Many veterans of the computer graphics industry are expressing shock and sadness over the death of Daniel Langlois, the influential founder of pioneering 3D computer graphics software developer Softimage, whose tools were used to create visual effects on countless notable films — among them, Jurassic Park, The Matrix, Men in Black, The Fifth Element and Titanic — during a period of rapid development in this field.
The CBC reports that on Dec. 6, two men, Jonathan Lehrer and Robert Snyder, were charged with the murder of Canadian Langlois and his partner Dominique Marchand in a Dominica, West Indies court. According to the CBC story, the bodies were discovered in a burnt-out car last Friday near their Coulibri Ridge resort on the island. The CBC also reported that Lehrer owned property next to the resort and they had been involved in a past dispute over a road.
“In 1985 Daniel Langlois co-directed one of the first computer-generated animation short films (Tony de Peltrie). That experience led him to start Softimage, on a mission to develop better software that animators and artists could actually use to make movies. I met Daniel at Softimage in 1991 and worked alongside him and the highly motivated team he assembled for seven years,” said David Morin, executive director of the Academy Software Foundation, in an email to The Hollywood Reporter.
Morin added, “Daniel was smart, focused, an entrepreneur with a clear vision and the ability to translate it in terms that would inspire everyone around him. He was a pioneer in the animation and visual effects industry that redefined what could be put on screen. The people who worked at Softimage and the community who used the software owe a lot to him. The news of his passing is a shock, he will be sorely missed.”
An obit on the web site of the Daniel Langlois Foundation (a charitable organization aimed at the intersection of art and science) only said that the pair died under “tragic circumstances.”
According to his biography on this site, the French Canadian entrepreneur, born in 1957, started Softimage in Montreal during 1986, serving as its president and CTO. The company went public in 1992, and then in 1994 it merged into Microsoft. The Softimage software was acquired by Avid in 1998 and a decade later was sold to Autodesk.
Langlois was among a team that received a SciTech Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, for developments in the Softimage software.
“I’ve always been impressed in how Daniel found a way to surround himself with the best talent and focus on solving real problems above and beyond anything else,” Michel Besner, former CEO of entertainment software developer Kaydara (whose tech is now part of Autodesk), wrote to THR. “The 3D and VFX industry would not have been the same without his contribution with the development of Softimage and Digital Studio – artist friendly tools that have revolutionized the software industry and often ahead of their time. He also continued to contribute to push innovation by investing and being a mentor to me as we built the success story of Kaydara.”
Before founding Softimage, Langlois worked as an animation director and for the National Film Board of Canada.
In 1999, he was appointed Knight of the National Order of Québec and named Officer of the Order of Canada the following year during which he also was named Personnalité Arts-Affaires of the city of Montreal. In 2003, he accepted the Octas Prize for advanced digital technologies in film and media creation.
“Daniel was a true creative force — both at Softimage and in his many projects around the globe. His vision for translating 3D animation into the digital realm set the stage for an entire industry, and his creativity and passion launched countless career paths — including mine,” remembers Dan Kraus, another longtime Softimage employee and industry vet, in an email to THR.
