Park visitors at Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historic Park intending to learn about the Wright Brothers often visit Huffman Prairie, an unassuming open space where the Wrights did much of their formative testing. The field, a large open expanse, challenges a visitors imagination as to how they flew there. In 2010, the park will unveil a unique and unprecedented historic interpretation tool for it’s visitors, the VR Flight Viewer, conceptualized and produced by xRez Studio. Continue reading “Dayton Aviation Heritage VR Flight Viewer”
Yosemite Extreme Panoramic Imaging Project
Yosemite Valley experiences numerous rockfalls each year, with over 600 rockfall events documented since 1850. Due to the pulverization of the rockfall mass, evaluating and quantifying rockfall characteristics has proved challenging without any high-resolution baseline imagery of the Valley walls, which could act as a useful datum for before/after comparisons. Continue reading “Yosemite Extreme Panoramic Imaging Project”
Digital Storytelling
Conceptualized over a spirited conversation at a campfire in the High Sierras, Digital Storytelling has evolved to be one of Scandinavia’s leading visual effects annual seminars, co-founded by xRez Studio’s Eric Hanson and Kim Baumann-Larsen of Oslo-based Placebo Effects. Continue reading “Digital Storytelling”
Japan-US Hiroshima Reconstruction Project
The USC School of Cinematic Arts has had an ongoing relationship w/ TBS producer Norico Wada, specifically in the Division of Animation and Digital Arts, where xRez Studio partner Eric Hanson instructs 3d computer graphics and visual effects classes. She introduced USC to the work of Mr. Masaaki Tanabe, a Japanese filmmaker who lived as a child adjacent to the famed “Peace Dome” building at the time of the blast. Continue reading “Japan-US Hiroshima Reconstruction Project”
Tikal Documentation for UNESCO
In November of 2005, xRez Team member Greg Downing was asked to take part in an intensive documentation project of the world heritage site of Tikal. Tikal is an ancient Mayan site located in a wildlife preserve in the Petén region of Guatemala. This was a special opportunity to explore the application of xRez Studio technology for world heritage and to work with teams from UC Berkeley, Cyark, and UNESCO. Continue reading “Tikal Documentation for UNESCO”
BlackboxFX
BlackboxFX is a sister company of xRez, acting as a collaboration with ace 3D artist Ethan Summers. BlackboxFX’s mission is to employ highend creative visual effects talent toward socially meaningful projects, both in the entertainment, scientific, and environmental action sectors. Continue reading “BlackboxFX”
Large-Format Gigapixel Printing
One highly compelling method to reveal the vast level of detail contained in a gigapixel image is to print it in large format over a very long length. Based on our 2008 Yosemite Extreme Panoramic Imaging Project, xRez Studio printed a continuous 40 foot x 5 foot print at 300 dpi for exhibition at Siggraph 2008.
Continue reading “Large-Format Gigapixel Printing”
Sparse/Dense Photogrammetry
xRez principal Greg Downing has been at the forefront of photogrammetry technique for some time, having worked on the seminal ImageModeler while at RealViz. Later consulting and working with major effects studios, Greg has applied photogrammetry in several major feature films, including “Spiderman 3”, and “I Am Legend”. Continue reading “Sparse/Dense Photogrammetry”