Consider This

An interesting conundrum has been posed this morning. See 1 and 2.
With all the genius and ingenuity that this world has to offer, what do we do with it?  Or rather, how do I expend my efforts and utilize my knowledge? Just yesterday I was shown an iPhone app which records five seconds of footage and renders a missile explosion on top of the video you just recorded.  Entertaining?  Extremely. Worthwhile? Probably not.  Another example? "Adventure Time."
This blog is focused on visual effects and art as a medium, but introspectively: A medium for what? As a matter of personal principle as well as advice to colleagues and students, resolve today to determine to what end you will utilize your talents.  Just remember:
Mindless humor may be hilarious, but it's still mindless.

Chasm Gantt Gadget

Notes on Realism

As the BYU 2013 film Chasm is beginning, I'm digging into some of the awesome photorealistic work of which I know.  Here are some notes that I've taken and links to the videos.

Depth of Field done in post  - After Effects, Lenscare, $200

DoF and camera movement are critical to hyper-realism.

http://vimeo.com/user1337612 - Alex Roman, 3/7 http://vimeo.com/8200251 - Compositing - AE http://vimeo.com/8217700 - 3ds Max Shading, Rendering, Compositing	Linear Pans, Zooms, Strong DoF in post
http://vimeo.com/19789154 - Flying Fruits	Rapid DoF, Hand-held Camera shake
http://vimeo.com/14715111  - Classroom	Smooth motion, curved.

Process.

Existing Sketch up library model.

3ds Max

Vray Power Shader - default wood + tweaks. 3 of them. offset.

Concrete Texture Map

Photoshop + cgtextures.com (stained concrete)

randomize look and feel

bump mapped

Lighting/Rendering

Vray

Environment Light

Quadratic Anti-aliasing

Indoor, used skylights and free sky render for environment lighting.

Compositing

exported exr

A LOT of color correction and post exposure changes in AE

glow effect used for blown out lighting in ceiling

overlayed a color mask/correction image.

Brought into photoshop last.

AE plugin, Magic Bullet Looks 2, Red Giant, $300

Fleeting

As I was scrolling through stock photos on the stock exchange, which is a free stock photo website, I found this image.

Original

My first thought was, "Hey, that looks like a woman!"  So I decided to do an abstract photo-manip.  It didn't take me long, and I thought of taking it further, but I liked where it was at, so I decided it was done.

"Fleeting"

Some of you may not like the difference in perspective between the hips and the upper body, but I see meaning in it.  Any thoughts?

Logos...and not about Persuasion

So, I was putting in an application at a local company for an internship and decided that just for fun I'd play with a new logo and see what I came up with.  This is what came out of my messin' around.

Yes?  I very much like them.  (It's a Q, if you can't read Q's...)