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INTEL® VISUAL ADRENALINE RESOURCES
Intel’s focus on visual computing and graphics processing is complemented by software
development products, professional services and tools, technical expertise, and developeroriented
resources. Keep up with the latest at visualadrenaline.intel.com.
Explore topics from this issue of Intel® Visual Adrenaline further:
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The Creators Project:
Celebrating Creativity,
Culture, and Technology
As Coachella’s first-ever
creative partner,
The Creators Project
re-invented the
festival by creating
groundbreaking visual
experiences advanced
by Intel® technology.
Technology has revolutionized social interaction,
giving individuals unprecedented access to
global distribution channels. Thanks to incredible
advances in content creation technologies
powered by Intel® multi-core, multi-threaded
processors, today’s artists, musicians, filmmakers,
and designers are reshaping the boundaries of
creative expression.
Intel in collaboration with Vice Media founded
The Creators Project to showcase innovative
artists and enable them to realize new artwork.
“The Creators Project celebrates the connection
between art and technology,” said David
Haroldsen, Intel creative director for The Creators
Project. “We set out to give people who use
“The Creators Project is about cultivating
artists from around the world and exploring
the boundaries of creativity as well as the role
technology plays in the process,” added Hosi
Simon, general manager at Vice Media. With
offices in more than 30 countries, Vice was
uniquely positioned to draw from its relationship
among the global art community and identify
cutting-edge interdisciplinary artists.
When The Creators Project launched in 2010,
Intel and Vice used a variety of media, including
television, print, online, and mobile outlets to
document the work of more than 100 Creators to
date, hailing mostly from seven countries (Brazil,
China, France, Germany, South Korea, United
computers every day a look at artistic experiences Kingdom, and United States). “In 2011, we pushed
that are only possible because of technology.”
that concept forward by showcasing their work
intel visual adrenaline no. 10, 2011 5
Taking the Mystery
Out of Middleware
Performance
AUTODESK SCALEFORM* 4.0 LETS YOU VISUALIZE
PERFORMANCE STRAIGHT OUT OF THE BOX
BY GARRET ROMAINE
INTEL’S COMMITMENT TO THE GAME
DEVELOPMENT WORLD CONTINUES TO
PAY BIG DIVIDENDS FOR STUDIOS AND
PLAYERS ALIKE. Recently, Maryland-based
Autodesk Scaleform* worked with Intel engineers
to tightly integrate its Scaleform* 4.0 middleware
with the Intel® Graphics Performance Analyzers
(Intel® GPA) 4.0. The result is another example of
how Intel is helping to build a better ecosystem by
fostering cooperation and helping game developers
access the deepest parts of their code.
Sleuthing out code bottlenecks and unnecessary
frame activity is possible only with sophisticated
tools. PC game developers rely on the Intel
GPA Platform Analyzer to visualize over time
the execution profile of the tasks in their code
on the heterogeneous (CPU+GPU) PC platform.
But coverage for middleware code has been
limited for the game development community,
and the collaboration between Intel and
Autodesk Scaleform could pay off big for many
development teams.
Autodesk Scaleform* tools helped create the user interface in James Cameron’s Avatar*: The Game. Introducing Autodesk
Scaleform
With about 30 employees in its home office,
Autodesk Scaleform was founded in 2005 by
Brendan Iribe and Michael Antonov, who met
at the University of Maryland. After creating a
user interface (UI) middleware company, they got
busy making an engine and library. Their first big
success was the UI for the huge blockbuster title
Civilization* IV.
intel visual adrenaline no. 10, 2011 13
Bringing
Magic to Life
EXOCORTEX AND INTEL® TECHNOLOGIES
HELP VFX STUDIOS GRADIENT EFFECTS
AND WILL GARRETT ACHIEVE MOVIE
MAGIC WITH INNOVATIVE APPROACHES
TO SIMULATION
Creating Stunning Ink-in-Water
Special Effects
Long-time fans of the Harry Potter film franchise are familiar with the series’
A Large-Scale, High-Fidelity Sequence
ample visual effects (VFX), and this summer’s box office hit Harry Potter and
The memory pool sequences required an ink-in-water look where the ink
the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the final adventure in the film series, ranks as
would behave realistically in a large volume, then quickly assume dynamic
one of the biggest VFX-driven Hollywood productions of 2011.
