'the tulse luper suitcases'

peter greenaway is consistently one of my favorite filmmakers/artists. (do yourself a favor and read this old post/interview.) in talking to scott the other day, he mentioned he hadn't heard about greenaways most recent project - the tulse luper suitcases.

from here:
"The Tulse Luper Network concerns several larger productions in the whole scope of 'the Tulse Luper Suitcases'. At least five media are used in the project: feature films, DVD's, the Internet, book publications and television. Further, some parts of the project will be staged as theatrical plays and an online game is currently being developed. The Tulse Luper Suitcases project will culminate in a traveling exhibition, starting in February 2005 in Berlin. Marc Thelosen of Rotterdam based company ...Math... is coordinator of the different media projects.

This website is part of the major media project 'the Tulse Luper Suitcases'. The site will build up an archive in the next 3 years from which the life of the character Tulse Luper can be reconstructed out of the content of 92 suitcases that he has apparently travelled with and are found all over the world. It is our ambition to build it into a vast network. Not only the life of Tulse Luper can be reconstructed from this archive, but in addition some 60 years of 20th century history can be explored, starting in1928 when uranium was found in Utah till 1989 with the fall of the Berlin Wall when Tulse Luper was presumably last heard of..."

finally, from the greenaway mailing list yesterday:
"Greenaway will lay the Tulse Luper project to rest in typically grandiose style. Part III won't be ready for Cannes, but during the Venice Festival, in tandem with Instituto Luce, Greenaway and his team will co-ordinate "a big splash of the whole seven-hour cinematic product." The idea is to use satellites to beam down the HD material simultaneously in various European capitals: Venice, Rome, Paris, Berlin, and (possibly) London and Oslo."

in line with the above, this detail follows up with how one can enter their own creations as part of the project.

February 19, 2004
CONTEST - CALL FOR ENTRIES
CALL FOR ENTRIES FOR ONLINE DESIGN CONTEST!

The Tulse Luper Suitcases, a personal history of Uranium is a multi-media project by British filmmaker Peter Greenaway that involves feature films, a television series, DVD's, the World Wide Web, an online game in 92 puzzles, many books, theatre events and exhibitions. 92 suitcases [92 being the atomic number of Uranium] are found all over the world that somehow relate to the adventures of Tulse Luper. Most suitcases also contain 92 objects, some less. The suitcases will be exhibited in Compton Verney, UK from March 23 till end of September 2004

The Tulse Luper Network is part of the Tulse Luper Suitcases project. The aim of the Tulse Luper Network is to reconstruct the life and works of Tulse Luper set against the background of part of the 20th century history. Our ambition is to create a veritable network that will grow into a vast online collection of design skills, knowledge, history, and so on. To attain this goal we invite the public to participate in this project.

Entries We are looking for artists, animators, illustrators, writers and researchers to participate in filling the Tulse Luper Suitcases on the web. Anyone enthousiastic about this project and skilled to design/develop for the web is welcome to join the contest. Adopt one of the 92 suitcases, research for information, design and develop an interface to explore its content and send it to us as an url.. If your submission is accepted we will link it to http://www.tulselupernetwork.com and you will be credited for it.

To participate you need to send an e-mail to contest@tulselupernetwork.com mentioning name and profession and we will allocate you a suitcase and send you the details. You can view a list of suitcases and their contents as well as samples of filled suitcases in the Category section of www.tulselupernetwork.com.

Submissions Send us your submission as an url to contest@tulselupernetwork.com before April 30. 2004. Do not send us dvd's or cd-roms, only urls will be accepted. Admitted submissions will be notified.

Prizes three submissions will be selected as winners by a team of judges. All three will win original art work created by Peter Greenaway. One of the three will be invited to be present at the occasion of the opening of the 92th and last suitcase at the end of the Tulse Luper Suitcases Exhibition in Compton Verney (UK) in September 2004.

Rules Deadline April 30 , 2004.
The Tulse Luper Network will be unable to publish/exhibit any entry that does not provide full credits or adequate proof of rights clearance for reproduced materials by the participant.

Technical specifications all submissions must be ready for web publishing. Use of a typewriter font and white text on black background is the only graphical restriction, No use of Shockwave or Director plug-ins without proper plug-in check and download page. HTML is accepted, use of Flash MX technology is encouraged, max. dimensions for Flash swf: 800 x 450 pixels. If you want to make use of heavy bandwidth (e.g. video) please offer an alternative for low bandwidth.

"Don't Miss a Sec" (Panoptican loo)

from msnbc (with some pics):

"Visitors to Britain will find a new stop on London's site-seeing route this spring: a usable public toilet enclosed in one-way mirrored glass situated on a sidewalk near the River Thames. The contemporary art exhibit, which allows the user to see out while passers-by cannot peep in, toys with the concepts of privacy and voyeurism."

and yes todd, they make large mention of the panoptican.

