Jan
09
10 Hours of Low Level White Noise
Posted in: Animation
10 Hours of Low Level White Noise
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http://little-scale.blogspot.com.au/
Jan
09
Iloura creates ravaging rhinos and CG helicopters in ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’
Posted in: Animation
In Sony Pictures’ Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, a group of teens find themselves inside a high-stakes jungle battle where beating the game is a matter of survival. Iloura served as a principal VFX facility for the film, with contributions including the albino rhino sequence in which the heroes – played by Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Jack Black, and Karen Gillan – become trapped in a ravine after their helicopter is damaged and must find a way to outrun a herd of stampeding rhinos.
Iloura VFX supervisor Glenn Melenhorst explained, “The ravine environment was completely CG, and in terms of sheer assets it was astounding. We had millions and millions of pebbles, boulders, trees, leaf litter, and so on, and every single element was built and rendered. We ran ground interaction simulations to determine how each individual asset would behave both in relation to the stampede and to the chopper blades kicking things up; plus we did simulations on dust swirling up from the ground and smoke rising from the chopper and coiling around the blades. And on top of these millions of environmental elements, we also had fully CG rhinos, a fully CG helicopter, and often, digital doubles of the cast.”
Working closely with director Jake Kasdan and production VFX supervisor Jerome Chen to achieve the look, Melenhorst and team designed the ravine to contrast the jungle setting seen in most of the film. A dry riverbed filled with crumbling rocks and decaying trees, the ravine offers a darker location. Through a combination of live action footage including a helicopter from the Hawaii-based set, and the cast sitting in a gimbal in the studio, the artists digitally recreated the helicopter’s exterior and interior, and created digital doubles of the leads as needed. The team built its own digital doubles to achieve the fidelity required for close-up shots.
Iloura animation supervisor Nicholas Tripodi led the team in developing the look and behaviour of the rhinos. Using real world rhinos as reference, artists ultimately created a hybrid look that incorporated elements from various rhino species, plus some creative liberties to fit within the fantastic video game world of the film.
“We worked with Jake and Jerome to refine the look of the albino rhinos, iterating on particular details such as the armour-like plating of their skin, and how white their skin should be,” explained Tripodi. “It was also a big challenge to nail the rhinos’ movements – to realistically keep up with the helicopter, even flying at the slowest speeds, we had to make the rhinos run about three or four times faster than they would in reality. It was a balancing act to achieve that speed while still conveying the heaviness of the animals and making it feel authentic.”
In addition to the rhino stampede, the studio also created VFX for the transitions in and out of the video game world, a CG waterfall and jungle set extensions, a digital matte painting for the reveal of Berber City, and CG creatures including a vulture that appears across several shots.
The post Iloura creates ravaging rhinos and CG helicopters in ‘Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle’ appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Jan
09
Tara Kemes
Cinesite Studios has announced the appointment of Tara Kemes as general manager of its feature animation studio in Vancouver. Kemes, who takes over from Nicole Stinn, will be responsible for the overall management of the studio and will report directly to Cinesite Group CEO Antony Hunt.
As general manager, Kemes will combine years of industry experience with a thorough understanding of what is required to execute Cinesite’s production commitments. She will oversee the continued expansion and strengthen Cinesite’s profile within British Columbia.
Kemes commented, “I feel privileged to join the growing team in Vancouver at such an exciting time as they take on top-tier projects, and I look forward to creating a fulfilling and supportive environment for all and playing a key role in the studio’s continuing success.”
Kemes started her industry career at Mainframe. She then worked as recruitment manager in the video game industry for Canada’s Relic Entertainment and Nexon, among others, before re-joining the new Rainmaker Entertainment in 2009 to build the team for its first animated feature film, Escape from Planet Earth. Until 2017, she continued at Rainmaker, taking on the new role of VP, culture and talent and spearheading the company’s commitment to a strong workplace community and the development and expansion of its creative and technical teams. She has continued to demonstrate her passion for nurturing talent throughout her professional career by teaching part-time at the Vancouver Film School.
Added Hunt, “Tara’s extensive operational experience and instincts for developing talent strikes that special leadership balance; I know that we’re going to benefit greatly from having her on board to continue our focus on the needs of our clients and crew.”
