THE LIGHT FIELD CAMERA-The camera that turns light into living pictures

The camera that turns light into living pictures

It is a new type of imaging technology called light field imaging. It allows you to change focus after the picture was taken, and also offers 3D stereo for your image. This is totally amazing tech, just think of what you could do with this. It is only a still camera, but what if this was a video camera? How about taking 3D stereo with only one lens? Seriously that would be totally cool, and to change or alter the focus of the image by just dragging your mouse over the image.

Once the picture is on a computer or phone, the focus can be adjusted to center on any object in the image, also allowing for cool artsy shots where one shifts between a blurry foreground and sharp background and vice versa.
The technology also allows photos to be taken in very low-light conditions without a flash, as well as for some eye-popping three-dimensional images to be taken with just a single lens.
LINKS
DEMO

LIGHT FIELD CAMERA

XGen Arbitrary Primitive Generator technology

Autodesk and Walt Disney Pictures announced an agreement to bring an innovative animation and visual effects technology to the Digital Entertainment Creation community. Autodesk obtained a license with a five-year exclusivity period for the XGen Arbitrary Primitive Generator technology (XGen), used most recently by Walt Disney Animation Studios (WDAS) in the hit animated film “Tangled.”

XGen technology was first presented by WDAS in a research paper at SIGGRAPH in 2003 for the creation of computer-generated fur, feathers and foliage. Since that time, XGen has evolved and been refined on seven features, three shorts and one TV show. It has been used to create the fur, hair, feathers, trees, leaves and rocks in “Bolt,” the trees and bushes in “UP,” the dust bunnies, debris, trees, bushes, clover and flowers in “Toy Story 3,” and the grass and trees in “Cars 2.” In “Tangled,” WDAS used XGen to bring the lavish 3D animated world to life: from Rapunzel’s perfectly groomed golden locks to the film’s lush, vegetation-filled landscapes, including bushes, flowers, vines, grass, weeds, moss, thistle, ground mulch, fallen leaves, sticks, rocks, butterfly fur, airborne dust, leaves and trees, plus props such as roof tiles, arrow fletchings, a broom and paint brushes.

DREAMWORKS ANIMATION'S MONKEYS OF MUMBAI

GLENDALE, Calif., July 20, 2011 -- DreamWorks Animation SKG, Inc. DWA
today announced that Kevin Lima (Enchanted, Tarzan) will direct the
upcoming feature film Monkeys of Mumbai(working title), the studio's
first-ever Bollywood-style animated musical adventure. Lisa Stewart
(Turbo, Monsters vs. Aliens) and Chris Chase (Enchanted, Tarzan) will
serve as producers on the project. As previously announced, Stephen
Schwartz (Wicked, Prince of Egypt, Enchanted) is serving as executive
producer and lyricist, A.R. Rahman (127 Hours, Slumdog Millionaire,
Bombay Dreams) is serving as executive producer and composer, and
Gurinder Chadha & Paul Berges (Bride & Prejudice, Bend It Like Beckham)
are writing the feature project.
Inspired by the great Indian epic tale of The Ramayana – but retold
through the point of view of its monkeys – Monkeys of Mumbairevolves
around two common monkeys who become unlikely heroes in a last ditch
effort to stop an ancient, thought-to-be-mythical demon from conquering
the world. The project is being overseen at DreamWorks Animation by
development executive Chris Kuser.

Make your own MoCap System with Brekel and Microsoft Kinetic

It allows you to capture 3D objects and export them to disk for use in 3D packages. As well as do skeleton tracking which can be streamed into Autodesk’s MotionBuilder in realtime, or exported as BVH files. Read more

INDIA'S RELIANCE MEDIAWORKS PARTNERS WITH DIGITAL DOMAIN

Mumbai/Los Angeles, July 11, 2011 - Reliance MediaWorks Ltd
, India's fastest growing film and
entertainment services company and a member of the Reliance group, has
partnered with Los Angeles-based digital production studio Digital
Domain Productions to create visual effects
and 3D Stereo Production services studios in Mumbai, India and London,
UK that will cater to motion pictures, television, commercial, and
stereo 3D conversion for catalogue projects from August 2011 in phases.

Reliance MediaWorks offers a full array of visual effects and stereo 3D
conversion services with an existing team of more than 500 artists. The
company will set up a new studio at its Media BPO in Navi Mumbai and
deploy there an additional team of up to 650 artists available for
projects allied with Digital Domain. In London, Digital Domain will
co-locate a visual effects team within Reliance MediaWorks' UK facility.

Reliance MediaWorks studios in both Mumbai and London will connect to
Digital Domain's L.A. facility through Reliance MediaWorks' fibre optic
network that can support seamless high-speed exchange of data.

Digital Domain recently completed visual effects work on Transformers:
Dark of the Moon and its feature film work currently in production
includes Real Steel, Jack the Giant Killer and 47 Ronin. Building upon
its parent company Digital Domain Media Group¹s recent acquisition of
2D-to-3D conversion company In-Three, partnering with Reliance
MediaWorks enables Digital Domain to expand its visual effects and
stereo 3D conversion services to existing and new clients around the
world.

PARAMOUNT PICTURES TO LAUNCH PARAMOUNT ANIMATION

LOS ANGELES, July 6, 2011 -- Paramount Pictures, a unit of Viacom Inc. ,
will launch an in-house animation division, with its first title slated
for release in 2014.

In making the announcement, Paramount Chairman & CEO Brad Grey said the
initiative was part of the studio's long-term strategy for growth and
that the new division, Paramount Animation, will focus on high quality
animation with budgets per picture of up to $100 million.

Paramount Animation's mandate will be the development of the broadest
range of family CGI animated films, with a key piece being titles under
the label of Viacom's Nickelodeon, the number one entertainment brand
for kids worldwide. Paramount will also look to build on Viacom's
already thriving global consumer products business by seeking to
capitalize on merchandising opportunities tied to all Paramount
Animation releases.

The division will be part of the Paramount Motion Picture Group,
reporting to the group's president, Adam Goodman, and will initially
target one release per year. Vice Chair Rob Moore, COO Frederick
Huntsberry and Goodman are now conducting a search for the leader of the
division.

News this June

VFS TAKES SCHOOL OF THE YEAR FOR THE SECOND YEAR
TRANSFORMERS 3 HAS BEST JULY 4TH EVER
IMAX POSTS RECORD WORLDWIDE OPENING WITH TRANSFORMERS 3
CARS 2 CO-DIRECTOR TO DIRECT FOR DIGITAL DOMAIN'S TRADITION STUDIOS
NOLAN TO PRODUCE KEITH GORDON'S SUPERNATURAL THRILLER
WARNER RELEASES TOM AND JERRY: FUR FLYING ADVENTURES VOLUME 2