8th Annual IMSC Student Conference

I already posted about trying to get in a paper for this conference, but here's info on the conference itself:

8th Annual IMSC Student Conference

"ImmersiPresence: The New Experience"

Friday, 26 March, 10:00am-3:30pm, Davidson Conference Center

Our 8th Annual Student Conference will focus on the theme "ImmersiPresence: The New Experience." Recently developed technologies give us new ways of experiencing reality, as well as more convincing virtual realities. This is probably the most exciting stage in research, where we are continually challenging and crossing the borders that define reality. IMSC, as the NSF’s only Engineering Research Center designated for multimedia and Internet research, is at the forefront of these technologies with projects such as Remote Media Immersion, Augmented Virtual Environments, and Panoramic 360-degree video.

Our keynote speaker, Dr. Jim Baker, President of the Fuji Xerox Palo Alto Laboratory, Inc., will provide valuable insights on our theme both broadly and as it relates to their research and developments. A panel of faculty and industry members will also be discussing the theme. There will be about one dozen short IMSC student research presentations from both the undergraduate and graduate level.

The conference and lunch are FREE to all speakers and attendees.

Seats are limited, so sign up now!

Creating Content for the Gameboy Advance

Creating Content for the GBA:

After visiting the John Klima show it was interesting to see how he had put his own content onto the GBA. From this, Scott had asked me to post some links to sites that give you the tools to write your own content for the GBA. Below are some links that allow you to do multiple things with the GBA.

1. Link to Us: this site allows you to peruse the entire line of alternate (non-licensed) accessories for the GBA. Including hardware and software to backup your games and saves. Even the new movie player for the GBA.

2. A WIRED article that discusses the Flash Advance and linker/cards that could help developing content.

3. Various Links for Developers Nuff Said...

4. GBA Java Dev. Kit an article on JEMBlazer, content devolping kit for Java on the GBA.

5. Several Good Resources (for getting GBA dev. kits)

For now that's about it...Good luck to Brad on his Music Project!

VideoClix: Interactive Video Hotspot Authoring for Quicktime

"The Internet has advanced rapidly in the last decade but Television remains the main source of information, entertainment and shopping for the majority of the population. VideoClix combines the power of the Internet with the simplicity of television to produce a compelling and awesome technology, which literally puts the power at your fingertip.

VideoClix is Video Interactivity on steroids. Unlike other authoring applications that let you build interactivity around the video, VideoClix enables you to build interactivity into the actual video image. This allows your viewers to click on any item or region in your clips and purchase the products, play along , cast a vote, get info on the clicked area...etc, all without even having to stop the stream.

A simple click-and-drag in the authoring application can add breath taking interactivity making your content compelling and fun. This makes VideoClix the most cost effective and powerful method of creating engaging videos for use in DVD / CD-ROM and the web. It's based on common standards such as QuickTime and HTML so there is no need to retrain.

Add Dynamic video Hotspots, create time triggered Actions, incorporate Text and Chapters without any scripting.

VideoClix enabled content can be served from any HTTP or RTSP server, tie into any database or ecommerce backend and doesn't require an additional plug-in on the client side. The system provides you with accurate viewer behavior and vital marketing data as well.

Supported file formats are QuickTime mov: Mpeg1, Mpeg2, Mpeg4, AVI, Flash and DV.

VideoClix provides the right punch for these challenging times, be it through product placement in music videos, military simulations, educational Kiosks systems..etc.

All YOU need to do... is let your imagination run wild!"

Rapture

"Throngs of men, dressed in natty white shirts, and an undulating sea of women, cloaked in flowing black robes, move with gear-like synchrony, at once orderly and mismatched, in Shirin Neshat's dual- screen projection piece Rapture, currently on view at UCLA's Fowler Museum in Los Angeles..." continue reading

Rapture is currently screening at the Fowler Museum on the UCLA Campus (Sunset and Westwood entrance), thru July 27. Info: 310-825-4361.

3D Display, No Glasses Required

Slashdot story. 12 cameras and rotating display from Hitachi, called Transpost. Excellent for Princess Leia projections. Text in Japanese but cool images.

CTIN 511 Forum 2/25

The plan for CTIN 511 on Wednesday, 2/25 is a fieldtrip to the John Klima exhibit "Toy World" at the Bank in downtown LA. The gallery closes at 5pm, so we should try to leave by 3pm at the lastest from the ZML parking lot.

Will posted more info about it here.

E-LIT

HyperText: Explorations in Electronic Literature is a yearlong performative reading series that will highlight some of the most innovative literary work in digital media.

Their event this Friday, February 27, 7:00 pm at the UCLA Hammer Musuem:
Deena Larsen and Geniwate will be reading/performing some of their eliterature works. The event is free.

The 2004 Toy Fair's Top 10 Strangest Products

Last week I visited the 2004 Toy Fair in NYC, which spanned the entire the Javitz Convention Center. It seemed under-attended (more exhibitors than shoppers), distanced (tobacco breath, bad hair, plaid), and just a tad angry (like being in Shakes-the-Clown land), which, I assume, was due to the economy. Not the best year for Amazing Live Sea Monkeys, Baby Einstein, or Color-a-Cookie. This article in Underground Online is a good summary of the pulse.