Launching under the Cinesite brand in March 2017 with a core staff of 65, Cinesite Studios’ Vancouver facility now has close to 100 employees, with plans to continue expanding to 200 artists as The Addams Family for MGM remains under production.
The post Cinesite Studios appoint Tara Kemes as GM of Vancouver animation facility appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Jan
09
Nazara Technologies today acquired a majority stake in Chennai based NextWave Multimedia.
NextWave multimedia is a mobile gaming company that predominately focuses on developing casual and multi-player mobile games in sports genre with over 100 million downloads in the last seven years. NextWave owns the IP of the most popular mobile cricket game in India – World Cricket Championship (WCC)
With acquisition of NextWave, Nazara, strengthens its portfolio of offerings in the virtual interactive sports genre in India and other emerging markets. The NextWave acquisition comes after Nazara’s investments in MasterMind Sports, Moong Labs and more recently HalaPlay.
Commenting on the new partnership Nazara Games CEO Manish Agarwal said, “Nazara has been on the lookout for gaming companies which have established strong leadership in the sports genre. NextWave offers a strong promise of dominating the space globally with its massive large fan base of over approx. 15 million monthly active users and very strong product offering.”
Massive popularity of WCC franchise offers Nazara an ideal platform for ushering in VR Arcades (virtual reality) and launching m sports around cricket in India. Nazara ‘s partnership with cricket IPs like Virat Kohli and Royal Challengers Bangalore will further help NextWave augment the brand WCC among Indians worldwide.
According to Nextwave CEO P.R. Rajendran “The complementary skill sets of NextWave and Nazara and the synergy in between is sure to accelerate growth of Nextwave in coming years.”
He further adds, “Nazara’s expertise in creating scalable and profitable business models around consumer transactions globally will give us the needed impetus to grow along with them.”
Nextwave’s World Cricket Championship has been built over many years. The game engine is proven and has huge feature sets which will form a strong base for building future versions of the game currently under development
Industry data by AppAnnie report lists World Cricket Championship 2 among the top 10 games in India in terms of time spent playing the game and number of monthly active users alongside the top global titles
In 2017, WCC2 made it to Google Play’s ‘Editor’s Choice’. The game also made it to the best games and apps for the year listing consecutively for 2015, 2016 and 2017 on Google play. WCC franchise with its twin game offering has over approx. 15 million monthly active users as of Nov 2017.
The post Nazara Technologies acquires a majority stake in NextWave Multimedia appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Jan
09
A surprise announcement was made by Facebook-owned Oculus’s VP head of VR, Hugo Barra about two brand new headsets that are both much more affordable and will have high-end hardware installed. To make this possible, Oculus has teamed up with Xiaomi to create the Oculus Go and Mi VR standalone headsets. The announcement was made during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2018, and seems to have been well received by the public.
The two headsets Oculus GO and Mi VR standalone are being made by Xiaomi which is China’s biggest smartphone maker.
Both headsets have similar specs, but the Mi VR standalone is specifically designed for use in China, where as the Oculus Go will be available to users all over the world. The estimated price for the Oculus Go will be $199 which is approximately Rs 12,659.
Both headsets will use the Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 system with WQHD LED screen and “Next Generation” lenses. Apart from this the two companies aren’t revealing much about the hardware used in the headsets. At the moment no specific date has been announced for the release or changes in the price since the initial announcement made in 2017, but we do anticipate a reveal regarding the same from either of the companies.
Another interesting feature is that neither the Oculus Go nor the Mi VR will require access to a computer or phone for them to function. Since it’s a standalone device, it may have the capacity to run any VR game or application and in most cases it’s a cheaper option compared to the well known Samsung Gear VR and others.
The post Oculus and Xiaomi team up to launch new standalone VR headsets at CES 2018 appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Jan
09
HTC VIVE today at CES announced Vive Pro and Vive Wireless Adaptor. In addition, the company debuted new improvements in how VR users discover, experience and acquire VR content through revamp of Viveport VR and Vive Video. These advancements are in the likes of delivering on VR users’ desire for higher resolution, improved audio, greater comfort, wireless freedom and immersive content discovery.
Vive Pro
The upgraded new HMD, Vive Pro, includes dual-OLED displays for a crisp picture resolution of 2880 x 1600 combined, a 78 per cent increase in resolution over the current Vive HMD.
