Business Weekly - Cambridge, UK

The start-up was founded in 2003 by Cambridge entrepreneurs Matt Kelland and Dave Lloyd, inventors of the Moviestorm program, designed to allow computer users to direct and animate 3D movies.

The funding is co-led by Create Partners and IQ Capital Fund along with the participation of a consortium of private angels. It follows on from the firm's seed funding, which raised £400k in October 2005. “Our investors have been very supportive of our aspirations and the capital that they have provided will be used to accelerate the development of our technology and speed our progress to market,” said Short Fuze CEO, David Bailey.

The key to the appeal of the software is what it potentially allows users to do for the price, according to the company: “The sheer cost of making a movie is such that only the most talented, the most dedicated and the most fortunate are entrusted with the task of creating the most exciting of modern art forms, our technology promises to change that,” said Bailey.

“Unlike the simple video camera, it brings an entire film studio into the home, complete with sets, actors, and special effects.”

Being open source software, the basic programme will be free for users to download, with income generated by the sale of add-ons. Packages will be made available to create the particular genre of film that users wish to make. For a one-time fee, a user could download the add-on pack for horror movies, and create something to challenge blood and gore Svengali John Carpenter, according to ShortFuze.

The software is undergoing continual testing by its intended market in the form of a pre-release beta, downloadable by contacting the company through its website.

A new beta of the open source software is available to download now, with updates coming on a regular basis, but the official public launch of the beta, backed by a marketing push, is due in April.

Short Fuze is in talks with “major software OEMs” about collaboration possibilities, but another potential sales channel could be product placements, whereby brand owners pay ShortFuze for their brands to be featured in the sets and props sold as add-ons.

The software is driven by the Machinima engine, which is the source of power behind many modern computer games. ‘Machinimators,’ as users are known, create footage by manipulating computer-generated 3D characters in much the same way as a normal computer game. The action is then stored as a video file which can be post-processed and edited using standard video techniques to create action that is as visually stunning as the user can manage.

The company says the fact that it uses technology developed by and for the games industry is a bit of a “red herring.” It says that the project is “really all about ultra-low budget film-making.”

Instead of focusing, as computer games using the engine do, on action and high speed graphics, Moviestorm concentrates on the range of body movements and facial features which make an animated character believable. The focus is on creating a “dramatic and realistic performance,” the firm said.

Another key feature of the technology is its accessability. It allows total beginners to create 3D animation without the high costs and complicated programmes usually associated with the art. “Machinima allows people with no knowledge of 3D modelling or frame-by-frame animation to make films on standard home computers, by allowing them to take advantage of video game technology.”

With the launch of Moviestorm in June, the company plans to demonstrate how computer technology can truly transform film-making into a mass medium, allowing its target audience, 14- 30 year olds, spanning all geographies to create a “a shift in the way entertainment will be made and consumed in the future.”