Fulldome Professional Development Webinar this Monday & Tuesday

From David Beining here at ARTS Lab:

Dear Friends & Colleagues,

I'm writing in support of the unique opportunity you'll find below: It's a wonderful program dedicated to fulldome-based professional development in computer graphics as well as data-based archeological and cultural studies.  The presenting team, led by Kevin Cain, is an exceptional cast that have much to share with the fulldome producing community and the resources they're making available have great value in both production and research.  If you saw Kevin's talk at DomeFest2007, you'll have an idea of how clear the communication will be and how exciting the work is.  

Because of the usual bandwidth issues, there's a limited number of 'live' connections available and we invite those of you interested in fulldome content (and the many related tools and techniques Kevin and his team will discuss) to attend with us here at ARTS Lab.  The ARTS Lab will be hosting a group of interested participants here in our space (contact us at artslab@unm.edu if you'd like to attend). If you'd be interested in hosting a group at another venue here in New Mexico, please let us know and we'll help make arrangements.

The team here at ARTS Lab has had a great collaboration with Kevin and the folks at INSIGHT, and this is an excellent opportunity to take the continued success of NM-developed fulldome content even further.

  MAYA SKIES ON-LINE MASTER CLASS

 June 28th & 29th

******************************************************************************

Greetings! 

Chabot Space & Science Center and INSIGHT are pleased to invite you to participate in the Maya Skies Online Masters' Class - a  FREE 2 day Webinar designed to introduce full dome producers and humanities researchers to the production tools and archive material available at the Mayaskies.net dissemination website.

The dissemination project, which was funded by a supplemental grant from the NSF, stemmed from our desire to share with others the expertise and learning -  both in terms of production techniques and archaeological archive material - that were acquired during the production of Tales of the Maya Skies.

Day one

of the Webinar is designed to help full dome producers produce immersive media from real-world environments.  Day two launches the Maya Skies Archive, a freely accessible repository of archaeological data from Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico.  Both days keep the practical needs of full dome producers and humanities researchers front and center. 

The sessions are open to all - spaces limited to the first 100 applicants. Please RSVP to the address below and we will send you confirmation of your participation and details on how to join the Webinar:

RSVP, Chabot Space & Science Center:  TMS-webinar@chabotspace.org

A complete schedule is below - all times listed are Mountain Standard Time (adjustments made locally here at ARTS Lab).

The Maya Skies Online Masters' Class is presented by the Maya Skies production team from INSIGHT, an archaeological visualization group, listed at the end of this message.

******************************************************************************** 

 

 
Day 1: Monday, June 28

Session 1
Introduction to Data-Driven Full Dome Production I:  Pipeline Overview
11am-12pm
Chris Bernal, Kevin Cain, Mark Eakle, Todd Gill, Jun Nagaoka

The full dome is highly immersive.  As a format, full dome excels at presenting real-world places with great immediacy.  But it's not simple to create realistic environments that hold up on the dome, especially for producers with limited budgets and experience.  This session introduces a pipeline for capturing data from the real world for use in full dome media.  2D and 3D reality capture are discussed, drawing on examples of time-lapse panoramic photography and 3D laser scanning.  While aimed at first-time dome producers, more experienced creators will also benefit.

Session 2
Introduction to Data-Driven Full Dome Production II:  Tech Walkthrough
Noon-1pm
Kevin Cain, Mark Eakle, Todd Gill, Jun Nagaoka

This session expands the discussion of Session 1's data-driven production pipeline.  We present a focused introduction to managing laser scan data in production, from initial capture through alignment, merging, surfacing, and painting.  Particular attention is paid to techniques for editing, UV layout and texturing steps, as conventional approaches generally fail with dense data-driven geometry.  This session is designed for full dome producers new to 3D reality capture techniques.

Session 2B
Live Session Follow-Up
1-1:45pm
Chris Bernal, Kevin Cain, Mark Eakle, Todd Gill, Jun Nagaoka

The speakers from the morning sessions will be on line to answer questions, provide detail, and connect with the web audience.



Session 3
Building Realistic Computer Graphics for the Full Dome
3-4pm
Chris Bernal, Kevin Cain, Mark Eakle, Todd Gill, Ali Jamalzadeh

From the start, the lion's share of full dome media content has been supplied as rendered images from 3D computer graphics.  Realism, long an object for CG images, is now becoming possible even with modest budgets.  This session explores two practical ways to increase realism for full dome graphics:  non-biased rendering of light, and efficient use of dome sampling in compositing.  Using the Tales of the Maya Skies production as a basis, we present suggestions for managing the complexity of rendering with natural light while remaining practical and efficient.  We also discuss new tools  to optimize color reproduction on the dome for rendered images and present an automated system for processing renders for collaborative review.


