Now Visible in Street View: Albuquerque & Santa Fe

It may be somewhat geeky (really geeky?), but I'm really glad to see New Mexico added to the growing library of what's available in Google's Street View. Here at UNM's ARTS Lab, we sometimes worry that people can't find us (especially when some folks list us at the corner of Central and University -- which is about a block away).  We have our location on Google Maps, and a link at our site, but... we still worry.

Street View probably won't change all of that, but now we can point people here: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&ie=UTF8&om=1&layer=c&ll=35.100389,-106.623602&spn=0.037639,0.118275&z=14&cbll=35.081468,-106.627426&cbp=2,333.96874437572427,,0,1.4481514654278567

And being pretty recent, they're also fairly thorough. They don't actually have Pine St. where we're located, but they do come reasonably close to Albuquerque Studios
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&ie=UTF8&om=1&layer=c&ll=35.029856,-106.623344&spn=0.075343,0.236549&z=13&cbll=34.993362,-106.621931&cbp=1,121.32136814257272,,2,0.6134096975904818

Or, for another example, you might want to check out the NM Film Office.  Now you can, with a nice shot right here:
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&ie=UTF8&om=1&layer=c&ll=35.687409,-105.946687&spn=0.004671,0.014784&t=h&z=17&cbll=35.685142,-105.946434&cbp=1,205.90894578071405,,1,4.737764898206241

Do they hit all of New Mexico?  Well, as usual, they tend to concentrate on the center of the state, reaching south of Belen and Los Lunas, and a little bit east and west of Albuquerque.  From what our Department of Transportation tells me, we've got a lot of road to cover here, so we may have to wait for a while.

Oh yeah... to give proper credit, I learned about this not from the invaluable Google Blog, but from the Duke City Fix.

--

For more information about NM Media-related Events, visit: http://nm-media.blogspot.com/
--

Eric Renz-Whitmore, Program Coordinator
ARTS Lab
MSC04 2570
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
505-277-2253
http://artslab.unm.edu

[Gfx-cafe] GFX Cafe Seminar Friday March 28, 2008

GFX Café Seminar Friday March 28, 2008
12noon, ARTS Lab Black Box Theatre ** Note change of venue **

Food will be served

TITLE:
Virtual Windows: A framework for spatially-aware, ad-hoc visualization
by Mark Waligora, Advanced Graphics Lab

ABSTRACT:
Spatially-aware systems have been used successfully in the past for the
visualization of complex data sets because they allow the user to
establish spatial relationships in the presented data. However, such
systems have been limited to a single user or to specific display media
and therefore do not offer the flexibility to handle a wide range of
visualization applications. For this reason, they are not often used in
the visualization community.

In this talk, we present a novel system that allows multiple users to
interact with data in an ad-hoc fashion and is capable of handling
different kinds of display surfaces and modes of interaction. Our ad-hoc
Virtual Window Framework provides multiple users with displays that can be
manipulated and combined in physical space to view different portions of
complex data sets in a corresponding virtual space. The displays function
as "windows" which the user can look through to see into a virtual world,
much like looking through a window of a house to see outside. We designed
the system with flexibility in mind; we demonstrate this by using
different kinds of display devices simultaneously for a wide variety of
applications. Our system also works with augmented reality devices,
one of which we have built at UNM, allowing us to use our windows to
visualize data superimposed on real-world objects. We demonstrate the
efficacy of our system by using it to visualize several complex, real-
world data sets in a hands-on demonstration.

This is joint work with Pradeep Sen and Joe Kniss.

BIO:
Mark Waligora got his BS from New Mexico Tech. He is currently an MS
student in Computer Science at UNM, working with Prof. Pradeep Sen.

--
Pradeep Sen
Assistant Professor
Advanced Graphics Lab
Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering
University of New Mexico

Friday Post-Conference Mixer @ the Hyatt

Hey everyone...

There really are a lot of good events this week and weekend (please feel free to pass them along).

I think there'll be a little more info to come, but Lance Maurer's Cinnafilm and DFI (which produces the Duke City Shootout) have organized a mixer for Conference Attendees from 5-7PM this Friday night.  It'll be in the Hyatt atrium, so it'll be tough to miss, but we invite you to come by, and bring your brochures and business cards. 

Looking forward to seeing many of you there in a couple of days!

Eric Renz-Whitmore

This Week in Media Events: NMFO, NMAUG, IGDA

Hey everyone...

The big event this week is the NM Filmmakers Conference and First Vision Forum running Thursday through Saturday at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Albuquerque (I'm also including info on an Adobe Users Group event and one for NM game developers below).  Combining the already successful Filmmakers Conference and First Vision forum events, this year's looks to be their best yet. 

