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The Digital Pueblo Project

The Digital Pueblo Project. Ed Angel Professor of Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Media Arts Director, Arts Technology Center University of New Mexico angel@cs.unm.edu www.cs.unm.edu/~angel atc.unm.edu/digitalpueblo.html. Our Mission.

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The Digital Pueblo Project

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  1. The Digital Pueblo Project Ed Angel Professor of Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Media Arts Director, Arts Technology Center University of New Mexico angel@cs.unm.edu www.cs.unm.edu/~angel atc.unm.edu/digitalpueblo.html

  2. Our Mission The Digital Pueblo Project is building an art and technology environment in New Mexico that includes animation and computer graphics in film, television, arts, music and dance. The goal of the project is to create an atmosphere that will foster innovation and economic opportunity in New Mexico and reverse the drain of talented and innovative people.

  3. A Short History • NM is a center for art, culture, and technology • Computer graphics/animation/digital arts can build on these three strengths • For ten years, NM had a large and active local SIGGRAPH (ACM Special Interest Group on Graphics) • Much industrial support (Sun, DEC, SGI) • Annual exposition at ABQ Convention Center • Combined activities in all three areas

  4. UNM • UNM has research and teaching strengths in graphics • Much of graphics/visualization groups at LANL and SNL are UNM graduates (CS and EECE) • Other grads at Pixar, Dreamworks, Disney,Autodesk • Starting ~1995 animation efforts • Jointly listed classes between CS and Media Arts • Graduates would rather be in NM

  5. Interdisciplinary Efforts

  6. Students in Animation Pod

  7. Where are they now? • Pixar • Dreamworks • Disney Studios • Lucas Films • Microsoft • SGI • National Labs • Startups

  8. Dawg Stars • Outgrowth of SIGGRAPH efforts • Working with Senator Domenici’s office • Participation • UNM (CS, Media, ATC, Lodestar) • Aquila, Autumn Light, Muse Tech • Projects • Mentoring/TeaPods • NM Video/Animation • Graphics and Animation in NM

  9. Economic Initiatives • New Mexico is both rich in culture and art, and a leader in science and technology. • However, the state faces several challenges that prevent full development of its communities. • Geographic spread • Lack of access to resources • Lack of job opportunities • Challenge is to surmount these barriers without destroying the cultural uniqueness of NM • Motivation for Digital Pueblo Project

  10. Goals • Digital Pueblo project will create an infrastructure in New Mexico for innovation and economic development in the digital arts and sciences industry • Technical Resources and Infrastructure • Project Creation • Synergy and Innovation • Supported by NSF Partnership for Innovation program

  11. NSF Partnership for Innovation • “The PFI Program is focused on connections between new knowledge created in the discovery process to learning and innovation. The goals of the program are • to catalyze Partnerships for Innovation that will enable the transformation of knowledge created by the national research and education enterprise into innovations that create new wealth, build strong local, regional and national economies and improve the national well-being; • broaden the participation of all types of academic institutions and all citizens in NSF activities to more fully meet the broad workforce needs of the national innovation enterprise; and catalyze enabling infrastructure necessary to foster and sustain innovation in the long-term. • To develop a set of ideas for pursuing these goals, this competition will support promising partnerships among academe, government and the private sector; partnerships that will explore new approaches to support and sustain innovation. “

  12. Principal Investigators Ed Angel, Principal Investigator Professor of Computer Science, Electrical and Computer Engineering, and Media Arts Director, Arts Technology Center angel@cs.unm.edu Ernie Herrera, co-PI Associate Director, Albuquerque High Performance Computing Center eherrera@ahpcc.unm.edu Danae Falliers, co-PI Associate Director, Arts Technology Center, College of Fine Arts zmdf@unm.edu Jack McIver, co-PI Associate Vice Provost for Research, UNM jmciver@unm.edu

  13. Project Staff Sally Bowler-Hill Program Coordinator Arts Technology Center sabh@unm.edu Hue Walker Media Specialist Arts Technology Center huebk@unm.edu Students, Instructor, and Mentors Catherine Vanderpool Aaron Romero Chris Cervantes Joe Ulibarri

  14. Board of Directors Judy Beckes-TalcottAquila Group Mark Henne PIXAR Animation Studios Ron Solimon Indian Pueblo Cultural Center Nancy UscherUNM Provost’s Office Patrick Vanderpool Senator Domenici’s Office Frank Zuniga NM Film Commission

