Daniel Langlois (6 April 1957 – 2023) was a Canadian businessman who was the president and founder of the Daniel Langlois Foundation, Ex-Centris, and Media Principia Inc. He was founder and inaugural president of Softimage Inc., which is recognized in the fields of cinema and media creation for its digital technologies, in particular its 3-D computer animation techniques. Its software was used to create 3-D effects in such films as ''

The Matrix ''The Matrix'' is a 1999 science fiction film, science fiction action film written and directed by the Wachowskis. It is the first installment in the The Matrix (franchise), ''Matrix'' film series, starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Ca ...

'', ''

Titanic RMS ''Titanic'' was a British ocean liner that sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 as a result of striking an iceberg on her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, United States. Of the estimated 2,224 passengers a ...

'', ''

Men in Black In popular culture and UFO conspiracy theories, men in black (MIB) are government agents dressed in dark suits, who question, interrogate, harass, and threaten unidentified flying object (UFO) witnesses to keep them silent about what they have ...

'', ''

Jurassic Park ''Jurassic Park'', later referred to as ''Jurassic World'', is an American science fiction media franchise created by Michael Crichton, centered on a disastrous attempt to create a theme park of De-extinction#Cloning, cloned dinosaurs. It bega ...

'', and '' Terminator 2.''

Early life and education

Langlois was born on 6 April 1957 in Jonquière, Quebec, Canada. He earned a bachelor of design degree from the

Université du Québec à Montréal The (UQAM; ), is a French language, French-language public university, public research university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the system. UQAM was founded on April 9, 1969, by the government o ...

Film career

Langlois worked for eight years as a film director and animator for private companies and the

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

. During this time, he made contributions to the film industry, especially to the field of computer graphics. He gained recognition for his work on '' Transitions'', the first stereoscopic 3-D

computer animation Computer animation is the process used for digitally generating Film, moving images. The more general term computer-generated imagery (CGI) encompasses both still images and moving images, while computer animation refers to moving images. Virtu ...

IMAX IMAX is a proprietary system of High-definition video, high-resolution cameras, film formats, film projectors, and movie theater, theaters known for having very large screens with a tall aspect ratio (image), aspect ratio (approximately ei ...

format (presented at

Expo 86 The 1986 World Exposition on Transportation and Communication, or simply Expo 86, was a world's fair held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada from May 2 until October 13, 1986. The fair, the theme of which was "Transportation and Communicatio ...

). He also had a hand in the 1985 film '' Tony de Peltrie'', which garnered several international awards. Langlois also founded Softimage Inc., serving as its president and chief technology officer from November 1986 to July 1998. The company is recognized in the fields of cinema and media creation for its digital technologies, especially its 3-D computer animation techniques. Softimage software was used to create 3-D effects in such films as ''

'', ''

'', and '' The Mask''. Langlois was president and founder of the Daniel Langlois Foundation, Ex-Centris, and Media Principia Inc.

Later career: sustainable development

In later years, Daniel Langlois was involved in sustainable development and research projects for the creation of self-sustainability for small communities and some industrial sectors such as the hospitality sector. Coulibri Ridge, which is part of this research process in

Dominica Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...

, was awarded Gold and Platinum Winner as well as Grand Winner in the Hotel and Tourism Development category at the 15th Edition of the Grands Prix du Design 2022.

Recognition and honours

*1994: Named by

Ernst & Young EY, previously known as Ernst & Young, is a multinational corporation, multinational professional services partnership, network based in London, United Kingdom. Along with Deloitte, KPMG and PwC, it is one of the Big Four accounting firms, Big F ...

as Canada's national entrepreneur of the year *1996:

Honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

in administration,

Université de Sherbrooke The Université de Sherbrooke (UdeS; Quebec English, English: ''University of Sherbrooke'') is a French-language Public university, public research university in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada, with a second campus in Longueuil, a suburb on the Mont ...