Session 3B
Live Session Follow-Up
4-4:45pm
Chris Bernal, Kevin Cain, Mark Eakle, Todd Gill, Ali Jamalzadeh, Jun Nagaoka 

The speakers from the afternoon session will be on line to answer questions, provide detail, and connect with the web audience.

**************************************************************************************** 

 
Day 2, Tuesday, June 29

Session 4
Introduction to Digital Cultural Heritage and Digital Capture Research
11am-Noon
Kevin Cain, Mark Eakle, Greg Downing, Greg Ward

Archaeologists and art historians have been practicing digital field techniques for at least the past decade.  However, the recent proliferation of good, cheap digital cameras and affordable processing power has enabled humanities researchers to take on more ambitious digital documentation projects.  In this session we survey research from the worlds of computer graphics and computer vision, showing approaches that can be directly applied to cultural heritage work.  We present the computer vision research for Tales of the Maya Skies as the core of our discussion, with emphasis placed on open source tools and off-the-shelf equipment that will work in the difficult field environments found at archaeological sites around the world.

Session 5
Maya Skies Archaeology Case Studies and the Maya Skies Data Archive
Noon-1pm
Chris Bernal, Kevin Cain, Falken Foreshaw, Ali Jamalzadeh, Jun Nagaoka

All of the data gathered on site at Chichen Itza, Mexico for Tales of the Maya Skies has been gathered into a public repository, which the team launches in this final session.  Using archaeological case studies from the archive, we introduce this archive and the web application built to navigate it.  The archive tools are themselves available for download; in this session, we walk through the steps to build your own humanities 'data dashboard'.

Session 5B
Live Session Follow-Up
1-1:45pm
Chris Bernal, Kevin Cain, Mark Eakle, Todd Gill, Jun Nagaoka

The speakers from the morning sessions will be on line to answer questions, provide detail, and connect with the web audience.



Suggested reading:

New Heritage: New Media and Cultural Heritage
Theorizing Digital Cultural Heritage: A Critical Discourse (Media in Transition)
Digital Technologies and the Museum Experience: Handheld Guides and Other Media

*******************************************************************************************

Speakers participating live at Chabot Space and Science Center, Oakland, California, USA:

Chris Bernal: Core member of PalmaVFX, Digital Modeling Lead has worked with INSIGHT on archaeological film projects for several years, including two full-length documentaries on Egypt

Kevin Cain: INSIGHT founder and Director, has introduced digital tools to archaeological projects around the world for the last ten years.

Mark Eakle: Xenexus founder and long-time INSIGHT collaborator, photographer  shot on location for Tales of the Maya Skies.

Falken Foreshaw:Archaeologist - has assisted the Tales of the Maya Skies team in archaeological review, notably for the Caracol and Osario structures.

Todd Gill: INSIGHT Technical Director brings a career of visual effects to his digital field work and pipeline development for Tales of the Maya Skies, from CG work for feature film to web interactives.

Ali Jamalzadeh: Lead Artist has been at INSIGHT for two years; for Tales of the Maya Skies he has been focused primarily on painting the reconstructed structures of ancient Chichen Iza.

Jun Nagaoka:INSIGHT Technical Lead is responsible for guiding the development of the Maya Skies Data Archive and for much of the tool chain used in the production.

Follow Them at:

Special NM Screening of Maya Skies (7/7)

We welcome you to a special screening of "Tales of the Maya Skies," a fulldome film co-produced by UNM's ARTS Lab.  Please join us to celebrate the work of renowned New Mexico professionals like Hue Walker and Michael Stearns - and rising-star Jonathan Strawn - as well as the fabulous student artists and technologists who contributed greatly to this unique production.  Meet these merry makers and see this NSF-funded immersive film on the astronomy and culture of the Maya on the big dome:

Wednesday, July 7th
5:30pm reception; 6:30 screening (40 minutes)
The Planetarium at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History & Science (aka LodeStar)
1801 Mountain Rd, NW, ABQ

Kids welcome!  We hope to see you there.

best,
Crew: ARTS Lab
http://artslab.unm.edu

**The film opens to the public July 2nd at the Planetarium.  Please help us spread the word to get as many New Mexicans to see this film as possible!  Learn more at: http://nmnaturalhistory.org/

48HFP Registration ends today - sign up now!!

From Liz Langston at the 48 Hour Film Project:


Albuquerque Filmmakers and Film Fans--

Just a quick reminder... registration for the Albuquerque 48 Hour Film Project has steadily filling up and not many spots remain. The Early Bird registration rate ends today!