shapes that seamlessly transition to live action footage. This complexity
presented Gradient Effects with a significant challenge. Not only did it require
Among the many emotive sequences in the Harry Potter film franchise is the
fluid simulations of unprecedented detail and scope, but it also needed a
“memory pool” sequence created by Gradient Effects. Here is a behind-the-
specific “inky” look that most traditional simulators have difficulty producing,
scenes look at how Gradient Effects, Exocortex Technology, and Intel worked
even in restricted domains. And because the sequence’s timing and transitions
together to pull off this visually stunning special effect.
had already been decided, there was no artistic leeway if the technology ran
into limitations.
On the technical side, artists had to be able to see in real time the results
of increasing the simulation resolution to more than half a billion points for
final output. It was clear to Olcun Tan, co-founder and head of research and
development at Gradient Effects, that traditional fluid simulators were not up
to the task.
While searching for new simulation solutions, Tan discovered Exocortex’s
Slipstream technology. “Before committing to any technology, we did
extensive research by testing all well-known technologies for the type of
work required on Harry Potter,” said Tan. “Unfortunately none were suited for
the task. After seeing the first tests from Exocortex, I was instantly convinced
that we had found our solution in Exocortex’s technology—it was boundingbox
free. The next thing I remember, I was on the phone with Ben Houston
discussing how to integrate the Exocortex technology as the new engine for
our proven in-house tools.”
Exocortex Slipstream simulation within Autodesk Softimage*.
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DOWNLOAD THE INTEL® VISUAL ADRENALINE APP TODAY!
software.intel.com/sites/billboard/app/
Intel ® Visual
Adrenaline Gets
App’tized
STREAM GREAT CONTENT TO YOUR
iPHONE*, iPAD*, OR iPOD TOUCH*
YOU’VE HELD US IN YOUR HANDS, and you’ve downloaded our content
from the Web. Now, Intel® Visual Adrenaline takes the next step in
delivering news you can use in the way you choose by creating the Intel®
Visual Adrenaline app for smart devices, starting with the Apple iOS*
platform (iPad*, iPhone* and iPod touch*).
We Control the Vertical AND the Horizontal
According to Hitendra “Hits” Naik, Intel visual computing marketing manager,
Like the magazine itself, the new app concentrates on delivering eye-
the new app takes advantage of iPad features several ways. “Intel was
popping content, key tips and tricks, updates on software tools, and other very explicit in designing this app to play to our strengths,” Naik said. “We
advances in the graphics world. Only now we can keep you informed
wanted to incorporate multiple usage models when it came to designing
wherever you are and however you acquire the insights that make your the look and feel. When held in vertical, or ‘portrait’ mode, the article you’re
career sizzle. Our goal is still the same: to serve up vital content to early viewing appears in a standard view, with the ability to scroll through text
adopters in the community, wherever they may be.
and minimized graphics. The effect is much like reading a magazine or
newspaper in column format, as you concentrate on the text.”
Conversely, when flipped to horizontal or “landscape” mode, there is more of
a “Wow!” factor as the visual beauty of the graphics shines forth. Images are
larger and pack more pixels, so you get more of your Visual Adrenaline fix.
Accompanying text still flows the way you’d expect, but you don’t sacrifice
the graphics view.
The app uses all the familiar navigation methods for iPad, iPhone, and iPod
touch users: You can swipe and tap, and set up favorites at will. You’ll find
links to the Intel® Visual Adrenaline Software Developer Program, and the
all-important Feedback button lets you communicate your suggestions for
improvements.
“The articles look great on the iPad,” Naik said. “When we were designing
this, we were pretty excited. The content is completely digital, and visually
rich and vibrant, so we wanted to keep true to that. We didn’t want to
clutter the interface with competing colors, so we actually kept it utilitarian,
The new Intel® Visual Adrenaline app provides extensive access to videos that with simple icons and low contrast.”
give you even more in-depth coverage of news and commentary.
