United Visual Artists: Deus – the seductive quality of artificial light in the natural world

From United Visual Artists:

Deus is a photographic exploration of the seductive quality of artificial light in the natural world. This body of work grew from an extended study of form and experiments on how a powerfully illuminated presence affects the surrounding environment. As urban dwellers we are attuned to illuminated space; so with Deus we decided that all of the post-industrial natural locations we explored would be devoid of this artifice. The work can be read as a deadpan comment on the sleight of hand inherent in all ‘worship’.

Exhibition runs from the June 3rd – 27th 2009
The Smithfield Gallery, London

art, nature, photography — Annie Ok on 6.25.09 at 3:11 pm

WE ARE AUTOBOTS: Transformers Augmented Reality

Announcing WE ARE AUTOBOTS -- Transformers Augmented Reality!

From the official press release:

To promote the international release of TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, Paramount Pictures International (PPI) is making ground-breaking use of augmented reality (AR) and face tracking technology to give Transformers fans the opportunity to picture themselves with the original 3D CGI head of legendary Autobot leader Optimus Prime.

Visitors to ‘We Are Autobots’ (http://www.weareautobots.com) can also find a hidden message from Bumblebee featuring an exclusive montage of Decepticon footage from the new movie. TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN is released in the UK and Ireland on June 19th and internationally on June 24th 2009.

‘We Are Autobots’ has been developed using the original 3D models of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee that appear in the film. It was developed for PPI by creative marketing agency Picture Production Company (PPC), working in conjunction with augmented reality specialists Total Immersion.

Annie Ok, TRANSFORMERS, augmented reality, design, film, sci-fi, tech, toys, video, virtual — Annie Ok on 6.16.09 at 2:24 pm

interesting 6.14.09

interesting 6.7.09

HOME a film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand: environmental documentary with spectacular aerial views of 54 countries


HOME (Trailer)

HOME a film by Yann Arthus-Bertrand

Produced by Luc Besson
Narrated by Glenn Close

From National Geographic:

This visually dramatic special illustrates the planet’s fragile state entirely from a birds-eye view in stunning high definition. With spectacular aerial views from more than 50 countries, viewers will see the extent of human impact on our landscapes. And not a moment too soon: In the past 50 years --a single lifetime — the Earth has been more radically changed than by all previous generations of humanity.

From HOME:

A hymn for the planet

HOME is an ode to the planet’s beauty and its delicate harmony. Through the landscapes of 54 countries captured from above, Yann Arthus-Bertrand takes us on an unique journey all around the planet, to contemplate it and to understand it. But HOME is more than a documentary with a message, it is a magnificent movie in its own right. Every breathtaking shot shows the Earth -- our Earth -- as we have never seen it before. Every image shows the Earth’s treasures we are destroying and all the wonders we can still preserve. “From the sky, there’s less need for explanations”. Our vision becomes more immediate, intuitive and emotional. HOME has an impact on anyone who sees it. It awakens in us the awareness that is needed to change the way we see the world. (HOME embraces the major ecological issues that confront us and shows how everything on our planet is interconnected.)

Synopsis

In 200,000 years on Earth, humanity has upset the balance of the planet, established by nearly four billion years of evolution. The price to pay is high, but it is too late to be a pessimist: humanity has barely ten years to reverse the trend, become aware of the full extent of its spoliation of the Earth’s riches and change its patterns of consumption.

Watch the full movie online:
http://www.youtube.com/homeproject

activism, animals, art, education, environment, film, nature, video — Annie Ok on 6.7.09 at 12:30 pm

TRANSFORMERS in PlayStation Home

Announcing TRANSFORMERS in PlayStation Home!

From The Picture Production Company:

To promote the release of TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, Paramount Pictures International (PPI) and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced the release of a selection of Transformers merchandise, available exclusively through a virtual treasure hunt in Home.

A variety of T-Shirts and a unique ‘Autobot Trophy’ will be rewarded to residents who embark on the ‘Transformers Quest’.  This activity continues PPI’s commitment to take innovative film marketing within online virtual communities to the next level. TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN, directed by Michael Bay, is due to release internationally on June 24th this year.

Starting today, Home residents can begin the quest by finding the Transformers theatrical poster, placed at a few points throughout the public spaces in Home. Another will succeed this poster and targeting it will launch the first in a series of games that will be released over the coming days and weeks. The completion of each game will deliver a unique voucher code, which can be redeemed for an exclusive piece of Transformers merchandise.  More information about the game can be found on the PlayStation EU Forum.

Home residents can already watch the TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN trailer in the Home Cinema and this treasure hunt will take Transformers to all corners of PlayStation Home.

Both companies are again working with marketing agency, The Picture Production Company (PPC), heavily experienced in film promotion and marketing within virtual worlds and across the wider social web, on strategic direction, original content production and promotion.

