2009-11-17T19:45:22Z tag:,2009:: USC Interactive Media Division 2009-11-17T19:45:22Z 2009-11-17T10:28:06Z tag:,2009-11-17:interactive.usc.edu/members/junderkoffler:251 2009-11-17T10:28:06Z

junderkoffler http://interactive.usc.edu/members/junderkoffler
That assumption is to do with where good UI ideas come from and who gets to have them (the ideas).

The sole dominant (universal, actually) GUI is twenty-five years old, was introduced by one of the incumbents, and was copied by the other as slavishly as law, talent, and pride would allow. Already a problem, no? A monosetup doesn't promote a mental model in which there's evolution, an ecosystem, a dialogue. Because there was no GUI before that, we haven't even had a pattern that suggests "you get a new one every three decades". And yet we should make it our job to assume that, and to assure that, and while we're at it to get itchy every decade. We're currently coming up on twenty years late.

Touchscreens that accommodate multiple points of contact got rediscovered recently. Products involving these modalities have been released -- some of them to commercial success, some of them to PR success -- and this in turn has suddenly launched large-scale public interest in novel interface. The interest is welcome.

The shame, really, is in presupposing that the incumbents have some advantage in designing radically new interfaces. There's certainly reason to expect they'd have an advantage in asserting new interfaces, but that's hardly the same thing. Yet even there it's unsimple: an incumbent has a responsibility (read: fiscal incentive) not to alienate or confuse or discomfit existing customers. So in fact that translates to a formidable disincentive to offer anything too radical.

Enough about them. What we want is encouragement against being discouraged from designing and building freely. Here's an axiom: a new UI that's a vast leap forward must also be sweepingly different. That's not to say that an incrementally different UI couldn't be a swollen commercial triumph. But such swelling is not what we should be after (not all of us, at least). Here's something between an axiom and an assertion: a vast leap forward is possible. The leap's vast, so it won't look like a traditional GUI with some touch stuff layered on. Therefore, we haven't seen it yet.

That ought be all we need to know.

A last part is that a giant incumbent company has about the same chance of being the one to find it as International Business Machines had of inventing and popularizing the GUI: which is to say: greater than zero: and it is also to say: less that one.]]> 2009-10-28T21:04:52Z 2009-10-28T21:01:34Z tag:,2009-10-28:interactive.usc.edu/members/jzigelbaum:300 2009-10-28T21:01:34Z

jzigelbaum http://interactive.usc.edu/members/jzigelbaum download pdf
October 27 download pdf

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jzigelbaum http://interactive.usc.edu/members/jzigelbaum
August 25 download pdf
September 01 download pdf
September 08 download pdf
September 22 download pdf
October 06 download pdf


The rest are coming soon.]]> 2009-10-20T08:36:53Z 2009-10-19T09:35:38Z tag:,2009-10-19:interactive.usc.edu/members/junderkoffler:251 2009-10-19T09:35:38Z

junderkoffler http://interactive.usc.edu/members/junderkoffler Editorial: Craft & Tools, Craft v. Tools.
James Haygood



James Haygood, one of the pre- and post-millenial decades' most respected editors, will discuss editing process, the way in which contemporary tools both influence and impede editorial choices, and the possibility of a new workflow that first enables and then depends on a more explicit integration of editorial activity into the broader production effort.
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JAMES HAYGOOD (Editor) began working with David Fincher in San Francisco in 1985 when Fincher left ILM to direct music videos. After relocating to Los Angeles in 1989, Haygood continued working on music videos with Fincher and other directors, for such artists as Madonna, Aerosmith, Paula Abdul and The Rolling Stones, receiving two MTV Awards, a Clio Award and numerous other industry accolades.

In 1992, Haygood launched Superior Assembly, a commercial editing company, which created TV spots for clients including Nike, Coke, AT&T and Nissan. He left the company in 2001, and now is a partner at Union Editorial in Los Angeles.

In 1997, he edited his first feature film for Fincher on the action thriller “The Game,” and continued his collaboration with the acclaimed director on the hit films “Fight Club” and “Panic Room.” Haygood then worked as an additional editor on “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind”; edited six episodes of the HBO series “Unscripted,” for director George Clooney; cut the independent feature “Lies & Alibis,” for directors Kurt Matilla and Matt Chekowski and in 2006 “The Astronaut Farmer” with Michael & Mark Polish. During 2007 and 2008 he edited "Where The Wild Things Are" along with co-editor Eric Zumbrunnen.

Haygood’s upcoming project is the sequel to the 1982 cult classic “Tron”, set for a 2010 release.
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junderkoffler http://interactive.usc.edu/members/junderkoffler VFX: Pipeline, Bottlenecks, Workflow, Process.
John Nelson




John Nelson, accomplished visual effects supervisor of such monumental efforts as Iron Man, Gladiator, and I, Robot, speaks about the role of VFX in modern filmmaking, how the discipline has been integrated into the larger production process, and opportunities for refining elements of the effects workflow.
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John Nelson graduated with high distinction from the University of Michigan in 1976 with a Bachelors in General Studies. After college, he made several films that won awards at film festivals and moved to California in 1979 to work for Robert Abel and Associates, first as a cameraman, then as a technical director and finally as a director. He was nominated for Clio awards six times, winning twice. In 1987, he moved to Germany to help set up the German company Mental Images GMBH. Upon returning to the US John went to work for Industrial Light & Magic where he animated several key scenes in Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), most notably where the shotgunned head of the chrome terminator re-seals itself.