For more information on the conference visit:  http://www.nmfilm.com/locals/nm-filmmakers/film-nm-conference.php
Conference Schedule is available here:  http://www.nmfilm.com/locals/downloads/filmmakers-conference.pdf

Nearly all the spaces are full for this free event, so if you've registered and your plans have changed, please let the NM Film Office know which sessions you can't attend -- so someone else will have a chance to attend.

More updates as they come!
___

NM Adobe Users Group: Flash and After Effects Together

WHEN: Wednesday, March 26, from noon-1:15pm

WHERE: UNM Continuing Education in the South Building, Room 220

PRESENTER: Elaine Montoya

DESCRIPTION: Learn how Flash and After Effects can be used together to create in ways that would be complex with either tool alone. In this session we will take a look at creating 'Hollywood style' text animation effects, and then bring them into your Flash project for use on the web. Then we will flip-it. Learn how to add 'post' effects to your Flash animations in After Effects to add richness, and a broadcast quality finish to your project.

This session takes place, Wednesday, March 26, from noon-1:15pm at UNM Continuing Education, Room 220 in the South Building. It will be taught by AdobeQuerque Community Expert, Elaine Montoya.

COST: NMAUG members can attend all of the AdobeQuerque Expert Series brown-bag sessions for FREE. The cost is $19 per session for non-members.

RSVP / Register:
members >> click here
non members >> click here
___

RIO GRANDE International Game Developers Association: GDC Recap

WHEN: Wednesday, March 26, from 6-8:30 pm

WHERE: UNM ARTS Lab, 131 Pine St., NE (1 block west of University Blvd, 1/2 block north of Central)

TOPIC: Game Developers Conference Recap

DESCRIPTION: Several members of the local Game Development Community participated in this year's GDC.  Hear highlights and responses from them, as well as updates from the community on new and ongoing projects

COST: International Game Developers Association Rio Grande Chapter events are FREE unless otherwise noted.

Game Developers Conference Recap - Next @ IGDA

The 2008 Game Developers Conference may have seen more involvement from New Mexico's game development community than ever before.  The Game Industry's premier event included summits on Serious Games, Games in Education, and Mobile Games (among others) in addition to the conference itself.  With attendees from Game Production Services, Sandia National Labs, and UNM (among others) -- and a nice chunk of the Expo floor taken up by Novint, our next Rio Grande Game Developers meeting will focus on our thoughts, experiences and lessons learned from GDC. 

Additionally, we'll be checking in with each other on current and ongoing projects -- and talk a bit about what we can do to build the game development community and opportunities for budding game developers here in New Mexico.

To better accommodate younger people -- and not conflict with the NM Filmmakers Conference  we've changed the usual location and night.  Please look at the details below.

WHAT:     International Game Developers Association (IGDA) Rio Grande Chapter Meeting
WHEN:     Wednesday, March 26th 6:00 - 8:30 PM
WHERE:  UNM ARTS Lab, 131 Pine St., NW (one block west of University, half a block north of Central Ave.)
WHO:       Working professionals in the game industry and related fields -- and people interested in getting more involved (no membership needed to attend)
HOW MUCH:  Free

We hope to see you there -- please contact me directly at ewhitmore@gmail.com for additional information.

Decoding Design Party Reminder!

Maggie is getting good notices (and lots of speaking engagements including the annual HOW conference) for her new book "Decoding Design" -- really both an artistically and intellectually engaging piece of work.  Join her and the folks from AIGA this Thursday at the One Up Club (formerly the Carom Club) at the NW corner of Central and 3rd Ave. in downtown Albuquerque.  More details below.

AIGA New Mexico and Maggie Macnab present (please join us!): Decoding Design Book Launch Party Design with the power of natural law. "Decoding Design: Understanding and Using Symbols in Visual Communication," written by longtime local designer Maggie Macnab, is a design theory book that explores the significance of symbols, numbers and shapes we encounter in everyday life. A handful of simple patterns shape our understanding and relationship with a complex world, and design that references this symbolic information creates an immediate and intuitive relationship with the viewer. This is increasingly crucial for designers and businesses to understand in a globally branded world.   By integrating interdisciplinary genres of philosophy, math and physics presented in lay terms, Maggie crosses and connects "specialized" boundaries to provide the designer with a powerful and eclectic approach to process. Books will be available at the party and Maggie will be signing copies. Decoding Design is also available on Amazon.com and at most retail booksellers. For more information on the book please visit: www.decodingdesign.com.
	Thursday, March 20, 2008 5:30-7pm   The One Up Club (formerly The Carom Club) 301 Central Ave NW, downtown Albuquerque Free AIGA event for members and special guests Please RSVP to events@santafe.aiga.org

