News Stories

‘Transformers: Dark Of The Moon’: The Reviews Are In

6.28.2011

Michael Bay’s summer blockbuster has critics praising his deft handling of eye-popping 3-D.

[Excerpt]

The 3-D
“[For] the first time since ‘Avatar,’ I am going to recommend that you find the biggest and best 3-D theater you can find and buy yourself a ticket, because ‘Transformers: Dark Of the Moon,’ especially seen in IMAX 3-D, is an overwhelming sensory experience. The sound mix alone is more exciting than anything in the billion-dollar-bore of ‘Pirates 4.’ This is gigantic action we’ve never seen before, and Bay’s reaction to shooting and cutting his film for 3-D is to get better at what he does. It raised his game, and as a result, I feel like we just saw a dare thrown down by one of Hollywood’s biggest action specialists: ‘Top this.’ — Drew McWeeny, HitFix

 

See the full story here: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1666542/transformers-dark-moon-movie-reviews.jhtml

Report: Nintendo 3DS interest drops 27%

6.28.2011

[by Kevin McGuire, Philidelphia Video Game Examiner]

Nintendo 3DS has failed to live up to the expectations according to an independent report, as interest in the portable 3D gaming device has dropped 27% since last year.

Entertainment research firm Interpret released their Q1 2011 3D Entertainment report and showed that the 3D market for the 3DS paled in comparison to the 3D market for other entertainment.

“The lack of sales for the 3DS does not reflect the overall interest in 3D gaming,” said Michael Cai, Interpret VP of Games and Technology. “Instead, it illustrates that Nintendo put the cart before the horse; that is, they released the hardware without the necessary software to engender robust sales. Our data shows that gamers want the Nintendo franchise games – Super Mario Brothers, Zelda, etc – but without them, the 3DS will continue to flounder.”

The good news for Nintendo is that those core franchises are starting to filter their way on to the 3DS. The 3D port of the classic Nintendo 64 title, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D, was released this month and is being well received even if it is not a brand new game. An original Super Mario game will be released on the 3DS during the 2011 holiday season, and when a Mario game is released on a Nintendo system the overall sales tend to swing upward.

At the E3 conference earlier in June Nintendo showcased a strong lineup of future titles for the 3DS. In addition to the Zelda and Mario titles, Nintendo also announced an updated Star Fox game, a Mario Kart addition, a new Kid Icarus title and a sequel to the GameCube’s Luigi’s Mansion. The release of these titles in addition to the already released Zelda title and upcoming Mario title figure to help Nintendo turn around the 3DS outlook.

See the original post here: http://www.examiner.com/video-game-in-philadelphia/report-nintendo-3ds-interest-drops-27

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Specification for Naming VFX Image Sequences Released

ETC’s VFX Working Group has published a specification for best practices naming image sequences such as plates and comps. File naming is an essential tool for organizing the multitude of frames that are inputs and outputs from the VFX process. Prior to the publication of this specification, each organization had its own naming scheme, requiring custom processes for each partner, which often resulted in confusion and miscommunication.

The new ETC@USC specification focuses primarily on sequences of individual images. The initial use case was VFX plates, typically delivered as OpenEXR or DPX files. However, the team soon realized that the same naming conventions can apply to virtually any image sequence. Consequently, the specification was written to handle a wide array of assets and use cases.

To ensure all requirements are represented, the working group included over 2 dozen participants representing studios, VFX houses, tool creators, creatives and others.  The ETC@USC also worked closely with MovieLabs to ensure that the specification could be integrated as part of their 2030 Vision.

A key design criteria for this specification is compatibility with existing practices.  Chair of the VFX working group, Horst Sarubin of Universal Pictures, said: “Our studio is committed to being at the forefront of designing best industry practices to modernize and simplify workflows, and we believe this white paper succeeded in building a new foundation for tools to transfer files in the most efficient manner.”

This specification is compatible with other initiatives such as the Visual Effects Society (VES) Transfer Specifications. “We wanted to make it as seamless as possible for everyone to adopt this specification,” said working group co-chair and ETC@USC’s Erik Weaver. “To ensure all perspectives were represented we created a team of industry experts familiar with the handling of these materials and collaborated with a number of industry groups.”

“Collaboration between MovieLabs and important industry groups like the ETC is critical to implementing the 2030 Vision,” said Craig Seidel, SVP of MovieLabs. “This specification is a key step in defining the foundations for better software-defined workflows. We look forward to continued partnership with the ETC on implementing other critical elements of the 2030 Vision.”

The specification is available online for anyone to use.

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