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We introduce Loki, a new framework for robust simulation of fluid, rigid, and deformable objects with non-compromising fidelity on any single element, and capabilities for coupling and representation transitions across multiple elements. Loki adapts multiple best-in-class solvers into a unified framework driven by a declarative state machine where users declare 'what' is simulated but not 'when,' so an automatic scheduling system takes care of mixing any combination of objects. This leads to intuitive setups for coupled simulations such as hair in the wind or objects transitioning from one representation to another, for example bulk water FLIP particles to SPH spray particles to volumetric mist. We also provide a consistent treatment for components used in several domains, such as unified collision and attachment constraints across 1D, 2D, 3D deforming and rigid objects. Distribution over MPI, custom linear equation solvers, and aggressive application of sparse techniques keep performance within production requirements. We demonstrate a variety of solvers within the framework and their interactions, including FLIPstyle liquids, spatially adaptive volumetric fluids, SPH, MPM, and mesh-based solids, including but not limited to discrete elastic rods, elastons, and FEM with state-of-the-art constitutive models. Our framework has proven powerful and intuitive enough for voluntary artist adoption and has delivered creature and FX simulations for multiple major movie productions in the preceding four years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Software development is a complex process that requires skills in mathematics and physics. Moreover, it usually includes collaboration with other people. To get a precise understanding of the way such a process is organized, we need to understand its essence. Technical knowledge is crucially important for any developer; however, another important characteristic of any software engineer is creativity. In this article, we look at one particular artistic practice [filmmaking] that involves both these latter characteristics to determine whether insights from such a practice can be applied in the IT industry and vice versa.

Based on the model proposed by Hui and Png (Am Econ Rev 92(2):217–220, 2002), this article provides evidence of the relationship between Oscar awards and movie production. Panel data including 53 countries for the period 2005–2017 are used. Estimation results for the full sample show a positive relationship between Oscar wins and movie production. The results across subsamples reveal that Oscar wins in the category of "Best Foreign Language Film" (BFLF) and nominations in the four major categories (best picture, actor, actress and director) are positively correlated with movie production for a sample of middle-income countries. Strikingly, the estimations show a negative correlation between movie production and nominations in the BFLF category for high-income countries. The results are fairly robust to the introduction of control variables and different estimation methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Today, superhero films are seen as the most popular and financially valuable forms of globalised movie production. Given the fact that the market segment they are a part of is quite oversaturated, their producers and creators tend to seek new or rather innovative ways of portraying movie characters with supernatural features and special talents. The movie Venom is one of the most financially successful film products of 2018. Its story differs from other similar movie narratives in various aspects. The paper aims to discuss Venom’s main protagonist, Eddie Brock played by Tom Hardy. Brock is not only an unlucky man, who is forced to live in a symbiotic relationship with an alien organism named Venom, but, still and above all, a talented journalist. We offer a narrative and discourse analysis of the movie in question, which focuses on Eddie Brock’s role as a journalist, pointing out how he embraces his symbiosis with Venom and what it means in relation to his former (and future) career in the media. While discussing the outlined topic, we argue that Eddie Brock’s occupation is one of the key factors driving the film’s narrative. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the past three years, cinematic virtual reality (CVR) has emerged as a form of media storytelling that takes advantage of the immersive properties of VR technology. However, as a practice it poses a number of challenges for the writer–director used to controlling the frame through which the viewer experiences the narrative. This research outlines the making of Entangled (a live-action, stereoscopic, VR experience incorporating ambisonic audio) and reflects on concept development and production decision-making with reference to the emerging body of academic knowledge about cinematic VR, in particular ideas about the position of the viewer and the nature of narration. The research addresses some of the gaps in knowledge in these areas, reconciling theoretical positions with a deep understanding of the realities of production processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From Evil Angels (Fred Schepisi, 1988) and Muriel's Wedding (PJ Hogan, 1994) to a trio of astonishing collaborations with Baz Luhrmann that culminated in a Best Film Editing Oscar nomination [...]

The rolling hills, picturesque scenery and breathtaking topography of New Zealand have provided a majestic backdrop for many a cinematic triumph. From the representations of Middle Earth in Peter Jackson's [...]

The movie and broadcast industries are gaining experience with high-dynamic-range (HDR) video technologies and are starting to produce HDR content at scale. This is accompanied by a learning process, particularly involving questions regarding the use of the extra dynamic range afforded by these technologies. To create further insight into the aspects of HDR content, in this paper, a variety of different types of content is analyzed. Manual annotation processes are used to determine the range of luminance values that, for example, diffuse white objects or white overlay graphics objects have in this content. We found that, for each type of object analyzed, the mean luminance value is reasonably constant across different types of content, but the spread of luminance values is remarkably large and strongly content dependent. Our results may form a basis for understanding HDR content and contribute toward forming opinions on defining reference levels in reports and standards, including International Telecommunications Union - Radiocommunication Rec. BT.2408. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virtual reality (VR) is an immersive medium that has been the focus of much experimentation since the 1960s. Defined by Jason Jerald as 'a computer-generated digital environment that can be [...]

The Manuka rendering architecture has been designed in the spirit of the classic reyes rendering architecture: to enable the creation of visually rich computer generated imagery for visual effects in movie production. Following in the footsteps of reyes over the past 30 years, this means supporting extremely complex geometry, texturing, and shading. In the current generation of renderers, it is essential to support very accurate global illumination as a means to naturally tie together different assets in a picture. This is commonly achieved with Monte Carlo path tracing, using a paradigm often called shade on hit, in which the renderer alternates tracing rays with running shaders on the various ray hits. The shaders take the role of generating the inputs of the local material structure, which is then used by path-sampling logic to evaluate contributions and to inform what further rays to cast through the scene. We propose a shade before hit paradigm instead and minimise I/O strain on the system, leveraging locality of reference by running pattern generation shaders before we execute light transport simulation by path sampling. We describe a full architecture built around this approach, featuring spectral light transport and a flexible implementation of multiple importance sampling (mis), resulting in a system able to support a comparable amount of extensibility to what made the reyes rendering architecture successful over many decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A student essay for the Special Student Issue of the Journal of Extreme Anthropology accompanying the art exhibition 'Artist's Waste, Wasted Artists', which opened in Vienna on the 19th of September 2017 and was curated by the students of social anthropology at the University of Vienna. This essay investigates the value transformations of costumes created by costume designers for movie productions, tracing their valorization, loss of value, and re-valorization. The text is grounded in interviews with the Viennese costume designer Thomas Oláh.