Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

DreamWorks animation releases MoonRay as open source software

08/08/2022

Animation production rendering software was used on such films as How to Train Your Dragon

By George Winslow

Published: August 8, 2022

Animation production rendering software was used on such films as How to Train Your Dragon

target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>

DreamWorks Animation has announced plans to release their proprietary production renderer, MoonRay, as open source software later this year.

MoonRay is DreamWorks' state-of-the-art MCRT renderer, which has been used on such feature films as How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World, Croods: A New Age, The Bad Guys, and the upcoming Puss In Boots: The Last Wish.

MoonRay was developed by DreamWorks' engineers, and includes an extensive library of production -tested, physically based materials, a USD Hydra render delegate, multi-machine and cloud rendering via Arras.

We are thrilled to share with the industry over 10 years of innovation and development on MoonRay's vectorised, threaded, parallel, and distributed code base, said Andrew Pearce, vice president of global technology at DreamWorks. The appetite for rendering at scale grows each year, and MoonRay is set to meet that need. We expect to see the code base grow stronger with community involvement as DreamWorks continues to demonstrate our commitment to open source.

MoonRay has been a game-changer for our productions, added Bill Ballew, chief technology officer at DreamWorks. We have over a billion hours of use at DreamWorks. As the open source community continues to embrace and enhance it we'll see significant benefits to the animation and visual effects industry as well as academia.

DreamWorks' in-house Monte Carlo Ray Tracer, MoonRay, was designed from the start with a focus on efficiency and scalability, with the mantra to keep all the vector lanes of all the cores of all the machines busy all the time with meaningful work , as well as provide modern features for full artistic expression, the company said.

It can deliver a broad range of images from photorealistic to strongly stylised. MoonRay is built on a highly-scalable architecture with no prior legacy code, allowing quick, feature-film quality artistic iteration using familiar tools, the company said.

Additional high- performance features include support for distributed rendering, a pixel matching XPU mode that offers improved performance by processing bundles of rays on the GPU as well as the CPU, ray processing via Intel Embree, shader vectorisation utilising Intel ISPC compilation, and bundled path tracing. MoonRay includes a USD Hydra render delegate for integration into content creation tools that support the standard.

We are proud of our close collaboration with DreamWorks on MoonRay with its impressive photoreal ray tracing rendering performance supported by open source Intel Embree and Intel Implicit SPMD Program Compiler (Intel ISPC), both distributed in the Intel oneAPI Rendering Toolkit, said Jim Jeffers, senior director, senior principal engineer, Intel Advanced Ray Tracing. MoonRay's features like hair and fur rendering were developed in collaboration with Intel. The resulting improvements are included in Intel Embree's ray tracing kernel library and exemplify how using open software benefits the entire ecosystem. By adopting Intel ISPC, MoonRay embraces vector instruction parallelism for dramatic performance improvements. Intel looks forward to new opportunities to apply oneAPI cross-architecture, cross-vendor support to this open source project for all creators.

MoonRay utilises DreamWorks' distributed computation framework, Arras, also to be included in the open source code base, to provide innovative multi-machine and multi-context support.

Multi-machine rendering speeds up the interactive display for the artist, decouples rendering from the interactive tool which increases interactive robustness. Using MoonRay and Arr as in a multi-context mode, the artist can simultaneously visualize multiple lighting conditions, varying material properties, multiple times in a shot or sequence, or even multiple locations in an environment.

We see using MoonRay with Arras on Microsoft Azure as a game-changer in the hands of artists, providing faster iterations on lighting, and also enabling multi-context rendering, said Simon Crownshaw, Microsoft's director of business strategy for media and communications.

As visual effects and animation content grows in complexity, so does the compute requirements to create and render. Microsoft Azure allows studios and artists to access MoonRay with Arras for the first time and power the platform with a broad portfolio of compute capacity in the cloud and scale on demand across the globe.

DreamWorks intends to make MoonRay available under the Apache 2.0 license. Further information and updates will be available at OpenMoonRay.org
LINK: https://www.tvbeurope.com/production-post/dreamworks-animation-release...
See more stories from tvb

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

09/09/2026

Study: New Streaming TV Series Orders Plumet

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/09/2026

G&D, VuWall To Introduce vsNEO KVM Platform At IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/09/2026

FCC May Ramp Up Regulation of How Broadcasters Cover Polls

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/09/2026

Avid to Demo New Avid Content Core Features at IBC2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

09/09/2026

Wisycom Showcases Latest Innovations at IBC 2026

Wisycom is showcasing the latest additions to its ecosystem of professional RF technologies at IBC 2026 (Stand 8.D60). This includes its new MATF Wideband Anten...

