This is a revised version that I have been trying to post lately, you can use this to how you wish. Maybe I am a nobody, but really I don’t get their marketing strategy and would like them to consider Softimage as an asset still. To keep maintaining Softimage to their own benefit and to everyone else’s benefit.
I started SI not 3 years ago as an intern. I had to work with two other generalists, one on Maya and the other in Si. In under 3 months, I learnt from zero SI to enough knowledge to produce double the quota of my Maya partner (year experience in Maya). The factors could depend on the artist, but then again SI is a great animation and render and compositing package, quick to learn and flexible right out of the box.
Softimage is a good contender in this industry, as it is a complete package (from 3D to composting) with a streamlined workflow, and ability to build tools without programming and scripts (ICE).
Learning more about Maya, I do believe Maya is a great product. Don't get me wrong, but reading more on this list is starting to make me doubt the pipeline workflow, with future issues that could set us back and keep us at similar costs and incapability with our competition in this growing market here in Colombia.
Due to our nature of being an aspiring VFX and animation industry for the Latin population (a huge market) here from Colombia, South America; the alternative software to Softimage, for cost sake and functionality, is Blender.
This little rebel of an idea promotes innovation and flexibility. People are working on Ice like nodal flexibility and incorporation, it has sculpting like Mudbox, compositing nodes as powerful as SI's and almost as capable as Nukes, video editing (in a 3D package?!), and tools that come standard to Maya, Max, and SI. Yes, it's not there yet, but its future is by the users for the users. It's open, and developing fast. Each release has hundreds, yes hundreds, of bug fixes and cool new features. Not to mention it runs a gpu+cpu hybrid render engine already included from the get go. And it has the flexibility for developers to grow it, an open SDK and sourcecode.
This is very attractive here. And free, and hopefully always free.
Being in South America, our production budget is not capable of what Autodesk offers as a pipeline at most times, especially at startup; and I have to say that here, piracy is prevalent in this industry for nearly this entire continent for such reason. Not till the emerging studios and talent become successful can they afford to purchase legal seats from Autodesk with a Maya or Max based pipeline (programmers, scripters, 3rd party plugins, compositing and FX software sold separately, etc). As a startup, our product turnover and profits are small, every peso counts. Spending thousands of dollars that squashes our currency on what Autodesk or any other software package is offering sometimes is not viable if we wish to grow or re-invest in more staff and better products; as we can only, more often than not, only cover costs with Autodesk current marketing model and their most popular toolset and expensive pipeline (which also involve competing software). Softimage is an answer to this expensive pipeline, thus freeing our limited resources to invest in Autodesk and more seats, more staff, bigger studios, better products.
But now it is not an option. This situation brings most of Colombia and universities here to start working with Blender as THE alternative. It is a reality that open source software is competition to anything Autodesk offers; and even if it wasn't, it would be pirated due to the economy of the industry here and the high cost of a multi-software pipeline. Yes, Autodesk has the prestige here, yes those who are successful will buy what they offer.. But it's losing traction; even as corruption is challenged and more and more studios require legal software to be granted a sale. But being new studios in a growing industry, it simply can't afford Autodesk with the industries current low turnover in Latin America (for lack of cred), especially for a difficult 3D pipeline with costly maintenance, need for development, 3rd party plugins, difficult rigid render pipeline workflow, multiple software licenses from different providers, etc; that is not what is needed in a competitive pace within the industry, one that SI could offer as a solution. To confront legality and cost to efficiency, Softimage was a strong contender – now it is the competition: Blender – or other software that offer similar solutions.