Home is a 3D social gaming community that allows PLAYSTATION®3 users to meet, chat, plan, and launch into games together. They can create their own custom avatar, decorate their personal apartment, play mini-games, shop, watch videos and attend special events.

Annie Ok, MMO, TRANSFORMERS, film, gaming, sci-fi, social, tech, virtual, virtual worlds — Annie Ok on 6.5.09 at 12:18 pm

Xbox unveils Project Natal: controller-free gaming with full body motion tracking, voice commands, & facial recognition

From Microsoft Xbox:

Unveiled for the first time to the public was “Project Natal,” pronounced “nuh-tall” and a code name for a revolutionary new way to play, no controller required. See a ball? Kick it, hit it, trap it or catch it. If you know how to move your hands, shake your hips or speak, you and your friends can jump into the fun. The only experience needed is life experience.

Compatible with any Xbox 360 system, the “Project Natal” sensor is the world’s first to combine an RGB camera, depth sensor, multi-array microphone, and custom processor running proprietary software all in one device. Unlike 2-D cameras and controllers, “Project Natal” tracks your full body movement in 3-D, while responding to commands, directions and even a shift of emotion in your voice.

“The next step in interactive entertainment is to make the controller disappear,” said Steven Spielberg, visionary director and producer. “With ‘Project Natal,’ we’ll see games that bring everyone together through technology that actually recognizes us.”

2009 Project Natal Announcement:

Steven Spielberg and Xbox Project Natal:

Xbox Project Natal Ricochet Stage Demo:

Xbox Project Natal Painting Demo:

Xbox Project Natal Milo Demo by Peter Molyneux of Lionhead Studios:

augmented reality, design, gaming, tech, video, virtual — Annie Ok on 6.1.09 at 3:24 pm

interesting 5.31.09

Google Wave: new tool for communication & collaboration on the web – shared, live, equal parts conversation & document

From Google Wave:

Google Wave is a new model for communication and collaboration on the web, coming later this year.

What is a wave?

A wave is equal parts conversation and document. People can communicate and work together with richly formatted text, photos, videos, maps, and more.

A wave is shared. Any participant can reply anywhere in the message, edit the content and add participants at any point in the process. Then playback lets anyone rewind the wave to see who said what and when.

A wave is live. With live transmission as you type, participants on a wave can have faster conversations, see edits and interact with extensions in real-time.

Google Wave Developer Preview at Google I/O 2009:

Google Wave: Live collaborative editing:

Google Wave: Natural Language Processing:

communication, design, tech, tools — Annie Ok on 5.28.09 at 1:09 pm

Jeff Crouse & Aaron Meyers: The World Series of ‘Tubing – augmented reality YouTube War card game with live audience interaction

The World Series of ‘Tubing is a collaborative project by Eyebeam Senior Fellow Jeff Crouse and Aaron Meyers.

From Jeff Crouse:

YouTube War is an augmented reality card game that is played in front of a live audience. Before each game, in an offstage bullpen, two players select seven videos that make up their initial hand. They are each given a special YouTube War visor and 7 YouTube War cards.  Each card is custom-printed with the YouTube War logo on the back and a YouTube player frame on the front.  A special marker is in each frame that can be detected by the webcam mounted above the table. The players take their seats at a poker table and and look into their private monitor, where they see their 7 videos playing on their cards. An announcer introduces each player and asks them some questions about their life, a la Jeopardy.

The player who loses the coin toss (Player A) puts down the first card. On a large projection behind the players, the video plays on Player A’s as if it were attached. Player A then draws another card from the deck, which plays a random YouTube video which they can see in her private monitor.  Player B then chooses and throws down one of his cards, which also plays in the large projection, and draws a card from the deck. At that point, there is a 10 second pause as the audience members cast their vote (using audience response paddles) for which video is better.  These paddles will either be rented, bought, or borrowed from a group such as nTag.

Whoever wins the audiences approval takes the 2 cards and puts them in a discard pile on their side.  This process repeats until the deck is gone.  Whoever has the most cards at the end is the winner.

During the game, commentators provide a running commentary on the game much like during a football or World Series of Poker game. Hopefully we will have time to integrate some cool motion graphics stuff to present stats, biographical info, etc.

We will set up a tournament tree at the beginning of the evening and play through until we find a winner.

Jeff Crouse previously created YouThreebe (You3b), an online tool where users can create triptychs of YouTube videos and share them with their friends.

Aaron Meyers also created YouCube:

It allows you to map YouTube videos onto an interactive 3D cube and then save it to a database so you can show your friends. As you spin around a YouCube, the sounds of the different videos fade in and out.

art, augmented reality, gaming, tech, tools, video, virtual — Annie Ok on 5.27.09 at 9:43 am
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