Processing Workshop for CTIN

The workshop on PROCESSING will start tomorrow, Tuesday February 24th at 6:30pm in the Zemeckis media lab. The instructor will be Casey Reas and it will meet for 5 sessions: 24 Feb, 26 Feb, 4 March, 9 March, 11 March.

Processing is a tool for teaching basic concepts that will lead to the creation of future media and tools. The strength of Processing as a tool for learning and sketching lies in its simplicity, generality, and extensibility. Its simplicity makes it easy to use -- making it possible to create basic interaction within a short time period. Its generality makes it an ideal tool for conveying many concepts: vector and raster drawing, procedural and object oriented programming, image processing, parameterized form, interaction with standard input devices and custom hardware devices, 2D and 3D graphics. It is extensible in the sense that it may be used at multiple levels of difficulty and the basic software library may be expanded in time as people develop and share their programs.

Processing is not a commercial production tool, but was built specifically for learning and sketching. It will be possible to download it from the internet and will be free to use. Processing is written in Java and enables the creation of Java Applications and Applets within a carefully designed set of constraints. It uses a 2D/3D Java rendering API that is a cross between postscript-style imaging in 2D and 3D rendering with OpenGL (a 3D graphics library). Through developing Processing as a solid and general technical platform, we hope teaching the concepts of interaction and computer programming will focus more on the qualities and content of medium, rather than specific technologies.

Processing is free to download and use. We encourage people to distribute it widely and refer back to the site: http://processing.org.

CTAN 501 Speaker: Andreas Kratky

Guest speaker for CTAN 501 tomorrow afternoon is Andreas Kratky, head of the Multimedia Studio at the ZKM (Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, Germany).

Time: 2:00 PM, Tuiesday Feb.24
Location: Lucas 108

Experimental Game Lab at Georgia Tech

There's a new Experimental Game Lab at Georgia Tech.

Check out the range of current projects.

NEC's P-ism concept

John Latta reports on an innovative "pen-based" approach to next generation computer interfaces recently demo'd by NEC corp.

RES Screening Series 2

RES presents the second in a monthly series showcasing brand new music
videos, short films and motion graphics.

MORE INFO

John Klima@bank 2/7-->3/13

John Klima has a show at the Bank in Downtown LA from 2/7 --> 3/13. More Event info can be found here.

flavorpill says:

Designing and constructing 3-D games that involve a panoply of materials, media, and technologies, Klima incorporates everything from the most refined Department of Defense satellite images of combat and troop movements to a coin-operated kiddie helicopter ride. The result is a familiar hodgepodge of the arcane, futuristic, funny, and dire that comes very close to presenting life as it actually is. Or at least, life as it would be if we lived in a post-apocalyptic penny arcade.

WaveBlog

Russell Beattie has just announced the WaveBlog at DEMO 2004.

This is what I've been working on for the past several months. It's a combination of a custom J2ME based mapping client, weblog service and location alerting system. It's being sold to carriers, not to the general public, but you can play with the public weblog site above. This is the piece I developed. It still needs a lot of hardening and ever more features need to be added to keep up with the TypePads of the world, but in general it's your standard weblog service, but with the integration of location information and maps.

Summer Fellowship Call for Projects

Vectors: Journal of Culture and Technology in a Dynamic Vernacular

The Institute for Multimedia Literacy (IML) at the University of Southern California's Annenberg Center for Communication is pleased to announce a Fellowship program for summer 2004 to foster innovative research for its new electronic publishing venture, Vectors: Journal of Culture and Technology in a Dynamic Vernacular.

Vectors is a new, international electronic journal dedicated to expanding the potentials of academic publication via emergent and transitional media.

Continue reading

MGLA February Mtg.

Tuesday, February 17 @ LA Film School
------7:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. ------ Cover charge: FREE ------

MGLA focuses on techniques for getting "real work done",
ranging from Photoshop tricks for motion graphics to text for film
titles to 3D for a weekly television show. Here's an overview of the presentations they have planned:

LINEUP: 3D Motion Control Camera Moves / Titles for "Cold Mountain" /
Graphics for "More Than Human" / Projects with Combustion

* Digital Motion Control Camera Moves in 3D *

First came "motion control camera" moves on still images...then came
tilting these images in 3D space...then came the technique
popularized in the movie The Kid Stays in the Picture of cutting
portions of a photo out from its background and separating the
elements in 3D space, resulting in more realistic multiplaning as
virtual cameras move around them in 3D. But many users are still not
100% clear on exactly how you would go about preparing elements for
and executing this advanced technique in programs like Photoshop and
After Effects.

MGLA regular Thomas Luth will
demonstrate this technique for us, including some tips for cleaning
up photos, and creating variably soft edges of elements on layers,
with demonstrations of 2D and 3D variations of the technique. He is
working on a music video (Teri Hitt's "Free Yourself") that uses this
technique extensively, so he has plenty of first-hand knowledge of
how to pull it off.