Vive Pro also features integrated, high-performance headphones with a built-in amplifier to offer a heightened sense of presence and an overall richer sound. Additional improvements include dual microphones with active noise cancellation and dual front-facing cameras.
“There’s a clear need in the VR market for a premium VR experience with high resolution display, integrated audio and the best components available today in a headset,” said Vive GM U.S.A Daniel O’Brien. “Vive Pro offers an immediate upgrade for both VR enthusiasts and enterprises that want to utilize the best VR experience.”
Vive Wireless Adaptor
Also unveiled today, the Vive Wireless Adaptor will be the first to market with a truly wireless VR headset integration for both Vive and Vive Pro.
The Vive Wireless Adaptor features Intel’s WiGig technology that operates in the interference-free 60Ghz band, which promises lower latency and better performance. The Vive Wireless Adaptor will ship in Q3 to customers worldwide.
“Wireless VR has been on nearly every VR user’s wishlist since the technology was unveiled,” said Intel Corporation GM VR Group, Frank Soqui. “By collaborating with HTC to commercialize Intel’s WiGig technology, we will guarantee that wireless VR meets the most discerning quality bar for home users and business VR customers.”
Viveport VR
Instead of a traditional 2D catalog, Viveport VR content is delivered in fully immersive interactive previews. Viveport is embracing a VR first approach by including VR enabled “VR Previews,” which are interactive glimpses of content that give customers a room-scale preview of an experience and the opportunity to interact with content before purchasing or subscribing.
“Viveport is moving to a VR first experience model, and with the all-new Viveport VR, we are changing the way consumers discover, experience and acquire VR content,” said Viveport president Rikard Steiber “Until now, there has not been a shopping and browsing experience that takes advantage of the full functionality of VR. Available in early access today, Viveport VR increases interaction with content and offers developers a preview that showcases the quality of their titles and experiences.”
The post HTC reveals Vive Pro and Vive Wireless Adaptor appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Jan
09
Most people will have heard of slot games and a lot of people will have played them too. They’re huge business in an industry that’s worth trillions. When it comes to online casinos, you’ll be hard pushed to find any worth their salt, that don’t offer a selection of slot games for its visitors to enjoy. Nowadays slot games come with action packed game play, stunning visuals and animations as well as impressive audio. The animations in Rainbow Riches are a prime example of this but what goes into developing an online slot?
It’s far from a simple process developing an online slot that is ready to hit the mass market. There are many stages that have to take place before the final product is ready for people to actually play. There has to be a reason and a target for creating the game in the first place, then there’s the research that goes into finding out whether or not it’s possible and whether it’s likely to be a success. After that comes the actual planning and development stage before the final design is produced and then released.
The whole process usually takes around a year from going from being an idea to being released into the public domain for use. There are numerous people involved too, usually around a dozen. There’s the game designer, the creative team and front-end developers to name just a few, so it’s a highly complex process to be involved with from start to finish. Every game produced is different but certain mechanics and frameworks are transferred over to streamline the creation of a new product.
So the first step is always to try and come up with an initial concept that is discussed at length before the concept becomes set in stone for the creative team to get to work on. It’s their job to find a way to make the concept appealing to players, in order to attract them to play in the first place. The creative team will ensure that every aspect is covered, even down to the smallest detail. This includes everything from the fonts and colours used throughout each area of the game
Then it’s over to the developers who will get to work on bringing the whole project from ideas on paper to life. The developers are responsible for producing the animations that make slot games what they are. This covers the reels spinning, the background animations and of course the bonus rounds and special features. This is potentially the make or break section of creating an online slot game as it’s the animations and game play that really attract players or put them off.
Don’t forget the vital inclusion of the random number generator and the whole testing process either. The RNG is responsible for deciding the outcomes of every spin, every millisecond, of every day. It does this in real time so the results are never pre-determined meaning that every spin is fair. Once the game is tested successfully, it is then ready for release to online casinos. Its success is usually down to how well the whole process has gone but ultimately it’s the player who decides.
The post What goes into developing an online slot? appeared first on AnimationXpress.
Jan
08
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Jan
08
ICYMI: Lucky Holidays by Parabella
Posted in: Animation
In case you missed it, enjoy this amazing animation by Parabella which is guaranteed to warm even the coldest of hearts.
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