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intel visual adrenaline no. 10, 2011
The Creators Project: Celebrating Creativity,
Culture, and Technology
Follow The Creators Project:
thecreatorsproject.com
twitter.com/creatorsproject
fb.com/thecreatorsproject
Taking the Mystery Out of
Middleware Performance
For more on Scaleform* 4.0: scaleform.com/gfx
Intel® Software Network: software.intel.com/en-us/
Bringing Magic to Life
Intel® Parallel Studio:
intel.com/go/parallel
Intel® Threading Building Blocks:
threadingbuildingblocks.org
Microsoft Visual Studio*:
microsoft.com/visualstudio/en-us
Intel® Visual Adrenaline Gets App’tized
Download for the Apple iPad*, iPhone*, or iPod touch*:
itunes.apple.com/app/intel-va/id437276144?mt=8
29 ARTISTS
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Intel tapped three powerhouse channel partners—
PCAudioLabs, The3DShop.com, and BOXX
RECOGNIZING THAT ENTHUSIASTS WHO
Technologies—each experienced with the needs
CREATE MOVIES, music, and photos could benefit of creative professionals working in music and
tremendously from the expertise of Intel value- sound, photography, and video, respectively. “Our
added resellers that typically serve professional goals are three-fold: Provide targeted solutions
digital media creators, Intel recently launched the for the enthusiast, listen and learn from our
Intel® Digital Media “Creators” program. It takes customers in each of these creative markets,
a special breed of channel partner to cater to
and enable more customers around the world to
the needs of audio, video, and photography pros, deliver solutions to market in 2012 and beyond.”
who rely on PCs to deliver exceptionally high
performance with 24/7 reliability.
The 2nd generation Intel® Core i5 and Core i7
processors are ideally suited for digital media
“Some of our top channel partners are experts creation at all levels. Thanks to new technologies
in digital media,” said Brent McCray, enthusiast that boost performance on demand and maximize
marketing manager at Intel. “We’re now working data throughput, these new processors speed
closely with them to launch hardware and
video editing and other multimedia tasks, such as
software bundled solutions powered by some of image rendering and photo retouching, as well as
Intel’s best technologies and tailor-made for the audio recording, editing, and mastering.
digital media enthusiast.”
“We’re specifically using Intel Core i5-2500K and
What constitutes a digital media enthusiast?
Core i7-2600K desktop processors that can take
“We’re focusing on two kinds of people,” McCray full advantage of Intel® Turbo Boost Technology,
said. “The aspiring professional who, for example Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology (on the
in music, perhaps has a band and plays gigs
Core i7), Intel® HD Graphics 3000, as well as
but hasn’t yet achieved ultimate fame, and the overclockability,
hobbyist who has a day job, but spends nights
and weekends creating music, editing photos, and
making videos.”
1 PROFESSIONAL, HIGH-PERFORMANCE SOLUTIONS
POWERED BY INTEL® TECHNOLOGIES BENEFIT
DIGITAL MEDIA ENTHUSIASTS
“The solutions we’re launching also feature Intel®
desktop motherboards with Intel® Z68 chipset
technology and Intel® Solid-State Drives—both
311 and 320 series. Intel motherboards deliver
exceptional performance, quality, and reliability.
Among many other benefits, the Z68 chipset
technology allows enthusiasts to affordably
cache their favorite programs on their Intel
SSD through Intel® Smart Response Technology,
further accelerating the creative workflow.”
Compared to traditional spinning hard disk
“Powerhouse integrators
and software vendors
now make their
expertise in out-of-thebox
hardware/software
solutions available to
digital enthusiasts who
create movies, music,
allowing total creative freedom
by maximizing performance to match your
and photos.”
workload,” McCray said. “Of course, [Intel®] Xeon®
processor-based workstations for professionals
— BRENT MCCRAY, ENTHUSIAST
and mobile solutions are also available.”
