the Nuke wagon! And promises for some exciting opportunities for the future.

Welcome to the family ILM!

LINK: ILM Purchases Nuke Site Licence

Hot on the heels of its management buyout, The Foundry has completed a major deal with Industrial Light & Magic, Lucasfilm Ltd’s multiple Academy Award-winning visual effects studio. ILM has purchased a site licence for Nuke.
ILM’s visionary work has earned thirty-seven Academy Award® nominations for Best Visual Effects.

Lucasfilm’s chief technical officer, Richard Kerris, commented, “ILM has a history in providing breakthrough imagery for production, and to do that our artists need to be equipped with the best possible tools. We believe Nuke is a forerunner in the compositing field. The Foundry’s investment in research and development and its customer-focused approach have produced a flexible, artist-focused toolset. We are excited to work with The Foundry and to see where these new possibilities will take our work.”

“Nuke allows us to leverage our 3D pipeline while remaining in the compositing environment, which puts a great deal of power into the hands of the compositors,” explained Pat Tubach, ILM’s compositing department supervisor. “We work on very complex shots and the remarkable speed at which Nuke operates means our artists can focus on the art of visual effects and not have their creativity impeded by a software speed limit.”

Bill Collis, CEO of The Foundry, commented, “ILM is a huge force in the world of visual effects and we are thrilled that they have chosen to add Nuke as a key tool in their compositing workflow. We are very excited to see where our working relationship takes us.”