Nothing Real
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Software |
| Founded | October 1996 |
| Founder | Allen Edwards, Arnaud Hervas |
| Fate | Acquired by Apple Inc. |
| Successor | Apple Inc. |
| Headquarters | Venice Beach, California , United States |
| Products | Shake |
| Parent | Apple Inc. (from 2002) |
Nothing Real L.L.C was established in October 1996 by Allen Edwards and Arnaud Hervas with the goal of creating advanced digital effects software for use in feature films, television broadcasting, and interactive gaming. In February 2002, the company was acquired by Apple, primarily due to its leading product, Shake.
History
Nothing Real was founded by Allen Edwards and Arnaud Hervas in 1996, and they introduced Shake 1.0 in early 1997. Initially designed as a command-line image processing application, it targeted high-end visual effects studios. The founders first crossed paths in 1990 while working at Thomson Digital Images, a Paris-based 3D software firm. Subsequently, they contributed to projects at Sony Pictures Imageworks and the early days of Weta, including Peter Jackson's film "The Frighteners." Their combined expertise in software development and user experience shaped Shake into a rapid, high-quality tool optimized for feature film visual effects workflows.
In 1997, Emmanuel Mogenet joined as senior developer during the redevelopment phase of Shake 2.0, which introduced a comprehensive user interface. That same year, Dan Candela (R&D), Louis Cetorelli (head of support), and Peter Warner (designer and user specialist) became part of the team. Ron Brinkmann took on the role of product manager in 1998 after serving as a consultant. This core group had previous experience at Sony Imageworks.
Shake 2.0 was first showcased as an alpha demonstration at the 1998 NAB conference, followed by a beta release at the 1998 SIGGRAPH event.
The official release of Shake 2.0 occurred in early 1999 for Windows NT and IRIX, with licenses priced at $9,900 each and an alternative $3,900 render-only license available. It rapidly established itself as the compositing standard within the feature film industry.
By the year 2000, Shake version 2.1 retained its $9,900 price point along with approximately $1,500 yearly maintenance fees; render-only licenses continued to be offered at $3,900. The software was compatible with Linux, Irix, and Windows NT operating systems.
Following Apple's acquisition in 2002, Shake was repositioned for Mac OS X users with a lowered price of $4,950 and annual maintenance fees set at $1,199. Apple progressively reduced the cost further, culminating in the release of Shake 4.1 in 2006 at $499 without any maintenance charges. Apple officially discontinued Shake on July 30, 2009.
Corporate facts
- Nothing Real operated out of Venice Beach, California.