Friday, June 20, 2008
Demonstrating the "Nixon Effect"
Click Here to Watch the Video!
Clicking on this link above will open a page with a Flash file showing how Nixon looks when animated in real time by Gary Jesch.
Our method is amazingly simple with our Live Animation software:
- 1. Size the photo correctly and mask out the mouth area so there will be a hole.
- 2. Apply the skin from the photo to the texture map of CHOPS used in our program.
- 3. In the live animation program, make the portrait into an overlay and play the animated character behind it.
- 4. Record it using a piece of Nixon's speech from his resignation, in real time, to get accurate lip sync.
- 5. Convert to a Flash video and upload to the Web page.
For more information, please send a note or leave a comment.
This was fun and quick. The "Nixon Effect" was initially developed for a client who planned a party with a "politically incorrect" theme. Nixon was displayed in a portrait frame surrounding a 65-inch plasma screen mounted on its edge, and interacted with guests as well as a "front man," who warned visitors about the office being bugged.
Thursday, June 19, 2008
"In the KNOW" - VirtuaLibby interviews Squeeze
"Squeeze" Debuts in Lindsay, CA at McDermont House
Our first virtual character to be installed in a permanent location (in the US) is "Squeeze," the new mascot of the McDermont Field House in Lindsay, CA, about 45 minutes south of Fresno.
He was designed by Jaren Fisher, a manager in Lindsay, and created in 3D by Tom Knight of IW43D of Hermosa Beach. Gary Jesch of CHOPS & Assoc. Live Animation is the producer on the project.
"Squeeze" is set up to meet and greet visitors to the field house from a 65-inch LCD screen near the front entrance. His purpose is to help them with directions to the huge facility, as well as to create a unique experience for children and adults who come to visit.
The McDermont Field House is a new family recreation center featuring basketball courts, a 10,000 sq. ft., darkened laser tag arena, video arcade and dance rooms. This month, it will open the new wing, with several floors big enough to accommodate indoor soccer fields, skatepark, Flo-Rider water park, a climbing wall and more.
For videos of "Squeeze," visit our YouTube Channel at CHOPS & Assoc. Live Animation Videos
