In November, Imagineer Systems announced that it was combining its range of software tools into a single product, Mocha Pro, which boasted a new interface and 64-bit processing power along with a new price point – $1495 for a single node-locked license. (The less robust Mocha and Mocha AE remain in place with a clear upgrade path to the Pro version.) StudioDaily asked Ross Shain, the company's corporate marketing officer, to explain the thinking behind this shift in strategy.

StudioDaily:  Can you tell us about Mocha Pro – the thinking behind it, and why it’s such a big deal?

Ross Shain:  Sure. Mocha Pro is a big deal to us because it is the culmination of many years of research and development. In 2001, Imagineer innovated planar tracking and released a unique product called Mokey that automated rig, wire and object removals. Next, Monet was introduced as a screen-insertion and logo-replacement tool. It was actually developed to help inset the moving paintings in the Harry Potter films!

While Monet and Mokey were very powerful tools, the price point was too high for anyone other than large facilities to afford. Effects artists asked for the planar-tracking tools to be broken out at an affordable price. This lead to Motor for roto, then Mocha. Soon we had too many “Mo-” products and product confusion. Finally what customers told us was, “We love your tools, but we want everything you guys do in one feature set. And we want to be able to afford that.”

More than three years ago we licensed mocha for After Effects to Adobe, and that was the beginning of mass exposure to planar tracking. This gave us the go-ahead to create Mocha Pro, one 64-bit-optimized utility with all of our tracking, roto, removal and insertion features in one improved interface. Now, rather than six or seven “Mo-” products, we have Mocha Pro and an upgrade path from Mocha and Mocha AE. In a nutshell, we’re now offering all of our advanced planar-tracking tools for rotoscoping and visual effects at an affordable price.

What’s the difference between Mocha and Mocha Pro?

Mocha is a standalone rotoscoping and planar-tracking system. Mocha Pro has more advanced features for removing objects ‘ creating clean plates ‘ and screen inserts, match-moving, and compositing.

Has response to the new product been what you had hoped?

The product’s been out close to two months and it’s been really well received, both by the old customers who were waiting to upgrade and the new users. We used to have a few thousand users, and now we’re in the 30,000-to-40,000-user range. It’s exciting and fun for us to see how customers are using the products.

Talk about a recent feature film that got a boost from Imagineer’s software.

Well, some are using Imagineer’s tools for pure visual effects work. Black Swan is an example. Look FX just did FX work on that. And if you look at the shortlist for the Visual Effects Oscar nominations, a lot of the films that were named used our tools. But a lot of studios are also using our tools to assist in the 2D-to-3D conversion process. For example, Voyage of the Dawn Treader had a lot of Mocha work in it. There is a lot of growth in [stereo 3D] conversion and rotoscoping studios.

Mocha feels like it uses mature technology, but there must be some R&D going on. Can you give us any hints about the future?

People have always asked us about 3D tracking, so we’re looking at doing some camera tracking right now. We’re also beginning to do some work for future versions that will support stereoscopic tracking, taking our tools to the next level for those applications. And then we’re just looking at the tools we have right now and trying to make them better by listening to the artists and applying their feature requests.

The recent closings of Asylum and CafeFX underscored how tough it is out there for VFX artists and studios – at least in the U.S. and especially in California. What’s the economic climate like for you, and how is it affecting your business?

Last year was probably the best year Imagineer has ever had. Even though the economic climate has been uncertain in the U.S., we’re seeing growth in other areas, like India. A lot of work is going to India and large facilities are being built there. There are also good initiatives in the U.S., such as the economic incentives in Florida – look at what Digital Domain is doing down there – and in Louisiana. The U.S. companies are trying to come up with strategies to keep business in the U.S.

What’s your New Year’s resolution?

For me? It’s to work less! This past year was a really big year for Imagineer. It was a two-year project to get up and running with 64-bit processing and to merge the technology into one product. At the same time, we re-branded and did the new website all in the last six months. It’s been a crazy work experience. We’re moving full speed ahead, but I’d like to acknowledge the accomplishments we made in the last year.

For more information: www.imagineersystems.com.