The Quebec visual effects industry continued Monday to pay tribute to entrepreneur Daniel Langlois, a pioneer in the field who was found dead with his partner in a charred car in Dominica last Friday.
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If Montreal has today become a center for the visual effects industry on a global scale, it is largely thanks to the contribution of Daniel Langlois, believe several industry stakeholders contacted by Le Journal on Monday.
“His contribution was of great importance to this industry,” said Robin Tremblay, professor at the School of Digital Arts, Animation and Design (NAD-UQAC), without hesitation.
“If he hadn’t been there, our visual effects industry wouldn’t be what it is today,” he added, recalling that Montreal can currently boast of being among the top three in the world in this field.
Daniel Langlois made a name for himself in the world of cinema and visual effects in the early 1990s when his company Softimage launched revolutionary software that enabled the creation of 3D computer animation.
Selected to portray the dinosaurs in the 1993 film Jurassic Park, Softimage’s software quickly became a benchmark in visual effects and was used on several other major Hollywood productions, including Titanic, The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings.
Daniel Langlois sold his company to Microsoft in 1994 for $200 million.
“With Softimage, Daniel Langlois managed to create animation software that was more advanced than anything else on the market at the time,” explains Sébastien Moreau, CEO and founder of Quebec visual effects animation company Rodéo FX.
“He put Quebec on the map by giving it a reputation for excellence in the arts and technology.”
For Robin Tremblay, the great strength of Softimage’s software was its ability to simplify the work of creating images in 3D animation.
“It was software that was really much easier for artists to use and was several years ahead of everything else,” he points out.
A source of inspiration
PHOTO PROVIDED BY RODEO FX
Sébastien Moreau was studying art, technology and media at Cégep de Jonquière when he heard of Daniel Langlois’ rise in the visual effects industry. He remembers that Softimage’s success was a source of motivation for him and some of his young colleagues at the time.
“He inspired an entire generation, not only in Quebec but also internationally,” he emphasizes. All the people working in visual effects back then were inspired by Softimage, especially me.”
A few years ago, Sébastien Moreau had the opportunity to speak with Daniel Langlois at an event for the Québec Cinéma organization. This meeting was significant for him.
“He told me that he knew Rodéo FX and followed us on our social networks,” he remembers. It made me very proud to know that a pioneer like him knew our work. He was a very great man. I was very sad to hear of his departure, especially under such circumstances.”