The Rich Are Different: They’re in 3-D
But “The Great Gatsby,” written by Mr. Luhrmann with his long-time collaborator Craig Pearce, will tell whether 3-D can actually serve actors as they struggle through a complex story set squarely inside the natural world.
If “The Great Gatsby” succeeds, it may open the door to a new generation of sophisticated movie dramas that will match the spectacle value of the animations (“Happy Feet Two”), action films (“Underworld: Awakening”) and elaborate fables (“Hugo,”“The Adventures of Tintin”) that now fill Hollywood’s 3-D release schedule.
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It was a lecture by Mr. Cameron, then working on “Avatar,” that persuaded Mr. Luhrmann 3-D might help him find what had been missing in “Gatsby.” To examine the potential of actors in 3-D without the gimmickry of contemporary action sequences, Mr. Luhrmann turned to Alfred Hitchcock’s 3-D version of “Dial M for Murder,” from 1954. ...
The sensation of moving through it with Ray Milland, Grace Kelly and Robert Cummings sealed the deal — both for himself and for Mr. DiCaprio and the troupe, who also studied the Hitchcock film. “It was like theater,” Mr. Luhrmann said.
Michael Lewis, chief executive of the 3-D technology provider RealD, said, “This is the final stage in the maturing of the medium.” ...
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London’s Science Museum to scan visitors’ faces in 3D
Visitors to London's Science Museum are being invited to have their faces scanned in 3D.
The Me in 3D stand at the museum uses a series of cameras to build a virtual image visitors can then view and manipulate.
Data from participants will be used by Great Ormond Street Hospital, University College Hospital and Eastman Dental Hospital and Institute to provide better treatment and surgery for patients with disfigurements and congenital conditions.
"It's a very simple process using simultaneous photography by nine cameras and then some software modification to produce a 3D image," says Dr Chris Abela, a senior craniofacial fellow at Great Ormond Street Hospital. ...
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Copy cat killers: The future dangers for 3D printing
... The Chief executive of Makerbot, Bre Pettis, seems to have an almost naïve optimism about the future, perceiving an end to the capitalist market as we know it. He told the BBC, “I don’t think we need a marketplace. It’s a sharing world. We are at the dawn of the age of sharing where even if you try to sell things the world is going to share it anyway.”
We have seen how this world of ‘sharing’ has hit the music industry, with a total shake-up of the business model built around record labels and their exclusive ownership of artists’ work.
Lawyer Peter Hanna succinctly lays out the 3 subcategories of IP and their possible ramifications in a future world of prolific 3D printing on Ars Technica. He notes that theoretically all three subcategories, patent, copyright and trademark laws, could be infringed by theses machines.
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How Augmented Reality can change your arts organisation for the better
The premise was simple: make a 3D digital sculpture trail around Brighton and make it attractive for tourists.
That was the task I set myself one year ago and, luckily for me, I knew the local tourist board in Brighton had been looking for a technology that could bring people to the town.
So I began immersing myself in the weird and wonderful world ofAugmented Reality, or AR....
The uptake was slow at first, but the pavement stickers soon became a curiosity as passers-by saw people reacting strangely to what looked like thin air.
It is this unique engagement that sets AR apart from other public arts such as statues. ...
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3D Mikvah Planning And Water Saving Device
Rabbi Shmuel Levin, resident of Be'er Sheva and member of the local Chabad community has been active in the Mikvah field, building Mikvaos in various cities in Russia ● He has now developed a three-dimensional (3D) computer aided design (CAD) for a Mikvah, allowing a higher degree of perfection and precise planning ● He also developed a new device for reusing the Mikvah water many times over, reducing the water usage .
See the full story here: http://www.chabad.info/index.php?url=article_en&id=25785
Apple Patent App Hints at 3D Interface Future
The cool part is that the 3D interface would look sort of like a room and you would be able to turn the iPhone or iPad with one hand to access what is on that wall. The idea is that the one-handed adjustment method will let you do other things with one hand and like cook or drive and still navigate the interface.
The idea is that the compass and other motion sensors inside the smartphone would know which way the device is turned and would change what you see on the screen accordingly. That sounds pretty cool; it would make changing apps a snap. The patent app also talked about performing certain motions like shaking the phone to go directly to an app.
Read the full story, with a link to the patent filing, here.
The Art of 3-D Printing
As part of our special report on manufacturing, we askedNeri Oxman, a professor at the MIT Media Lab and an internationally recognized artist whose work is part of the permanent collection at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, to create a sculpture that would illustrate the future of manufacturing. ...
3-D printing encompasses a range of technologies—from inkjet heads mounted on gantries that can deposit plastics layer by layer to form intricate models, to more recent laser-based systems that sinter metal powders to make durable parts for airplanes. 3-D printers have mainly been used for prototyping, but they are becoming an option for manufacturing as well, and may eventually even be used to print buildings, Oxman says. But designers and architects haven't yet learned to take advantage of their capabilities. ...
Oxman's lab is also developing robotic systems that could print large concrete structures for buildings. The new robotic system is being designed to be able to vary the density of the concrete, making it possible to use dense, strong concrete where it's needed for support, and lightweight, porous concrete for non-load bearing walls, to save on materials costs. Eventually, it may even be possible to print concrete that's so porous that it's translucent, reducing the need for indoor lighting. ...
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You’re in charge! New technology will allow football fans to control cameras
... Instead of being forced to watch the images which the director deems best, you can look anywhere you like - just like being at the stadium.
What's more, you can zoom in to get a good look at a particular player or official, or section of the pitch. Now there is something you can not do with your eyes.
Viewers - or perhaps users is more appropriate - manipulate the picture they want to see on their screen with a mouse.
And this is not just an idea - in the video below you can see the technology in action, being used to show Chelsea's match against Wolves. ...
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How 3ality Made Amazing Spider-Man’s 3D Not Suck
Right by my home in Burbank, 3ality Technica is making 3D equipment for 3D movies to utilize. Their equipment is creating the 3D of The Hobbit, The Amazing Spider-Man, Jack the Giant Killer and The Great Gatsby. They recently acquired Element Technica who worked onPrometheus and Oz. 3ality Technica founder and CEO Steve Schklair sat down with me before the holidays to explain how these upcoming films are taking advantage of 3D.
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Upcoming 3D Technologies: Here Are The New Details That Has Emerged
[Philip Lelyveld comment: this is a good aggregation of recent reports]
[Good 3D . com]
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3D focus has also revealed that A 3D holographic acquisition system based on digital camera technology will be developed which would be capable of recording holographic video of the 3D scene. It would be combined with a display developed for this method of 3D projection. It would be liquid crystal and use silicon (LCOS) technology.
Another interesting project that would surely excite many is HELIUM3D which is based on improving current glasses-free displays and deals with laser technology. It is based on “direct-view RGB” laser projection.
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And last but not the least another project that was mentioned was TSB i3DLive. It would extract 3D information from live actions taking place. This project has probably been designed for the film makers and movie professionals and not the other 3D users. 3D Focus adds that a typical application would be set for the movie production. Here a high-grade film camera would be appointed as the main camera and the video cameras would serve as witness cameras.
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