MUMBAI: International news channels BBC World and CNN International continue to grow in the country. CNN International reaches more viewers globally than any other international news channel, with findings from both the latest Pan-Asia Pacific Cross-Media survey (PAX) and Europe?s Media and Marketing Survey (EMS) reinforcing the network?s undisputed leadership position. The Pax survey reveals that no international English news channel reaches more Indian viewers on a monthly basis than CNN International. In India, CNN International is more of a daily habit than BBC World News among Business Decision Makers and Top Management.

The latest Pax findings for the first to the fourth quarter of 2011 show that CNN International continues to be a leader in the Asia Pacific region among international news and business channels across all metrics:

Meanwhile as far as one of its arch rivals BBC World News is concerned an Ipsos Pax survey showed that in India, it is the top international English news channel and the news destination of both the young and upwardly mobile mid-level corporate managers. BBC World News was also shown to be the most watched international news channel for mid-level income earners, women, tech enthusiasts and those under the age of 30. The channel is also the most watched news channel amongst key audiences such as potential car buyers, international travellers and consumer durable owners.

The latest Pax survey also demonstrated the power of BBC?s integrated reach across its TV and digital platforms. BBC combined platforms reach out to more young people, mid management execs, women, potential car buyers and international fliers as compared to key competitors.

BBC World News commercial director Colin Lawrence said, ?BBC World News and BBC.com are strongly demonstrating impact to Indian audiences?not only top management but also those with their careers on the rise. Our platforms deliver a targeted route to these discerning viewers and it?s more and more clear that our style of impartial international news and business coverage is increasingly relevant to viewers and advertisers across the country.?

The latest Pax findings also highlighted CNN International?s ability to reach business leaders and travelers in the Asia Pacific region.

- More business travelers watch CNN International in a single week than BBC World News in a month

- Leisure travelers also have a stronger connection with CNN International, with 49% more leisure travelers watching CNN International each week than the next placed news/business channel - CNN International enjoys a clear audience advantage among key business targets, such as Business Decision Makers and Top Management (57% and 42% reach advantage respectively) over the next placed news/business channel CNN International executive VP Tony Maddox said, ?What we are seeing is that there continues to be a strong appetite for global news, and that people throughout the world are turning to CNN for that news ? and in great numbers. People want a depth of analysis and a genuine breadth of coverage, and we provided that throughout 2011 wherever the big stories were breaking, and continue to do so in 2012. Add in our commitment to global business news and our excellent sports and cultural programming and there is a clear, compelling proposition for viewers.?

CNN in Asia Pacific VP, News ad sales William Hsu said, ?Once again, CNN?s ability to reach this highly-desirable, upscale target audience is unmatched. There is simply no better platform for advertisers across the Asia Pacific region, and the caliber of our clients is testament to our ongoing best-in-class performance here and around the world.?

In addition to CNN International?s on-air positioning, the PAX survey shows that CNN International?s leadership also extends to its digital platforms.

- Each month CNN.com/CNNMoney.com reaches 51 per cent more users online than BBC.com, and more than twice as many (+113 per cent) Top Management

- 95 per cent more business decision Makers visit CNN.com/CNNMoney.com than the next largest international media site - CNN International?s multi-platform reach in Asia Pacific is unrivalled among news/business brands, with the network?s weekly combined TV and digital audiences 54% greater than that of the next largest news/business provider

In Europe, CNN International achieved a record score in the latest EMS 2012 research, achieving the best ever score for any news network in monthly reach, with 36.9 per cent (18 million viewers). Overall, CNN International is also the number one multi-platform news provider in Europe, with 47 per cent monthly combined reach across TV, mobile, and online.

MUMBAI: Digital artists devoted days and years behind the scenes to help create the movie magic seen in many of this year‘s Academy Award-nominated films. In the categories for Best Visual Effects and Best Animated Film (Feature and Short) in particular, many artists relied on the same set of tools ? Digital Entertainment Creation (DEC) software from Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK).

"Great films depend on great storytelling and our technology is designed to enable artistic vision," said Marc Petit, senior vice president, Autodesk Media & Entertainment. "We congratulate the multitalented teams of artists from North America, New Zealand, Europe and Asia, and we are proud of Autodesk software‘s role in helping them create these extraordinary movies."

