ROBOT EXPLOSION

Japan is truly taking the fiction out of science fiction with a major push for thier robotics industries. With no plans to be second place in the world of robot technology, efforts are being made by the government to acknowledge and reward astounding development. According to Yomiuri Shinbun:

In an effort to further promote Japan’s robot industry, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) plans to establish an annual Robot of the Year Award to recognize outstanding robots developed and put into practical use each year.

That's what it says in a Pink Tentacle translation of the Japanese news article. That, however, is only the beginning of the explosion.

NEC has developed what may well be the first science fiction style household robot, called PaPeRo, and, believe it or not, you can talk to it.

The user-friendly conversation-based control is designed to eliminate the cumbersome task of learning how to operate the avatar on multiple devices with different interfaces. Originally developed by NEC in January 1997, PaPeRo has received upgrades in speech and face recognition skills, gaining the ability to provide information to users through conversation and manage schedule information.

It can also connect to other devices you own, such as a PDA, laptop or car navigation system, and appear as an avatar on the screen. You could tell the robot you want to eat Chinese food before walking out the door, and it will appear on the screen of your car GPS navigation system and help you choose a restuarant and find directions. NEC claims on thier site that they are aiming for a robot culture. You can see a video of it performing here.


The medical world has no intentions of lagging behind in this field as researchers at Gifu University’s Graduate School of Medicine develop a "sick" robot that can tell medical students where it hurts.

With 24 sensors embedded in its head and body under a layer of soft, warm (near body temperature) silicone skin, the robot can detect the hand pressure applied by the examiner. And depending on which of the 8 pre-programmed medical conditions — which range from acute gastroenteritis to appendicitis — it is suffering from, the robot provides a vocal response to the examiner’s questions and manual pressure.



If those examples don't show the seriousness of the Japanese robot industry, an article on Yahoo may clarify that the government means business.

Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry is working on a new set of safety guidelines for next-generation robots. This set of regulations would constitute a first attempt at a formal version of the first of Asimov's science-fictional Laws of Robotics, or at least the portion that states that humans shall not be harmed by robots.

Interestingly, I just watched I, Robot the other night. This is a film I was very disappointed with the first time I saw it, even though I loved the massive robot destruction and special FX. The second time around, though, I can be free of expectation or ideas of it having anything to do with a book on which title it is loosely based, and watch it for what it is. For what it is, it is actually quite fun to watch. I like the characters and it is pretty well crafted for a popcorn variety movie. Still, I hope those guys making all these robots over in Japan watched it too.

NO INGENUITY NEEDED

Having trouble crafting your story? Look no further than the latest news int he world! You don't need to be a genius at writing even for science fiction or fantasy anymore it seems. You may remember I posted before about a prehistoric "Lost World" being found in New Guinnea. Well now there is another.

The cave was completely sealed off from the world, including from water and nutrients seeping through rock crevices above. Scientists who discovered the cave believe it has been intact for millions of years.

That what is says in this MSNBC article. How much longer before someone gets eaten by a dinosaur?

SLIDING DOWN

As if the American comic book industry needed any more trouble, it seems that it recently feeling the effects of a crushing blow from digital piracy according to this L.A. Times article. To make matters worse, while the pinch is certainly felt on all levels, it is the little guy who possibly faces a slow demise if things don't change.

"No comic sells enough to lose some of the market," said Chris Gage, who has written for DC Comics Inc. and independent publisher Arcana Studio. "If your comic book doesn't sell a certain amount of copies, it can get canceled."

The article is definitely worth a read. Interestingly enough, store owners note that the arrival and popularity of manga has certainly played its part in reducing the market share for the venerable comics industry, but anime, the internet and video games seem to be even more troublesome competitors for the time and dollar of younger audiences.


On another note, with the release of Luxology's modo 201 software, users are really starting to show its power with some great renders to be seen in their forum galleries. As you may know, I have been using modo extensively in my latest work and I am certainly a big fan. It should be clear from some of the pictures here how much power this newcomer on the 3D market can add to your work.

