Digital Media: The New Age

Real-time Graphics and the Gaming World

rak5124 — Mon, 26 Apr 2010 02:34:58 +0000

The advances in real-time graphics research and development and the endless increase in power of modern GPUs and gaming consoles continue to generate innovative algorithms for fast, interactive rendering of complex and engaging worlds. Every year, the industry churns out the latest videos games with cutting edge graphics which display sophisticated algorithms for the latest in 3D rendering which pushes the boundaries of the visual and interactive experience of rich environments. With the internet, these algorithms are becoming more widely available, and easy to follow for the common man, allowing for the wider development of games for multiple platforms. In return, the industry acquires new workers with different experiences allowing for greater expansion and newer innovations. The cross pollination of knowledge for future games and other interactive applications is what drives the industry today.

Programs and languages such as OpenGL and Direct3D allow for open development of games, eliminating the need for specialized companies, opening the industry up for common development. The free movement of real-time graphics allows some one such as me to create games and applications for the iPhone or the Droid. Microsoft has opened up an online market for downloadable video games, which must be ultimately be approved by the Xbox Live division. I am currently involved in one of these projects, and it is very easy to get a professional product produced using the Microsoft XNA programming language and OpenGL for shading and rendering. Sony has done something similar with their online pipeline, except they run a programming language online which produces the graphics, voiding another language script such as OpenGL to have to be used to produce the HD graphics. This is impressive because it makes publishing games even easier, however the people at Sony are pretty specific about what they allow on their network. Nintendo had to join in the fun as well and created an online network for selling their games, but the graphics pipeline isn't nearly as high quality as the Xbox Live and Playstation network graphics.

Public access to real-time graphics algorithms allow for modern competition in the game industry. Without it, the drive for the industry would not exist.

Information System Technologies and the Art World

rak5124 — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 02:37:01 +0000

At the core of our daily lives is the internet. Email, Google, Facebook, Wikipedia, and blogs are incorporated into our hourly routines. But its what comprises these online activities that is the most important part. Databases and Networking are the keys to the development of practically every computer application in the modern world. The organization of data is so important, that if databases did not exist, the internet might not either.

One of the best examples of online databases is carfax.com. An amazing collection of information, Carfax is a company that collects data on used cars throughout the country. Instead of just the typical year, make, and model, Carfax collects more detailed information such as auto repair records, insurance records, accident records, and current vehical status information. Email systems are also great examples of databases. They organize information based on time and date received. They also allow the user to control how that information is organized. However internet databases range beyond the scope of just quantinized information, they can be applied to the art world as well.

Sites such as deviantart.org and conceptart.org organize and arrange the art of the sites’ users. But one of the best kept secrets in the digital art world is the Animation World Network (http://www.awn.com/). This is not just a site for drawings or animations, but an entire site dedicated to the professional digital art world. Anything involving art in the professional world, from the highly anticipated film Iron Man 2 to small time amateur films, AWN keeps the art world at bay with their intelligent analysis of everything digital.

Without databases, where would our art world be? Or possibly more importantly, how would we as the viewer be able to find and view?

Telecomm: An Industry In Reprise

rak5124 — Sun, 28 Mar 2010 21:57:23 +0000

Back in 1909, Guglielmo Marconi won the Noble Prize of Physics for developing the first wireless communication devices in the radio telegraph systems. These were the first transmissions of data through wireless electronic messages, laying the foundation for an industry that would become known as telecommunication. Quite simply put, telecommunication is the relaying of electronic messages through modern systems such as telephones, televisions, and the internet. The telecommunication industry rakes in almost $4 trillion a year, making it one of the largest, and most important industries in the world. But how does this industry and its digital technologies affect us?

Telecommunication has played a significant role in social relationships, life as would know it would just simply not exist. The industry drove the production of satellites for communication, which in turn allows the consumer to have cell-phones. Would any modern teenager be able to survive without a cell phone? Probably not. 3G networks such as AT&T and Verizon are both major players in the global network, providing service to consumers worldwide. These networks allow for the development of more complex social networking, such as application development and conference calling.

This is important for our culture because telecommunication has increased the consumer’s ability to access to music and film. With television, consumers can watch films they have not seen in the comfort of their own home, without having to travel to a video store or cinema. With the radio and the Internet, people can listen to music they have not heard before without having to travel to an outlet. The Internet is also the key player for social networking. Sites such as Facebook and Myspace would not exist, leaving our modern youth culture “lost,” as it would seem. However these sites allow for people to communicate with others around the world. This is actually an extremely positive effect because it allows for the spread of cultural experiences.

