DreamWorks partners with Intel for 3-D initiative

United States - After a three-year partnership with Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD), DreamWorks Animation SKG announced that it would partner with Intel Corp for its computer chip supply.

AMD, DreamWorks Animations' previous supplier since 2005, has been dropped for Intel as the studio wants to shift its focus towards producing 3-D animation movies.

This new alliance was formed based on the capabilities of two new Intel chips, which will be launched in the coming months. "The Intel roadmap syncs more closely with our needs,'' said John Batter, DreamWorks Animation's co-president of production for feature animation.

Intel's new chip would enable DreamWorks Animation to create richer 3-D images and improve the ease and pace of the authoring process. This will significantly enhance the movie-watching experience and propel DreamWorks Animation to the forefront of the entertainment industry.

According to the Chief Executive of DreamWorks Animation, Jeffrey Katzenberg, the quicker technology that the new chips promise could shorten the process of creating computer animations from "overnight to hours to minutes".

This would be beneficial to the technology-dependent studio as the time spent creating their animations could be considerably shortened.

The move would result in a major studio overhaul as about 1,000 workstations and 1,500 servers units at DreamWorks Animation will begin the transition from using AMD chips to the new Intel chips.

"Monsters vs. Aliens," which is slated for release in the first quarter of 2009, would be the first 3-D movie that would be created out of this new alliance.