CEL SHADING ADVANTAGE

One of the greatest advantages in cel shaded movie making can be found in the study of live action films and television. I have learned some very interesting techniques, having worked on a few live action films now, that allow good directors to maximize what they have available. A little bit of set dressing can turn something old into something new. A new lighting setup can turn something we've seen before into a new location for adventure. With cel shading, this doesn't just apply to sets. It applies to everything.

A bit of Chaos, some Hearts, a touch of J4A, even a splash of mind animation and that which went before can be used for moving forward. Starting out it may not seem so apparent, but imagine what library you might have after one film. What about two or three? Overtime, the asset library will actually allow more freedom than one might imagine in a world of reuse. Freedom and speed. This is what I am aiming for. This is what I lost sight of for a while.

New tools and the embracing thereof also play an important part in freedom and creativity. The other night, I tried something in modo and it became frustrating and I switched to Vue 5 to get the results I needed. In this image, however, modo takes over for the creation of a background I could not do anywhere else. You have to know your tools well to avoid such pitfalls as spending an hour or two trying to create something in the wrong program.

I couldn't be happier with the image quality these new tools have given me. I am greatly excited for the nature of the actual show.

THOUGHTS ON CEL SHADING

There was a time when I began to see a big discrepancy between that which I drew by my hand, and that which was 3D cel shaded. Now there will certainly always be a difference as 3D is not 2D and vice versa. But how big need it be? That's where the artist must work.

A few days ago I was loading some old scenes from Understanding Chaos and rendering them in HD to see how these things looked today. I was quite surprised. I still think some of my best work can be found there. I have made many changes over time and realized that they were not all for the better. Of course, some were making things much better. The thing which was missing was balance.

Cel shading has an upfront cost, but then yields huge back end rewards. The reward being that after an initial investment of time, even if it is sometimes frustrating, there comes a time when the scenes begin to just roll out with little effort. This is its greatest strength. Combined with motion libraries, reusable skeletons and other time saving tools, the power of this technique cannot be ignored. It is by this that I was able to do Understanding Chaos in one month. It was my original goal when I created Skeleton Man.

Today I have a really good tablet PC. This changes things a lot. Still, the advantage of cel shading, especially to achieve the maximum possible visual quality, considering my goal has always been to reach the level of Japanese feature animation, cannot be overstated. It just takes some tweaking to get that right look.

MY GALLANT RETURN

Some may remember from days of yore that, when I had a great home theatre system, I had sworn off going to the movies, tired of lines, people talking like they were in their living room and cel phones. Of course, since moving out here, my great TV went to my brother, since I couldn't bring it, and I have none of those things. Today marked my gallant return to the movies to see The DaVinci Code.

It is not my goal here to do a review of the movie, I want to talk about critics and, of course, theatres. When I mentioned I was going to see the movie, I heard the immediate negative responses of how bad the movie was going to be and how critics were so down on it. People will let critics tell them whether or not to see a movie as though critics may not have a political agenda. I am sure all are aware of the controversy surrounding the film and that churches are flat out against it. Why assume that a critic wouldn't be a part of this? Their comments could easily reflect a religiously motivated desire to keep people from seeing something they don't agree with. That doesn't just go for this film, but many others for various reasons.

As to theatres, there remains the question of lines, people talking an cel phones. Lines are easily taken care of by advance ticket sales or buying online. You can go to a machine and pick up tickets at least avoiding that line. If there is a line for seating, that's another story. I heard that it would be wise to arrive four fours (yes 4 hours) early for the seating line of evening shows of The DaVinci Code. Regardless of what critics say, considering how crowded the 10:30 AM show I saw was, and how sold out many others were, I don't think people are listening. I expect a big opening for this one. Considering what people were saying after the film, I expect it will have strong legs for a good while.

