Welcome to the information page for ZPE Europe!

On this page you will find information relating to the next ZPE Europe training session.

ZPE Europe is a unique opportunity to learn 3D Nature software from those who know it best. Meet other users of the software and see how they use the program. Bring along your own project data, and use the time to investigate solutions to problems you may have encountered while working on your own projects.

When is it happening?

After the success of ZPE Europe 2004, we are happy to announce that ZPE Europe 2005 will be held between the 24th and 29th of July 2005 inclusive.

Venue:

The Macauley Land Use Research Institute, Cragiebuckler, Aberdeen, Scotland. Please click HERE for the official website.

The Institute is set to the west of Aberdeen, and is only a short drive from both the city center to the East and a range of stunning highland vistas to the West and Northwest. For more information about the Aberdeenshire area, please visit this site.

The nearest international airport is Aberdeen International Airport. Alternatives include flying to Glasgow or Edinburgh, from where there are a number of internal flights, or alternative means of public transport (coach, rail) that will take you into Aberdeen itself.

N-Light Ltd will be happy to arrange or advise on transportation to the venue, as well as organise additional nights' accommodation at extra cost, should you wish to stay an extra couple of days after or before the course and have time to explore the surrounding sights.

Cost:

Cost for the 5-day session will be £1250.

For those bookings made before April 30th 2005, We are delighted to offer an "early bird" discount of £250, making the cost of this exclusive session only £1000.

This price includes all training, Bed & Breakfast accommodation in the Aberdeen Hilton, and scheduled courtesy transportation to and from, either Aberdeen International Airport or Aberdeen Bus/Railway Station(s). By arrangement, transportation can be arranged from other arrival points. Please contact N-Light Ltd with your travel plans as soon as possible to guarantee the availability of courtesy transportation to the venue.

All delegates will receive a copy of Scott's GIS Applications for Visual Nature Studio 2 DVD absolutely free (usual retail price £60), as well as a selection of other useful "goodies".

In addition, all purchases of VNS (upgrade and full licenses) made with the training session will be subject to a 10% discount. This offer applies for all bookings made, and is in addition to any early-bird discount offered.

Adam Hauldren was the first person to purchase version 4 of World Construction Set, having followed the development of the product from its earliest incarnations on the Commodore Amiga. A former technical trainer and systems engineer with nearly a decade and a half of 3D animation and graphic experience, Adam was responsible for the online and printed copies of the WCS6 and VNS2 manuals, has written a number of publically available tutorials for the same, and has had his work with 3DNature products published in both books and used in broadcast productions. The founder of N-Light Ltd and co-founder of FaNG3D (the visualisation arm of the same company), Adam is the only Certified 3D Nature Instructor outside of the USA, and has both trained at a number of 3D Nature Academy sessions in the past, and also helped staff the 3D Nature stand at more than one Siggraph exhibition.

Scott Cherba is a longtime user of 3D Nature products, and the author of many fine WCS and VNS tutorials, many of which can be accessed through his website. He was also responsible for the creation of the tutorial videos that ship with WCS6 and VNS2 and also a range of supporting products including the GIS Applications for Visual Nature Studio 2 DVD. A qualified geologist, with over 20 years of experience in a wide range of topics, including photography, natural history, cultural history, and art. Like Adam, Scott has previously been a valued member of the training staff at previous 3D Nature Academy sessions in the Rockies, and has also helped on the 3D Nature stand at Siggraph.

Other guest instructors and presenters have yet to be confirmed, but it is our hope that interest will be sufficiently high to warrant at least one visiting lecturer, who can give insights into the use of 3D Nature products in real-world scenarios, and/or the integration of external tools in preparing data for use in WCS and VNS.

What will be covered?

At present the schedule is not set in stone. This will allow us to determine a schedule to fit in with the requirements of individual students. On application for the course, you will be sent a brief questionnaire that will request feedback on a number of subjects. Returning this form to us will allow us to determine which areas of the product featureset can be presented in the time available, and where the focus will lie.

Subjects likely to be covered include:

Animation, Terraffectors; Color Map usage; Object and Terrain Texturing; DEM Merging; Rules-of-Nature; Image Management; Post Processing; Lighting; Gridding. In addition, the format will hopefully lend itself to delivering a range of tips and tricks that will save you time and effort when it comes to preparing your own VNS and WCS projects.

We will be focussing on Visual Nature Studio, although users with WCS will be also catered for, and we will also be presenting at least one session on the use of Scene Express, 3D Nature's add-on export module for WCS6 and VNS2.

Prerequisites:

This course is designed to be an intermediate to advanced level course. As such, attendees should have AT LEAST completed the tutorials that ship with their 3D Nature product (WCS or VNS). The same applies to Scene Express, if relevant.

Those individuals who wish to attend but have not yet purchased the software, or do not feel comfortable with the concepts presented in the tutorials, are welcome to arrange to attend a day or more early for specific tutelage to bring them upto speed. This service would be provided at extra cost.

The course will be run in English, so an ability to understand English (and hopefully communicate in the same) will be expected.

Booking:

Please do not hesitate to contact us using the normal methods if you have any further questions, or would like to confirm a booking.

email: ZPE@nlight.freeserve.co.uk

Telephone/Fax: +44 (0)117 904 9452

Snail-mail: N-Light Ltd, 21., Elmcroft Crescent, Horfield, Bristol, BS7 9NF, UK

We look forward to meeting with attending UK and European clients in July!

All details subject to change without notice