RICOH THETA Z1 51GB camera – 360° images in RAW format
https://theta360.com/en/about/theta/z1.html
- 23MP(6720 x 3360, 7K)
- superior noise reduction performance
- F2.1, F3.5 and F5.6
- 4K videos (3840 x 1920, 29.97fps)
- RAW (DNG) image format
- 360° live streaming in 4K
- record sound from 4 different directions when shooting video
- editing of 360° images in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom Classic CC
- Android™ base system for the OS. Use plug-ins to customize your own THETA.
- Wireless 2.4 GHz: 1 to 11ch or 1 to 13ch
- Wireless 5 GHz: W52 (36 to 48ch, channel bandwidth 20/40/80 MHz supported)
Theta Z1 is Ricoh’s flagship 360 camera that features 1-inch sensors, which are the largest available for dual lens 360 cameras. It has been a highly regarded camera among 360 photographers because of its excellent image quality, color accuracy, and its ability to shoot Raw DNG photos with exceptional exposure latitude.
Bracketing mode 2022
Rquirement: Basic app iOS ver.2.20.0, Android ver.2.5.0, Camera firmware ver.2.10.3
https://community.theta360.guide/t/new-feature-ae-bracket-added-in-the-shooting-mode-z1-only/8247
HDRi for VFX
https://community.theta360.guide/t/create-high-quality-hdri-for-vfx-using-ricoh-theta-z1/4789/4
ND filtering
https://community.theta360.guide/t/neutral-density-solution-for-most-theta-cameras/7331
https://community.theta360.guide/t/long-exposure-nd-filter-for-ricoh-theta/1100
Fast, optimized ‘for’ pixel loops with OpenCV and Python to create tone mapped HDR images
https://pyimagesearch.com/2017/08/28/fast-optimized-for-pixel-loops-with-opencv-and-python/
https://learnopencv.com/exposure-fusion-using-opencv-cpp-python/
Exposure Fusion is a method for combining images taken with different exposure settings into one image that looks like a tone mapped High Dynamic Range (HDR) image.
Louis Rosenberg – The profound danger of conversational AI
https://venturebeat.com/ai/the-profound-danger-of-conversational-ai/
We are about to enter a new age of Conversational Computing and despite the many benefits, it will unleash a new level of danger for targeted #manipulation, #persuasion, and #coercion.
Instead of firing buckshot into broad populations, these new AI methods will function more like “heat-seeking missiles” that mark users as individual targets and adapt their conversational tactics in real time, adjusting to each individual personally as they work to maximize their persuasive impact.
Bomper Studio implements a 4 day work week and encourages others studios to follow suit
https://www.skwigly.co.uk/bomper-studio-4-day-work-week/
Welsh CGI and Animation studio, Bomper Studio, has made a progressive move and has voted to stick with a 4-day work week after a successful trial.
Bomper Studio is fully self-funded, which has been incredibly important in providing freedom to shape the company and its business practices. Over the past 4 years, Bomper has consistently spent a quarter of its revenue on Research and Development.
HDRI Resources
Text2Light
- https://www.cgtrader.com/free-3d-models/exterior/other/10-free-hdr-panoramas-created-with-text2light-zero-shot
- https://frozenburning.github.io/projects/text2light/
- https://github.com/FrozenBurning/Text2Light
Royalty free links
- https://locationtextures.com/panoramas/
- http://www.noahwitchell.com/freebies
- https://polyhaven.com/hdris
- https://hdrmaps.com/
- https://www.ihdri.com/
- https://hdrihaven.com/
- https://www.domeble.com/
- http://www.hdrlabs.com/sibl/archive.html
- https://www.hdri-hub.com/hdrishop/hdri
- http://noemotionhdrs.net/hdrevening.html
- https://www.openfootage.net/hdri-panorama/
- https://www.zwischendrin.com/en/browse/hdri
Nvidia GauGAN360
Ben McEwan – Demystifying ST Maps
https://benmcewan.com/blog/2020/02/02/demystifying-st-maps/
An ST map is an image where every pixel has a unique Red and Green colour value that corresponds to an X and Y coordinate in screen-space. You can use one to efficiently warp an image in Nuke.