Save some dough and register your team now before we run out of room for you.  Go to:
http://www.48hourfilm.com/albuquerque

For more info about the project, read below.

Don't miss out!

-The 48 Hour Film Project Team
http://www.48hourfilm.com/albuquerque
albuquerque@48hourfilm.com

------

CALLING ALL FILMMAKERS!

The 48 Hour Film Project, the oldest and biggest time filmmaking competition, is returning to Albuquerque!  In a wild, sleepless weekend, you and a team will make a movie--write, shoot, edit and score it. From scratch.  In 48 hours.  On Friday, July 9, you'll get a character, a prop, a line of dialogue and a genre, all to include in your movie.  By Sunday, July 11th, the movie must be complete. Each completed film is guaranteed a screening at KiMo in the following week.

To be part of the 48HFP, register online at:
http://www.48hourfilm.com/albuquerque

Registration costs $155 per team, unless you register today, in which case it's $135.  Space is limited, so register today!

For more information, contact Liz Langston, Producer of the 48 Hour Film Project at albuquerque@48hourfilm.com or Scott Milder, Deputy Producer, at Scottymilder@gmail.com

_______________________________________________
Albuquerque 48 Hour Film Project
http://www.48hourfilm.com/albuquerque

Volker Straebel: Sonification Metaphor in Instrumental Music (6/8)

What: Volker Straebel: Sonification Metaphor in Instrumental Music

When:       Tuesday, June 8th 6:30

Where: UNM ARTS lab, 131 Pine St., NE (1 block west of University Blvd; half a block north of Central - at the wooden steps)

Renowned musicologist Volker Straebel speaks on "The sonification Metaphor in Instrumental Music". The sonification metaphor is not limited to electronic sound synthesis and computer music, but can be applied to instrumental music as well. The relation of sonification to program and experimental music is discussed and works by Iannis Xenakis, Karlheinz Stockhausen, John Cage and Alvin Lucier are briefly introduced. The paper leads to a discussion of the connection between sonification and romanticism, where the desire is to directly evoke an understanding of natural phenomena.

Volker Straebel (1969) is a musicologist focusing on electro-acoustic music, the American and European avant-garde, intermedia, performance and sound art. He is co-director of the Electronic Music Studio at Technische Universität Berlin and teaches Sound Studies at the University of Arts (UdK). Furthermore, hhe is curatorial adviser to contemporary music festival MaerzMusik and has realized and performed indeterminate works by John Cage and himself.

Visit http://www.straebel.de/praxis/index.html for more information.

Nakatani / Weaver / Balistreri Trio | June 5 @ ARTS Lab

Don't miss the last "Electic Ensemble Giglet of the season with the Nakatani / Weaver / Balistreri Trio at ARTS Lab on June 5th:


What:       Nakatani / Weaver / Balistreri Trio

When:      Saturday, 05 June 2010 / 19:30-21:30

Where:     ARTS Lab, 131 Pine St., NE Albuquerque

How:        Free (but donations encouraged);  Sign up at: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=122918287741989

“...an improvisational approach that operates on the foamy crest of an ever-unfurling present”
(Santa Fe Reporter) 

Nakatani / Weaver / Balistreri Trio was formed in 2007 in performance at the (now defunct) Blue Dragon in Albuquerque while Tatsuya Nakatani was on tour across the country, playing solos and collaborations with with local musicians as he traveled - such as the Albuquerque improvised music duo of Mark Weaver and Mike Balistreri. Finding that they shared similar approaches to space, sound and environment, the trio stayed in communication, and reconvened for well-received performances at the Outpost Performance Space (2008) in Albuquerque, the College of Santa Fe (2008), at The Agency (2009) in Albuquerque, and at Santa Fe Complex (2009).

Tatsuya Nakatani (percussion) is originally from Osaka, Japan. In 2006 he performed in 80 cities in 7 countries and collaborated with 163 artists worldwide. In the past 10 years he has released nearly fifty of his own recordings on CD.

Nakatani has created his own instrumentation, effectively inventing many instruments and extended techniques. He utilizes drumset, bowed gongs, cymbals, singing bowls, metal objects, bells, and various sticks and bows to create an intense, organic music that defies category or genre. His music is based in improvised/ experimental music, jazz, free jazz, rock, and noise, yet retains the sense of space and beauty found in traditional Japanese folk music.

In addition to live solo and ensemble performances, Nakatani works as a sound designer for film and television. He also teaches Master Classes and Workshops at the university level and heads H&H Production, an independent record label and recording studio based in Easton, Pennsylvania. He has been  selected as a performing artist for the Pennsylvania Performing Artist on Tour (PennPat) roster, and is a Bronx Arts Council Individual Artist grant recipient.