Probably the best and most prominant example of telecommunication is practice is through the company Cisco Systems. Cisco has been providing telecommunication services since the 80′s, however mostly to government and private contractors. Just recently however, Cisco started to provide products that could be accessed by the common consumer. Though expensive, their products can help with education and business communication throughout the world. As an example, here is the link to a recent commercial starring actress Ellen Paige (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Uz3wQRFbvg).

Telecommunications is an industry that drives new digital technologies to be produced everyday. Personally, my father has been in the industry since it was born. Starting off at AOL, then moving to Sprint, Marconi, Ericsson, and now Time Warner, I know how important the industry is to the digital world. Although many people don’t recognize it, without telecommunication, we truly would be lost as a society.

Application Domination

rak5124 — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 18:53:21 +0000

As digital technologies emerge and spread throughout the public, access to popular information is in high demand. Be it the weather, or the latest film trailer, the elderly and the young need a way of accessing the information that they want, when they want it. Modern cell phones, along with the internet, allow for this communication to be possible. However, where does the information come from? Introducing small breed applications, or most commonly referred to as “apps.”

These apps are the modern pinnacle of digital communications and media. Phones such as the HTC Droid and the iPhone have arguably created a new medium in the world of digital technologies. The interactive nature of the phones allow for complete user immersion. But its the applications that really set these phones onto a new level of digital media. Both phones use apps to perform most of their interactive operations.

While the phones have access to the internet, the app is what creates the connection. There are thousands of apps which provide information to anything the user would like. The New York Times app, the Facebook app, and the MySpace app allow an immediate connection to the precise digital world that the user wants to access, instead of searching for want the user wants through a search engine, such as the Google app. In terms of the art world, these apps can provide instant access to art the user wants, without sifting through something the user does not want. There are also apps that allow users to create content and art on the fly.

Perhaps more importantly, apps are user-created content. Developed by the common man, apps allow for the spread of information easily amongst those who do not typically have the power to do so. This creates a lot of room for the artist to spread their work, or create something new. The fact that apps are open to everyone allows for a large expansion in the digital world, and a new meaning of digital art.

Like Life

rak5124 — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 01:36:48 +0000

Realism is a major theme in the art world, especially in digital art. But in the digital world, realism is not only a theme, but it takes on a whole new meaning. One of the commodities of modern digital art is the ability to recreate life-like images. A decade ago, such art seemed out of reach, with the best CGI coming in console games. In today’s world, artist’s seamlessly integrate human and digital elements into the film and game industry.

One of the most inventive technological breakthroughs in realistic human representation actually came from a character, that was not human. Peter Jackson used motion capture technology to develop the character of Gollum in “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy. The technology was perfected in the later movies, specifically in the third installment, “The Return of the King.” Gollum was very well modeled, and the animation was already complete, thanks to motion capture. This made Gollum a believable character, instantaneously interacting with the other characters (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjPDAe_kTls).

Action movies are common outlets for integrating realistic CGI. “Spiderman” won at the oscars for best visual effects, because every action scene required a CGI version of Tobey MaGuire. However recently, “Terminator Salvation,” the fourth installment of the Terminator series, rendered a highly realistic version of the original terminator himself, Arnold Schwarzenegger (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aY57vJOQIlE). Not only did they take the years off “The Terminator”, but he looked just as beautiful as he did twenty years ago. Christian Bale was not a CGI model in this scene in which he fought the modeled Arnold, which was almost flawless.

Realism in digital art is not a theme, it is a way of life. As technology advances, CGI will take off, until everything becomes, like life.

The Basis: Computer Science

rak5124 — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 04:06:34 +0000

The modern digital age of art was founded upon the basis of intuitive, rebellious artists during the early 1900′s. These are the artists who started movements such as Dadaism and Fluxus. Artists such as Michael Duchamp used real life objects, called ready-mades, to portray his artistic vision into a 3-dimensional space. After the second World War, the Military Industrial Complex brought computer technology to the government and public worlds. In the 1960′s, Bell laboratories developed the C computer language, which allowed for a larger access to programming and development of the computer language. Just a few years later, Bell Labs did it again and officially released the C++ programming language. Although the language library was not standardized until 1999, C++ has proven to be the standard in computer programming throughout the world, allowing easier access to the mass public into the digital world. But how does this apply to the Digital Art world?

Computer Science is the foundation of digital art. Any form of digital art would not even be possible if it were not for the ones and zeroes behind the pixels. John Lasseter, former CEO of Pixar, pushed the limits of the digital technology in the 1980′s during his brief stint at Luacsfilm by asking developers for round surfaces in a polygonal world. Result? “The adventures of André and Wally B,” proved to a colossal development at the time in the creation of 3-dimensional digital image (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FcRM78fd9i0). Dr. Ed Catmull is a staple in the computer science community, for his breakthrough work in the graphic arts. Catmull created technologies such as texture mapping and wrote algorithms for anit-aliasing and, maybe most importantly, subdivision surfaces. Catmull was able to digitally map his left hand live using infrared sensors into his computer. Currently, Catmull is a President of Pixar, and was an integral part of developing the Academy Award winning RenderMan software, which is hailed for its photorealistic results produced in a 3D computer environment. The software has produced some of the most popular digital movies and effects in Hollywood today. So how can the modern undergraduate student apply this information?

