Bangalore: Apple Computers has announced the immediate availability of Shake® 3. The next generation of Apple's industry-leading compositing and visual effects software is featured in the production of over a 100 motion pictures, including the Academy Award-winning Lord of the Rings and this summer's hottest blockbusters such as Finding Nemo, Matrix Reloaded and X-Men 2.

Shake 3 includes new Mac® OS X which only features such as Shake Qmaster network render management software that allows visual effects artists to easily distribute rendering tasks across a cluster of Apple's Xserve® 1U rack servers or desktop Power Mac® G4 computers for maximum performance and efficiency.

In addition, Mac OS X users of Shake receive unlimited network render licenses at no extra cost. Shake 3 also includes new features available to Mac OS X, Linux and IRIX customers, including film grain simulation and tracking on paint strokes.

"With Shake 3, we are adding more features professional artists need to create Oscar-winning visual effects and introducing new features that make Shake more accessible to a broader audience," says Sina Tamaddon, Apple's senior vice-president of applications. "Our Mac OS X customers are going to love the new Shake Qmaster render management software that turns every available Mac or Xserve in a production house into a virtual rendering machine."

"Shake 3 has made some of our most complex compositing projects much easier including our recent production work, The Italian Job, for Paramount Pictures," says Ricardo Torres, senior compositor, Blackbox Digital. "We're extremely impressed with the quality we get from the Shake renders. Now that render licenses are free with Shake for Mac OS X and it comes bundled with Shake Qmaster render management software, we're moving Shake 3 to the centre of our production pipeline."

Shake Qmaster network render management software for Mac OS X uses Apple's Rendezvous networking technology to automatically identify available render nodes and clusters on a network while load balancing optimises usage across each machine in the workflow. For compositors in commercial post-production, Shake 3 now includes powerful audio capabilities making it easier for artists to synchronise visual effects with audio, including the ability to automatically animate visual effects based on sound and view, slip or slide audio waveforms against animation curves. Shake 3 for Mac OS X also includes broadcast monitor support for previewing composites on a standard-definition or high-definition video monitor.

Pricing and availability
Shake 3 is available immediately for Mac OS X, Linux and IRIX through Apple Authorised Pro Film and Video Resellers. Shake 3 is available for Mac OS X with unlimited render licenses for a suggested retail price of $4,950, and for Linux and IRIX for a suggested retail price of $9,900 with annual maintenance of $1,485. Existing Shake for Linux, IRIX and Windows customers will continue to be given the option to double the number of their existing Shake licenses at no additional cost by migrating them to Shake on Mac OS X.

Apple ignited the personal computer revolution in the 1970s with the Apple II and reinvented the personal computer in the 1980s with the Macintosh. Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and Internet offerings.