(additional information is available on Tatsuya Nakatani’s website):

http://www.hhproduction.org/TATSUYA_NAKATANI_WORKS.html

Tuba player Mark Weaver is a native New Mexican who has contributed to countless creative music projects in the Southwest region and on the West Coast, and who has recorded for Balance Point Acoustics, Black Phone Records, Leaf Records, Carrot Top, Newsonic, Nine Winds, pfMENTUM, Plutonium, Snowdonia, and Zerx. Recent projects include Resonance (duo with vocalist Patti Littlefield), UFO Ensemble with Bill Clark, Christian Pincock, and Jason Aspeslet (which explores Mark’s unique approach to ensemble composition), The Rumble Trio with Mike Balistreri and Ben Wright (long-standing improvised-music trio which performs with a different featured ‘front’ artist each time), and Tubanator5000 which incorporates live audio manipulation and sampling by Bee.

A drummer in a past life, Mike Balistreri brings a distinctly percussive approach to the double bass. Having devoted himself almost exclusively to improvised music, Mike has collaborated/performed/recorded with a wide range of musicians, poets, filmmakers, and performance artists. He spent a year and a half on the road in 2004-2005 playing improvised music with artists across the country. Recently Mike has been performing with The Rumble Trio, I-Beam (Milwaukee), and his large ensemble project th3 e1emental orke5tra.
contact: Mark Weaver (505) 255-8046 mw@toast.net

UNM Student Wins Prestigious International Award in Immersive Media

The work David Beining and our immersive media group have been doing has really begun to pay off.  UNM School of Engineering students are currently working hard in support of the NSF-funded Partnerships of Innovation project in immersive media -- and we've had great success in our collaboration with the students of Claudia Valdes' Electronic Arts class.  Here's the latest:

UNM Student Wins Prestigious International Award
in Immersive Media

 

ALBUQUERQUE – The University of New Mexico amplified its reputation as the leading university working in immersive media with a major award earned by student Barbara Ryckman. 

 

Ryckman won a top prize at the Fulldome Film Festival, an international program held at the Zeiss Planetarium in Jena, Germany – the birthplace of the planetarium.  Ryckman's immersive art film "Wander" won the coveted "Creativity Award" which included a stunning glass trophy created by the renowned optics company Zeiss and a cash prize of 500 Euros (about US$600).  http://www.fulldome-festival.de/

 

Ryckman created her winning piece as an assignment in the "Immersive Media: Fulldome" course, under the instruction of Assistant Professor Claudia X. Valdes (Electronic Arts program / Department of Art & Art History).  http://www.claudiaxvaldes.com/ Valdes' course is supported by UNM's ARTS Lab and its "gDome," a small research and education digital dome studio in the transdisciplinary new media laboratory which supports research, education and economic development for the university and state-wide media industry.  http://artslab.unm.edu

 

All of the works developed in Valdes' course screened in the international competition at the festival.  Of the ten submissions, three were selected as finalists (including Ryckman's).  Student submissions to the fulldome festival also came from four German universities, including the prestigious Bauhaus University at Weimar, and Tongji University in Shanghai.   

 

MFA graduate student at UNM, Mitchell Marti, received an honorable mention award for his code-based film "Oculus."

 

This is the second consecutive year Valdes and ARTS Lab have collaborated to offer the course and for a UNM student to win a top prize at the festival in Germany.

 

In addition to winning the fulldome festival award, last week Ryckman earned her Bachelor of Art degree from UNM's Department of Communication & Journalism.

Photo Info: UNM student Barbara Ryckman (left) and Assistant Professor Claudia X. Valdes accept Ryckman's "Creativity Award" in the ARTS Lab gDome for Ryckman's "Wander" film (on screen).

 

 

Infrared Light + Computer Vision Workshop in Processing & openFrameworks

Infrared Light + Computer Vision Workshop in Processing & openFrameworks

Date Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Time 5:00pm - 7:00pm

Location ARTSLab, MSC04 2570 131 Pine Street, NE, Albuquerque, NM 87131

Description

For the first XD Group workshop, hosted graciously by the ARTSLab, we will focus on integrating Computer Vision (CV) + Infrared (IR) Light setups in Processing and openFrameworks for Experiential Art and Design projects. The 1st hour will focus on how  to get CV + IR working in Processing, with a 10 minute presentation at the beginning of the hour. The 2nd hour will focus on how to do the same within openFrameworks. 

Joe Dean from Lumenscapes (http://lumenscapes.com/) will be helping with the IR lighting setup.

