From a 2001 “industry backgrounder” published on softimage.com:

SOFTIMAGE: THE VISION BEHIND THE LEGEND

Right in the heart of trendy Montreal, there is a place where lives a legend. 3510 St Laurent: the home of Softimage Co. A true legend based on a vision: to change and transform the world of digital media; to inspire the imagination, and to create an innovative solution that would make this vision a reality. Since its inception in 1986, Softimage has become synonymous with innovation and the development of solutions that closely reflect the true needs of creative individuals. Softimage over the years has transformed the digital media industry by developing software-based tools that enhance the creative process whilst reducing costs. Today, Softimage has matured as the industry has, hand-in-hand, through rapid periods of technological evolutions and creative innovations. However, throughout these changes there remains a core of thinking, of motivation, that has not changed. There is a solid team, delivering on common goals. There is a sense of fun and an appreciation for hard work. There is a passion for this work and for the customer.

Through the years, Softimage has paid attention to the industry from both a technological and a creative perspective. This has helped the company be at the forefront of developing products that can harness the technology and make it available to the artist. This, in fact, is what has defined Softimage: the ability to take a technology and build the tools so that artists can actually develop content for any industry, at any time. With over a decade of experience in producing a high-end, 3-D products, Softimage understands the industry and the needs of its users as few others do. And, with firmly established users in the film, games and television industries, Softimage is now focused on moving towards a more widely-adopted technology, with new generation of products based on the Digital Studio architecture, which offers a truly integrated 3-D production environment from video, to audio, to editing and compositing.

Coming next…SOFTIMAGE’S EARLY YEARS…