09/09/2026

VisualOn and Cires21 Cut Delivery Bitrate Up to 76 Percen...

AMSTERDAM, IBC2026 VisualOn, Inc. and Cires21 today released an updated joint whitepaper at IBC 2026 demonstrating measurable, high-impact improvements in visu...

09/09/2026

Sony Electronics Introduces Its First Fisheye Zoom G Lens

Sony Electronics Introduces Its First Fisheye Zoom G Lens Brie Clayton September 8, 2026 0 Comments Compact, lightweight SEL814G Full-frame lens deliv...

09/09/2026

Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 21.1

Blackmagic Design Announces DaVinci Resolve 21.1 Brie Clayton September 8, 2026 0 Comments Major update adds AI assistant integration, expanded camera...

09/09/2026

Cuez Integrates AI into a Unified Broadcast Production Workflow

Cuez Integrates AI into a Unified Broadcast Production Workflow Brie Clayton September 8, 2026 0 Comments Cuez announces the expansion of its cloud-ba...

08/09/2026

Comcast Technology Solutions Signs Multi-Year VOD Distribution Agreement with A+E Global Media

Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) has announced a multi-year agreement with A E...

08/09/2026

Spectra Logic Introduces Media Insight for Faster Discovery, Preview, and Retrieval of Archived Media

Spectra Logic today announced the availability of Media Insight, a new capabilit...

08/09/2026

Rogers and Quebecor Announce 12-Year French-Language NHL Sublicensing Deal

Rogers Communications and Quebecor have announced a 12-year sublicensing agreement for French-language national NHL games beginning with the 2026-27 season. TVA...

08/09/2026

IBC 2026: Skyline Communications and Bridge Technologies to Demonstrate Automated Broadcast Workflows

Skyline Communications and Bridge Technologies will demonstrate two integrations...

08/09/2026

IBC 2026: Boland Communications Makes European Debut of 4K55HDR7SNB

Boland Communications will make the European debut of its 4K55HDR7SNB 55-inch super-narrow-bezel monitor at IBC2026 (Stand 12.C57, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-1...

08/09/2026

Ateme and Comcast Technology Solutions Announce Collaboration for Live Video Delivery

Ateme and Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) have announced a collaboration comb...

08/09/2026

IBC 2026: Haivision Joins IBC Accelerator Programme on 5G Network Control for Live Production

Haivision has joined the IBC Accelerator Media Innovation Programme as part of t...

08/09/2026

Blackmagic Design Cuts Prices on PYXIS 6K and Cinema Camera 6K

Blackmagic Design has announced price reductions on its PYXIS 6K and Cinema Camera 6K models, effective immediately through Blackmagic Design resellers worldwid...

08/09/2026

IBC 2026: AI-Media to Showcase Multilingual AI Captioning and Translation Platform

AI-Media will demonstrate its LEXI Suite at IBC2026 (Booth 5.C34, September 11-1...

08/09/2026

Bitmovin and Ad Insertion Platform Deploy SGAI Solution for Belgian Broadcaster RTBF

Bitmovin and Ad Insertion Platform (AIP) have announced the first live deploymen...

08/09/2026

IBC 2026: Grass Valley to Demonstrate Story-Centric Newsroom Workflows

Grass Valley will demonstrate story-centric media workflows at IBC2026 (Booth 9.A01, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), connecting newsroom production, content ma...

08/09/2026

M2A Media and Ateme Partner to Scale Live Sports Video Delivery

M2A Media and Ateme have announced a partnership integrating Ateme's video processing solutions into M2A Media's MediaToAnywhere platform for live sport...

08/09/2026

IBC 2026: Ikegami to Introduce New UNICAM XE Cameras and Viewfinders

Ikegami will exhibit at IBC2026 (Stand 12.A31, RAI Amsterdam, September 11-14), including a Day 1 introduction of new cameras in the UNICAM XE series. Additiona...

08/09/2026

Caretta Research Shares Top Trends to Watch at IBC 2026

Broadcast industry analysts will be gathering plenty of insights at the 2026 IBC Show this weekend in Amsterdam, but Caretta Research has offered up some though...

08/09/2026

SENSHI and DAZN Announce Global Broadcast Partnership

SENSHI and DAZN have announced a global broadcast partnership that will bring SENSHI's live events free to viewers in more than 200 markets. The partnership...

08/09/2026

ESPN, ESPN2 Begin 4K HDR Rollout in the U.S. with New IP-Based Distribution Pipeline

New architecture built with Evertz will bring 4K HDR to Monday Night Football, N...

08/09/2026

Sauceware Audio release Scorch 2

Built for rap producers, by rap producers Sauceware Audio, the independent plug-in company founded by Grammy-nominated producer Jacob (Travis Scott, 21 Sava...