This is a free event that is open to the public. To get the most out of the workshop, bring a laptop with Processing (http://processing.org/) and / or openFrameworks (http://www.openframeworks.cc/) installed.

For more info http://j.mp/cK9CT2

The XD Group

The XD Group was formed by Dr. Woohoo (http://www.drwoohoo.com) with the need to either disseminate or create innovative and open-source approaches that solve challenges within the realm of Experiential Art + Design (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Experience_design) in a format that is conducive to learning. The group meets on a monthly basis where each workshop begins with a 10 min presentation by the expert outlining the current challenge and solution, if applicable, followed by a collaborative workshop where the audience learns how to resolve the challenge with the help of the expert and/or participates in solving the problem at hand. Taking an agnostic approach to the development tools & frameworks, the XD Group embraces open-source frameworks (openFrameworks, Cinder, processing, HYPE, RhinoScript, etc.) that can be leveraged over time and across multiple mediums, platforms, surfaces and machines. 

* /

Dr. Woohoo!

aim: drw00h00

skype: drwoohoo

twitter: http://twitter.com/drwoohoo

IFDM Student Showcase Tomorrow!

We invite you to attend the Interdisciplinary Film & Digital Media student showcase where students will present their creative works, from this spring semester, in a variety of new and emerging technologies.

Date: May 8th
Time: 11am-3pm
Location: UNM ARTS Lab (northwest corner of University and Central)
IFDM is providing lunch.

Digital Lunch this Friday CANCELLED

We regret to inform everyone that this Friday's Digital Lunch on Game Development ("The Citizen Kane of Video Games") is canceled due to illness.

We hope to reschedule soon!

Digital Lunch @ UNM - The "Citizen Kane" of Video Games

There's been much recent (and ongoing) discussion about whether games can compare with some of our truly classic movies, with critics like Roger Ebert saying video games will never have an achievement like "Citizen Kane".

Local Game Developer Hunter R. Gough takes on this issue in our last Digital Lunch of the season.

WHAT:        Digital Lunch @ UNM:  Citizen Kane of Video Games

WHEN:       Friday, April 30, 12 - 1:00 PM

WHERE:     UNM ARTS Lab, 131 Pine St., NE

COST:         Free & Open to the Public (includes lunch)

ABOUT DIGITAL LUNCH AT UNM:
Digital Lunch at UNM is ARTS Lab's Friday lunchtime get-together with students, teachers and professionals from the community. Special thanks to Cinnafilm for its support.

 

Artificial Selection Events @ ARTS Lab

We're very excited to be working with the good folks at 516 Arts in Albuquerque and their "Artificial Selection" event series (more info at http://www.516arts.org/exhibitions_pages/artificialselection.details.html).


What will you see here at ARTS lab?


ROBO-HACK-O-RAMA (Thursday, April 29th 2PM) 

516 ARTS and UNM ARTS Lab present a workshop and demo exploring some how-to techniques of robotics and hacking as they can be applied to artistic practices. This workshop is led by Simon Mehalek, artist and researcher featured in Artificial Selection.


Participants will learn robotics concepts, options for different sensor systems, and how Arduinos can be used to control other systems. Participants will work in groups to complete assembly and initial programming of basic moving robot w/ wheels, sensors and an arduino brain.
Open to teens, students and adults.


UNM Students Free (w/ ID -- space is limited, so pre-register)
516 Arts Member $12
Community Participant $15


Visit http://artslab-robo.eventbrite.com/ to sign up!
(no service charge if you pay by cash or check at the door)



MAN, MACHINES & METROPOLIS (featuring The Chuppers) (Friday, April 30th 8PM)

In conjunction with the Artificial Selection exhibition, 516 ARTS and UNM ARTS Lab present a unique evening of live music and digital media inspired by the dystopic vision of Fritz Lang’s classic film Metropolis (1927) and issues of humanity and machines. This event features a performance by The Chuppers, a showing of specially selected content in ARTS Lab’s fulldome theater, the “GDome”, and a few other treats. The Chuppers grew out of UNM’s Electric Ensemble, a collaboration between UNM’s Music Department, Ubik Sound and the Interdisciplinary Film and Digital Media Program (IFDM). Facilitated by Manny Rettinger, the group creates musical instruments called “chuppers” which combine old and new technology, including audio processors, speakers, computers, microphones, cameras, traditional and non-traditional instruments, projectors and more.

UNM Students & Faculty $5 

516 Arts Member $5

General Public $8

Visit http://metropolis.eventbrite.com/ to sign up!
(no service charge if you pay by cash or check at the door)

And again -- more info at http://www.516arts.org/exhibitions_pages/artificialselection.details.html for other Natural Selection Events w/ 516 Arts!


