Autodesk Media and Entertainment

Autodesk Media and Entertainment, including the former company Discreet Logic, is based in Montreal, Quebec as the entertainment division of Autodesk. Autodesk Media and Entertainment provides animation and visual effects products, and was formed by the combination of multiple acquisitions. This division produces software used in feature films, television commercials and computer games. It also provides products for management and distribution to complement its primary product line. It also resells hard disks and sells certain Linux software with bundled computers.

History

Discreet Logic

Montreal-based Discreet Logic was founded in 1991 by former Softimage Company sales director Richard Szalwinski, to commercialize the 2D compositor Eddie, licensed from Australian production company Animal Logic. Eddie was associated with Australian software engineer Bruno Nicoletti, who later founded visual effects software company The Foundry, in London, England. In 1992, Discreet Logic entered into a European distribution agreement with Softimage, and shifted its focus on Flame, one of the first software-only image compositing products, developed by Australian Gary Tregaskis. Flame, which was originally named Flash, was first shown at NAB in 1992, ran on the Silicon Graphics platform, and became the company's flagship product.