Bordeaux, France, 16 October 2007 -- NewTek, Inc., manufacturer of industry-leading video and 3D animation products announced today the completion of a virtual replica of the bay of Mont-St.-Michel modeled entirely in LightWave 3D by Imagence and converted to real-time interactive 3D by MG Design. The Mont-Saint-Michel region is at risk of losing its natural beauty with the encroachment of expected physical changes over time and the development of business and industry in the area. Efforts are underway to return the site to its former beauty. A component of this effort involved the partnership of Imagence and MG Design in creating a simulation to visualise the entire region as it transitions 25 years into the future.

The virtual model serves several purposes. First, it is a communication tool for the public situated in an information pavilion showing a simulation of the work over 25 years. Secondly, it is a tool to help with decision-making concerning the direction of the work. This project will prevent the 'Arcangel Roc' from being totally conquered by the land in its battle with the forces of the sea.

"The scene is comprised of 3.2 million polygons (including 9800 trees and 2000 vehicles) and 5GB of textures" according to Christian John of Imagence. "We went as far as putting ditches at the roadside. The new barrier can be animated in real-time to show how it works. We've used LightWave at Imagence for 15 years now, confronted with the scale of this project it didn't let us down."

Conversion to real-time 3D used the RTGU system from MG Design and took scenes directly from LightWave 3D. Using LightWave content in this way allowed the user to visit the whole area (40km2) as a pedestrian, from a moving vehicle or even a helicopter. "Our production pipeline is well-interfaced with LightWave 3D. It allows us to directly use native LightWave scenes without imposing modeling restrictions on the artist, and to use lighting setups in real-time to mimic actual global illumination renders,” explained Vincent Guerin of MG Design.

Declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1979, Mont-Saint-Michel itself can hardly be separated from the bay surrounding it. Over time sediments populated by vegetation have gradually reduced the bay's marine qualities. This encroaching sedimentation has been accentuated by building work that has reduced the charm of the site. Mont-Saint-Michel is the second most visited tourist site in France today. Every year, more than three million people from all over the world come to admire it. In 1995, the government started a project to return Mont-Saint-Michel to its former glory, to restore the site and protect its exceptional environment. Work started in 2006 for a completion in 2012.

A film of an extract of the real-time 3D model is available at this URL: http://www.mgdesign.fr/maquettes/video_msm.html

Other films created by Imagence for this project are available on the official site for the Mont-Saint-Michel Project

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