The original digital drawing program was called Sketchpad, which believe it or not was developed my Catmull in the late 1970′s. Today, there are multiple drawing programs such as Paint (Microsoft), Pencil (http://www.pencil-animation.org/), and MyPaint (http://mypaint.intilinux.com/), which are all free software packages that one can download. However, an artist can not view the code behind the pixels. Thus I present to you Processing.

Processing is a basic, algebraic pixel mapping program. “Processing is an open source programming language and environment for people who want to program images, animation, and interactions.” Someone new to the computer science world can use this program to create lines, loops, planned graphics, and even unplanned graphics. Processing uses a simple programming language that is much like english, using terms that artists will understand, such as Draw, Curve, and Color. Processing can also produce 3-Dimensional objects, with a large amount of depth.

Computer Science is the for most technology in the digital art world. Without it, the digital world would be lost.

http://processing.org/

Check this out for beginners:

void setup()
{
  size(200, 200);
  stroke(255);
  noLoop();
}

float y = 100;

// The statements in draw() are run until the
// program is stopped. Each statement is run in
// sequence and after the last line is read, the first
// line is run again.

void draw()
{
  background(0);   // Set the background to black
  line(0, y, width, y);  

  y = y - 1;
  if (y < 0) {
    y = height;
  }
} 

void mousePressed()
{
  loop();
}

3-D Immersion: The movie technology of the future?

rak5124 — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 01:58:04 +0000

With every James Cameron film comes an awesome action-packed story and some great special effects. However with his latest film, “Avatar,” the Cameron crew was forced to invent new technologies, just to keep up with his out-of-this-world imagination and story, which by the way, had been written about 15 years ago, in the “dark ages.” While the “immersive environment” technology is not a new concept in the gaming world, it is very new in the film industry. More and more movies are being produced using the physical computing technology of 3-D projection, such as last years movies “UP,” “Final Destination,” and ” Cloudy with a chance of Meatballs.” Cameron took this already existing technology to a whole new level, with the goal in mind of making a completely immersive environment. From what I personally have experienced, he succeeded. But the question is, will this become the new standard for movie-making in Hollywood?

This is one of the hottest topics in not only the movie industry, but the art world at large.

As much as I love digital art and animation, I love movies more, and I would personally hate to see this technology succeed as James Cameron hopes it will. While it was cool, and allows for a broader development and imaginative landscaping, it just felt impersonal, and more like a really cool video game, not a movie.

Film critic Tom Long of the Detroit News reviewed the film, saying that the movie technology is the future of the industry (http://www.detnews.com/article/20091217/OPINION03/912170318/1034/ent02/Review—Avatar–sets-a-new-standard-for-blockbusters). There are many others who also agree that “Avatar” sets a new standard for the movie industry, as read on the critical site rottentomatoes.com (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/avatar/?critic=creamcrop#contentReviews). However I have recent examples of movies that accomplish the same objective, using “simpler” production techniques.

Johnny Depp starred alongside Christian Bale in the Michael Mann summer blockbuster, “Public Enemies.” While Michael Mann is known for simplistic production, it has also been greatly effective with movies like, “The Last of the Mohicans,” and, “Collateral.” Most of “Public Enemies” was shot on a Hollywood set or on location, and used live special effects, along with very little digital fabrication.

Recently released onto DVD, “The Hurt Locker” is the front runner for Best Picture at the Oscar’s. Ironically, the film was directed by Kathryn Bigelow, one of James Cameron’s ex-wives. The film was shot on location in either Iraq or Afghanistan, it is not quit clear which one, and used exclusively live special effects. Personally, this movie was much more engaging than Avatar. While the basic story line was a little less interesting, the screenplay was extremely well written, and I was on the edge of my seat throughout the entire film. With using the physical computing technology, Bigelow and her film crew executed the film almost perfectly. I felt like I was in the film with the soldiers. They were sweating, I was sweating. “The Hurt Locker” accomplished everything the technology in “Avatar” was supposed to, without all the digital fabrication, just some awesome cinematography.

While “Avatar” made a great technological advancement, there is no substitute for great cinematography and live visual effects. I do not see a future for the 3-d immersion technology in future Hollywood films, and I actually hope that it does not catch on.