Opening Reception @ 516 Arts on Saturday, April 24th from 6-8PM

THIS FRIDAY: Cultural Media Development for "Tales of the Maya Skies" @ Digital Lunch

Cultural Media Development for "Tales of the Maya Skies"

How did UNM's ARTS Lab fulldome team approach the creation of a scene from Mayan mythology for the fulldome? Join ARTS Lab's Hue Walker for a view of the development process both from a technical and a cultural standpoint; how ancient and current Mayan imagery and stories were incorporated into a fulldome mythic world that would evoke the mysterious story of the Mayan hero twins.

WHAT:       Digital Lunch @ UNM:  Making Maya Skies

WHEN:       Friday, April 23, 12 - 1:00 PM

WHERE:     UNM ARTS Lab, 131 Pine St., NE

COST:         Free & Open to the Public (includes lunch)

ABOUT HUE WALKER:
Hue Walker has been working in the world of fulldome since 2001, building an understanding and theory basis for immersive artwork and visualization. She works to both create and encourage others to create more thoughtfully designed content and techniques for immersive media. She is currently senior artist at UNM's ARTS Lab.

ABOUT DIGITAL LUNCH AT UNM:
Digital Lunch at UNM is ARTS Lab's Friday lunchtime get-together with students, teachers and professionals from the community. Special thanks to Cinnafilm for its support.

From ARTS Lab @ UNM

Digital Lunch (4/23): Making Maya Skies

How did the team at UNM's ARTS Lab create the world for the fulldome show, "Tales of the Maya Skies"?  Join ARTS Lab's Hue Walker for a trip behind the scenes to see how she and the team took cultural artifacts and other sources to fashion a piece that would truly evoke the spirit of the Mayan culture.


More details to come!

WHAT:       Digital Lunch @ UNM:  Making Maya Skies

WHEN:       Friday, April 23, 12 - 1:00 PM

WHERE:     UNM ARTS Lab, 131 Pine St., NE

COST:         Free & Open to the Public (includes lunch)

ABOUT DIGITAL LUNCH AT UNM:
Digital Lunch at UNM is ARTS Lab's Friday lunchtime get-together with students, teachers and professionals from the community. Special thanks to Cinnafilm for its support.

From ARTS Lab @ UNM

Gale Memorial Lecture Series Thursday Night: Phillip Thurtle

Phillip Thurtle, the final speaker in the Gale Memorial Lecture Series.

WHEN:    Thursday, April 15th at 5pm

WHERE:  ARTS Lab Garage,  131 Pine St. NE

Directions at: http://artslab.unm.edu/where.html

FREE and open to the public.

PHILLIP THURTLE :: Vital imagery: animation and life

The world presented through digital technology is an increasingly animated world.  Film, the WWW, and television now contain significant amounts of animated content. Despite the prevalence of animated content, few scholars have begun to explore the cultural, epistemic, and phenomenological dimensions of animated experience. This talk will focus on one specific component of animation, the differential manipulation of layered surfaces, in order to deepen an understanding of why animation is so useful for depicting change over time. An exploration of the animations of William Kentridge and Stephanie Maxwell, will help us understand why some animations seem to posses an extraordinarily amount of vitality, the feeling of the potential for change even if nothing really changes. We will then see how the emerging science of evolutionary and developmental biology uses this sense of vitality to depict the development of living organisms.

BIO:

Phillip Thurtle is the acting director of the Comparative History of Ideas program and an associate professor in the History Department at the University of Washington. He is the author of /The Emergence of Genetic Rationality: Space, Time, and Information in American Biology 1870-1920/ (University of Washington Press, 2008), the co-author with Robert Mitchell (English, Duke University) and Helen Burgess (English, University of Maryland) of the interactive DVD-ROM /BioFutures: Owning Information an Body Parts/ (University of Pennsylvania Press, 2008), and the co-editor with Robert Mitchell of the volumes /Data Made Flesh: Embodying Information/ (Routledge, 2003) and /Semiotic Flesh: Information and the Human Body/ (University of Washington Press, 2002). His research focuses on the material culture of information processing, the affective-phenomenlogical domains of media, the role of information processing technologies in biomedical research, and theories of novelty in the life sciences. His most recent work is on the cellular spaces of transformation in evolutionary and developmental biology research and the cultural spaces of transformation in superhero comics.

Digital Lunch THIS Friday: Kicking & Screaming Into the Digital Age

How are filmmakers embracing the new tools and digital technologies at our disposal?  Please join us for our next Digital Lunch this Friday at ARTS Lab with local filmmaker -- and tech developer Anton Kozikowski.

