rss - Jimmy - VFX/ AE/ Film/ Shake

聽說是世界上最舒服的椅子？
要價1,600美元（約新台幣52,400元）
But personally feel the look...still Aeron Chair better....

I really want to get one....

and some other info....

Thanks Trevor's info from pixar! nice balloon color in SSS/ highlight and shadow...

We all know abort D-sub/ DVI/ HDMI...etc, A new video interface just out....

DisplayPort currently supports a maximum of 10.8 Gbit/s data rate over a 3 metre cable.
The Dell 3008WFP 30-inch (76 cm), released in January 2008 was the first monitor to support DisplayPort.

Have you ever see the famous wasssssup beer CF? what happen 8 years later?

非常有創意的競選AD
Here is the old beer CF..

Set Etiquette
Most people in the entertainment business at one time or another have a problem with set etiquette. For a newcomer on a set it's like being dumped in a foreign country. The language alone is a struggle. For people moving up the ladder there are problems and even for old timers it's possible to loose ones bearings.

These are not elaborate theories, but are observations and opinions from many years working in the business. There are definitely different ways that things are done on the different sizeand types of shoots. Without a carefully defined structure a large shoot would be absolute chaos. On small shoots departmental lines can become blurred, but certain rules of etiquette still apply. A newcomer should consider all the rules until he is sure which ones apply.

Here are a dozen universal rules for any set:

1. Show up a bit early for the call.

2. Be polite. Use please and thanks.

3. Let people do their job.

4. Be humble.

5. Ask questions about assignments if in doubt.

6. Watch what's going on in YOUR department.

7. Make your superior look good.

8. Don't embarrass anyone.

9. Don't be a "hero".

10.Listen very carefully before you leap.

11.Learn and use peoples names.

12.Work hard and willingly.

More......

感謝Zard提供的maya 2008 mental ray mia_material sample!

SoftImage命運再次變動, 從以前的Microsoft到Avid再到Autodesk以$35 million買下了SoftImage....

first create two local value: 經度"longitude" and 緯度"latitude" in an Imult node

in Imult's RGB channel type control math below:
R channel: sind(longitude)*cosd(latitude)
G channel: sind(latitude)
B channel: cosd(latitude)*cosd(longitude)

than connect normal pass at Imult 's foreground, then you can easy relighting your CG object by adjusting longitude/ latitude in shake!

Big Picture always give me lots amazing images! In the "Days of Autumn" collection, not only just recall me lots Fall season memory in NY, but also learn something that I never know before....




Thanks xieijay's info : 那些照片是"水收"時的照片,將水導入果園收成的方法, wow! very smart and interesting way to collect cranberries...

Stu最近發表一篇文章關於AE+Premiere Pro+Bridge = Autodesk Flame/ Inferno

What the beauty of Earth from Above................
This photo art show also traveled to Taipei years ago....in my memory!

Lots good references here and also...

Jenny Chen: Fluid Explorations
Opening Reception
Oct 15 (Wed) 6-8pm

Taipei Cultural Center
1 East 42nd Street, New York

Tao is the way or the path, the journey that we take in relation to nature, where nature and the human soul connect, where there are no real differences, no distinctions, only the way of nature revealing itself in all actions, perpetually striving to find balance in the universe and within the human soul. This idea, founded by the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu in the sixth century before the Christian era, has also played an important part in Chinese painting over the centuries, including the present century. Jenny Chen is connected to this idea as revealed in all aspects of her work. Therefore, the facile connection to Western art is perhaps more an affinity than a real influence. The fact that we can see in her work the gestures and marks of abstract expressionism does not mean that he work is a simulation. Instead I would argue for the originality in the paintings of Jenny Chen, especially in terms of where she has taken these ideas in the current exhibition.

