Editing MASSIVE (software)

{{Short description|Visual effects software used for crowd generation}}
{{about|Multiple Agent Simulation System in Virtual Environment|other uses|Massive (disambiguation)}}
{{more citations needed|date=February 2015}}
{{DISPLAYTITLE:''MASSIVE'' (software)}}

'''''MASSIVE''''' ('''''Multiple Agent Simulation System in Virtual Environment''''') is a high-end [[computer animation]] and [[artificial intelligence]] software package used for generating crowd-related visual effects for film and television.

==Overview==
''Massive'' is a [[software]] package developed by [[Stephen Regelous]] for use in the visual effects industry. Its primary feature is its ability to rapidly create large groups of agents that can act as individuals, each with their own unique behaviors and actions.<ref>{{Cite episode |title= Wizards at work|episode-link= |url=https://www.sbs.com.au/ondemand/tv-series/icons-unearthed-the-lord-of-the-rings |access-date=5 July 2024|series= Icons Unearthed: The Lord of The Rings|series-link= |first= |last= |network= |station= |date= 2024|season= 1|series-no= |number= 4|minutes= |time= |transcript= |transcript-url= |quote= |trans-quote= |via= SBS on Demand |language=}}</ref>

Through the use of [[fuzzy logic]],<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-05-02 |title=Massive Software’s Influence on Popular Fantasy Film |url=https://amt-lab.org/blog/2023/5/massive-softwares-influence-on-popular-fantasy-entertainment |access-date=2024-08-20 |website=AMT Lab @ CMU |language=en-US}}</ref> the software enables every agent to respond individually to its surroundings, including other agents. These reactions affect the agent's behavior, changing how they act by controlling pre-recorded [[animation]] clips. Blending between such clips creates characters that move, act, and react realistically. These pre-recorded animations can come from motion-capture sessions or they can be hand-animated in other [[3D animation]] software packages.

In addition to the [[artificial intelligence]] abilities of ''Massive'', there are numerous other features, including cloth simulation, [[rigid body dynamics]] and graphics processing unit ([[GPU]]) based hardware rendering. Massive Software has also created several pre-built agents ready to perform certain tasks, such as stadium crowd agents, rioting mayhem agents and simple agents who walk around and talk to each other.

==History==
''Massive'' was originally developed in Wellington, [[New Zealand]]. [[Peter Jackson]], the director of the ''[[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|Lord of the Rings]]'' films (2001–2003), required software that allowed armies of hundreds of thousands of soldiers to fight, a problem that had not been solved in film-making before. [[Stephen Regelous]] created ''Massive'' to allow [[Wētā FX]] to generate many of the award-winning visual effects, particularly the battle sequences, for the ''Lord of the Rings'' films. Since then, it has developed into a complete product and has been licensed by a number of other visual effects houses.

== Examples ==
''Massive'' has been used in many productions, both commercials and [[Feature film|feature-length films]], small-scale and large.

Some significant examples include:
*''[[The Lord of the Rings (film series)|The Lord of the Rings]]''
*''[[Rise of the Planet of the Apes]]''
*''[[Avatar (2009 film)|Avatar]]''
*''[[The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe]]''
*''[[King Kong (2005 film)|King Kong]]'' (Jackson, 2005)
*''[[Go to Sleep|Radiohead - Go To Sleep (Music Video)]]''
*''[[Flags of Our Fathers (film)|Flags of our Fathers]]'' (besides battle and crowd scenes, even shots of seacraft crossing the Pacific were created with Massive)
*''[[Carlton Draught: Big Ad]]''
*''[[Mountain (advert)|Mountain]]'', a television commercial for the [[PlayStation 2]] console
*''[[I, Robot (film)|I, Robot]]''
*''[[Category 7: The End of the World]]''
*''[[Blades of Glory]]''
*''[[Eragon (film)|Eragon]]''
*''[[The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor]]''
*''[[Happy Feet]]''
*''[[300 (film)|300]]''
*''[[The Ant Bully (film)|The Ant Bully]]'' (the first film to use computer-animated characters as Massive agents rather than motion capture.  Also first to use facial animation within Massive)
*''[[Buffy the Vampire Slayer (TV series)|Buffy]]'' ("[[Chosen (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)|Chosen]]")
*''[[Doctor Who]]'' ("[[Partners in Crime (Doctor Who)|Partners in Crime]]")
*''[[Changeling (film)|Changeling]]''
*''[[Speed Racer (film)|Speed Racer]]'' (Car A.I. and crowds)
*''[[WALL-E]]''
*''[[Up (2009 film)|Up]]''
*''[[Life of Pi (film)|Life of Pi]]'' (Both the flying fish and meerkat sequences were created with the help of ''Massive'')
*''[[Epic (2013 film)|Epic]]''
*''[[The Hobbit (film series)|The Hobbit]]''
*''[[Dawn of the Planet of the Apes]]''
*''[[Soul Snatcher]]''
*''[[World War Z (film)|World War Z]]''
*''[[Battle of the Bastards|Game of Thrones]]''<ref name="cnet">{{Cite web |title=How 'Lord of the Rings' Used AI to Change Big-Screen Battles Forever |url=https://www.cnet.com/culture/entertainment/features/how-lord-of-the-rings-used-ai-to-change-big-screen-battles-forever/ |access-date=2024-08-20 |website=CNET |language=en}}</ref>
*''[[Black Panther (film)|Black Panther]]''
*''[[Aquaman (film)|Aquaman]]''
*''[[Avengers: Endgame]]''<ref name="cnet" />

==See also==
*[[Crowd simulation]]
*[[Multi-agent system]]
*[[Fuzzy logic]]
*[[Emergence]]
* [[Lightwave 3D]]
* [[Electric Image Animation System]]
* [[Cinema 4D]]
* [[Modo (software)|Modo]]
* [[Blender (software)|Blender]]

==External links==
*{{Official website|www.massivesoftware.com}}

==References==
{{RefList}}

{{3D software}}

[[Category:3D graphics software]]
[[Category:Animation software]]
[[Category:3D computer graphics software for Linux]]
[[Category:Proprietary commercial software for Linux]]
[[Category:Special effects]]
[[Category:Visual effects]]
[[Category:Visual effects software]]