So that you can put what you learn to work, we've arranged a number
of related door prizes - including a copy of Photoshop CS, Total
Training on DVDs for Photoshop, and excellent Photoshop book - more
details in the door prize list at the end.

* Opening and Closing Titles for "Cold Mountain" *

MGLA co-host Trish Meyer of CyberMotion
was the animator for the opening and closing titles on the recent
mega-movie "Cold Mountain" (working with Deborah Ross Film Design).

She will demonstrate the techniques she used to make the text and
images of Cold Mountain emerge and disappear back into the rippling
water of a well. Trish will undoubtedly have additional war stories
on the overall issues of working with film elements (especially when
the film editorial team is a continent and ocean away), and how stock
footage came to the rescue. Enter
in your
browser to download a QuickTime movie (2.95 meg) of the opening
portion of the titles.

Tying in to this, we will be giving away one of the Artbeats
libraries used in the Cold Mountain tiles, as well as a full set of
Trish and Chris Meyer's After Effects books. Again, more details
below.

* Kicking Out 3D Graphics for a Weekly TV Show *

MGLA co-host Lachlan Westfall will discuss how his shop, Quiet Earth
Design , has approached cranking out 3D
graphics for a weekly hour-long show on Discovery titled "More Than
Human." Lachlan is tasked with creating illustrative 3D graphics
depicting scenes ranging from people who survive steel rebar piercing
their head, to sword swallowers, to people who catch arrows shot out
of a bow and much more.

Lachlan will discuss how he determines where to put the focus of
certain shots when the deadline is so tight and there are inevitable
compromises to be made. He'll also show how layered rendering and
integration with Adobe AE is also key in turning this stuff out
quickly, as well as the development of various "looks" to be used
when photorealism is not an option due to both time and budget.

* Projects with Discreet Combustion *

During the January meeting, we received an update that the Mac
version of Discreet's combustion 3
was "hours" away from shipping
- and indeed, it shipped later that evening! As a follow-up, motion
graphics artist Brendan Lambe will share with us tips and techniques
for some projects he's been doing with combustion for clients such as
Disney. We will more post more details here as we have them.

* demo reels *

We plan to have time to show a couple of reels. You are welcome to
show your reel or a recent project, as long as you are willing to
come up to the mic beforehand to share with us what tools you used
and some other ideas on how you executed it (a great opportunity to
plug you and your business). Reels are shown on a first come/first
shown basis until we run out of time; hand your reel to Warren Heaton
before the meeting or during the break. You will be asked to come
down front and discuss your work, so don't be shy!

Please keep the running time under 3 minutes, and make sure your
sources are copy-right cleared and properly attributed. Formats we
can play include DVD, DigiBeta, BetaSP, VHS, DV, and DVCAM. Please
bring your contact information so we can list you in the meeting
summary.

* door prizes *

The prize theme this month is Photoshop and stock footage. Tickets
are free, and are handed out during the second half of the meeting
(take one and pass the remaining down the line). You must be present
to win; winners get their choice of the remaining prizes in the order
they are drawn. This month's list of prizes includes (nearly $2000
worth):

* courtesy of Adobe, a full copy of Adobe Photoshop CS (for either
platform $649 value)

* Artbeats: Liquid Ambience stock footage library ($399 value). Note
if you buy any library worth $229 or more from them in January, you
can add on Cloud Flythroughs 2 for just $249 more (a $450 discount).

* the just-released Total Training for Adobe Photoshop with Deke
McClelland ($299 value)

* a Logitech Z-560 THZ-certified 400 watt speaker system, courtesy of
3Dconnexion ($200 value)

* Texturing Concepts Texture Map Fundamentals with Adobe Photoshop
training DVD from Desktop Images ($60 value)

* a copy of After Effects in Production by MGLA co-hosts Trish &
Chris Meyer from ($50 value)

* a copy of Creating Motion Graphics Volume 1: The Essentials by MGLA
co-hosts Trish & Chris Meyer ($55 value)

* a copy of Creating Motion Graphics Volume 2: Advanced Techniques by
MGLA co-hosts Trish & Chris Meyer ($60 value)

* a copy of Photoshop CS Artistry courtesy of Peachpit Press ($55 value)

* a copy of O'Reilly's Digital Photography Pocket Guide 2nd edition ($15 value)

And again, thanks to Adobe's sponsorship of MGLA this year, admission
is free! We look forward to seeing you on the 17th.

Chris, Trish, Lucky, Tony, Warren, and Marshal
Your MGLA co-hosts

------------------------------

Directions:
LA Film School
6363 Sunset Boulevard
(the corner of Sunset and Ivar)
Hollywood, CA 90028
Phone: 323.860.0789

The theater has its own entrance on Ivar - do not try to enter on Sunset!

From the 101 Freeway:
If coming from the East, exit Vine and turn right (South) to head to
Sunset Blvd. Turn right, go past the Film School to Ivar, turn right
again, and then look for street parking or enter the parking
structure on your left (see below). If you are coming West, there is
no Vine exit; go to Cahuenga, South to Sunset, left, and left on Ivar.