08/09/2026

Warm Audio unveil the Jude preamps

Classic Sound Techniques design revived Warm Audio's latest release delivers a meticulous recreation of the preamp circuitry employed by the Sound Techn...

08/09/2026

XILS Lab introduce MemoryTone

Latest soft synth inspired by the Memorymoog XILS Lab have just launched a software instrument that draws its inspiration from Moog's iconic Memorymoog,...

08/09/2026

The Airport Chaplain takes off as SBS's biggest launch of 2026

The Airport Chaplain takes off as SBS's biggest launch of 2026 8 September, 2026 Media releases 1.67 million viewers on National Total TV to date Best...

08/09/2026

IBC2026: Haivision Integrates Chyron LIVE into its Workflow

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

08/09/2026

Mo-Sys completes reorganisation strengthens management te...

Mo-Sys, the world-leading developer of virtual production, camera robotics and image tracking technology, has completed a business restructuring, which has incl...

08/09/2026

Aicox and TAG Video Systems power monitoring and multivie...

New York, September 8, 2026 The TSAmediaHUB audiovisual contribution and distribution infrastructure developed by Telef nica's Audiovisual Services area re...

08/09/2026

Asharq migrates extended channel line-up to Pebble playou...

Expanded Riyadh operation brings Asharq and Thmanyah services together on a resilient on-premises Pebble platform. Pebble, the leading automation, content mana...

08/09/2026

Techex Extends its Lead in Software Defined Live Video at...

Techex, a pioneering leader in live video workflows, will showcase its broadest software feature set to date at IBC 2026 (Stand 2.B45), extending its lead in so...

08/09/2026

Grass Valley Advances Story-Centric Media Workflows for U...

Visitors to Grass Valley's booth at IBC2026 will be introduced to new Framelight X capabilities that connect content acquisition, management, editing and pu...

08/09/2026

BCNEXXT Showcases Latest Vipe Innovations at IBC2026 Rais...

BCNEXXT will showcase the latest evolution of Vipe at IBC2026 (Stand 2.B09), introducing a series of innovations designed to deliver higher-quality audience exp...

08/09/2026

Bitmovin and Ad Insertion Platform Power First Active Dep...

Bitmovin, a provider of video streaming solutions, has partnered with Ad Insertion Platform (AIP), a leading innovator in advanced ad insertion technologies, to...

08/09/2026

Brainstorm unveils major enhancements to its Suite 7 envi...

Brainstorm, a leading manufacturer of real-time graphics and augmented and virtual production, is announcing a major package of enhancements to its Suite 7 soft...

08/09/2026

Big Blue Marble Collaborates with TDF as Technology Partn...

Big Blue Marble is supporting TDF, French infrastructure and network operator, broadcasting Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) and radio services, as a techno...

08/09/2026

nxtedition takes agentic AI from newswire to gallery at I...

Agents work inside a single production environment, from incoming wire copy to a live studio show...

08/09/2026

Ceeblue and Layercake Expand Strategic Integration to Lau...

Building on their strategic partnership, Ceeblue and Layercake make the unthinkable possible: scalable sub-second streaming over standard DRM, SSAI, and CDN wor...

08/09/2026

Brainstorm launches Engram a dedicated asset management t...

Brainstorm, a leading manufacturer of real-time graphics, augmented and virtual production, is completing the environment for fast-paced broadcast production wi...

08/09/2026

IBC 2026 - The new Synamedia - solving the business of vi...

A SaaS portfolio built to work together, helping operators grow audiences, monetise smarter and run leaner, on their own terms At IBC 2026 (stand 1.B49) Synam...

08/09/2026

Accedo Selected by PlayOn Sports to Enhance NFHS Network...

Accedo, global provider of video streaming software and services, has been selected by PlayOn Sports, a national leader in high school sports technology, to exp...

08/09/2026

AP brings new connectivity and workflow tech to global ne...

LiveU, the leader in live IP-video solutions, is enabling The Associated Press to take global newsgathering to the next stage with intelligent connectivity and ...

08/09/2026

Mediagenix Personalization Curates Sports Content Around...

Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, today announced the latest evolution of it...

08/09/2026

Appear X5 to enable flyaway contribution for DP World Tou...

Compact, power-efficient X Platform performance brings broadcast-grade reliability and ultra-low latency to space-constrained remote production (REMI) workflows...

08/09/2026

Zixi and Kiloview Partner to Deliver Broadcast-Grade IP V...

Zixi, the leader in live video delivery and workflow orchestration, and Kiloview, a leading provider of professional IP video encoding and decoding solutions, t...