Pacific Rim poster

New Pacific Rim poster, huge robot!!

id software beginnings

This is so far the most detailed documentary about how id software started. And some pictures I haven`t seen yet. Wow, as exciting as watching inventing first aeroplanes. Plus it reminds me old times around 1995 when me and two friends from highschool were also working on our game. For PC. Programmed in assembler. I did graphics with 256 color pallete and so on...

John Carmack and his VR prototype

John Carmack and his prototype of Virtual Reality Set


http://www.pcgamer.com/2012/06/06/john-carmack-is-making-a-virtual-reality-headset-500-kits-available-soon-video-interview-inside/

new creature studio founded

A group of film industry veterans have recently founded new studio called Creature Art and Mechanics at Marin County, California. Three of the founders are creature TDs known in 3d animation community for sharing their rigging experience from production through learning DVDs, online and CG conferences like Siggraph. Andrea Maiolo and Tim Naylor have worked in ILM on such movies as Star Wars, Hulk and Pirates of Carribean and with Chad Vernon have all experience with Maya custom tools and plugin development for high-end creature production.
From their press release the facility is planning to "...offer a "Creature Shop" that will hand-off characters and creatures to a studio or its vendors, and support the production of that asset through to final compositing, if necessary."

3d film editing based on game engines

I have just watched this beta version of Source Filmmaker, 3d interactive editing and animation tool from well known game company Valve Software.




This reminds me Autodesk also added built-in 3d editor called Camera Sequencer for Maya 2011:
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/item?siteID=123112&id=15247341&linkID=9242256
This also can import Final Cut Pro edit file to start from a reference sequence. Although I`ve never used it, it seems to offer pretty much the same basic features - 3d environment using Viewport 2.0 with directX, camera/shot sequence and character body/facial animation (using any rig and animation tools in Maya).
Although for those who are not owning Maya license, Source Filmmaker and similar tools could be a price alternative.
And this adds to general trend today where gaming software starts to offer some use in broadcast and film industry as well. Like recent release of CryEngine Cinebox environment for public use (supports alembic geometry cache, OpenEXR, FBX etc.) and cinematic quality interactive renderer Unreal Engine 4 from Epic (which is so far only as a game dedicated engine).