[Gfx-cafe] GFX Cafe Seminar Friday Oct 31, 2008

GFX Café Seminar Friday October 31, 2008
12noon - 1:15pm, Centennial Engineering Center Auditorium
**note change of venue**

TITLE:
Case Studies In Producing Computer Generated Elements For Animated Films
by Tad Gielow, Sony Pictures Imageworks

ABSTRACT:
Creating and integrating computer generated elements into animation
films takes a lot of planning, communication, collaboration, and
sometimes luck. Join Tad Gielow, a 25 year Animation Industry veteran of
13 feature films and 4 short subjects, as he shares some of the processes
and techniques used in the making of the animated films: "The Great Mouse
Detective", "Oliver And Company", "Aladdin", "Mulan", "The Iron
Giant", "Osmosis Jones", and "Monster House".

BIO:
Tad Gielow has been in the Animation industry for the past 25 years
providing technical expertise and leadership on such feature films as
"The Great Mouse Detective", "Oliver And Company", "Aladdin",
"Pocahontas", "Mulan", "The Iron Giant", "Osmosis Jones", "Monster
House", and "Beowulf". Whether integrating 3D elements with 2D drawings,
supervising animators and technical directors, or architecting software
solutions, his knowledge of the artistic and technical aspects of
producing animated films keeps growing. He is currently a Lead Engineer
in the Pipeline/Software Group at Sony Pictures Imageworks.

Along with his day job, Tad is also an avid nature photographer and has
just come from exploring the fall colors of Canyon De Chelly, Arizona.

LOCATION:
For this special presentation, we are moving the GFX Café to the
auditorium (room 1041) of the new Centennial Engineering Center (CEC).
This is the brand new building located near building #117 in block H-2
of the standard campus map. Other diagrams of this part of campus
that include the new building can be found here:

http://www.soe.unm.edu/PDFs/UNM_Map_2008.pdf

and here:
http://www.soe.unm.edu/PDFs/2008_UNM_Engineering_Map.pdf

Note that the CEC is not the same as the Centennial Engineering Library.

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

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[Gfx-cafe] GFX Cafe Seminar Friday Oct 24, 2008

GFX Café Seminar Friday October 24, 2008
12noon - 1:15pm, ECE 118

Food will be served

TITLE:
SIGGRAPH @ UNM
Intel's Larrabee and the Future of GPU's
by Larry Seiler and Tom Forsyth, Intel
Kayvon Fatahalian, Stanford University

ABSTRACT:
The rapidly-changing world of graphics processors (GPU's) was shaken
earlier this year with Intel's announcement of the Larrabee processor,
a custom, parallel multi-core processor built from Pentium x86 cores
designed specifically for graphics applications. In this talk, we
will introduce the fundamentals of graphics hardware and explain how
things are rapidly evolving in this industry. Developments like Intel's
Larrabee propose to increase the flexibility of graphics architectures
and could significantly impact other parallel applications such as
scientific simulation and financial analysis. The talks presented
during this special session of SIGGRAPH @ UNM were first given at
SIGGRAPH 2008. We will replay both Larry Seiler's Larrabee paper talk
as well as a series of presentations from the Beyond Programmable Shading
course at SIGGRAPH.

LOCATION:
The ECE building is located on the campus of the University of
New Mexico (building 46 on the campus map). Directions can be found
here: http://www.ece.unm.edu/visitors/parking.htm

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

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Alvin Curran @ ARTS Lab Monday (and on KUNM Tonight!)

The ARTS Lab and UNM are glad to help welcome renowned composer Alvin Curran back to New Mexico. He'll be talking with Christopher Shultis' students tomorrow in our space (details below) and talking with Chris and artist in residence Jack Ox tonight on KUNM (during "Other Voices, Other Sounds" from 9-11:00 PM, 89.9 FM).

More info on Alvin and his visit below...

American composer Alvin Curran co-founded the group Musica Elettronica Viva and has been active with solo performances, international radio concerts and large-scale sound installations since the 1960s. Born in Providence, Rhode Island, Curran studied composition under Ron Nelson at Brown University, and afterward with Elliott Carter at Yale. After completing his studies -- which also included piano and trombone -- in 1963, Curran went with Carter to Berlin, where he remained for a year before moving to Rome. In 1966, Curran co-founded the free music collective Musica Elettronica Viva with Richard Teitelbaum and Frederic Rzewski. In the '70s, Curran focused on solo performances that utilized keyboards, taped sounds, voice and more; over the years, he has also performed on sampler and electronics. The '80s found Curran creating large-scale environmental works in quarries, ports, caverns, on lakes, etc. During this time, he also staged radio concerts of three and six ensembles performing simultaneously from various parts of Europe. From 1990 on, Curran has occasionally collaborated on sound installations with artist Melissa Gould. He has also worked with dance companies and composed for avant-garde theater in Rome. Curran's instrumental works have been commissioned by Kronos Quartet, Aki Takahashi, Rova, the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and more. Some of his awards include those from Ars Acoustica International, NPR and the NEA. He taught briefly at the Academia Nazionale d'Arts, and starting in the mid-90s served as guest professor at California's Mills College. Recordings of Curran's works appear on several labels, including CRI, New Albion and Tzadik.

