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Nola Pictures Collaborate on U2 Grammy Performance

Moo2u — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:11:13 +0000

Juan Delcan from Nola Pictures recently teamed up with Rabbit director Catherine Owens to create the screen visuals for U2’s brilliant opening performance at the 2009 Grammy Awards broadcast.

Artists, designers and animators from creative house Loyalkaspar were enlisted to collaborate on the project which was edited by Union Editorial.

Catherine Owens is a long time art director for the band’s live shows and was co-director of the 2008 U23D movie.

CREDITS:

Rabbit
Director: Catherine Owens
Exec Producer: Betsy Blakemore

Nola
CD/Designer: Juan Delcan
Exec Producer: Charlie Curran

LoyalKaspar
Creative Directors: Beat Baudenbacher, Elliott Chaffer
Project Producer: Melissa August
Assoc Prod: Scott Lasko
3D Artists: Kyle Anderson, Adam Pearlman, Chris Foster
2D Artists: Ann Kruetzcamp, Chris Thompson, Dennis Cheung, Alexandra Stefanova
2D Animator: Sebastien Larreur Designers Daniel Dornemann, Emily Gobielle, Chris Thompson
Tech Support: Steve Renn

Union Editorial
Editor: Adam Jenkins
Exec Producer: Caryn MacLean

Related Links
http://nolapictures.com

www.loyalkaspar.com

www.unioneditorial.com

ROKKAN Teams With Virgin America As Its Web Agency Of Record

Moo2u — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:06:01 +0000

When things between two companies get this good, it’s time to make it official. ROKKAN is pleased to announce it’s now Virgin America’s Web Agency of Record. ROKKAN, a full-service interactive agency, has been with Virgin America since the airline’s launch, and it’s been a breathtaking ride for both parties.

Virgin America revolutionized airline travel before its first flight even took off and with ROKKAN as their partner they are creating some of the company’s most successful and innovative work to date. A distinctive booking process makes finding just the right flight part of the experience travelers expect from Virgin America: efficient, and designed for function and pleasure.

A redesigned homepage will serve as a travel dashboard, putting personal and flight information right where travelers need it. Virgin America’s points-based loyalty program, Elevate, and its recently launched and evolving online community are all results of its strategic partnership with ROKKAN. Now that the two companies have sealed the deal with agency-of-record status, fliers can expect an exponentially greater experience, both in the air and online.

About ROKKAN
With offices in New York and San Francisco, full-service interactive agency ROKKAN is a solutions-driven company with the right blend of creativity, energy, and innovation. ROKKAN works directly with clients and also partners with advertising agencies, delivering a wide range of strategic, creative, and technical solutions. From interactive, rich-media marketing campaigns to enterprise technical applications, ROKKAN is equipped for all client needs. ROKKAN’s core expertise includes: Digital Business, Brand Activation, User Experience Design, Traffic Generation, and Technology. Recent campaigns and websites include projects for Virgin America, Adidas, Jose Cuervo, Rockstar Games, Time Warner, UGO Entertainment and 2K Games. Visit www.rokkan.com to learn more.

Related Links:
www.rokkan.com

www.virginamerica.com

Caligari Eye February 2009

Moo2u — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:55:53 +0000

Dear Caligari community member,

We are pleased to let you know that the latest edition of our on-line newsletter has been released!
Here you will find short introductions to what it contains, just follow any of the links to read the
articles in full.

Microsoft’s Retail Experience Center, in real and virtual space.

On January 13th 2009, Microsoft opened a fully functional mock-up of a retail store in Redmond.
We take a look at the virtual version of the store that was built by Augusto Michelis in trueSpace at
the same time as the physical store was being constructed.

Then we take a look at the Santa Tracker on Virtual Earth, where trueSpace was used to create the models of Santa, his village, reindeer and elves.

There’s also coverage of some of the many news items from recent months, such as the release of Tentacles for trueSpace, and third party development work being done to allow the Yaf(a)ray render engine to be used with trueSpace.

