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Wednesday, January 30, 2008

[Gfx-cafe] GFX Cafe Seminar Friday Feb 1, 2008

GFX Café Seminar Friday Feb 1, 2008
12noon, ARTS Lab Black Box Theater ** Note change of venue **

Food will be served

TITLE:
SIGGRAPH @ UNM
A Poor Man's Palace, Special Effects in the Real World
by Ramesh Raskar, Mitsubishi Electric Research Labs (MERL)


ABSTRACT:
In our second of our SIGGRAPH @ UNM series, we present Ramesh Raskar's
talk on spatial augmented-reality displays presented at SIGGRAPH 2007.

Novel approaches have taken augmented reality beyond traditional eye-worn
or hand-held displays - enabling additional application areas. New
display paradigms exploit large spatially aligned optical elements, such
as mirror beam-splitters, transparent screens or holograms, as well as
video-projectors. Thus, we call this technological variation "Spatial
Augmented Reality (SAR)".

In many situations, SAR displays are able to overcome technological and
ergonomic limitations of conventional AR systems. Due to the fall in cost
and availability of projection technology, personal computers and graphics
hardware, there has been a considerable interest in exploiting SAR systems
in universities, research laboratories, museums, industry and in the art
community.

Parallels to the development of virtual environments from head-attached
displays to spatial projection screens can be clearly drawn. We believe
that an analog evolution of augmented reality has the potential to yield a
similar successful factor in many application domains. Thereby, SAR and
body-attached AR are not competitive, but complementary.


BIO:

Ramesh Raskar joined MERL as a Research Scientist in 2000 after his
doctoral research at U. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he
developed a framework for projector based displays. His work spans
a range of topics in computer vision and graphics including projective
geometry, non-photorealistic rendering and intelligent user interfaces.
He has developed algorithms for image projection on planar, non-planar
and quadric curved surfaces that simplify constraints on conventional
displays and has proposed Shader Lamps, a new approach for projector-based
augmented reality. Current projects include composite RFID (RFIG),
multi-flash non-photorealistic camera for depth edge detection,
locale-aware mobile projectors, high dynamic range video, image fusion
for context enhancement and quadric transfer methods for
multi-projector curved screen displays.

Dr. Raskar received the Mitsubishi Electric Information Technology
R&D Award 2003, Global Indus Technovator Award 2003, instituted at
MIT to recognize the top 20 Indian technology innovators on the
globe, Mitsubishi Electric Valuable Invention Award 2004 and
TR100 Award, Technology Review's 100 Top Young Innovators
Under 35, 2004. His papers have appeared in SIGGRAPH, Eurographics,
IEEE Visualization, CVPR and many other graphics and vision conferences.
He has taught courses and has served as a member of international
program committees at major conferences. He is a member of the ACM
and IEEE.

--
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

AIGA NM "Business of Design" This Saturday @ UNM DCE


Hey everyone...

Incorporating Design Principles into media and other business has always seemed like a good idea, but the way designers do business -- often small firms and freelancers -- has a lot of value to share with our small media companies as well. If you're interested in design, business, and the local chapter of AIGA, please check this out...

The Business of Design
Workshops for Creative Professionals

Saturday, February 2, 2008

AIGA New Mexico presents two workshops on
the business of design with guest speakers
Shel Perkins and Linda Joy Kattwinkel, Esq.

10 to 11:30 am
Intellectual Property Basics: A Designer's Guide to Copyrights, Trademarks and Patents

12 to 1:30 pm
An Introduction to the New AIGA Standard Form of Agreement for Design Services


WHERE
Continuing Education Conference Center at UNM Room G,
North Building, 1634 University Blvd NE, Albuquerque

COST
AIGA members: $15 for one workshop or $25 for both
Non-members: $25 for one workshop or $45 for both
Students: $10 for one workshop or $20 for both

RSVP
Space for these workshops is limited. Reserve now by emailing events@santafe.aiga.org or by calling Mandy Otter at 505.822.5516.
Visit the http://santafe.aiga.org web site for workshop descriptions and for more information about our guest speakers.
 

Wednesday, January 23, 2008

[Gfx-cafe] GFX Cafe Seminar Friday Jan 25, 2008

GFX Café Seminar Friday Jan 25, 2008
12noon, ECE118

Food will be served

TITLE:
SIGGRAPH @ UNM
Computational Cameras: Convergence of Optics and Software
by Shree Nayar, Columbia University


ABSTRACT:
This week, we are proud to present the first of our SIGGRAPH @ UNM series,
where we bring actual SIGGRAPH presentations to the UNM community. This
week, we present Shree Nayar's talk from the popular SIGGRAPH course on
computational photography.