Alvin Curran Residency at UNM
October 19-21

October 19: Guest on Other Voices, Other Sounds, Christopher Shultis, host
KUNM 89.9 FM 9:00-11:00 PM
October 20: Lecture, Artslab Lecture Hall, 6:00 PM
Dinner following at Kelly's
October 21: Masterclass with UNM Composition Students
11:00-12:30 FAC 1108

Breaking Bad at the Kimo 10/25

Image via Wikipedia

Exciting news...

I'm glad to share info about the return of the SAG Conversations Series with several cast members from the Emmy Award-Winning "Breaking Bad" in Albuquerque's historic Kimo Theater. It's sure ot be a big crowd, so RSVP soon!

The SAG Foundation and Screen Actors Guild invite you to attend:

CONVERSATIONS WITH BREAKING BAD

This event is open to the public. RSVP required.

(323) 549-6668 or via email to Conversations@sag.org

SAG members may RSVP directly on the Foundation website, www.sagfoundation.org
Saturday, October 25th

1pm

KiMo Theatre
423 Central Ave NW
Albuquerque, NM 87102

Join us for an afternoon with the amazing cast of AMC's Breaking Bad as they share their experiences in the industry and talk about filming in New Mexico.

Panel includes:
Bryan Cranston
Anna Gunn
Aaron Paul
Dean Norris
Betsy Brandt
RJ Mitte
Steven Quezada

Mix and mingle with the cast immediately following the event at
(the) One Up (Club), 301 Central Ave NE (upstairs)

Event sponsored by the City of Albuquerque. “We are thrilled to be the host city for
Breaking Bad”, said Mayor Martin J. Chavez. “Congratulations to Bryan Cranston for
his recent Emmy win, and thanks for bringing this event to Albuquerque.”

DomeFest 2008 here in Albuquerque this Tuesday

DomeFest 2008
Taking a quick break from Motion 08 (which currently has healthy crowds here at ARTS Lab for Green Screen Production with Alex Lindsay  and Fulldome Production with our own Hue Walker) to mention that DomeFest returns to Albuquerque tomorrow night. The international juried show for fulldome work premiered to capacity crowds at Chicago's famed Adler Planetarium -- and has since been seen in cities around the world.

We're proud to share DomeFest with our friends at home, with the support of the City of Albuquerque and in association with Motion08. 
Public showings run at 6:30 PM and 8:30 PM; $10 suggested donation.
More info at: http://domefest.org/

What: DomeFest 2008
When: Tuesday, October 14th at 6:30 and 8:30 PM
Cost: $10 Suggested Donation
Where: NM Museum of Natural History and Science
1801 Mountain Road, NW
See Map Here

NM Media Tonight on KNME
Also in town this week, the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer is doing an overview on economic development, politics, and the issues affecting the state in this election year, in the Anglo, Hispanic, and Native American communities, including visits with the team at Albuquerque Studios and the Emmy-award winning production of Breaking Bad which shoots there.

In New Mexico The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer airs on KNME-TV, Channel 5 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Outside New Mexico please check local listings for air times in your area.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/

[Gfx-cafe] GFX Cafe Seminar Friday Oct 10, 2008

GFX Café Seminar Friday October 10, 2008
12noon - 1:15pm, ECE 237 **note change of room**

Food will be served

TITLE:
Improved Force-directed Graph Drawing in 3D for Large Graphs
by Takeshi Hakamata, UNM HPC

ABSTRACT:
Graph drawing is a way to layout a graph nicely in two or three
dimensions. Among many kinds of graph drawing techniques,
force-directed algorithms have drawn huge attention for research because
of its simplicity and quality of final layouts. The most popular model
of the force-directed algorithm is a spring-mass system supplemented by
global repulsive forces. However, the inherent O(n^2) pairwise
calculation to obtain global repulsive forces is the bottleneck and the
weakness of the algorithm, therefore many improvements have been
proposed.