As for people talking, I don't know that this particular movie is a good one to judge how that is these days. People were clearly intently interested in what the on screen characters had to say. As far as I could tell, there was dead silence in the room throughout the showing, save the built in laughs or shocks. Cel phones were another story. As the trailers rolled, there began one which appeared to be a preview of what could only be described as the greatest, biggest budget, Chinese Opera style wire-fu epic ever created. At first I thought it was Jet Li's final film Fearless, but it was something different, something seemingly more epic. Then, as two warriors faced off, flying on wires matching the immensity of Hero, a cel phone goes off. The warriors stop as they clearly hear the sound. One asks, "Do you hear that?" The other replies that it is coming from the audience. The 5.1 mix sells the illusion. It was an announcement to turn cel phones off before the movie. A funny ad, and maybe it worked for I heard not one ring during the picture.

All in all I was very satisfied with my return to the movies and plan to go again soon. Of course it was also quite motivational, giving a great desire to create more. That makes it all the better.

AN INDUSTRY BEHIND

I just read an article on AWN which makes clear the problems we are having with keepiong costs of 2D aniamtion down and keeping work here in the states. Even with tools like I use on the market and many indie sources getting great results with paperless animation, the mainstream industry as still asking whether paperless is reality or myth.

Personally, seeing the work being created in my current production workspace using the Cintiq and Sketchbook Pro, I am finally becoming convinced that “paperless” animation production may one day become a reality,...

That's one of the things Joseph Gilland writes in the article on AWN. Contrasted with what he says of the industry with fastly shrinking budgets and production schedules coupled with broadcaster and distributor desire for greater quality, I am not surprised the artists are not running for the latest greatest tools. I've said this many times before and don't need to go into it again, as long as animators hold on to old concepts, like an animator being too good to clean up his own drawings, or that things must be separated into twenty different departments, we will never see change. In fact, we will never see anything except all the work go to China and India.

YOU DON'T HAVE TO BUILD IT

I was going through a number of 3D model sites and I started thinking, "Why aren't there more independent CGI shorts and movies?" Considering the quality of low cost CG models available on the web, someone could literally write a story, find all the CG models they need, even photoreal samples, and just start making it!

Sure I am oversimplifying everything, but you get the idea, right? Has model building ever stopped your creative flow? I mean, who wants to build and populate some bookshelves? Yet I have seen some incredible, detailed bookcases on model sites for $20 or less. What is your time worth to you? I would just buy it and move on.

On the UFO Film SS Doomtrooper which recently aired on SciFi Channel, we needed a particular tank to appear in one of the shots and it had to look like it was there. I certainly didn't want to build the thing. One of the artists there did a quick search online and found the vehicle we needed in a pack of four tanks for $50. Of course we bought it. That's the way you do it!

My interest is in my characters and my movie, not any individual item in it. If I need a high quality car, especially a car that exists in the real world, you won't see me modeling it. That would be the first trip I make to the 3D model sites to buy that car. Prices vary from site to site. Some sites have great models for $20. Others can be as high as $300, but how much time, energy and effort will it save? Time you could put into something else to get your movie done.

THINKING AND EXPERIMENTING

I read a story on the Mirage website about a guy, a Disney animator, who took the train to work everyday. Armed with his Mirage Nomad, he would wisely use his transit time to draw. Little by little he has been creating something. Eventually some clips from a short film emerged on the site. I was amazed. Nomad in hand, he drew a little bit every day on the way to and from work and the results were sure.

I also take my Nomad with me often. When I have down time, or even during a long render, I would draw something. Usually I just draw ideas for future projects, or create characters and stories. This Disney animator inspired me though. I started to think "what if..." When I am away from my main system and without access to Lightwave 3D or Vue 5 Infinite, I would like to still be able to do something. So I thought, "What would really be suited to the tablet?" I drew this image along those lines.

Thinking of very stylized works like the Sin City comic and film, anime like Dead Leaves or parts of Hakkenden, I thought I could makes something that could be done anywhere, without the need of complex 3D software and multiple tools involved in making an image. Even for those times when, after a hard day's work, I don't want to see Lightwave, I could draw this. It doesn't have to be anything deep, meaningful, special or change lives, just be something I want to do. I like this idea. Who knows where it might lead?