In 3D you project the STMap against all the elements in the scene and render glass/transmittive elements on top of that.
mind-blowing ChatGPT extensions to use it anywhere
https://medium.com/geekculture/6-chatgpt-mind-blowing-extensions-to-use-it-anywhere-db6638640ec7
- Use ChatGPT anywhere — Google Chrome Extension https://github.com/gragland/chatgpt-chrome-extension
- Combining ChatGPT with search engines https://github.com/wong2/chatgpt-google-extension
- Using voice commands with ChatGTP https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/promptheus-converse-with/eipjdkbchadnamipponehljdnflolfki
- Integrating ChatGPT in Telegram and Whatsapp https://github.com/altryne/chatGPT-telegram-bot/
- Integrating ChatGPT in Google Docs or Microsoft Word https://github.com/cesarhuret/docGPT
- Save everything you have generated in ChatGPT https://github.com/liady/ChatGPT-pdf
- ChatGPT Writer: It uses ChatGPT/ATLAS to generate emails or replies based on your prompt https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/chatgpt-writer-write-mail/pdnenlnelpdomajfejgapbdpmjkfpjkp/related
- WebChatGPT gives you relevant results from the web https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/webchatgpt-chatgpt-with-i/lpfemeioodjbpieminkklglpmhlngfcn
- YouTube Summary with ChatGPT/ATLAS https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/youtube-summary-with-chat/nmmicjeknamkfloonkhhcjmomieiodli/related
- TweetGPT: It uses ChatGPT/ATLAS to write your tweets, reply, comment https://github.com/yaroslav-n/tweetGPT
Forbes – The Hypocrisy Of Layoffs At Google, Microsoft, And PayPal
“These companies chose to blame thousands of people for a problem that was specifically created by their execs. The same people writing crocodile-tear-stained layoff letters are the same ones responsible for unrealistic projections, unrealistic spending and unrealistic hiring.”
“With corporate leaders having incentives not to benefit stakeholders at shareholder expense, delegating the guardianship of stakeholder interests to corporate leaders would prove futile. The promise of pluralistic stakeholderism is illusory.”
The Big Tech and big fintech companies aren’t worried about letting people go because when the next up-cycle hits they’ll pay top dollars (of course), but just as importantly, these resources can (nearly) seamlessly “plug and pay” into the tech environments in any of these companies.
“They use the same communication tools, the same programming tools, the same everything. There’s no (or hardly any) onboarding and training time required to get someone up to speed.”
“Without the need to spend months (weeks at the least) and untold dollars on training new employees, technology firms are emboldened to just let people go when it’s expedient for them.”
freecodecamp.org – Python Automation Scripts
https://www.freecodecamp.org/news/python-automation-scripts/
- Automate Python Proofreading
- Automate Playing Random Music
- Automatic PDF to CSV Converter
- Automatic Photo Compressor
- Automatic YouTube Video Downloader
- Automatic Text to Speech
- Automatically Convert Images to PDF
- Automatic Plagiarism Checker
- Make URLs Shorter
- Internet Speed Tester
Disney to slash $5.5 billion in costs as it unveils vast restructuring
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/08/disney-reorganization.html
“On Wednesday, during its quarterly earnings call with investors, Disney also announced it would be cutting $5.5 billion in costs, which will be made up of $3 billion from content, excluding sports, and the remaining $2.5 billion from non-content cuts. Disney executives said about $1 billion in cost cutting was already underway since last quarter.”
rayshader – open source tool for producing 2D and 3D data visualizations
rayshader is an open source package for producing 2D and 3D data visualizations in R. rayshader uses elevation data in a base R matrix and a combination of raytracing, hillshading algorithms, and overlays to generate stunning 2D and 3D maps. In addition to maps, rayshader also allows the user to translate ggplot2 objects into beautiful 3D data visualizations.
The models can be rotated and examined interactively or the camera movement can be scripted to create animations. Scenes can also be rendered using a high-quality pathtracer, rayrender. The user can also create a cinematic depth of field post-processing effect to direct the user’s focus to important regions in the figure. The 3D models can also be exported to a 3D-printable format with a built-in STL export function, and can be exported to an OBJ file.
CGI Looked Better 10 Years Ago
https://www.cbr.com/why-old-cgi-better-than-new-movies/
“The visual effects (VFX) industry is a rapidly growing field that plays a significant role in the entertainment industry, particularly in film and television. However, the industry also faces several challenges that can affect the quality and accessibility of visual effects in productions. One major issue facing the VFX industry is the high cost of producing visual effects. The process of creating visual effects can be time-consuming and labor-intensive, and the use of expensive software and hardware can drive up costs. This can make it difficult for smaller productions and independent filmmakers to afford to use visual effects in their projects.”
Embree v4.0 – open source raytracing
High Performance Ray TracingIntel® Embree is a high-performance ray tracing library developed at Intel which supports x86 CPUs under Linux, macOS, and Windows; ARM CPUs on macOS; as well as Intel® Arc™ GPUs under Linux and Windows. Embree targets graphics application developers to improve the performance of photo-realistic rendering applications and is optimized towards production rendering. Embree is released as open source under the Apache 2.0 License