This talk will present an improved force-directed drawing for large
undirected graphs in 3D using a potential-field-based approximation
algorithm to calculate global repulsive forces in linear time. Given a
graph G=(V,E) with a vertex set V and an edge set E, the repulsive force
calculation can be done in sub-linear time for |V|>10^4. This allows us
to develop a practical 3D force-directed drawing algorithm for large
graphs. Empirical results show that our implementation is faster than
other known 2D-based force-directed algorithms.

BIO:
Takeshi Hakamata is a PhD candidate in Visualization Laboratory at the
UNM Center for High Performance Computing. He received a B.S. in
Information Science from Tokyo Denki University and a M.S. in Computer
Science from the University of New Mexico. He also worked at SGI Japan
for four years.

LOCATION:
The ECE building is located on the campus of the University of
New Mexico (building 46 on the campus map). Directions can be found
here: http://www.ece.unm.edu/visitors/parking.htm

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

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Faculty position open in UNM Electronic Arts

One of the more interesting and exciting areas of study and work here at UNM is our Electronic Arts program in the College of Fine Arts.  The faculty and staff there are already really cool -- and now they're expanding.  If you're interested -- or know of another cool person who might be -- please get in touch.

ANNOUNCEMENT OF AVAILABLE POSITION

 

The University of New Mexico

College of Fine Arts

Department of Art and Art History

Assistant Professor of Electronic Arts 

 

POSITION:  Assistant Professor of Electronic Arts.  Full time, probationary appointment leading to a tenure decision.  Service and committee work expected. 

SALARY:  $46,000

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:  M.F.A. degree.  University-level teaching experience beyond the terminal degree.  Significant digital/electronic time-based media art background.  Active professional creative practice.  Exhibition record beyond the local level.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:  Experience in one or more the following areas: programming for internet-based art, animation, motion capture, computational media, interactive performance, locative and wearable computing, or immersive media.  Fluency in conceptual and historical frameworks within contemporary new media practice.  Commitment to teaching both undergraduate and graduate courses and creating a critical and experimental teaching environment.  Experience in curricular development, mentoring students, and service on graduate committees.

APPLICATION DEADLINE:  All application materials must be received by December 5, 2008.

APPOINTMENT DATE:  August 17, 2009

APPLICATION:  Signed letter of application; artist statement; statement of teaching philosophy; CV.  Documentation of artwork; 3 sample syllabi for undergraduate/
graduate courses.  Names and complete addresses (mailing, telephone, fax, and e-mail) of three recommenders. SASE if you want materials returned.

Format for submitting artwork: Digital portfolio only to include either CDs/DVDs/URLs or a combination thereof. For CDs/DVDs, samples should total approximately 10 minutes.

Send to:  Chair, Electronic Arts Search Committee, Department of Art and Art History, MSC04 2560, 1 University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, New Mexico  87131-0001.  Phone 505.277.5861.  Fax 505.277.5955.

For further information please visit:
http://finearts.unm.edu, 
http://www.unm.edu/~artdept2
http://electronicarts.unm.edu
http://artslab.unm.edu

The Department of Art and Art History is one of four departments in the College of Fine Arts, which also includes the Departments of Music, Theater and Dance, and Cinematic Arts.  Areas of concentration in the department include Arts and Ecology, Electronic Arts, Sculpture, Photography, Painting and Drawing, Printmaking, Ceramics, and Art History. The department offers the B.A.F.A., B.F.A., M.A., M.F.A., and Ph.D. degrees.

Electronic Arts is dedicated to the education of students, training them as electronic/digital media artists that employ new and emerging technologies and encourages experimentation with new ideas, forms, and models for realizing and presenting innovative artwork.  The curriculum combines history, theory, and practice in electronic arts/digital media and nurtures interdisciplinary investigation and learning.  Electronic Arts faculty and students are actively involved with the Arts, Research, Technology and Science Laboratory [ARTS Lab], a dynamic university-wide center for interdisciplinary research and education.

The University of New Mexico is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a city of 600,000 on the Rio Grande at an altitude of 5,200 feet.  Albuquerque's many cultures give the city a fascinating mix of history, arts, cuisine, languages, and values.  The University of New Mexico is a large, diverse state university with a faculty of over 3,000 serving approximately 32,700 students.

UNM's confidentiality policy ("Recruitment and Hiring," Policy #3210), which includes information about public disclosure of documents submitted by applicants, is located at http://www.unm.edu/~ubppm.

 

THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW MEXICO IS AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY/AFFIRMATIVE ACTION EMPLOYER AND EDUCATOR.