GFX Cafe Seminar Friday March 14: Dome Interactivity

GFX Café Seminar Friday March 14, 2008
12noon, ARTS Lab Dome Theatre  ** Note change of venue **

Food will be served

TITLE:
Real-Time Rendering and Interactivity in 'Fulldome' Immersive Digital
Dome Theater: An Introduction, Demonstration and Discussion of
UNM Research Projects and Goals
by David Beining, UNM ARTS Lab


ABSTRACT:

Large-format, immersive digital dome theater--fulldome--is a young
powerful medium with a high rate of diffusion in planetariums and
other venues.  It's also a medium in which UNM is an internationally
recognized center for research, production and education.

Based in tiled projectors and PC clusters, fulldome theaters allow
for very high-resolution, immersive digital video presentation --
pre-rendered for linear cinematic experiences as well as real-time
interactive presentations based on 3D models, data tables, and adapted
game engines and shaders used in proprietary, open-architecture fulldome
software.

The medium's origins in planetariums has largely limited tools, data
and stories to astronomy, but fulldome has enormous potential for
visualizing other sciences for research and education, serving the arts
as new creative and performance space, and entertainment as immersive
gaming and experiential venue.

The author will demonstrate the medium's tools and current uses as well
as UNM-based early research.   New UNM research agendas and possibilities
for future work will also be discussed.


BIO:
David Beining serves as director of immersive medium at the University
of New Mexico's ARTS Lab and is the founder and executive producer of
"DomeFest," a global festival for the fulldome medium.  Beining founded
and directed UNM's LodeStar Astronomy Center, one of the world's first
fulldome theaters, from 2000-2007.

[Gfx-cafe] GFX Cafe Seminar Friday March 14, 2008

GFX Café Seminar Friday March 14, 2008
12noon, ARTS Lab Dome Theatre ** Note change of venue **

Food will be served

TITLE:
Real-Time Rendering and Interactivity in 'Fulldome' Immersive Digital
Dome Theater: An Introduction, Demonstration and Discussion of
UNM Research Projects and Goals
by David Beining, UNM ARTS Lab

ABSTRACT:

Large-format, immersive digital dome theater--fulldome--is a young
powerful medium with a high rate of diffusion in planetariums and
other venues. It's also a medium in which UNM is an internationally
recognized center for research, production and education.

Based in tiled projectors and PC clusters, fulldome theaters allow
for very high-resolution, immersive digital video presentation --
pre-rendered for linear cinematic experiences as well as real-time
interactive presentations based on 3D models, data tables, and adapted
game engines and shaders used in proprietary, open-architecture fulldome
software.

The medium's origins in planetariums has largely limited tools, data
and stories to astronomy, but fulldome has enormous potential for
visualizing other sciences for research and education, serving the arts
as new creative and performance space, and entertainment as immersive
gaming and experiential venue.

The author will demonstrate the medium's tools and current uses as well
as UNM-based early research. New UNM research agendas and possibilities
for future work will also be discussed.

BIO:
David Beining serves as director of immersive medium at the University
of New Mexico's ARTS Lab and is the founder and executive producer of
"DomeFest," a global festival for the fulldome medium. Beining founded
and directed UNM's LodeStar Astronomy Center, one of the world's first
fulldome theaters, from 2000-2007.

--
Pradeep Sen
Assistant Professor
Advanced Graphics Lab
Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering
University of New Mexico
_______________________________________________
gfx-cafe mailing list
gfx-cafe@lists.eece.unm.edu
http://lists.eece.unm.edu/mailman/listinfo/gfx-cafe

[Gfx-cafe] GFX Cafe Seminar Friday March 7, 2008

GFX Café Seminar Friday March 7, 2008
12noon, ARTS Lab Black Box Theatre ** Note change of venue **

Food will be served

TITLE:
Adapting compositing software from motion picture production
to analysis of live macrophage cells
by Carl Diegert, Sandia National Laboratories

ABSTRACT:
Technology for producing motion pictures by combining visual elements
from separate sources has enabled new creativity in storytelling. Amazing
advances in this technology have arguably directly contributed to
profitability of films that innovate in use of advances in this
technology. A byproduct of this market pull is a robust and capable
breed of commercial software products for node-based, digital compositing.

A difficult analysis of fluorescent microscopy images of dynamic response
of live macrophage cells to a pathogen was on my plate last month, and
will be the basis for the case study I will present in this talk. The
approach I will review was to adapt Fusion, a node-based, compositing
product from Eyeon Software, Inc., to the qualitative and quantitative
analysis of these cells. While video products are helpful in presenting
and discussing our scientific results, I will report that the power of
interaction with the scientific imaging in Fusion has motivated us to
build a rich Internet application (RIA) to make some of this interaction
available to everyone with a web browser and an interest in our cell
observations.