I had plans to grow my studio here in Colombia and by now we have produced double the quantity with competing if not superior quality with teams the fraction the size of any other studio in this country (which runs on mostly Max or Maya). This could be thanks to SI. This year we are landing a national television series, and we have done all our preproduction in an older version of SI. We hoped to upgrade to the newest and latest, as our pipeline depended on what SI could offer – streamlined workflow, functionality, flexibility, simplicity, trustworthiness. We were planning to invest a lot in Autodesk, but now our alternatives are to finish our production with our antiquated software; and/or we can only hope we can purchase SI in the upcoming months or later this year when our latest contract funds transfer, and carry on till we adopt a viable alternative - which would be Blender or anything else that will help us grow faster than our competition, factoring costs or flexibility and a future. If we had the opportunity to invest in Softimage later on this year without any previous subscription, we would, and still be ahead of our competition many years to come (concluding guaranteed investment into Autodesk – and more prestige for Autodesk)
I'm not saying blender is or ever will be competition, nor am I saying that South America is a lost market - no. I am saying the marketing strategy for Autodesk software and any other 3D software should change to accommodate these needs in growing industries, with thousands of potential new users and content for the world’s second largest mother tongue language, Spanish - a market that could potentially generate millions into the industry, and millions into Autodesk and the solutions they could offer.
But as it is, you just made it more difficult for Autodesk to compete in Latin America. I hope there will be a contender that also is made by the people, for the people, yet that will benefit Autodesk in some way - a rounded package that doesn’t require large studios for similar content and efficient pipelines. I also hope Autodesk, for the sake of their own industry, will have a contender for Houdini and Modo, Blender and Nuke all in one, which Softimage IS and could be.
I hope Autodesk will have the backing of a developing VFX industry in Latin America, that will not be thwarted by costly and uncompetitive pipelines and replaced by open source packages - completely legal, developing and trustworthy.
Taking away a toolset that competes with Houdini, Nuke, Blender, Modo - the competition together - for a prized toolset still in development, yes, popular, yes, stable, yes, growing... but not appropriate for an industry who can't afford to spend the level of education and workflow bottlenecks Maya or Max has to offer - it's disabling.
Especially when the alternative to everything is free, legal and developing fast.
Softimage, why discontinue it? Where is the strategy in there? (To make the other software stronger? without having to expand staff and business/marketing costs?)
Why not transition the business model to something potentially competitive for the competition (yes, not to your own business model and packages, but complimentary) that could even compete with Blender and their mentality of a 3D software of the people, for the people; by opening the SDK and still giving access to potential customers?
Why close a competing product that can ward off quickly growing competition for quite some time as it is? Why not let the people maintain such a tool to your benefits? Why not keep the mentality of an efficient and investment worthy mentality of an emerging industry here in Latin America - why not benefit from the ideology of growing studios and individuals, efficiency and innovation in itself? Why have people settle for a - yes, a tried and true, yet expensive and flawed, pipeline - instead of promoting tools that make every day VFX work easier (as recent products in the industry have shown created within SI - through prizes and feature films). Why take away options (for people to invest in Autodesk)?!
Even if you don’t open the SDK, why not offer alternatives to studios and emerging industries looking for alternatives that are more efficient and cheaper in the long run than software still in development? Cheaper and more efficient than Hollywood VFX pipelines? Why take away an answer to the industry’s needs?
Why not give the option to emerging students, studios and industries in growing countries with markets potentially larger than the English speaking world a chance to optimize their budgets with an arsenal of stable and competing pipeline alternatives to optimize mainstream and costly methods: Maya and Max with Nuke/Houdini (competition)? Why only offer options that need much more costs in education, multiple software licenses crossing a number of providers, taking away finances from any individual or Studio from potential seats they could rather invest in with Autodesk’s rounded solutions (Softimage)? Why start an expensive and uncapable, education heavy, production pipeline while waiting till potential software is capable of such efficiency instead of investing in a project that will ultimately create better investments into Autodesk from emerging and established studios?
Why was this decision set back in only September then executed without any preparation for your users? Why now when industries watch the Lego Movie and think how did they do it? Or even Metegol, yes, working in Maya, struggling with the render pipeline (I talked personally with the lighting and render directors asking them how it went in Siggraph, Bogota)- when simple tools in SI could have avoided that and their movie would not have been the most expensive in Argentinian history - or even South American history (thus freeing up more finances to further invest in Autodesk).
Why choose now to limit options and stop growth in an emerging industry, for Artists, freelancers, small studios, growing studios and even major studios looking for production alternatives?
The current pipeline model Autodesk offers, is strong, yes; but more so with the extra members the army of tools that are more than capable to stand against the competition, on its own, without help: Softimage, it’s an asset.
A business asset.
Not a liability.