WHAT:       Digital Lunch @ UNM:  Kicking & Screaming Into the Digital Age

WHEN:       Friday, April 16, 12 - 1:00 PM

WHERE:     UNM ARTS Lab, 131 Pine St., NE

COST:         Free & Open to the Public (includes lunch)

About Anton Kozikowski:

• Anton Kozikowski is an Emmy award winning Writer/Producer who cut his teeth at CBS In San Francisco where he produced promotional content for Investigative Reports, Survivor, Super Bowl XXXVIII and Special Projects. 
• In 2005 Kozikowski established Blur to Focus Productions. His 25 minute documentary film "Climate Change: New Mexico" was featured on Comcast "On-demand" and incorporated NASA Satellite Imaging, Animation, 3D Compositing and interviews from the country's top environmental specialists. The film examined snowpack and streamflow at the Santa Fe watershed. (Currently being presented in science curriculum at several NM schools)
• In 2009, Kozikowski worked with Mechanical Designer Ed Reasner, and a team of Engineers from Los Alamos labs to develop camera stabilization technology and will be pursuing the patent process in 2010.
• Kozikowski was recently First AD on a REDCAM film out of New York. The film "Stuck" was shot on the same location as "No Country for Old Men."  He is currently in post production on a short action drama film titled: "Wild Horses" which he directed and produced. Wild Horses was shot using HVX200 and the RedRock M2 lens adapter system (http://www.redrockmicro.com/micro35.html)  and is scheduled for release in July.

ABOUT DIGITAL LUNCH AT UNM:
Digital Lunch at UNM is ARTS Lab's Friday lunchtime get-together with students, teachers and professionals from the community. Special thanks to Cinnafilm for its support.

From ARTS Lab @ UNM

April SIGGRAPH Meeting: "The Making of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland" 4/10

One of the bigger, cooler things happening in New Mexico's digital media world is the resurgence of New Mexico's "Rio Grande" SIGGRAPH Chapter.  Connecting all parts of the state is part of their mission -- and programs are including many different aspects of media (we've already had game development and reel review 'events' with both Albuquerque and Las Cruces locations).

If you haven't been following RG-SIGGRAPH already, this is a great time to sign up with them on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=166192065528) and sign up for their new, especially cool event next Saturday. More info below:

 

Rio Grande SIGGRAPH April Meeting:

Sony Pictures Imageworks presents The Making of Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland
Saturday, April 10th, 4pm

WHERE:

ALBUQUERQUE
Woodward Hall, UNM Main Campus
Albuquerque, NM 87131
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=107557564493071140294.00045c7c58ffcdcae8475&ll=35.083578,-106.621692&spn=0.007735,0.014409&z=17

LAS CRUCES
DACC Campus Room 272
3400 South Espina St
Las Cruces, New Mexico 88003-8001
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&msid=107557564493071140294.00045c7c58ffcdcae8475&ll=32.279686,-106.753775&spn=0.007991,0.014409&z=17

Sony Pictures Imageworks shares behind-the-scenes insights on creating the amazing visuals for Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland. Local Albuquerque artists Bob Winter, CG Supervisor, and Jeff Schu, Lead Animator, will presenter.

Meeting locations will be at UNM's Woodward Hall in Albuquerque and DACC Campus room 272 in Las Cruces.

 

Thanks to Dona Ana Community College and UNM's Interdisciplinary Film & Digital Media Program for their support!

Make sure to RSVP on Facebook - space may be limited!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=110816008936251&ref=mf

The Keller Memorial Lecture w/ Paul Kaiser & Marc Downie (4/5)

The Thomas Keller Memorial Lecture: 
Paul Kaiser & Marc Downie

Performance, Technology and Science

UNM's ARTS Lab is pleased to present The Keller Memorial Lecture, recognizing outstanding creative work that bridges art, science and technology.

Renowned international artist Paul Kaiser and Marc Downie discuss how they have creatively integrated motion tracking and other technologies into live installations and performances with choreographers and directors Bill T. Jones, Merce Cunningham, Trisha Brown, and others.

WHAT:    The Keller Memorial Lecture: Paul Kaiser and Marc Downie on "Performance, Technology & Science"

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

WHEN:    Monday, April 5th at 6PM

COST:      Free 

Digital Lunch: Terry Borst on End to End Game Development!

***POST-EVENT NOTE***

Big thanks to Terry Borst and everyone who came for today's digital lunch!