Computational cameras use unconventional optics and software to produce
new forms of visual information, including wide field-of-view images,
high dynamic range images, multispectral images,and depth images. Using
a controllable optical system to form the image and a programmable light
source as the camera's flash can further enhance the capabilities of
these cameras.


BIO:
Shree K. Nayar is the T. C. Chang Chaired Professor in the Department
of Computer Science at Columbia University. He received his PhD
degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the Robotics
Institute at Carnegie Mellon University. At Columbia, he is co-director
of the Columbia Vision and Graphics Center and heads the Computer Vision
Laboratory (CAVE), which is dedicated to the development of advanced
computer vision systems. His research is focused on three broad areas,
namely, the creation of novel vision sensors, the design of physics based
models for vision, and the development of algorithms for scene
interpretation. The work conducted by his research team is motivated by
applications in the fields of digital imaging, computer graphics,
human-machine interfaces and robotics.


--
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

Sunday, January 20, 2008

Games, Adobe & Screenwriting, here at ARTS Lab

Hi everyone...

Been a busy year already.  Another big and exciting year for the state's Media Industries, and there are lots of things going on here at UNM's ARTS Lab.

R U GAME ?  UNM Game Design Class starts this week!

Game Development today brings together programmers, designers, artists and creative thinkers in a digital medium that's changing the world.  During this hands-on production class, student teams will learn game design and production essentials from game industry pros, and build a playable demo using Microsoft's XNA tools for XBox game development.

Topics in Game Development
Course #'s: ECE 495/595   CS 491/591
Times: T/TH 9:30 - 10:45
Location: ME 300
For more information on the class and how to sign up through other departments, contact Ed Angel ( angel@cs.unm.edu) or Tom Caudell (tpc@ece.unm.edu)

ADOBE AIR TOUR
Thursday 1/24
Location: ARTS Lab
This Thursday from 6-8 PM, ARTS Lab continues to work with the people of New Mexico's Adobe Users Group to bring Kevin Hoyt of the Adobe Flex / AIR team to New Mexico. For more information, visit our events site at: http://artslab.unm.edu/newsevents/index.htm#air

SCREENWRITING: ABOVE THE LINE ($)
Saturday 1/26
Location: ARTS Lab
This workshop with professional screenwriter Matt McDuffie is designed to create scripts for the emerging New Mexico film market.  To get more information and reserve your space, call 265-2569 or write buzzblanco@comcast.net

Where is ARTS Lab?  What else is going on?  Visit us at:
http://artslab.unm.edu/contact/index.htm
http://artslab.unm.edu/newsevents

--
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

Friday, January 11, 2008

[Gfx-cafe] GFX Cafe Seminar Friday Jan 18, 2008

The GFX Café is back to kickoff another exiting semester!

GFX Café Seminar Friday Jan 18, 2008
12noon, ARTS Lab Black Box Theatre ** Note change of venue **

Food will be served

TITLE:
Advanced Digital Hair/Fur Pipeline at Sony Pictures Imageworks
by Armin Bruderlin, Sony Imageworks


ABSTRACT:
A practical animal fur and human hair pipeline for digital
characters has been in development at Sony Pictures Imageworks
since its initial implementation in 1998. To date, our hair/fur
pipeline has been successfully utilized in 14 motion pictures,
both live-action and computer animated. The system has proven
capable of producing a wide range of looks requested by our
clients, from short animal fur to long human hair, and, most
challengingly, the accurate reproduction of the hair of real
actors.

In this talk, I will introduce the core building blocks that
make up the pipeline. Some of the more recent features are
presented in more detail.

BIO:
Armin Bruderlin is currently a senior software engineer and the
3D-tools lead at Sony Pictures Imageworks in Culver City,
California. Since joining in 1997, he has been working in the
software department while supporting the production of movies
such as "Surf's Up", "Open Season", the "Spiderman" movies,
"The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe",
"The Polar Express", "The Chubb Chubbs", and "Stuart Little".

Armin received a B.Sc. in Informatik from the Fachhochschule
Furtwagen in Germany, and an M.Sc. and Ph.D. in Computer Science
from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. Armin's
interests in computer graphics include all aspects of making
believable computer animated characters.


