News Stories

Get your own custom 3D-printed doll in Makielabs' public alpha

5.25.2012

[wired]

A startup called Makielab is hoping to disrupt the toy market by 3D-printing customised dolls to your exact specifications and offering an identical online avatar doppelganger. Or dollpelganger.

“Makies is currently what looks like an action-figure builder, but it’s a bit more than that,” explains Alice Taylor, CEO of the company and former commissioning editor for education at Channel 4, in an email to Wired.co.uk. “While Makies means a customer can come and build and create the action doll of their choosing, they also get an avatar version too, which happens to be standing in a 3D space. Stuff that you do digitally will result in physical unlockables, and vice versa.”

Taylor has been experimenting with the idea of dolls that can talk to the web for some time. In early 2000, she set up stortroopers.com, which allowed users to build Creative Commons-licensed avatars on the web. A decade later,  …

 

However, she cautions that 3D printing shouldn’t be seen as the future of manufacturing. Neither of the two main types of 3D printing are as cheap, fast or produce as smooth a finish as injection moulding. Nor can they cope with the range of colours often required in toys. “So 3D printing is not exactly ready to replace injection moulding today,” says Taylor. “And won’t be until it can compete head to head with those factors — speed, price, colours. Our action dolls are made in London, and we send a batch of faces to print and have them back within four days. In the future, with our own machines, it’ll be same-day stuff. Boy is that an exciting thought.” …

See the full story here: http://www.wired.co.uk/news/archive/2012-05/24/makies

See the full story here:

What A Show! China's Movie Theaters Have Improved Dramatically

5.25.2012

[NPR]

… To get to the box office, you had to walk through a Hershey’s store, which the kids thought was a great idea.

The theater’s concession stand was limited: mostly bottled water and sweet popcorn. But the theater itself was great: stadium seating, assigned seats, three-story screen and English with Chinese sub-titles. During the opening credits, lots of people continued to text on their phones, but once the action began the audience seemed gripped.

The ticket price was a crushing $25 a pop (vs. about $12 for a 3D IMAX movie in Washington, D.C., according to Fandango), but the theater was nearly 90 percent full for a 5:20 show on a Friday evening. The experience was as good as anything you would find in a Western, post-industrial country and probably better than some. …

See the full story here: http://www.northcountrypublicradio.org/news/npr/153687271/what-a-show-china-s-movie-theaters-have-improved-dramatically

< PREVIOUS ARTICLES NEXT ARTICLES >

Specification for Naming VFX Image Sequences Released

ETC’s VFX Working Group has published a specification for best practices naming image sequences such as plates and comps. File naming is an essential tool for organizing the multitude of frames that are inputs and outputs from the VFX process. Prior to the publication of this specification, each organization had its own naming scheme, requiring custom processes for each partner, which often resulted in confusion and miscommunication.

The new ETC@USC specification focuses primarily on sequences of individual images. The initial use case was VFX plates, typically delivered as OpenEXR or DPX files. However, the team soon realized that the same naming conventions can apply to virtually any image sequence. Consequently, the specification was written to handle a wide array of assets and use cases.

To ensure all requirements are represented, the working group included over 2 dozen participants representing studios, VFX houses, tool creators, creatives and others.  The ETC@USC also worked closely with MovieLabs to ensure that the specification could be integrated as part of their 2030 Vision.

A key design criteria for this specification is compatibility with existing practices.  Chair of the VFX working group, Horst Sarubin of Universal Pictures, said: “Our studio is committed to being at the forefront of designing best industry practices to modernize and simplify workflows, and we believe this white paper succeeded in building a new foundation for tools to transfer files in the most efficient manner.”

This specification is compatible with other initiatives such as the Visual Effects Society (VES) Transfer Specifications. “We wanted to make it as seamless as possible for everyone to adopt this specification,” said working group co-chair and ETC@USC’s Erik Weaver. “To ensure all perspectives were represented we created a team of industry experts familiar with the handling of these materials and collaborated with a number of industry groups.”

“Collaboration between MovieLabs and important industry groups like the ETC is critical to implementing the 2030 Vision,” said Craig Seidel, SVP of MovieLabs. “This specification is a key step in defining the foundations for better software-defined workflows. We look forward to continued partnership with the ETC on implementing other critical elements of the 2030 Vision.”

The specification is available online for anyone to use.

Oops, something went wrong.