For the Taipei Cultural Center , the artist began thinking in terms of casting. The use of transparent overlays in the video film inspired this concept to some degree. Initially Chen started working with small rectilinear blocks in which the fields of grey, black, and white were layered and overlaid differently with each casting. These blocks or modules are generally equal in size so that when they were placed side by side the textural depth of each interior form became explicit in the same way that it might appear on paper after making a calligraphic brushstroke. The major difference, of course, between paper and resin is the liquidity of the material and the precise timing that is necessary in order for the form to evolve before the next layer is applied. Given that the use of epoxy requires the artist to wear a mask for respiratory protection, there is some limitation in terms of physical mobility that is not the same as using a brush on paper. The experience of doing the work and remaining alert to the kind of precision and intuition necessary to allow the form to evolve requires a subtle shift in thinking through the process of the work.

There is a kind of intuition involved in the realization of these liquid forms, an intuition that is never exactly predictable. Even so, a trained calligrapher and painter, such as Ms. Chen, can use these accidental effects to her advantage. Limitations in one’s material or work process do not necessarily imply inhibition. It is quite the opposite. As Taoist masters understand, the recognition of one’s limitations can become a source of great energy. We cannot assume to know everything consciously as we engage in the process of art. Much of what happens will happen because desire is put aside, and we awake to the energy that is truly within us. In the West what we may call “accidental” is not at all accidental to the Chinese painter. What happens in the process of painting, regardless of the medium – ink on painter or acrylic on resin – has its own logic, a logic that relates directly to the process of nature.

...Art is the mind of nature, and what we are seeing in these works is the vibration of a moment in time, a moment whereby we return to ourselves. By returning to ourselves we come into the space of existence through the art of meditation.

Excerpt from Jenny Chen: Art as the Mind of Nature, catalogue essay by Robert C. Morgan

歡迎大家踴躍參與喔!^_^
台灣喜愛動畫的朋友們:

國際知名策展人/動畫導演 Sharon Wu 又將回台，並將在台北市南海藝廊舉行兩場特映會；她將帶來最新、最炫的動畫作品，讓大家看得過癮!!!

09/26 Fri. 20:00 動畫講座：動漫遊嘻 主講人：策展人/動畫導演 Sharon Wu NT.100

一堆嘻笑怒駡的動畫短片, 一場創意喜劇的盛宴.

10/05 Sun. 15:00 動畫講座：另翼製作—新生動畫祭 NT.100

精選近年全世界各大動畫學院的學生動畫影片，與國內觀眾分享, 一同觀摩, 一同學習.

預約購票：
1.電洽 0921955269 盈方
2. 親至 南海藝廊 北市重慶南路二段19巷3號 02-23925080

Video Gamma:
因為log色彩空間根本看起來就不自然, 有人說它是一個糟透的色彩空間去工作大概一點也不奇怪. 但是還有另一種色彩空間我們天天會碰到, 它已經跟隨著整個電腦使用歷史,你根本不會覺得有甚麼問題在這種色彩空間下工作,它就是你的電腦螢幕video色彩空間.

妳可能毫無疑問認為在8位元的128(0~255)數值就是黑與白的中間值. 所以製作一個中灰就是全白的一半亮度,對吧！但當你知道其實上述是錯的你可能會大吃一驚！ 其實真正的128數值是要比你印象中的中灰還要暗的許多,甚至在大部分螢幕上顯示128數值還不到全白的 1/4亮度！

在某種系統中"一半的輸入,且給你一半的輸出"我們稱這種系統為"直線性"系統, 但然而螢幕(就像許多真實世界裡的東西)它並不是直線性的, 當一個系統不是直線性(曲線性)的時候,你可以說它是gamma功能的行為模式



Output=input的gamma次方且0<=input<=1, 在此功能下運作,在最暗與最亮數值.(0.0與1.0)的數值是永遠被鎖定的,並且gamma數值就是定義在最暗(0.0)到最亮(1.0)之間的轉化運算行為. 優良的套裝應用程序的gamma可以被套用不同的gamma數值彼此平衡計算在一起,透過套用gamma與1/gamma一起數學運算是彼此相互平衡抵消, 結果是甚麼也沒作用, 還有gamma 1.0就是直線性色彩概念. 在以往Mac螢幕有gamma 1.8與PC螢幕的gamma 2.2, 但真正的重點是說明你的螢幕對於較低亮度的輸入電壓是反應較遲緩的 , 以致造成陰暗影像結果. 但數位影像在螢幕上沒有變暗的原因就是數位影像被反向gamma功能作用著,在數位相機/數位錄影機拍攝時用gamma 0.4545夾入數位影像, 所以在還沒有顯示在任何螢幕上時就先把數位影像所有pixel弄亮許多.