Best Visual Effects:
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2" ? UK-based visual effects (VFX) studios Double Negative, MPC and Framestore each used Autodesk Maya 3D animation and rendering software to help create the visually extravagant effects for this final installment in the Harry Potter franchise. Double Negative VFX Supervisor David Vickery said, "Maya has been the lynchpin of our pipeline since ?Goblet of Fire.‘ For this film, Maya helped us build a fully computer-generated (CG) Hogwarts in a massive 3D environment, including a spectacular mountain range and an animated fire-breathing dragon digitally modeled with Autodesk Mudbox software." MPC VFX Supervisor Greg Butler added, "From the first film in the ?Potter‘ series through to this film‘s final shot, MPC has relied on Maya for modeling, rigging and lighting." Andy Kind, Framestore VFX supervisor said, "Autodesk‘s Maya once again was our go-to tool, enabling us to bring to life the magic of the Chamber of Secrets for Ron and Hermione‘s first kiss, as well as Harry‘s vision of Heaven. We couldn‘t have done any of the eight films without it!"

"Hugo" ? VFX studio Pixomondo managed a global production team across 10 of its 11 facilities in North America, Europe and Asia for this richly detailed reimagining of 1930s Paris. The worldwide team worked for over a year using a production pipeline comprised of Maya and Autodesk 3ds Max for animation, rendering, character rigging and modeling; as well as Autodesk MotionBuilder for motion capture and animation. VFX Supervisor Ben Grossmann said, "The interoperability of Autodesk tools helped us meet tight deadlines and bring Martin Scorsese‘s magical vision to the big screen."

"Real Steel" ? Visual effects powerhouse Digital Domain, motion-capture specialists Giant Studios and virtual production innovators Technoprops delivered "Real Steel" within an impressively efficient 71-day production schedule. The close collaboration between the three companies and an Autodesk toolset helped create this realistic and thrilling action movie with a believable and captivating robot and human relationship. VFX Supervisor Erik Nash said, "The on-set real-time interoperability of Maya and MotionBuilder enabled tremendous creative freedom for the entire production team."

"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" ? Caesar, the CG chimpanzee performed by Andy Serkis is a creative milestone for Weta Digital in New Zealand. Weta used Maya and MotionBuilder as the core of its creative production pipelines for its groundbreaking visual effects and performance capture. Sebastian Sylwan, chief technology officer at Weta said, "Creating a believable and realistic CG character like Caesar required providing our artists with the right tools and innovative technology that allowed them to iterate and express their creativity. We developed our own software to perfect performance capture, hair, eyes and muscles amongst others, using Maya and MotionBuilder as a backbone." Canada-based Image Engine contributed previsualization for the film and also took advantage of a Maya-based pipeline.

"Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon" ? The extraordinarily detailed Transformer robots contain up to 50,000 million polygons rendered in stereoscopic 3D by lead visual effects houses Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) with studios in San Francisco and Singapore and Digital Domain. ILM used the following Autodesk DEC software tools in its pipeline: 3ds Max for digital environment work; Autodesk Flame as part of its proprietary SABRE high-speed compositing system; and Maya as the core tool for animation, rigging and layout. Scott Farrar, visual effects supervisor on ?Transformers: Dark Side of the Moon‘ said, "As effects work continues to grow in complexity, it is more important than ever that our artists have access to best of breed tools and by using Autodesk‘s Digital Entertainment Creation software, ILM is able to continue to create groundbreaking visual effects."

Best Animated Feature Film

"Kung Fu Panda 2" and "Puss in Boots" ? Both movies earned not only Academy Award nominations for Animated Feature Film for Dreamworks Animation (DWA), but also were two of the top three grossing animated films of 2011.* DWA continues to creatively push technology to imbue animated characters with huge personalities, and both films used Maya. Phil McNally, stereoscopic supervisor on both movies said, "Either on our own or in concert with Autodesk, we can develop tools in Maya to specifically address the challenges of stereoscopic 3D. Maya gives us that intuitive flexibility, or the ability to see what we‘re doing ? while we‘re doing it ? in 3D."

"Rango"
"Rango," the story of a weird lizard‘s quest for identity, was ILM‘s first animated feature. The film presented some daunting creative and technical challenges: Rango‘s face alone required over 300 controllers to achieve the range of performance needed for the 1,100 shots he appears in. On top of which, Rango was just one of well over 100 characters that populated the film. "All of these characters had some combination of scales, feathers, or fur and all had clothing. We strove to create a very tactile world for Rango," said ILM‘s Hal Hickel, animator director on the film. "We wanted to create the illusion that if you could reach out and touch objects in the frame you‘d know exactly what they would feel like, so it was very important that our software enable us to show as much detail as possible at each phase of the process. This allowed us to make certain the performances would translate to the big screen. Maya was great at letting us do that."