Computer Graphics World articles from July 2008

Computer Graphics World archives from July 2008

A man of 'character'.(editor's note)(Stan Winston)(Biography)
July 1, 2008... His creatures are legendary. And so was he. Sadly, the industry last month lost one of its pioneers and innovators: famed makeup artist, visual effects artist, director, producer, costume designer, and writer Stan Winston, who succumbed to...

Frantic Films Software offers awake.(PRODUCTS: PLUG-INS)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Frantic Films Software, the software development division of Frantic Films VFX and a division of Prime Focus Group, has made its Awake plug-in pack for Eyeon Fusion 5 commercially available. The collection, which features 10 plug-ins that...

Imagineer introduces Mogul.(PRODUCTS: POSTPRODUCTION)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Imagineer Systems unveiled Mogul, a new open, collaborative VFX architecture supporting a suite of tightly integrated, modular VFX systems, all built on Mogul's 3D engine. Mogul unites common design-facility tasks, such as editing,...

Animazoo launches IGS-190H mocap system.(PRODUCTS: MOTION CAPTURE)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Mocap company Animazoo is offering the IGS-190H (Hybrid), its new hybrid mocap offering for optical-quality data from an inertial, gyroscopic system. The IGS-190H combines the features of the existing IGS-190M (Mobile) with a new ultrasonic...

Duiker Research rolls out Color Symmetry 1.5.(PRODUCTS: PLUG-IN)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Duiker Research released Version 1.5 of its Color Symmetry plug-in suite, now with Universal Look Authoring. A single-package solution, the suite is used for emulating film looks and handling color consistently across applications and...

Iconix introduces Studio2K camera.(PRODUCTS: STEREOSCOPY)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Iconix Video announced Studio2K, the next generation of its HD-RH1F camera. Compatible with the current line of Iconix camera products, the POV Studio2K provides 2K capability for digital cinema and stereo. The Studio2K is well suited for...

Animated details: animation studio Titmouse dives into the high-def waters.(USER FOCUS: BROADCAST)
July 1, 2008... HD. It's awesome. Just ask anyone who has been mesmerized by sporting events in HD, or has grown to love a favorite television sitcom in high-definition detail. But what about richly colored CG "cartoons"? Thanks to Titmouse, viewers soon...

Color temperature.(viewpoint Art)
July 1, 2008... What is white? At first glance, this question seems rather easy to answer. None of us would have any problem pointing at something that is considered to be white. However, coming up with a proper technical definition is hard. Even looking...

Rampant risk taking: new photographic and lighting tools help the audience stay focused on the stars of Disney/Pixar's adventurous new feature animation.(CGI)(Cover story)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] What if everyone had to leave Earth and no one remembered to turn off the last robot? That kernel of a story idea from Pixar's Andrew Stanton, who won an Oscar for directing Finding Nemo, grew to become Wall-e--a...

Heavy-handed: Hulk's a good superhero, but for the follow-on to the previous film, three effects studios help give the green giant a more brutal style.(Character Modeling)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] The biggest thing about this year's big-screen interpretation of Marvel Comics' Hulk character is not the size of the CG superhero. It is how much Hulk has changed since his feature-film debut in Ang Lee's 2003 film....

Dimensional art: digital holoqraphy provides a unique palette for artists to explore their craft.(Holography)
July 1, 2008... Part 2 of a two-part feature Last month, we explored the technology behind digital holography (see "Digital Holograms," pg. 28). This month, we look at the artists who are venturing into the brave new world of 3D imaging and the facilities...

Hollywood North: Ontario is set on becoming the digital media capital of the world.(Trends & Technology)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Since winning their last World Series in 1993, it's been slow a and steady decline for the Toronto Blue Jays, and with the Toronto Maple Leafs--or "Laughs," as some Torontonians would say--still searching for their...

Awe-inspiring: animation: Vancouver Film School students produce impressive and award-winning animation.(SPONSORED EDITORIAL)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] "Results matter." At Vancouver Film School (VFS), Canada's largest private post-secondary entertainment arts institution, it is not just a motto; it's a mantra, for students and instructors alike. This principle...

SIGGRAPH Art Gallery.(Portfolio)
July 1, 2008... Ask any digital artist, and he or she will say that one of the big advantages to using CG over traditional media is speed--in particular, the ability to create iterations and changes in a flash. So it seems rather ironic that the theme of this...

Screen test: evolving the art of panoramic projection.(Knowledge & Career)(ProjectionDesign )
July 1, 2008... While its technology can be found in numerous commercial applications, Norwegian projector manufacturer ProjectionDesign also plays a key role in advancing academic research through a number of initiatives. In particular, the company's...

Job skills 101: internships provide an ideal learning environment.(Knowledge & Career)
July 1, 2008... For those aspiring to break into the computer graphics, production, or post industries, an internship can play an important role. Not only does it provide a foot in the door, it's also a way to see how a studio operates from the inside, as well...

TFM from Anzovin.(RIGGING)(The Face Machine )(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Win * Mac * Linux Anzovin Studio has released The Face Machine (TFM) for Maya, a software tool for rigging faces quickly and easily. TFM performs intelligent point weighting, supports box controls and direct controls, and is based on direct...

Collaborating on color.(COLOR CORRECTION)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Win Da Vinci Systems recently revealed that Gamma & Density Co.'s 3cP (Cinematographer's Color Correction Process) is interoperable with its Resolve and 2K Plus systems, delivering on-set color correction and calibration. The 3cP laptop-based...

Daz 3D news.(PLUG-INS)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Win * Mac Daz 3D has unveiled two new plug-ins: Daz Studio 3D Bridge for Photoshop and Mimic Pro for Carrara. With the 3D Bridge plug-in for Photoshop, Daz Studio users can automatically apply 3D imagery to Photoshop...

3D in stereo.(PLUG-INS)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Win * Mac * Linux The Foundry has announced Ocula, a collection of plug-ins for 3D stereo postproduction. Ocula automatically replicates processes on left and right channels, and provides tools with which to polish and refine 3D stereo...

CG connection.(PLUG-INS)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Win pmG Worldwide has released its plug-in connections as open source, enabling users to maintain a real-time data connection from MessiahStudio's animation to Autodesk's Maya or 3ds Max, NewTek's LightWave, Maxon's Cinema 4D, or a studio's own...

Animation Antics.(ANIMATION)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Win Antics Technologies has upgraded its Antics real-time animation software to Version 3.1, adding the ability to import models and images from the Google 3D Warehouse and Google Earth. The software includes intelligent props and characters,...

Poser Pro.(ANIMATION)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Win * Mac Smith Micro Software recently announced Poser Pro for professional content creators in studio and production environments. Poser Pro boasts scene-hosting plug-' ins for popular 3D environments, a 64-bit render engine, Collada support,...

Photo-based modeler.(MODELING)(Brief article)
July 1, 2008... Win Eos Systems unveiled PhotoModeler Scanner, able to generate high-quality, realistic 3D models from two photographs taken from a typical camera. With PhotoModeler Scanner, users can quickly reproduce objects as detailed 3D representations...