USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT) is seeking 3D animation interns to assist with a variety of tasks including modeling, texturing and animating of assets for in-game use. The artist will work closely with other team members in the creation of virtual worlds and characters which are employed in R&D demonstrations, training, education and mental health applications as well neurocognitive assessments . Interns will work within a small team of artists, programmers, and psychologists wherein contribution is desired from all members.

Skills required: Strong modeling and texturing skills based on real world reference material
Strong familiarity with laying out UV’s (in Maya)
Solid character animation skills
Experience with game engines is a plus
Required application knowledge: Maya, Photoshop

Duration of internship: 9 -12 weeks Summer 2008
Other Details: This a paid program open to undergraduate or graduate students at accredited US colleges, universities and certificate programs including those who will be enrolled as freshman in fall 2008 and international students with F-1 or J-1 visas. Compensation is based on your level of schooling. Please note that housing is not provided. Our interns are required to work 40 hours per week, Monday through Friday. Depending on the university and program in which you are currently enrolled, you may receive course credit for your internship work at the ICT.

Location: USC ICT is located in sunny Marina del Rey, California, near Santa Monica and Venice beach. So this summer you can get a tan, hone your 3D skills and help advance our work at the same time!

Internship Application Information:
1) http://ict.usc.edu/news/item/ict_2008_summer_internship_program/
All applications are due as soon as possible before March 21, 2008. Resumes and questions can be sent to: Summer_Intern_Program@ict.usc.edu (Please enter in the subject line: ICT Internship Program)

2) Portfolios required. Send online portfolio links to: liewer@ict.usc.edu

Institute for Creative Technologies General Information: http://ict.usc.edu/

USC ICT is a leader in producing virtual humans, computer training simulations and immersive experiences for decision-making, cultural awareness, leadership and health. Our interns make significant contributions to the project groups they work with.

Cutting-edge research, collaborations with the entertainment and gaming industries, and our location just steps from the beach provide a unique opportunity for technical and creative students wishing to pursue careers in a wide-variety of disciplines including (but not limited to) computer science, simulation, psychology, interactive media and virtual reality.

via Kotaku

Thought the IMD Guitar Hero Controller hackers would enjoy this.
By Patryk Laurnet

James Cameron:
"We're going to blow you to the back wall of the theater in a way you haven't seen for a long time. My goal is to rekindle those amazing mystical moments my generation felt when we first saw '2001: A Space Odyssey,' or the next generation's 'Star Wars.' It took me 10 years to find something hard enough to be interesting."

Hollywood Reporter Article

Thought the IMD Lynch fans would enjoy this (excuse the language).

8 BIT is a hybrid documentary examining the influence of video games on contemporary culture.

A mélange of a rocumentary, art expose and a culture-critical investigation, 8 BIT ties together seemingly disconnected phenomena like the 80’s demo scene, chiptune music and contemporary artists using machinima and modified games.

trailer

There was a screening earlier this month at MoMA. Eddo Stern I guess is in it. Looks pretty cool.

Saw this article and accompanying video on NY Times about Santa Monica firm Image Metrics doing some impressive work with facial motion capture using computer vision to capture the 3d form of the face without markers. I think they'd be a good candidate for a seminar speaker; I could see some of the animation kids getting into some interesting discussions with interactive kids over the impact this tech will have down the line.

http://www.image-metrics.com/

“Multimedia has become an important 21st-century vernacular that must be understood and embraced,” Lucas said. “In the media landscape of today’s world, multimedia as a primary means of communication is simply a reality.”

Press Release

Got a letter today for this Oct 4th alumni event announcing the groundbreaking of a new state-of-the-art cinema complex.
Note: "made possible through the largest gift ever to the University of Southern California." If it's the biggest gift ever to the university, I imagine it's some serious dough... No details other than what's on the site. (The event title is "The Future is NOW!"...not just "NOW!")

http://flickr.com/map/

Can't find a way to link to addresses, but here are the LAT/LON for:
555 space
Zemeckis
IML

Vivendi Universal, the world's biggest music group, has signed an advertising supported deal to make its music catalogue available on a free legal downloads service named Spiralfrog.

Customers will be able to download an unlimited number of Universal songs to their computer and one other device. They will not be able to transfer those songs onto a compact disc, and they must visit the site at least once a month to maintain access to their music.

NY Times Story

Spiralfrog press release

Here's a simple and fun tutorial by Dirk Paessler on how to convert panoramas to polar coordinates to simulate small planets.

Create Your Own Planets Flickr group

Not sure if you all had heard about this (Naimark and Perry in particular).
Microsoft Live Labs: Photosynth