Scott Fisher

Next version of the ZML, we need a bunch of these roaming around...
Video here.

Posted by Scott Fisher at 8:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

At the NBC/Universal island.
(via Howard Rodman.)

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ERWIN REDL
APRIL 14th Through JULY, 2007
ACE GALLERY BEVERLY HILLS
9430 WILSHIRE BOULEVARD
BEVERLY HILLS , CALIFORNIA 90212

T: 323.935.4411 | F: 323.202.1082
WWW.ACEGALLERY.NET

PAID PARKING AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY BEHIND THE GALLERY
(UNDERGROUND GARAGE)

Posted by Scott Fisher at 7:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From Digitalmediawire:

DreamWorks Animation to Produce All Features in Stereoscopic 3D | Digital Media Wire

Glendale, Calif. - DreamWorks Animation announced on Tuesday that, beginning in 2009, it will produce all of its films using stereoscopic 3D technology. "I believe that this is the greatest opportunity for movies and for the theatrical exhibition business that has come along in 30 years," said DreamWorks Animation CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg. "Advancements in sound have dramatically improved the auditory experience, but there hasn't been a corresponding breakthrough in the way we see movies until now." The company's first production using the format, "Monsters vs. Aliens," is slated for release in the summer of 2009, when "several thousand screens" are expected to be equipped for 3D.

Related Links:
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/070313/latu016b.html?.v=1
http://www.dreamworksanimation.com

Posted by Scott Fisher at 7:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Chinese architect Qingyun Ma was named as USC's new Dean of Architecture. Here's a comment he made to the LA Times today:

Ma, speaking by telephone from London, said he hopes "to construct an interdisciplinary program so that architects get training in landscape architecture, environmental issues" as well as art and "virtual reality."

Very encouraging - let's ask him to visit the world building class for starters...
USC names architecture dean with 'global' view - Los Angeles Times

Posted by Scott Fisher at 7:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Planned to mention this in 511 seminar but we ran out of time.

There is an excellent show by James Turrell @ Griffin, 2902 Nebraska Ave., Santa Monica, (310) 586-6886, through Aug. 26.

Worth seeing.

Posted by Scott Fisher at 8:55 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Technology Review: Emerging Technologies and their Impact

The Scent of a Movie: Theaters in Japan are offering a new sensory experience: aromas synched with film. By Associated Press TOKYO (AP) -- Two movie theaters in Japan began offering a novel sensory experience to audiences Saturday: smells synchronized to a Hollywood adventure film. Seven different aromas wafted from beneath the back-row seats during showings of the ''The New World,'' synchronized with the on-screen action. ''This movie depicted nature a lot, so the aromas created the atmosphere of the forest and flowers shown in the movie. It was nice,'' said Asami Osato, who watched the film at Tokyo's Louvre Marunouchi theater. A floral scent accompanies a love scene, while a mix of peppermint and rosemary is emitted from special machines during a sad portion of the film. The service is available for only the back 33 of the 470 seats, according to theater official Kenjiro Bepp'We sold out all of our 'Aroma Seats' for four showings'' on Saturday, he said, adding that the service will continue through May 5.Movie theaters will be able to download scent sequences for other films from the Internet from NTT Communications, which offers the service to theaters. The company began a similar service for homes in Japan last year. Owners of the US$620 (euro500) home version can download different programs to emit smells to accompany a horoscope reading or for aromatherapy. Owners must keep refilling the machine with fragrant liquids. NTT Communications would not disclose how many machines it has sold U.S. startups have developed similar technologies before, although at least one company was forced out of business during the dot-com bust.

Posted by Scott Fisher at 10:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Clifford Ross with his camera, which makes 9-by-18-inch negatives that can be digitally scanned to produce extremely detailed pictures. (Image by Keith Bedford for The New York Times)

Title: "The Reality Quotient/The New i3 Media: Information, Immersion, Interactivity"
Speaker: Clifford Ross
Time: Wednesday, February 15, 2006, 6-8pm
Location: USC's Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts (RZC), Room 201 Zemeckis Media Lab (ZML)

Abstract: A slide lecture covering the invention of the R1 camera system to capture Colorado's Mt. Sopris in a single shot gigapixel image, and the subsequent development of the highest resolution display system in the world. An artist at play in the world of science and computing.

Backchannel log here: Download file

Posted by Scott Fisher at 2:32 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

A new take on the "location-based" entertainment genre that adds puzzles imbedded in the sets:

You're standing in a tent. The phone rings: An archaeology professor needs you to explore a mysterious Egyptian tomb. A stone door rumbles open. For the next 45 minutes you will solve puzzles to determine your fate. Fail and you will "die." (Not to worry—you're really inside a storefront in Boston.) Dreamed up by Matthew DuPlessie, 28, an MBA who has built attractions for Disney, the new creation called Tomb combines a theme-park ride, haunted house, videogame, and live theater. Ticket sales have brought in $600,000 since October 2004. When demand tapers off in Beantown, the portable $1 million Tomb set will be off to terrify a new city. DuPlessie has signed a deal to open his second attraction in 2007 at the International Spy Museum in Washington, D.C.

Via Small Business - Sales From the Crypt - FORTUNE SMALL BUSINESS - Page
and cinematical blog
and review at about.com

Posted by Scott Fisher at 5:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

And another one From DigitalMediaWire newsletter:

New York - Dutch electronics firm Philips said on Friday that it has set a May 2006 launch for its "amBX" technology, which creates a "sensory surround experience" for TV and video games with added light, color, sound, heat and air. The technology utilizes LED color-controlled lights, active furniture, fans, heaters, audio and video output devices strategically placed in the living room. Philips said that it is in advanced stages of talks with game developers and peripheral manufacturers, and expects amBX-enabled games and peripherals to begin shipping in the fourth quarter of 2006.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/051202/20051202005296.html?.v=1
http://www.ambx.com

Posted by Scott Fisher at 8:39 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Phil Torrone of Makezine fame connects a HMD to the video ipod (!):

I've wondering if small portable video devices will eventually spark the VR / LCD goggles you always see in the future sci-fi movies. Since I have a couple pair for projects, I tried it out...

Via: MAKE: Blog: Introducing...the iPod VR!

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Check out this trailer for a new movie in Japan: Hinokio.
A relatively kawaii robot proxy and the perils of remote presence! Other trailers here.

(Thanks Boris!!)

Posted by Scott Fisher at 5:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Above is a virtual fishtank restaurant in Japan.

Also check out this Virtual Fishtank that Nearlife did for the Museum of Science in Boston a few years ago.

What makes VirtualFishtank.com different from any other website is the ability to Build-Your-Own-Fish online and release them into the Virtual FishTank(TM) exhibits at the Museum Of Science, Boston, and the St. Louis Science Center.

Posted by Scott Fisher at 11:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Almost 77 years after the first demo of stereo TV in 1928 by John Baird,

there's evidence of a strong resurgence of interest and research in immersive TV:

"The Japanese Government is quietly throwing huge financial and technical weight into the development of three-dimensional,virtual reality television",reports the Times.It "has obtained an interim report from the Communications Ministry’s "Universal Communications" study group detailing the work in progress.Three-dimensional images apart,the ministry wants to develop the ability to send thousands of different odours through the new television to enhance the sense of reality.Its plans also call for the "recreation of tactile sensations",a hitherto elusive concept that would give viewers the ability to reach out and "feel" what they were seeing.Current projects are working on electrical stimulation for the fingers, ultrasound and air pressure".

Posted by Scott Fisher at 6:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (8)