JUSTICE IS SERVED

So the story was true. Back in October I posted an article about the EA lawsuit, where they had apparently negotiated a settlement with employees for overtime and working conditions. Well, it seems that it has gone through. The little guy won this time and the employees were compensated.

To this very day I still here of those horrible days of ex-EA members. I still here how they hated working there and how bad it was. I think something like this was a long time coming, even if I originally didn't expect to happen or amount to much. The real question is, how much will this affect practices in our industry?

Many artists have pointed out that EA is not entirely to blame. Artists allow this to happen to them. Even some companies in the movie world do this to their artists. Many love their jobs in a general sense and so to a degree the artists let this situation arise. I am not saying it is a good thing by any means, but some artists are willing to put in the time on projects they love. Nothing wrong with that either. It's when it is being forced and on a regular basis, without compensation, that it becomes a problem.

I wish I had the link because I just read an article today where the creator of the largest IT empire in India, one of the 50 most influential businessmen in all Asia, wrote about why employees need to go home. Employees having an enjoyable life outside the workplace is better for the company overall. He wrote something to the effect that he has seen crews work Tuesday to Friday to correct mistakes made by employees working after 5PM on Monday. There is a trade off. There is a point where it must stop.

ROBOT DESTINY

Alex Silva sent me a striking bit of news from The Korea Times relating to my continuing string of robot posts. IN this particular case, a team of Korean scientists have developed a surprisingly realistic female android called EveR-1, and this is only the beginning.

From a distance, the android could be confused with a real, flesh and blood human being, according to Baeg.

``EveR-1 amply demonstrates our robotic technologies are at the forefront in the world. We will continue to make efforts to advance,'' Baeg said.

While the robot is currently stationary, making it employable as a guide robot at museums or in educational settings, team leader Baeg Moon-hong plans to see all limbs on the robot functioning by the end of the year. It's clear that Baeg has no intention of lagging behind Japanese scientists who created the first realistic female android, which I posted about in my Robot Millennium article here.

I must admit I never expected to see this type of thing in reality when I was growing up. Considering the rate at which technology often progresses, how long before one of these androids walks? How long before they can hold a real conversation on any level? How long before they can do a lot of the service oriented jobs currently done by high school students? More importantly, when will the technology be so cheap that it is cost effective for a major franchise to employ such a technique?

Imagine when the price of an android is comparable to that of a good car, and then only needs minor maintenance and upgrade costs, which could be less than an employee benefits package, but they get an employee that can work many more hours per day, will never quit and never cause the company to seek out, hire and train a new employee. An android will never get sued for putting a booger in someone's burger either.

Now the company doesn't need expensive humanoid androids to wash dishes in the back or even to cook the food. This can be done by cheaper efficient machines suited for one task. But when it comes to dealing with customers, that is where the beautiful female android comes in. To business owners now wanted to deal with complex managerial issues, this could become the wave of the future. An entrepreneur could buy an "Automated Subway" franchise which comes complete with robot staff and is set to run all on its own. The owner could buy it online and never need visit the place. Even when a robot breaks down a call is automatically placed to the service company and someone, or something, will come out and fix or replace it in a hurry. Free of charge if under warranty. After that, the owner would simply rake in the checks.

This could really happen in our lifetimes. I think the recent I, Robot movie with Will Smith really lost out on an opportunity to really say something about the future we may build ourselves into. While enjoyed it as a popcorn film with lots of explosions, I hope to see some actual pertinent robot films come out that really show the possibilities, without ending up with robots killing all of us. I guess is they don't get made, maybe I'll have to make them!

CAN IT BE?

According to an article on CNN, the original Star Wars films, untouched in all their theatrical glory are coming to DVD!

This time, "Star Wars," "The Empire Strikes Back" and "Return of the Jedi" will be available individually and appear on DVD exactly as they did in their respective theatrical runs in 1977, 1980 and 1983.

