News Stories

Cool Concept: Peelable 3D Lens Stickers for Eyeglasses

5.14.2012

[technobuffalo]

…Just peel off the stickers and apply them to your existing lenses. They spare grease marks from your fingers, as well as space in landfills, since it means less waste from disposable glasses.

Even if your sight is 20/20, geek glasses are super chic these days, and Stix would work just as well on a pair of clear, non-prescription lenses. This way, everyone could have a pair of 3D glasses that they love and that fit well. Plus, there’s no worry about any funk left over from previous wearers. That’s an epic win.

See the full story here: http://www.technobuffalo.com/accessories/cool-concept-peelable-3d-lens-stickers-for-eyeglasses/

Future-talk: 3D (3D in the classroom)

5.14.2012

[Edtech Future]

Learnings from FETC

Stereo 3D was not well represented.  It was visibly on display only in two booths.  In addition, the displays were not that effective. Self-running demo loops simply won’t excite educators.  There are better ways to showcase stereo 3D capabilities, folks.
Stereo 3D is not well understood by conference leadership.  Although chosen as a presenter, none of my stereo 3D offerings were selected.  That decision perplexed me, so I wrote to the conference leadership …

Learnings from TCEA

Texas “gets” 3D. Numerous sessions touched on 3D at TCEA, including a half-day workshop. The presentations were well received and packed with people.  New 3D math and science content was demonstrated that convinced even the stoutest doubters.  3D content was visible in a number of projection manufacturing and reseller exhibits. DLP 3D Lamp-Free Projectors were all the buzz, with four projector companies featuring DLP lamp-free projectors.  (To the educator, lamp-free means not paying for bulbs every year—at $350 a whack.  These projectors cost a little bit more, but pay for themselves in a year and a half. In some cases, the solution was expected to last for 20,000+ hours, or 10+ years in school terms.)  I saw models from Vivitek, BenQ, Casio, and Optoma.  Again, Texas ‘gets’ 3D.

Learnings from COSN

3D is the new kid on the block. A conference for technology leaders, 3D was clearly a new experience for most. Amidst the clamor and noise of cloud-based applications and 1:1 initiatives, folks who saw examples of great 3D educational content were quite impressed. Some of the discussions I had with interested educational leaders were promising.  Educational technology leaders simply need to see great examples of 3D (not movies), in order to begin their journey towards understanding.

Read the full story here: http://edtechfuture-talk.blogspot.com/2012/05/3dconferences.html

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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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