Don't sell it, but open it. Don't cease and desist it, take advantage of it. Don't minimize your focus; you have a good strategy for dominating the market - don't limit your options that you provide, the ones your clients and future clients will want and need.
Don't give in to your competition.
Softimage is an asset - especially in an emerging industry here in Latin America - one striving for pipeline friendly, ready out of box, cost worthy products that works more efficiently than any first-world industry using the most popular tools: Maya or Max, or many other software for a single pipeline (and the closest thing to a unified workflow would be Blender or Softimage, not Maya). It's an industry as a whole looking for alternatives - and now you are taking it away from them.
I have no idea who to talk to, and I am not sure this is worthy to share or send to superiors, board members or developers. But think. THINK. Be real business men, be entrepreneurs, adapt, use what you have, you have a toolset to dominate the market still - nothing can compete with the competition as an alternative and strong pipeline quite like Softimage can - and yes, Maya will eventually... in a few to many years - but right now these years will count against you.
You are crippling your own market with the risk and possibility of not being able to bounce back from a VFX industry unhappy with the current cost of the mainstream pipelines Maya or Max, or even the competition, have to offer. This will create less successful small studios (less possible investment into Autodesk), will create unhappy large studios (less focus into Autodesk, looking for cheaper and more streamlined pipelines often in the competition – thus less investment in Autodesk), less competition and artistic capability between individuals and freelancers (less attraction for future clients and 3D work – less ability to invest in Autodesk).
You are shooting yourself in the foot in a medium to long term vision.
We need alternatives, and we want it with Softimage – and ultimately with you, Autodesk (or anyone else who can offer that alternative – and as it stands, none of your software has that answer – other than the one you are shutting down: Softimage).
We need alternatives to replace ICE (only Houdini provides similar alternatives – soon Maya 2015, but really? Blender is developing a similar system already), a 3D package WITH compositing (Blender and Lightwave do this, Nuke to a degree), a rounded package with everything Softimage or Maya can do (Modo, Houdini, Blender, Lightwave).
And you have that alternative, a secret one, one you want to forget, one that a needing industry wants and is looking for, but don't know much about due to the monopoly of Maya and Max and common demand – a prestige of large studios which have tools developed ground around those platforms - which at a personal and small studio level, or even medium studio level, is not financially viable (promoting piracy or your competition).
Closing this to focus on your products is not the solution to a possible growing market demanding innovation and efficiency: new studios, individuals and large studios are looking for alternatives. With the Lego movie, it will become more apparent that Softimage CAN be a solution to current everyday pipeline issues with other popular tools – a viable alternative (and under the banner of Autodesk, everyone wins!)
You have the solution; don't let the competition give it to the industry and market you are trying to survive in. Don't take away alternatives to a world looking for cost to efficiency ratio solutions.
THINK.
-Give us more time to see what alternatives you will offer, 4 years maybe - as mentioned by a few others - with the option to keep earning new sales from potential studios and users (me). (without having to invest millions into Maya, or by creating a new software from the ground up which potentially will be cheaper than patching Maya accommodating your major packages functionality and highlights)
-Continue to give us the option to use the alternative: Softimage - but cease to maintain it. Give the maintenance to us, let us develop it by releasing the source-code to us - and benefit from it’s sales and fame for an indefinite time (something worthy of our effort to invest development and our work in).
-Give us back the opportunity to work our alternatives to what you offer with Softimage, as has been - and yes, invest later in an alternative - but please don’t take away our options before you are ready to offer another! And more so, before we are ready to move to tools we are not capable of using yet nor see potential in using. Take advantage of what you have, earn more, market SI more, keep developing it, benefit from it, use it’s profits to create a new package that will unify your prized software Maya, or create a new one to rule them all.
Redeem yourself with your users, become a corporation that listens to it’s people, earn trust again, and be someone who really adapts to the needs of your users - thinking ahead of the game - ahead of open-source software and your competition and an anti-corporation mentality.
Thank you for allowing some thought to your current market to "upgrade" cost free, and for extending the license to use Softimage perpetually. But do more for those who are not yet your customers, and for those who are unhappy with your other tools now looking for alternatives in the competition. Don't let them go to the competition nor to piracy.
-Andres Stephens
3D Generalist freelancer
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