For Terry's slides (includes some great links and examples), visit: http://drop.io/digilunch_Apr2

To buy the book End to End Game Development, check it out at:
http://www.amazon.com/End-End-Game-Development-Independent/dp/0240811798/altscreenwriters

*** 
Join us on Friday, April 2nd for Digital Lunch at UNM with one of our favorite local game developers, Terry Borst. His hands-on approach and real world experience are invaluable -- and his enthusiasm is infectious.

WHAT:       Digital Lunch @ UNM:  End to End Game Development
WHEN:       Friday, April 2, 12 - 1:30 PM
WHERE:     UNM ARTS Lab, 131 Pine St., NE
COST:         Free & Open to the Public (includes lunch)

ABOUT TERRY BORST:
Terry Borst has worked as a professional screenwriter for more than 20 years, with credits in film, television, and videogames.  Here in New Mexico, he teaches screenwriting at the College of Santa Fe, Santa Fe Community College, and the Screenwriting Conference at Santa Fe.  His two books about serious game and simulation development have been published by Focal Press.  Find out more at:  http://www.terryborst.com.

ABOUT END to END GAME DEVELOPMENT
End to End Game Development published by Focal Press is a handbook for the conceptualizing, development, production and distribution of serious games, simulations, and other interactive media projects.  This presentation by the co-author will provide an overview of key areas the book covers including: why game aesthetics, mechanics and technology are the next logical step for all kinds of training and persuasion; how serious game production is within the reach of indie "garage game" developers and corporate departments; and ways to create feedback loops between solid game design and solid instructional design.  Find out more at:  http://www.endtoendgamedevelopment.com.

ABOUT DIGITAL LUNCH AT UNM
Digital Lunch at UNM is ARTS Lab's Friday lunchtime get-together with students, teachers and professionals from the community. Special thanks to Cinnafilm for its support.

From ARTS Lab @ UNM

Eyebeam Road Show Next Friday!

UNM's IFDM program presents The Eyebeam Road Show (eyebeam.org) featuring talented residents of the NYC Eyebeam Art and Technology Center. With Michael Mandiberg, Marisa Olson, Patrick Davison and Clara Jo leading presentations and hands-on workshops for students.

Free software evangelists insist that there are open source models that can actually make a buck, do they really work? Should they? Join the debate with heavyweight profs Michael Mandiberg, Nick Flor, and prof and remix master Marisa Olson.

WHAT:       Digital Lunch @ UNM:  Free, as in... Not?
WHEN:       Friday, March 26 12 - 1:30 PM
WHERE:     UNM ARTS Lab, 131 Pine St., NE
COST:         Free and Open to the Public

Cinnafilm hosting screening of special film this Saturday at the Guild

NM Media folk -

If you are a filmmaker or a story teller, or ever want to become one, you owe it to yourself to see this film; it will be one of the very best insightful "courses" you will ever receive on the subject.  In the end we all do this because of the human aspect of it – there are joys and struggles that connect all of us, and storytelling is the common bond – it allows us to remember we are all "in it together".  I saw this in Santa Fe and being a big Joseph Campbell and Carl Jung fan I personally think this is the best film on the subject since the Bill Moyer's interviews with Campbell.  I am proud to bring this film to Albuquerque.  Enjoy…

**

Cinnafilm Presents the Albuquerque Premiere of "Mythic Journeys"

MARCH 20, 2010
Cinnafilm is proud to sponsor the Albuquerque premiere of the documentary Mythic Journeys. The filmmakers will be present at the screening to answer questions.

Mythic Journeys, a story told through documentary and animation, that seeks to reclaim the definition and value of myth to show that EVERY LIFE IS A STORY AND THAT STORY CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.

Interviews with some of the world's leading authors, psychologists and spiritual leaders including Dr. Deepak Chopra, Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith, Sobonfu Some, and Michael Mead are interwoven with multicultural artwork and an ancient folk tale, The Bone Orchard, and starring iconic actors Tim Curry (The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Legend), Mark Hammill (Star Wars: IV, V, VI)

---

and Lance Henriksen (Alien).

Although Cinnafilm's technology was not used in the making of MYTHIC JOURNEYS, Cinnafilm is sponsoring this film due to the representation of storytelling, the foundation of good filmmaking.

WHEN: Saturday, March 20 | 1:30 pm
WHERE: Guild Cinema
3405 Central Ave NE
Albuquerque, NM
INFO: for more information call 575-770-0763

The filmmakers Steven and Whitney Boe are also offering a workshop called "Life Journeys: Understanding Your Story". Click here to download a PDF for the Life Journeys Workshop with information about the location, date and fee for the workshop, or read more at their website: www.espiritbridge.org

**

http://www.cinnafilm.com/events.html