Blue Moon Rendering Tools
Encyclopedia
Blue Moon Rendering Tools, or BMRT, was one of the most famous RenderMan-compliant photorealistic rendering systems
and was a precursor to NVIDIA's Gelato
renderer. It was distributed as freeware
. BMRT was a popular renderer with students and other people who were trying to learn the RenderMan interface. It also had some features PhotoRealistic RenderMan
did not have at time, for example, ray tracing. Even Pixar
used BMRT for ray tracing before PRMan had such features. According to Exluna, it was used for 3D rendering
in movies such as A Bug's Life
, Stuart Little
, The Cell
, Hollow Man
, and Woman on Top
.
BMRT was originally developed by Larry Gritz while he was at Cornell
. He developed it during the early 1990s and first published it in 1994, and was subsequently hired by Pixar
to work on their PhotoRealistic RenderMan product.
The last version of the renderer under BMRT name was 2.6, released in November 2000. First version of Entropy, BMRT's successor, was 3.0, released in July 2001.
In 2000, Gritz left Pixar to form a company called Exluna, whose flagship product was Entropy, a RenderMan renderer based on BMRT with additional features and optimizations. NVIDIA
acquired Exluna and Entropy in early 2002. Amid the acquisition, Pixar sued Gritz and Exluna (now NVIDIA) for a variety of patent
, trade secret
, and copyright
issues that were flatly denied by Exluna. The case eventually settled, leading to the discontinuation of BMRT and Entropy. Gritz and other Exluna employees stayed at NVIDIA to develop the Gelato
renderer.
Photorealism
Photorealism is the genre of painting based on using the camera and photographs to gather information and then from this information creating a painting that appears photographic...
and was a precursor to NVIDIA's Gelato
Gelato (software)
Gelato is a hardware-accelerated, offline renderer created by graphics card manufacturer Nvidia. It was originally intended for use with its Quadro FX GPU, although a Quadro class GPU is no longer a requirement, as it now also supports GeForce cards. Designed to produce film-quality images, Gelato...
renderer. It was distributed as freeware
Freeware
Freeware is computer software that is available for use at no cost or for an optional fee, but usually with one or more restricted usage rights. Freeware is in contrast to commercial software, which is typically sold for profit, but might be distributed for a business or commercial purpose in the...
. BMRT was a popular renderer with students and other people who were trying to learn the RenderMan interface. It also had some features PhotoRealistic RenderMan
PhotoRealistic RenderMan
PhotoRealistic RenderMan, or PRMan for short, is a proprietary photorealistic RenderMan-compliant renderer.It primarily uses the Reyes algorithm but is also fully capable of doing ray tracing and global illumination....
did not have at time, for example, ray tracing. Even Pixar
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
used BMRT for ray tracing before PRMan had such features. According to Exluna, it was used for 3D rendering
3D rendering
3D rendering is the 3D computer graphics process of automatically converting 3D wire frame models into 2D images with 3D photorealistic effects on a computer.-Rendering methods:...
in movies such as A Bug's Life
A Bug's Life
A Bug's Life is a 1998 American computer animated adventure comedy film produced by Pixar and released by Walt Disney Pictures in the United States on November 25, 1998. A Bug's Life was the second Disney·Pixar feature film after Toy Story, and the third American computer-animated film after Toy...
, Stuart Little
Stuart Little (film)
Stuart Little is a 1999 family film. It is loosely based on the novel of the same name by E. B. White. It combines live-action and computer animation. The screenplay was co-written by M. Night Shyamalan and Greg Brooker, with uncredited script doctoring by David O. Russell and Billy Ray...
, The Cell
The Cell
The Cell is a 2000 science fiction psychological thriller film directed by Tarsem Singh, and starring Jennifer Lopez in the lead role.-Plot:...
, Hollow Man
Hollow Man
Hollow Man is a 2000 American science fiction thriller film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring Elisabeth Shue, Kevin Bacon, and Josh Brolin. The film is about a scientist who renders himself invisible, a story inspired by H. G. Wells' The Invisible Man. The film was nominated for an Academy...
, and Woman on Top
Woman on Top
Woman on Top is a 2000 fantasy romantic comedy film directed by Fina Torres. It is set in Salvador, Brazil and San Francisco, United States. The film stars Penélope Cruz, Murilo Benício, Harold Perrineau Jr. and Mark Feuerstein. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2000 Cannes...
.
BMRT was originally developed by Larry Gritz while he was at Cornell
Cornell University
Cornell University is an Ivy League university located in Ithaca, New York, United States. It is a private land-grant university, receiving annual funding from the State of New York for certain educational missions...
. He developed it during the early 1990s and first published it in 1994, and was subsequently hired by Pixar
Pixar
Pixar Animation Studios, pronounced , is an American computer animation film studio based in Emeryville, California. The studio has earned 26 Academy Awards, seven Golden Globes, and three Grammy Awards, among many other awards and acknowledgments. Its films have made over $6.3 billion worldwide...
to work on their PhotoRealistic RenderMan product.
The last version of the renderer under BMRT name was 2.6, released in November 2000. First version of Entropy, BMRT's successor, was 3.0, released in July 2001.
In 2000, Gritz left Pixar to form a company called Exluna, whose flagship product was Entropy, a RenderMan renderer based on BMRT with additional features and optimizations. NVIDIA
NVIDIA
Nvidia is an American global technology company based in Santa Clara, California. Nvidia is best known for its graphics processors . Nvidia and chief rival AMD Graphics Techonologies have dominated the high performance GPU market, pushing other manufacturers to smaller, niche roles...
acquired Exluna and Entropy in early 2002. Amid the acquisition, Pixar sued Gritz and Exluna (now NVIDIA) for a variety of patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
, trade secret
Trade secret
A trade secret is a formula, practice, process, design, instrument, pattern, or compilation of information which is not generally known or reasonably ascertainable, by which a business can obtain an economic advantage over competitors or customers...
, and copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
issues that were flatly denied by Exluna. The case eventually settled, leading to the discontinuation of BMRT and Entropy. Gritz and other Exluna employees stayed at NVIDIA to develop the Gelato
Gelato (software)
Gelato is a hardware-accelerated, offline renderer created by graphics card manufacturer Nvidia. It was originally intended for use with its Quadro FX GPU, although a Quadro class GPU is no longer a requirement, as it now also supports GeForce cards. Designed to produce film-quality images, Gelato...
renderer.
External links
- The Demise of BMRT & entropy, from the RenderMan Repository
- BMRT website, archived version through The Internet Archive