For the hands-on case study, we will:

1. Watch live macrophage cell behavior results presented as video products
that integrate motion-graphics and motion-imaging. Show interaction
using multiple instances of typical personal-computer, video-viewer
software.

2. Discuss and demonstrate motion tracking, optical flow estimation, and
rotoscoping using commercial products Fusion and PF Track. After an
example with a conventional, perspective-camera capture, apply the
techniques to the imaging from Sandia's compound microscope, a
telecentric system.

3. Show my code that adapts the Fusion product to doing the quantitative
cell analysis task.

4. Return to a more critical analysis of (1), and point out that viewing
with typical video playback software is less than helpful in guiding
the analysis.

5. Show a powerful A/B Wipe interaction with the live-cell video results
that I have found powerful in doing the analysis.

6. Demonstrate an RIA that makes the helpful A/B Wipe interaction from
Fusion available to collaborators equipped with only mundane personal
computers.

Sandia is a multiprogram laboratory operated by Sandia Corporation, a
Lockheed Martin Company, for the United States Department of Energy's
National Nuclear Security Administration under contract DE-AC04-94AL85000.

BIO:
Carl Diegert is a scientist at Sandia National Labs.

--
Pradeep Sen
Assistant Professor
Advanced Graphics Lab
Dept. of Electrical & Computer Engineering
University of New Mexico
_______________________________________________
gfx-cafe mailing list
gfx-cafe@lists.eece.unm.edu
http://lists.eece.unm.edu/mailman/listinfo/gfx-cafe

Animation Group Meeting, March 11th

Hey everyone...

We're really excited about AniMotion NM, and the work Becky Padilla, Elaine Montoya and Teri Farley have been doing to help move New Mexico's animation community to the next level. If you're a professional or aspiring animator -- or have plans to work with animators and motion graphics specialists, please check this out.

For more information, visit the NM Adobe Users Group site

AniMotion NM: Real World Production

Where: ARTS Lab
When: Mar 11, 2008 07:00 PM –08:30 PM

Join us for the launch of AniMotion NM March 11th! The concept has been in the works for a while, but it all came together at the MISP conference this past January. It's time for the launch of AniMotion NM! AniMotion NM will serve as a community for New Mexico's animators, motion graphic artists, VFX artists, sound designers, and broadcast designers. Meetings will serve to educate and as a means to network.

The launch event takes place, Tuesday, March 11, from 7:00pm-8:30pm at the ARTS Lab, 131 Pine NE. The topic for the event will be Animation: Real World Production. Join animator Jeff LaFlamme as he takes us through the process of creating an animated spot. From concept to delivery, discover the process, what was involved in working with the agency and client, to final delivery of the VOZ Online Commercial - his 3D animated Telly award-winning spot.

Looking for a job? Wanna show your work? Bring your reel! At the close of each meeting, we will play any reel up to 5 minutes in length. Reels must be on DVD.

Thanks to all involved in making AniMotion NM happen! Special thanks to Teri Farley, Eric Whitmore, Hue Walker, Becky Padilla and Elaine Montoya.

Animation: Real World Production
Presenter: Jeff LaFlamme

To Register, visit the NM Adobe Users Group site

--
"Death is a primitive concept; I prefer to think of it as battling evil - in another dimension!" -- Grig

For more information about NM Media-related Events, visit: http://nm-media.blogspot.com/
--

Eric Renz-Whitmore, Program Coordinator
ARTS Lab
MSC04 2570
1 University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, NM 87131
505-277-2253
http://artslab.unm.edu

Ruby on Rails at InfoByte this Tuesday

Hey... we've heard and seen a lot of good work done with Ruby on Rails.
What is that exactly? Visit the InfoByte series at UNM's Continuing
Education this Tuesday to find out.
___
Hello, World:

I was asked to forward this to a list on campus and thought that some
of you might be interested.

InfoByte - Ruby on Rails
Presented by Mariano Paglayan
IT Pro Instructor

12:00 pm - 1:15 pm
Tuesday, March 4
UNM Continuing Education
1634 University NE

This open source web framework is optimized for programmer happiness and
sustainable productivity, and **lets you write beautiful code** by
favoring convention over configuration.

Everyone from startups to non-profits to enterprise organizations is
using **Rails** — be it software for collaboration, community,
e-commerce, content management, statistics, management, you name it.

Come learn more about how **Ruby programming can work for you.**

Please RSVP to cewebster@lxdce.unm.edu.