From the 10 Freeway:
Exit La Brea and go North to Sunset Blvd. Turn right and go to Ivar;
turn Left on Ivar, and then look for street parking or enter the
parking structure on your left (see below).
Click here for a MapQuest interactive map, including the ability to
get directions from your location to this address.

NOTE ON PARKING: There is parking available in the building (entrance
on Ivar) for a $4 fee (goes up to $5 later in the evening). The
garage closes at 11 PM. There is also parking on the surrounding
streets if you want to avoid the fee.

If you get there early, Amoeba Records across the street is a great
place to kill time browsing for music; they also donate a portion of
their sales to the Rainforest Action Network. If you want to catch a
bite or drink before or after the meeting, the Cat and Fiddle at 6530
Sunset is a funky place, with the kitchen open until 11:30 PM.

===========================================================

You are receiving this email because you subscribed to the
MGLA email list. To change your subscription status, go to

===========================================================

IMSC Student Council Presents Speaker Series V

The IMSC Student Council Presents Speaker Series V - "Synthesizing Realistic 3D Talking Faces", held on Friday, 20 February, 12:00pm-1:00pm in SAL 101.

Zhigang Deng, a graduate student in the IMSC Computer Graphics and Immersive Technologies (CGIT), will be discussing the history of research in facial animation, its various current applications, and USC's, own research in this field. Deng will also be showing the exciting video results of his recent work, and talk more specifically about his eye motion synthesis project, which will be published in IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications.

Everyone is welcome, and there will be free pizza and soda!

(As a P.S., I've taken classes with Zhigang before, and he's absolutely brilliant.)

Captian Power Redux

Holy Bat-Ray! New Batman Toys Receive Signals From Your TV
By QUEENA SOOK KIM and MERISSA MARR ,Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

The upshot is a toy Batmobile that will vroom at the exact moment the cartoon car pulls onto the television screen; an action figure that picks up and mimics phrases spouted on TV by an animated Bruce Wayne, aka Batman; and a hand-held device that has games unlocked by television signals.

The new Batman products are part of a slew of toys at next week's International Toy Fair in New York that use technology to revive childrens' interest and compete with videogames and other media. Ohio Art Co. is unveiling an electronic version of its classic Etch-A-Sketch, which uses the television set as its sketching canvas. Fisher-Price's new Winnie the Pooh is voice activated; the stuffed animal walks when toddlers call it. And LeapFrog Enterprises Inc. is enhancing its electronic book LeapPad with a new line of cartridges that include a handwriting-recognition program.
Mattel's new Batman action figure uses video encoded invisible light technology.
Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. is hoping the Batman toys will revive interest in the aging superhero in time for its next "Batman" movie in 2005. Unlike other superheroes, Batman doesn't have any innate powers but relies on gadgets to fight villains. "Of all the super heroes out there, Batman is the most 'toyetic,'" said Dan Romanelli, President of Warner Bros. Worldwide Consumer Products. "Batman needs gadgets to get around."

The key gadgetry in the new Batman toys is its use of a special process called Video Encoded Visible Light, or VEIL, which Mattel is licensing from closely held VEIL Interactive Technologies, of St. Louis. Through VEIL, the Batwave Batmobile, the Batwave Batman Action Figure and Batwave Communicator Handheld Device, will interact with any TV set and respond in certain ways during the program.

VEIL works inside a cartoon by altering the light levels in its pixels, or elements of an image. Humans can't see this changing light. But an electronic "eye" on the toys picks up the signal prompting the toys to make sounds, movements or, in the case of the hand-held, play games in response.

VEIL Technology says its signal is safe and that it has been used for years. For example, TV-ad tracking services use machines that rely on VEIL to verify that commercials actually run as scheduled in different markets. "The FCC knows that VEIL technology is in use and hasn't voiced any objections," said Edward Koplar, president and co-founder of VEIL Technologies.

Kids take the toy out of the box, set it in front of the related television show and press a button to activate the VEIL sensor on the toy. At designated times, the cartoon will tell the Batmobile to flash its lights or lift its fins. The cartoon also will transmit signals to unleash new villains in the hand-held gaming device. The toy will be compatible with any television, as the digital signals are emitted from the actual image, not the TV itself.

Mattel used similar technology in the late 1980s to link its Captain Power play set to the syndicated cartoon "Captain Power and the Soldiers of the Future." As the TV emitted a discernable flash of lights or certain targets, children could aim a spaceship at the screen and fire. The toy firearm kept track of the target score. The effort fizzled because the early technology was awkward and Mattel focused on the gadgetry rather than using it to enhance the plot line of the cartoon.

Mattel is using a technology resembling VEIL to tie a stuffed dog Serafina to a new Barbie DVD title "Princess and the Pauper." The pooch, selling separately from the DVD for $39.99, will say such things as, "Hug me Princess, I'm scared," just as the animated Princess is stepping into a suspenseful scene.