If you want to import objects from SketchUp or other 3D application into trueSpace, then our Hints and Tips section covers what you need to know.

Other tips explore how to export from trueSpace to Expression Blend 2 or Visual Studio, so you can use your 3D models in a WPF application, plus takes a look at n-gons and what to do about them.

We hope you enjoy this edition of the Caligari Eye! Read the full newsletter here:
http://www.caligari.com/News/news_200901/newsletter.html

The Retail Experience Center

On January 13th 2009, Microsoft opened a fully functional mock-up of a retail store in Redmond. The Retail Experience Center may be stocked with Microsoft products on the shelves, but that is not what it is selling.

Instead the 20,000 square foot facility is designed to promote the technology that runs the store itself, showcasing ways to help cut costs, create efficiencies, streamline operations, and promote and sell goods. It is also part of Microsoft’s larger effort to establish a research facility to better understand and address how consumers are experiencing the Windows brand at retail as they select and purchase PCs.

Alongside the bricks-and-mortar store, a virtual copy was also commissioned from Augusto Michelis, built and delivered using trueSpace. The virtual store was quite a challenge, as it was required to be as realistic and detailed as possible, while meeting the need to run in real-time. This gives a different set of priorities to the work than when modeling to create offline renders and pre-rendered animated walk-throughs.

A photograph on the left, and a real-time screen grab on the right.

The finished scene can be put to use in a variety of ways. It’s far easier to move models around in a virtual space, making it easier to test store layouts and designs. The shared space capabilities of trueSpace make it possible for people to meet, so management, marketing and shop floor staff could gather to discuss layouts. It could even allow shoppers to come and familiarize themselves with the store before visiting it.

3D artist Augusto Michelis found it an exciting project to work on. “Architectural 3D is very common these days. However, making a whole retail center where people can walk around and find specific products on specific shelves, even read what is on the box, that is still not common!” he said.

A screen capture from trueSpace The scene can be fully edited and navigated in this view.

“I made the models from floor plans before the store was complete, so it was amazing for me to see pictures from the finished building as I already knew my way around the store. I knew just where to find the Microsoft keyboards, or where to go for technical support,” he added. “This is where trueSpace, with its real-time and collaboration capabilities, makes a huge difference compared to other software.”

Augusto thinks that this project and others like it is just the beginning. “I believe in the near future customers will not just ask for but will even demand this sort of technology. trueSpace puts that kind of power in your hands today, to create whatever you want with quality and speed, so you can get ahead of your competitors.”

For more information on the Retail Experience Center itself, see the Microsoft Retail Experience Press Page for the press release, launch video, photos, and more. For more information on the virtual store, contact v-thgrim@microsoft.com.

PolyU Student Challenge

Moo2u — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 15:40:22 +0000

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (香港理工大學） has held a competition inviting universities and highschool students across the world to participate. Participating students are given the chance to unleash their innovation and entrepreneurship potential through the events. It’s also a great chance for participates to gain a valuable international challenge experience.

Thirty finalist teams will be sponsored for their round-trip economy air tickets and accomodation during their stay in Hong Kong. Trophy, certificate and Cash awards will be awarded to the winning team. Each nominated team should complete registration online on or before 31 December 2008 and submit one entry of business proposal online on or before 31 March 2009.

For more information, please visit http://www.polyu.edu.hk/PolyUChallenge.

Key Dates to Remember:

31 January 2009	Deadline for online registration
January – March 2009	Preparation of business plan by contestants
31 March 2009	Deadline for business proposal submission
30 April 2009	Announcement of finalist teams
15 May 2009	Deadline for business plan powerpoint submission
3 June 2009	Arrival of non-local finalist teams in HK
4 June 2009	Training / Exhibition of prototypes [4^th - 6^th June]
5 June 2009	Semi-finals, Cocktail and announcement of teams into Finals
6 June 2009	Finals, Gala Dinner cum presentation
7 & 8 June 2009	Educational excursion programme
9 June 2009	Departure of non-local teams