  15. Partners at UNM • Arts Technology Center, College of Fine Arts • Computer Science Department • Lodestar Astronomy Center • HPCERC

  16. Partners in NM • Albuquerque TVI • Aquila Group • Bandelier EFX • Big Byte • Connect NM • Conti Films • Drumfire • National Hispanic Cultural Center of NM • NM Trains • Poeh Arts Center, Pojoaque • Pueblo of Zuni • Sandia National Laboratories • Vizeon

  17. National Partners • IBM • Intel • National Indian Telecommunications Institute • PIXAR Animation Studios

  18. Initial Projects • Year One (started 10/1/2002) • Two technology pods created and operational • National Hispanic Cultural Center • Classes started Feb 2003 • Lodestar Astronomy Center • Classes already started • NITI • Class started March 2003 • Poeh Arts Center • All classes project-based • Develop real skills and real products

  19. Connections via AccessGrid • High-bandwidth videoconferencing system. • All sites are seen and react simultaneously. • Used for meetings, workshops, seminars, distance education, and digital arts.

  20. National Hispanic Cultural Center

  21. Access Grid Room The room on the right is a multipurpose classroom at the NHCC that has been equipped with a projector and an Access Grid node (box at far right)

  22. DPP Pod We also have a lab at NHCC equipped with three dual display workstations and a file server specifically for the Digital Pueblo Project An identical lab has been set up at the Lodestar Astronomy Center

  23. Large-Format Visualizations at the LodeStar Astronomy Center David Beining, Director Hue Walker Chris Jordan Sheryl Hurley

  24. Domed Theater & Planetarium • One of the first and finest in the world • Opened 2000 • 55-foot diameter domed screen, 140 seats • Full-Dome Video (SkyVision) & 5.1 Sound • Feature & Star Shows • Lectures & Observing Events • Student & Community Screenings • Now 50+ theaters internationally

  25. The SkyVision System • Created by Sky-Skan, Inc. (www.skyskan.com) • Tiled projection system with 6 digital RGB projectors • that are feathered to produce a seamless immersive display • Contains a 5.1 Dolby sound system Courtesy: Sky-Skan, Inc

  26. Producing for the Dome

  27. Production Steps: “The Panels” • Rigging Five Virtual Cameras (Top Half of a Cube) • Creating Top, Front, Back, Left and Right ‘Panels’ • 360-degree view • Targa/JPEG image sequences for each view/camera • Each panel’s resolution is 1200 to 1800 pixels square

  28. Production Steps: “Dome Masters” • ‘Stitching’the panels using proprietary software • Merging panels, fish-eye distortion, masking • A result is called a ‘Dome Master’ • 2400 to 3600 pixels squared • Single Targa Image Sequence

  29. Five Images

  30. Folded Images

  31. Dome Master

  32. Sequence of Dome Masters

  33. Production Steps: “Slicing” • ‘Slicing’ the Dome Masters for projection on dome • Cropping, feathering and gamma drops on edges • Compression and playback formats by DPS video cards • NTSC resolution per channel • Clips to respective projectors’ LVD and workstation for playback

  34. Sliced and Projected

  35. Creating Content: Maya Instructors It takes a lot of work • and generates a lot of data

  36. Design schemata issues • A new filmic language • ‘Frameless Composition” • Scale, Motion, Context • Color palettes and gammas • Exposing the seams • Dome time

  37. Production Issues • Complex camera rigs • Three rendering steps • File management • Data storage • Dome time

  38. Student Projects

  39. Student Projects

  40. Artist Projects

  41. GRONK, Prototype Domemaster for the Digital Dome at the LodeStar Astronomy Center

  42. James Crutchfield & David Dunn, Sample Pattern for The Theatre of Pattern Formation

  43. New Projects • Athens: 4 1-minute animations for new Eugenides dome in Athens, Greece • Mars: 3 classes to create a fly-in, landing, and dataport simulation • Bugs: Lightwave + “bug rigging” • Gronk: Brain Flame

  44. Difficulties • Have we bitten off too much? • Everybody wants in • Connectivity • I2 not really there in rural NM • Alternatives all have problems • No real incentive for telcoms • Dealing with diverse groups (geographically and culturally) takes a lot of time, energy, money, and people

  45. What’s Next • Years Two and Three • Move out of Albuquerque • Santa Fe • Poeh Arts Center • Your Town • Self-sustaining projects • Film industry • Startups • Large format productions

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