*1997: Scientific and Technical Oscar, from the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization in Beverly Hills, California, U.S., with the stated goal of adva ...

* 1999: Knight of the

National Order of Quebec The National Order of Quebec ( French: ), also known as the Order of Quebec, is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Quebec. Instituted in 1984 when Lieutenant Governor Jean-Pierre Côté granted royal assent to the (Natio ...

*2000: Officer of the Order of Canada *2002: Honorary doctorate,

McGill University McGill University (French: Université McGill) is an English-language public research university in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill University, Vol. I. For the Advancement of Learning, ...

*2004: Great Montrealer *2004: Honorary doctorate,

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

*2005: Honorary doctorate,

*2008: Honorary doctorate,

University of Ottawa The University of Ottawa (), often referred to as uOttawa or U of O, is a Official bilingualism in Canada, bilingual public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The main campus is located on directly to the northeast of Downtown Ot ...

*2016: Officer of the Order of Montreal

Death and investigation

On 1 December 2023, police in

found a burnt out car near Galion containing the bodies of Langlois and his partner Dominique Marchand. According to ''Dominica News Online'' and other local sources, the couple had been missing for a few days. They reported that three people had been detained and were being questioned by police.

"For years, the two men had fought bitterly over use of a public road. In 2019, Dominica’s highest court ruled that the road was indeed public and Langlois’ workers and guests could use it."

On 6 December 2023, it was reported that in fact the police in Dominica had made four arrests in the case, and that two of the suspects, Jonathan Lehrer and Robert Snyder, had been charged with murder in a court in Roseau, Dominica's capital. Lehrer, a man from

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, owns a property next to Langlois's and Marchand's luxurious eco-resort and had been involved in litigation with Langlois five years before the murders in a matter dealing with a public roadway.Road to Ruin
- '' The Fifth Estate'': Season 50, Episode 2 via:

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

bail was granted and apparently assured by a government representative. The trial starts February 10/25 in Dominica.

Daniel Langlois Foundation

The Daniel Langlois Foundation is a non-profit, philanthropic organization endowed by Daniel Langlois and chartered in 1997 with the mission to support artistic and scientific projects and research dedicated to further general human awareness as well as the understanding of human relation with its natural and technological environment. The purpose of the foundation is to further artistic and scientific knowledge by fostering the meeting of art and science in the field of technologies and the environment. The Foundation seeks to nurture a critical awareness of technology's implications for human beings and their natural and cultural environments, and to promote the exploration of aesthetics suited to evolving human environments. The Foundation Centre for Research and Documentation (CR+D) seeks to document history, artworks and practices associated with electronic and digital media arts and to make this information available to researchers in an innovative manner through data communications. In 2005, the foundation initiated the development of DOCAM (Documentation and Conservation of the Media Arts Heritage). This international research alliance's primary objective is to develop new methodologies and tools to address the issues of preserving and documenting technological and electronic works of art. The Daniel Langlois Foundation, DOCAM, and its Centre for Research and Documentation are located in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. In 2011, the entire collection of the foundation was donated to the Cinémathèque québécoise. Resilient Dominica (RezDM.org) is a Non-Government Organisation (NGO) formed in 2018 shortly after Hurricane Maria by the Daniel Langlois Foundation in an attempt to rebuild and strengthen resilience in

in the communities of Soufriere, Scotts Head, and Gallion.

References

External links

Softimage company website

Daniel Langlois Foundation

DOCAM

Resilient Dominica (RezDM)

Coulibri Ridge
{{DEFAULTSORT:Langlois, Daniel 1957 births 2023 deaths Artists from Montreal Businesspeople from Montreal Canadian animated film directors Canadian animated film producers Canadian company founders Canadian media executives Chief technology officers Film directors from Montreal Film festival founders Knights of the National Order of Quebec National Film Board of Canada people Officers of the Order of Canada Canadian technology company founders Université du Québec à Montréal alumni