Each release, distributed by 20th Century Fox, will be a two-disc set that also includes the digitally tweaked 2004 edition.

That's what it says basically. Funny thing is, they will only be available until the end of the year. So don't be broke at that time.

THE BOO BOX

Jason, how could you not remember the Boo Box?

Also, as for creators having a good idea and unique vision, I think I really have something here...


What do you think?

AIN'T NO MONEY IN IT!

ICV2 is apparently reporting that the U.S. manga market is in the range of $155-$180 million. Now that leaves a real bad taste in my mouth when I think about desires to make manga. A reasonably popular movie can gross $155-$180 million at the box office. In fact, many absolutely have to so that they make money. But for manga this represents the entire industry. Most of this is the imported stuff, so what does that leave for the original English language titles?

A hugely popular movie like Harry Potter IV can gross nearly $1 billion worldwide. That's one movie! (however much it is an exception to the rule) Now I'm not being greedy. This comes down to the question of how many people is the vision reaching? I am not writing stories or speaking from my heart so that five or ten thousand can know of it. Now don't get me wrong, the figures are great for , say, TOKYOPOP. They own nearly a third of that market. But what about the individual creator? It's like what many are starting to see as the disadvantage of iTunes. The guy who gets a piece of every song makes out like a bandit, but what about the individual song holder? How many people are they reaching. I would dare say some of those artists on the web mentioned in that Wired article are reaching far more people with their message.

The anime industry isn't doing much better. ICV2 is reporting that 2005 saw major oversaturation of ther market which result is mass-market retailer returns. This means a lot of publishers got a lot of their discs sent back to them because they weren't selling. I remember when I used to own every anime title seen on the store shelf. Now I never heard of 95% of the titles out there. They went overboard. But the real question is, what chance do you have to get on that shelf now?

SOCIAL IMPORTANCE

There is great interview on this Canadian site with Shinichiro Watanabe, the creator of Samurai Champloo, about the combination of hip hop and that culture with old samurai film traditions to create this groundbreaking show. The interview, which is an audio file found here, really explains a lot about the show and what he was trying to do and say.

I've been thinking a lot about self expression lately. A recent article in Wired magazine, sent to me by PJ Foley, and which I should have written about, is but one of the many factors contributing to a new movement in the thought behind what I do, what I intend to do and even how I proceed in all things.

We've all heard the saying, "Actions speak louder than words." before. Kung Fu Tze (Confucius) wrote that "The superior man acts before he speaks, and speaks afterwards according to his actions." There is merit to these words, especially in a world where I have seen my very speech become meaningless. It pays to stay on the surface and speak only of meaningless things. My work will be different.

Ever see the film Hustle and Flow? This film, particularly seen on DVD with all the extra feature in tow, exemplifies what a work should be, the same as spoken of by Watanabe in the interview. I'm talking about living the dream. I look at this film and say, "I was there!" I remember doing all that stuff. Not the being a pimp part, but stringing together anything and everything we could find and trying to make some music and make it sound professional. After that stringing together Amiga computers and primitive genlocks and other tools and trying to make anime, drawn with a mouse!! Some of my friends would argue that the stuff I did back then was far better than what I did years later with Chaos and Shadowskin.

I see a return to that age of freedom and creativity and I have alot of ideas in that direction. This, however, is the last time you're going to read about it on this site. In keeping with Kung Fu Tze, this site is going to focus on what is. This site is also going to go down for a while as I move to another service. My current provider isn't even remotely competitive in the web hosting market, and my current financial situation and future plans for using the net at its best potential require that I get every bit of bang possible out of my web hosting buck.

There was a day when hip hop was of great social importance in America. Now hip hop has spread out into the world and "everybody's doing it" so to speak. Something has been lost. I remember seeing a Jamaican film with Jamaican underground hip hop and seeing a glimmer of what it once was in the states. It was from the streets and about the streets. It was about real life and not cars, bling, booties.