Getting to Know Software: A Study of Autodesk Maya

Abstract

Drawing on software studies, Wood offers an original methodology for approaching software by analysing the user interface of the 3-D animation software Autodesk Maya in the context of its paratexts. This entails scrutinizing the operational logic of the software as it appears on the user interface, the frames and patterns associated with the surface and also the deeper structures of the software. In Getting to Know Software, Wood also looks back into Maya's history and gives an account of the context of Autodesk Maya's production and release, and a media archaeology of movement algorithms more generally. The discussion draws on interviews with users of software. This material provides many insights into what animators do as they create moving images using software.