Many of the toys featured at the Toy Fair also rely on technology that isn't new but has just become affordable. The LeapPad's writing recognition program, for example, is used in electronic organizers. The voice-activation feature of Winnie the Pooh is found in many cellphones.

This most recent toy technology is notably sophisticated and easy to use. This wasn't always the case. One example is Hasbro Inc.'s interactive Furby, introduced during the dot-com boom. The owl-like Furby could sneeze, giggle and speak a language called Furbish. The stuffed toy posted impressive sales in the late 1990s, but lost favor with youngsters. One main problem was that it took as long as an hour to teach Furby its tricks by pressing different body parts.

"Furby had great technology and the 35-year-old guys were enamored by it," toy expert Chris Byrne said. "But they forgot how kids play -- they don't want to spend time programming a toy. If kids wanted to play with technology they'd rather pick up their dad's cellphone or get on the computer." Hasbro didn't return calls seeking comment.

Like many the newest crop of technology-enhanced toys, the Batman line makes the VEIL technology seamless. But success for Mattel will hinge on its ability to mesh the toys' features with the cartoon's storyline. Analysts say if the more expensive toys don't click with the TV shows, parents may hesitate to pay for them. The Batman action figure, for example, will retail for about $39.99. The toy is more than twice the cost of a conventional action figure and nearly 25% more than the more sophisticated Stretch and Roar Hulk action figure, which is pliable and emits a roaring sound when its limbs are stretched and pulled.

"The focus will be to make sure there's a compelling reason for the Batmobile to light up," says Scott Miller, the vice president of VEIL Interactive Technologies. "We need to make magical moments."

Write to Queena Sook Kim at queena.kim@wsj.com1 and Merissa Marr at merissa.marr@wsj.com2

URL for this article:
http://online.wsj.com/article/0,,SB107646623410126556,00.html

RFID Tags For The Rich

from Slashdot:

Greedo writes "While reading this piece about designing 'experiences' in the Globe and Mail, I came across this interesting tidbit: If you're a frequent Prada shopper (and who on /. isn't?), the loyalty card in your wallet or purse contains a RFID tag that announces your arrival in the store. When you encounter a saleswoman, her handheld computer brings up your tastes, buying history, vital statistics and personalized suggestions from in-stock and coming inventory; the handhelds also place orders and book change rooms. Every item for sale bears an RFID tag. The RFID tags are courtesy of IDEO, and their website has a nice write-up of all the RFID-powered stuff at Prada, including the changeroom! I'm guessing this isn't coming to Wal*Mart's changerooms when they implement RFID. (Another write-up can be found here.)"

Read more.

Visiting Speakers for 2/18/04: Steven Drucker & Curtis Wong

Location USC Zemeckis Center, Room 201
Time: 3pm - 5pm

Title: "The Next Media Research Group and Microsoft Research"

Microsoft Next Media Research group focuses on exploring what new
consumer media experiences are possible with the growth in computing
power, connectivity and storage in a compelling, elegant and transparent
way in the 3 to 10 year timeframe. The group envisions consumer
information and entertainment experiences not available today and builds
or combines technologies from other Microsoft Research groups and crafts
intuitive user interfaces and compelling scenarios to deliver that
experience. Rather than focus on old media or new media, the group
attempts to develop working prototypes of the Next forms of media
possible from new convergent technologies, hence the name.

Next Media's research focus spans the linear and interactive media
spectrum from television, broadband, and gaming to combinations of
traditional media forms or emerging media forms too new to have a name.
The group partners with product groups within Microsoft and select
outside content partners such as museums, and public broadcasting to
develop conceptual and working prototypes which best demonstrate the
functionality or vision for media that can anchor new businesses,
services and consumer experiences.

We'll talk about the group and show some of the recent projects.

SPEAKER BIOS:
Dr. Steven M. Drucker has been the lead researcher for the Next Media
Research Group in Microsoft Research for the last 4 years where he has
been looking at how the addition of user interaction transforms
conventional media. He is particularly interested in database
visualization for consumers or where art meets technology for user
interfaces. While in the group, he has filed an additional 18 patents on
technologies as diverse as remotely operated personal video recorders,
spectator oriented gaming, and new visualization techniques for media
databases.

Previously he was the lead researcher in the Virtual Worlds Group also
in Microsoft Research. During his tenure there he helped architect a
platform for multi-user virtual environments, filed 12 patents, and
published papers in subjects ranging from architectures for multi-user,
multimedia systems to online social interaction.

Before coming to Microsoft, he received his Ph.D. from the Computer
Graphics and Animation Group at the MIT Media Lab in May 1994. His
thesis research was on intelligent camera control interfaces for
graphical environments. Dr. Drucker graduated Magna Cum Laude with
Honors in Neurosciences from Brown University and went on to complete
his masters at the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at MIT doing
research in robot learning.
His published papers have been in such areas as multi-user environments,
online social interaction, hypermedia research, human and robot
perceptual capabilities, robot learning, parallel computer graphics, and
human interfaces for camera control.