John VFX supervised Stay Tuned (1992) for Rhythm & Hues Studios, and In the Line of Fire (1993), My Life (1993/I), The Pelican Brief (1993), Wolf (1994), Johnny Mnemonic (1995), Judge Dredd (1995), The Cable Guy (1996) and City of Angels (1998) for Sony Pictures Imageworks.

In 1998 Mr. Nelson left Sony to Senior VFX supervise Gladiator (2000) for which he won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (2001). After K19: The Widowmaker (2002) and the Centropolis sections of The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003), Mr. Nelson supervised all the VFX in I, Robot (2004) and Iron Man (2008) both of which were nominated for the Academy Award in Visual Effects. John is currently working on The Sorcerer's Apprentice (2010) and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Visual Effects Society, the the International Cinematographers Guild and the Director's Guild of America.
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cormiston http://interactive.usc.edu/members/cormiston
Flatbed Presentation
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cormiston http://interactive.usc.edu/members/cormiston
1) The gspeak gripe sheet indicates finger angle. Can finger angle in orientation to other fingers be a variable for commands? Additionally, an the thumb be normal to the palm as a command?

2) Is there a character input system designed for gspeak? Is it intuitive? Is there any feedback when you enter a character?

3) Gspeak is an optical system. How far beyond the central space can it see? Does it lose sensitivity outside the immediate area? If so, how much?

4) Can the angle and orientation of the (Ikea) table be modified to fit different purposes? How difficult would it be to modify (adjust the table, adjust the projector, etc.)?

5) Dare I ask? How much does the gspeak system cost? Can it be replicated commercially and/or economically?

Cinema Production Questions

6) How do visual effects artists replicate lighting in shots with live action? Do they consult the gaffer or cinematographer's notes or simply execute by trial and error?

7) Random and specific: what is the most effective and accurate method for creating shots with turbulence (earthquakes, spaceships, etc.)? How do you coordinate performance, camera, and post effects to achieve this dynamic?

8) Has anyone figured out how to effectively keep sound edits in sync with picture cut revisions? Can collaboration between picture and sound editors occur in a live simultaneous environment?

9) How common are pickup shoots for large-budget features? And to what complexity are these pickups permitted? How much original content is scheduled beyond principal photography?

10) What roll, if any, does the production designer play in post? Is there anything a production designer should be able or would like to do with footage after it is shot?]]> 2009-09-09T11:44:56Z 2009-09-09T11:39:01Z tag:,2009-09-09:interactive.usc.edu/members/eduff:215 2009-09-09T11:39:01Z

eduff http://interactive.usc.edu/members/eduff g-Speak Questions
1. Has a formal database been developed for g-Speak?
2. How is excess data currently handled within the system?
3. How easy is it to enter text?
4. What other external technologies can be used?
5. Is there more sample code than what we already have? Is there any current database code with the Java application?

Production Questions
1. On average, how many people are involved in the editing process? How many of these people play an integral, hands-on role?
2. What types of notes are kept during the editing process?
3. How is versioning done?
4. How common is it to do multiple edits of the same scene and show all to gather feedback? Multiple iterations at once vs. single iterations continuously.
5. What happens to all the leftover footage?

Project Pitch Documents
I would like to focus on the Bin structure and capabilities within an editing environment. I think it would be beneficial to tag clips with notes, key phrases, inspiration pieces, pre-vis element, etc, aggregating any elements accumulated during the pre and post production phases in one location.

Download Pitch Outline]]> 2009-09-09T10:07:17Z 2009-09-09T10:01:25Z tag:,2009-09-09:interactive.usc.edu/members/stea:202 2009-09-09T10:01:25Z

stea http://interactive.usc.edu/members/stea 5 Questions regarding the interface:
1. Can the interface distinguish readily between right and left hands?
2. How much processing power is required simply for gestural recognition / interface elements (projector screens, logistics)
3. How many physical tags can be tracked at any given time?
4. Can physical tags track orientation similar to the finger tags?
5. How is text input handled at the moment? Is it handled?

5 Filmmaking Questions:
1. What kinds of custom hardware are being utilized among key depts. in the modern workflow?
2. Software? Is most of it custom?
3. How much of the film is director oriented - and how much is primarily constructed and managed by splinter groups (animators, effects artists, etc) working entirely on their own volition?
4. How important are aesthetic concerns when designing a program for any given dept. versus straight functionality?
5. How have the role of traditional storyboards changed (or been antiquated) by modern live action film techniques - are they still necessary within the spectrum of previs?
]]> 2009-09-09T09:59:22Z 2009-09-09T09:51:11Z tag:,2009-09-09:interactive.usc.edu/members/stea:202 2009-09-09T09:51:11Z

stea http://interactive.usc.edu/members/stea PS3 EyePet Trailer
360 Project Natal Interface

DimP Prototype Video Player is free and downloadable (Windows and an OSX port) for an alternative control schema regarding timeline control with "gestural" motions using the mouse. You can download it and try it out for yourself]]>