--
NMITSA is now accepting nominations for the fourth annual Tech Excellence Awards.  More info at http://www.nmitsa.org/

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

YDI Mi Voz Auditions for Fall 2008 Session

YDI Mi Voz Auditions for Fall 2008 Session

After-school program for Middle School kids teaches documentary filmmaking

On Wednesday, October 8th and Thursday, October 9th Youth Development Inc.'s (YDI) Mi Voz program, which teaches above-the-line filmmaking skills to middle school age kids, will hold auditions for its Fall 2008 session.  The auditions will be held in the YDI Mi Voz office at 100 Roma NW, Albuquerque, New Mexico from 3:30-5:30 each day.

This will be the 4th 16-week session for YDI Mi Voz.  Each session has a theme: previous themes were "Through Their Eyes," about the life of the middle schooler from their perspective, "interGenerations," where students documented stories of senior citizens, and "All-Stars," which was an advanced skills session that taught experimental filmmaking.  The Fall 2008 session's theme is "The Zia's Heart" and is about New Mexican art and artists.

"The Zia's Heart" is a series of short documentaries that will be produced, directed, shot, edited and delivered by a group of middle school age students in Albuquerque.  Each short documentary will spotlight a different art form produced by a local artist.  Students will shadow chosen artists in different fields and document their creativity, their craft, and how it ties in to identifying Albuquerque and New Mexico as unique in the arts scene.

New Mexico has the highest share of fine artists in the Nation - with it
s rich and diverse population, New Mexico is home to over 40,000 artists making over 11 different kinds of art, including cultural art.  In 2005, the number of minority (Hispanic, Native American, and Asian American) artists grew to 15%, according to the National Endowment of the Arts' Artists in the Workforce Study: 1990 – 2005. 

According to the New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs report On Fertile Ground: New Mexico Counts on Culture, The Arts industry generates at least $2.5 billion per year, making 20% of total state tourism money per year.

New Mexico has a unique history of traditional arts and crafts, such as Native American jewelry & pottery, and "santeros" (who make wooden carvings of Catholic saints), "New arts" produced by New Mexico's youth, such as digital art, graffiti art, guerilla art, and music in newer genres, have gone largely unnoticed.  Albuquerque's deep artistic legacy has been overshadowed by arts movements in Santa Fe and Taos.

"The Zia's Heart" will be produced by a new selection of students under the YDI Mi Voz banner.  YDI Mi Voz is a safe and free after school program for middle school age young people where they learn all aspects of visual storytelling using digital video.  The purposes of the program are:

1.       It contributes to building a "native workforce" for New Mexico's blossoming film industry, givi
ng young people a head start in using industry standard tools and techniques. 

2.       The finished products will expose New Mexico's art and artists to a broader audience, letting its audience know the value of what has become such a large part of our city and state identities. 

3.       By providing Mi Voz classes under the YDI banner, students and their families have access to the wide range of social services YDI provides.

We are actively seeking out participants for this session.  During the 16-week after school course, students will be taught producing, directing, shooting, and editing using top of the line digital video equipment.  The course is free to participants, but interested students must audition first to gauge their interest and dedication.   14 students will be selected.  Classes are taught by Marcos Baca and Brian Beeler, working professionals in the area of digital art and filmmaking.  4 youth instructors who have participated previously will be at every class to mentor new students, as well as guest lectures by UNM Cinematic Arts Professors and other independent producers.

For more information contact YDI Media Relations Manager Marcos Baca at (505)212-7442 or mbaca@ydinm.org

[Gfx-cafe] GFX Cafe Seminar Friday Oct 3, 2008

GFX Café Seminar Friday October 3, 2008
12noon - 1:15pm, ECE 118

Food will be served

TITLE:
Restoration of Images Captured With Combined Conventional
and Plenoptic Camera
by Viktor Chekh, UNM Advanced Graphics Lab

ABSTRACT:
Plenoptic cameras can capture the 4-D light field in a
single image, but the spatial resolution of any 2-D
projection is much smaller comparing to ordinary
conventional cameras. The "ideal" camera should have all
features of plenoptic camera including digital refocusing,
and moving the observer, as well as high spatial resolution
in a wide range of focal depth. In addition, the camera
should be as light and handle as any standard camera. We
describe a conception of the novel combined camera, which
has features of both conventional and plenoptic cameras.
We formulate the restoration problem as the ill-posed
problem with matrix perturbation. We also provide
algorithms of the data processing and estimate the
resolution of synthetic photographs.

BIO:
Viktor Chekh is a graduate student in the Advanced
Graphics Lab with interests in new plenoptic camera
technologies and segmentation and registration algorithms.
He has a Masters Degree from the National Technical
University of Ukraine.

LOCATION:
The ECE building is located on the campus of the University of
New Mexico (building 46 on the campus map). Directions can be found
here: http://www.ece.unm.edu/visitors/parking.htm

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

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