Curtis Wong is Group Manager of Microsoft’s Next Media Research group responsible for envisioning where Microsoft’s future interactive media technologies can enhance the consumer media experience. His recent external collaboration with WGBH Interactive to produce the broadband enhanced documentary Commanding Heights ~ The Battle for the World Economy, won a 2002 International BAFTA and was nominated for the first Interactive TV Emmy. His group has built strategic prototypes which have influenced key functionality and features across the company for upcoming products.

Prior to Microsoft, Curtis was Director of Intel Productions creating www.artmuseum.net the first Broadband blockbuster art museum exhibition network in 1997 with its first exhibition being the Van Gogh's Van Goghs show at the National Gallery of Art. Curtis also led the production of the first enhanced digital television program to be broadcast in the United States - The Poetry of Structure that accompanied the broadcast of the Ken Burns film Frank Lloyd Wright.

Prior to Intel, Curtis was General Manager of Corbis Productions where he was responsible for the creation of a critically acclaimed series of CD-ROM's. Curtis produced and directed
A Passion for Art which Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal called “The greatest art appreciation software I’ve ever seen and one of the best CD-ROM titles of any kind since the multimedia revolution began.” Curtis brought together the creative teams that he would direct to create 4 additional titles culminating in the critically acclaimed FDR and Leonardo da Vinci. These titles collectively garnered four Codie awards (the Software Publisher’s Association highest award), MacUser’s Eddy and the coveted 5-Mice award, eight Gold New Media Invision awards including the Award of Excellence, four New York Festivals Gold Medals, Washington Software Association’s highest award - Consumer Product of the Year, and the Communication Arts Award of Excellence 1995, 1996 and 1997.

At the Voyager Company he produced Multimedia Beethoven, the first multimedia CD-ROM for the PC. Curtis produced feature films on laserdisc for Criterion Collection which has been acknowledged by the New York Times (Aug 16, 2003) as the pioneer in letterboxing, commentaries and supplementary content common on today’s DVDs. Criterion’s work continues to exemplify the best quality of such work in the industry. His laserdisc films have twice won Video Magazine’s highest award - the VIVA Gold for Best Video Product of the Year, and gotten two thumbs up from Siskel and Ebert in 1992.

He is included in Richard Saul Wurman's 2002 publication, Who's Really Who: 1000 Most Creative Individuals in the USA as well as “Interactive Week’s roster of the 50 most powerful people in the interactive industry”.

Curtis serves as the technology advisor to the Seattle Art Museum, the Barnes Foundation and the Universal Leonardo museum consortium. He has in the past served on the advisory boards of The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS Online, The Canadian Film Centre, The American Film Institute, and Ovation the Arts Network.

Intel Chip Speed Breakthrough

"Intel scientists say that they have made silicon chips that can switch light like electricity, blurring the line between computing and communications and presenting a vision of the digital future that will allow computers themselves to span cities or even the entire globe."

-The New York Post

Rhizome Net Art Commissions (2/15 deadline)

Winning Does Not Matter

Artists: do you have formal or critical ideas you want to wrap around a game? Gamers: do you have a game to wrap around a theory? If so, it may be your time to shine: Rhizome.org is seeking proposals for its 2004 Net Art Commissions and the theme is games. Five awards ranging from $1500-$3500 will be announced in late March, 2004 and winning projects will likely be exhibited at the New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York. One must be a Rhizome member to submit a proposal, and interested parties should fill out the online entry form before the deadline next Monday, February 15. If you're an enthusiast or a player and not an artist, you can still be involved in this project: Rhizome members can participate in the evaluation of submissions. Game on!

http://rhizome.org/commissions/

EXPLORING THE NEW FRONTIER OF DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT

"The virtual web is the new frontier of digital entertainment," says Montone. "The next Holy Grail is the living room. Someday our home theatres will be filled with lean-back, lean-in immersive VR experiences designed to take us anywhere we want to go-past, future, here or there-no matter where we are in the real world. Vir-Con is just the beginning."
Producers Guild of America New Media Council
http://www.virtual-conventions.com/
About Vir-Con 2002

reBlog - Distilling Art and Technology

Eyebeam is pleased to announce the launch of reBlog, a web site republishing the best blog posts from around the web.

http://www.eyebeam.org/reblog/index.html

Created by Eyebeam's R&D Department, reBlog is a new system that aggregates RSS feeds from all over the web, with a simple interface for selecting our favorite posts and a hack that uses Movable Type to republish the content. The site will feature a series of guest reBloggers who will continually pick their favorite posts and links on art, technology and culture. Please check out the selections from our first reBlogger Jonah Peretti, Eyebeam's Director of R&D.

wwmx and ms searches

im sure most of you have seen it before, but it got a nice review/slashdotting the other day: the world-wide media exchange project from microsoft.

CTIN 511 Fieldtrip: ICT

The field trip to Institue for Creative Technologies for CTIN 511 this week has been rescheduled by ICT staff from Wednesday Morning to Friday afternoon (2/13) . The current plan is to meet there at 3pm sharp. Latecomers may not be admitted through security. Before the visit, please browse their website here.