--
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

Monday, January 07, 2008

NM Economic (& Media Community) Development (@ UNM)

Hey everyone...

This is a big week for Economic Development -- and for getting involved with New Mexico's media scene.

THE 2008 NEW MEXICO Economic Outlook Conference will be held Wednesday, Jan. 9, at the Embassy Suites Hotel, located just west of Lomas Blvd. NE
and I-25, in Albuquerque. Registration and breakfast will be held from 7:30 to 9 a.m., while the conference runs from 9 a.m. to 12 noon. The third annual conference will present a morning devoted to the assessment of and outlook for the United States and New Mexico economies.
http://www.unm.edu/~market/cgi-bin/archives/002495.html#more
http://abqchamber.com/economicoutlook/outlookconf.htm

The BBER Economic Outlook Conference is always an interesting -- and valuable -- event, especially if you have an interest in the conditions and trends affecting New Mexico's business climate.  It's also a nice prelude to...

MEMBERS OF NEW MEXICO'S media-related worlds - including film, animation, games, education, research and technology development - will
converge at the Fourth Annual N.M. Media Industries Conference: Media 4 New Mexico's Future, hosted by the University of New Mexico ARTS Lab on Saturday, Jan. 12, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the UNM Student Union Building. The event is free, but registration is required. More information, including a complete schedule, is available at: http://artslab.unm.edu .

There's a lot going on Saturday, including a session with local Writers Guild of America members discussing the Writer's Strike, sessions on Animation basics and getting involved in New Mexico's animation community, using New Mexico's world-renowned media production rebate program, Symbology and Design with Maggie Macnab, highlights of new software from NM Adobe Users Group's Elaine Montoya and Apple's Bill Hanson... and much much more.

Please join us!



--
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

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Media for New Mexico's Future

MEDIA 4 NEW MEXICO'S FUTURE

Each year, over 300 participants from New Mexico's media related worlds (including film, animation, games, education, research and technology development) come together for the annual media industries conference at UNM's Student Union Building in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This year's conference features presentations and workshops on Digital Media 101, Indie Filmmaking Essentials, Making New Mexico's Incentives work for You, Animation and Game Development, along with a special presentation from Symbol and Design Expert Maggie Macnab of Macnab Design. Join representatives from AIGA, Albuquerque IGDA, DFI, NMAUG, NMFO, NMITSA, and more for the latest in New Mexico media, and strategizing ways to continue to move New Mexico's Media Industries Strategic Plan forward (For more information about MISP, visit: http://www.altmedianm.org ).

WHEN: Saturday, January 12th 9:00AM - 5:00PM

WHERE: UNM's Student Union Building (Main Campus, near Central & Cornell)

REGISTER: The Event is free, but registration is required. Visit our REGISTRATION PAGE to sign up.

For more information, email artslab@unm.edu or call us at 505-277-2253.
INTRODUCTORY SESSION (9:00 - 9:30 | Ballroom A)

Introduction & recap of the state's Media Industries Strategic Plan, update from the Media Industries Summit, and Overview of the day's events.
MORNING SESSION I (9:35 - 10:30 AM)

Digital Media 101: An overview of Digital Media Production Today

Supercomputing, Advanced Graphics & Visualization

Making New Mexico's Film Rebate Program Work For You: Overview and Q&A with the NM Film Office

MORNING SESSION II (10:35 - 11:30 AM)

Animation 101: Intro to 2D Character Animation and 3D Animation (Presented by the Art Center Design College)

Modeling, Simulation & Serious Games

Indie Filmmaking Essentials (Presented by DFI, producers of the Duke City Shootout)

MORNING SESSION III (11:35 AM - 12:30 PM)

Understanding and Using Symbols in Visual Communication
with Maggie Macnab (Macnab Design)
This presentation explores natural patterns and the energetic principles they are associated with, how they relate to number and shape, and how incorporating these qualities can create more effective, enduring and aesthetic visual communications—particularly in the area of identity design, but relative to anyone who works within the visual arts. Communicating deeply with substance rather than superficial style increases a communication’s life span and value, is widely and immediately understood to a cross-cultural audience, and supports creative professionals by actively using the time-tested template of nature.

AFTERNOON SESSION I (1:45 - 3:00 PM)

Education & Media: Summer and After School Programs

Trends in Web and Software Development

WGA & The Writers' Strike: What's at Stake

AFTERNOON SESSION II (3:15 - 4:30 PM)

Games, Training & Education

Building New Mexico's Animation Community

TBD