是的！所有的數位都有這一段pre-gamma動作,因為video gamma新組譯的色彩空間不是給合成用的色彩空間,若直接拿這些顯示在螢幕上的(pre-gamma 0.4545)的數位影像用來做合成會引發許多無法控制的問題, 類似log的組譯, video gamma的組譯在較暗區域有更多的層次, 所以video gamma有它特別著重(暗)的部份, 同理之, video gamma跟log的cineon檔案一樣, 要合成前都要先進行色彩空間轉換.

關於gamma問題,妳可能已經一個頭兩個大, 下列還有一些有關gamma應用的地方也一起提出討論.
1: 妳可能有用過攝影學上的灰度卡, 我們大家都知道是18%中灰卡, 但為甚麼不是50%灰卡呢？如果妳問你的攝影學老師,他(她)可能會"hmmm...!? 那是一個很複雜的問題"

2: 雖然我已提到螢幕使用gamma 2.2會把數位影像弄暗, 但為甚麼在電腦中所做出來的 gray scale ramp(灰度漸層)沒有看起來被弄的很暗呢？ 而且50%灰度在螢幕上看起來就像50%灰啊!?

上述原因就是我們人類眼睛也是以非直線性的色彩方式來看世界(天啊！), 其實人類眼睛的gamma 0.4545正好相互抵消把螢幕變暗的gamma 2.2,換言之人類眼睛會把世界萬物影像看的比實際亮度還要亮很多, 還有人眼的gamma 0.4545是非常敏感對於弱光線,在暗部影像有很好的判斷能力,但對於亮部高光的敏感度判斷力都比較弱.

所以被螢幕弄暗的50%中灰顏色光線進入我們的肉眼 ,肉眼gamma 0.4545又把它拉亮起來(此回答第2問題中50%灰度在螢幕上看起來就像50%灰, 且軟體的特效色彩運作是以直線性數學概念), 所以！如果你刷了一個灰色漆在牆上,其實眼睛看起來它會比真實世界色彩要亮！所以真實世界的萬物其實要比你眼睛看起來還要暗的許多呈現著！ 沒錯！我們都錯了一輩子 , 而且已習慣錯了(此回答第1問題中為甚麼18%的暗灰色是中灰的概念, 因為你所看的18%灰是在螢幕的gamma 2.2作用之下變暗的,若你的螢幕可以切換到gamma 1.0或透過應用軟體LUT去看18%暗灰會變成你所熟悉的中灰).

Oh!回到那18%灰的問題,請試著套用我們的gamma 0.4方程式回到18%暗灰上面, 所以0.18的0.4次方等於0.504 TaDa.......!
沒錯！現在是中灰,所以用18%灰卡進行攝影測光所得建議曝光數值所拍下的照片曝光亮度是較為人眼看世界萬物進行時進入大腦印象相符合的！我想你的攝影學老師應該非常清楚的！ hmmmm.....


這裡有篇關於gamma的迷惑, 希望用另一種不同角度去看gamma的存在, 也許會容易些....XD, I hope...

Adobe在兩天前發表了全系列CS4產品.....yes! After Effects CS4, too


After Effects CS4 新功能介紹

我快速掃瞄一下新功能比較吸引我的是: After Effects的tracking engine終於自AE 6.5 pro的"2d 點"追蹤運算模式, 進步成Imagineer Systems Mocha的"3d 立體面(2.5D)"追蹤運算模式...wow...I was waiting for this for long...(Adobe只要有寫不出的, 就買XD!...like Keylight and Color Finesse)...
還有支援Photoshop 3D Layers與Separate XYZ Position

check it out....