There is a map to the location here

Do Games Need Stories?

"“Do games need stories? No! Any questions?” starts LucasArts producer Haden Blackman. Odd first words, perhaps, for the keystone panel of a conference on storytelling and computer games."

A nice summary of the panel discussion with Will Wright, Haden Blackman, and Sheldon Pacotti at the Fictional Worlds, Virtual Experiences event at Stanford on Friday.

Annie Leibovitz:

Optical Microscopy

synopsis of cnn article:

Michael Davidson, a scientist -- and fervent microscope buff -- at the National High Magnetic Field Labs at Florida State University received press recently for his site Molecular Expressions which features color photographs taken through an optical microscope (commonly referred to as "photo-micro-graphs") of just about everything from beer and cocktails to integrated circuits and ice cream.

"You get the pretty images due to the light hitting the defects in the materials," said Davidson.

His passion for detail led him to another discovery. While photographing the surface of tiny integrated circuits for a research project, the art-loving professor found miniscule silicon creatures embedded on the surface of hundreds of computer chips -- put there by engineers longing for a bit of recognition. Turns out that after spending several months or years designing a chip, some techies would get special pleasure from secretly stamping their creations -- even if those signatures could only be seen through a microscope.

"Scientific images are very artistic, and we wanted to present the artistic merit of science," Davidson said.

It's taken nine years and has cost more than $5 million to create the site. But it draws 40,000 visitors a day, swallowing up about a quarter of the university's Internet bandwidth, he said.

Visiting Speaker for 2/11/04: Dan Winters

Speaker: Dan Winters, VP Product Development Buena Vista Games
Title: "The Business of Interactive Entertainment"

Location: USC Zemeckis Center
Time: 3-5pm

Eastern Standard Tribe

Cory Doctorow has published his second novel, Eastern Standard Tribe. Like his first novel, Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom, Cory's made his book freely available for download under a Creative Commons License.

Cory has a write up of what he's trying to do:

The future is my business, more or less. I'm a science fiction writer. One way to know the future is to look good and hard at the present. Here's a thing I've noticed about the present: more people are reading more words off of more screens than ever before. Here's another thing I've noticed about the present: fewer people are reading fewer words off of fewer pages than ever before. That doesn't mean that the book is dying -- no more than the advent of the printing press and the de-emphasis of Bible-copying monks meant that the book was dying -- but it does mean that the book is changing. I think that literature is alive and well: we're reading our brains out! I just think that the complex social practice of "book" -- of which a bunch of paper pages between two covers is the mere expression -- is transforming and will transform further.

(The comments are also quite worth reading.)

8th Annual IMSC Student Conference - "ImmersiPresence: The New Experience"

The IMSC Student Council is hosting its 8th Annual Student Research Conference, with this year's topic as "ImmersiPresence: The New Experience." The conference will be at the Davidson Conference Center on Friday, 26 March.

The conference will feature 10-12 paper presentations, a keynote speaker and panel of speakers discussing the theme, and a catered lunch!

Right now there is a Call for Papers.

The conference will be free to all speakers and attendees, and there will be monetary awards awarded to the Best Papers!

Paper Submissions:

Any IMSC student researcher may submit paper proposals on their research, regardless of topic (I am checking on whether this also can include CNTV-IM students).

Download the proposal template, and send it in by February 13th to the IMSC Student Council. You will be notified of your acceptance by February 20th. Final papers will be due March 16th.

Milia 2004

Check out the keynote and plenary talks for Milia this year - interesting snapshot of hot topics in the interactive industry. (Lots of mobile media this year!)

KEYNOTE AND PLENARY SESSIONS
› Tuesday 30 March, 2004
Joint MILIA/MIPTV Keynote: Broadcast
Greg Dyke, Director General, BBC
The Impact of New Media and Digital Technologies on the Future of Television Programming

› Wednesday 31 March, 2004
· Keynote: Broadband Entertainment
The future of Entertainment Programming for the Always-On Generation.

· Keynote: Mobile Lifestyles (Joi Ito)

William Gibson: "Pattern Recognition" Reading

from flavorpill :
"Gibson reads from his latest novel, in which cutting-edge technology is commonplace and real value lies in those intangible human qualities such as intuition. Rich and powerful men trying to obtain something that lies just beyond their wealth, a chic yet vulnerable heroine with an allergy to corporate logos, and a few Lou Reed references make this a page-turner. But more important, Gibson might be telling us that the marriage of man and machine could ultimately be something quite beautiful."

when: 2/6/04 @ 7:30pm
where: barnes and noble westwood
10850 w pico blvd

SONY 4V camera Workshop

By popular request, there will be a sequel to last semester's workshop on SONY's 4th View panoramic camera system this Wednesday, 2/4 in Zemeckis 201 from 10:30 am to about 1:00pm.

Researchers from SONY will make an intro presentation at 10:30 and then we will setup and shoot a short sequence around Zemeckis or in the Cinema courtyard. Please attend if you are interested in this system and can help with this shoot.

msnbc: emotion in games article

quick read:

Link