MARKETING MANAGER AT INTEL
1Unlocked feature allowing for full CPU core overclocking is currently available exclusively on Intel® Core i7-990X, Intel® Core i7-2600K and Intel® Core i5-2500K processors. WARNING: Altering
clock frequency and/or voltage may (i) reduce system stability and useful life of the system and processor, (ii) cause the processor and other system components to fail, (iii) cause reductions in system
performance, (iv) cause additional heat or other damage, and (v) affect system data integrity. Intel has not tested, and does not warrant, the operation of the processor beyond its specifications.
Intel assumes no responsibility that the processor, including if used with altered clock frequencies and/or voltages, will be fit for any particular purpose.
intel visual adrenaline no. 10, 2011 31
INDUSTRY
India’s Animators Set Blazing
Growth Pace with Intel Computing
Can you name the country that leads the world the 2011 FICCI-KPMG Indian Media and
in movie ticket sales and the number of films Entertainment Industry Report (Frames Report)
produced? It’s not the United States. According the Indian animation industry is predicted to
to online sources, that country is India. Thanks grow from the present USD 1.8 billion to USD
to the huge demand for entertainment, India 2.9 billion by 2015.
has become a hotbed for computer graphics and
animation. Studios and producers from all over
the world are turning to India for help with
animation projects. India offers talented
technicians, competitive pricing, and finished
work of the highest quality, on blockbuster
titles you’re sure to recognize.
India’s first animated film, Agent Vinod,
featured, amid the traditional singing and
dancing common to movies from “Bollywood”, 1
an animated scene with actor Jagdeep flying
around Bombay holding balloons. From that
humble start, animation and visual effects have
grown considerably. Just last year, seven films
wrapped production in a 12-month period,
including Toonpur Ka Superhero, Luv Kush—The
Warrior Twins, and Ramayana the Epic. Vikram
Bhatt’s upcoming movie, Haunted, is apparently
India’s first stereoscopic 3D film. According to
DIGITAL
The Intel ® Digital
Media “Creators”
Program
SNAPSHOT
INDIA’S ANIMATION STUDIOS
SHOWING RAPID GROWTH
Powered by growth in cable access, digital
content, and the services industry, India’s
economy grew by more than 8 percent per
year from 2004 to 2010, according to
tradingeconomics.com. While China leads the
world’s population with 1.3 billion people,
India is right behind at 1.2 billion, and with an
economy larger than USD 4 trillion, the country
places fourth in gross domestic product. From
any angle, India is a captivating story, but one of
its most fascinating sectors is its animation and
visual effects (VFX) industry, as highlighted in
the Frames Report.
Published annually, the Frames Report is a joint
venture between KPMG International and FICCI.
It covers television, print, radio, music, and other
entertainment activity, and in sector after
sector, India presents a compelling growth story.
HARNESS
PC POWER
Justin Lassen and his friends reveal three ways
that Intel® technology keeps them busy
If there’s one breed of super-user that has truly We would never have met if it weren’t for art
benefited from Intel’s role in the computer
and technology and that creative drive.”
revolution, it’s the digital artist. Improvements in
multi-core CPU technology haven’t just spurred The impact of technology boils down to three
artistic creativity among digital content
key assists for digital artists: power, speed,
creators—they’ve unleashed their very souls.
and creativity.
Digital art files routinely reach over a gigabyte in
size, putting tremendous pressure on CPUs and Harness the Power
RAM. Today, netbooks powered by the Intel®
Better technology will always benefit power-
Atom processor serve as a readily available
hungry customers. But what, exactly, is the
conduit to creativity, from capturing reverb in
significance of that connection?
Justin Lassen,
European cathedrals to recording crashing waves
digital composer.
on California beaches. Ideas that might have
Lassen believes part of the magic is how
been scribbled on a bar napkin can now be
software vendors continue to upgrade tools to
captured safely.
take advantage of the newest processors. “Studio
Like most digital artists, Salonen does her own
One Pro* is optimized for Intel® multi-core CPUs.
Intel® Visual Adrenaline magazine has tracked the
technical support. “I earn my living through the
For a while, SONAR* was the only software truly
career of digital musician Justin Lassen since our
computer, and it’s been my best friend (along
optimized for multi-core, but Studio One Pro now
earliest editions. For this issue, we checked back
with my dog, Wario) for over eight years. I’ve
does it. And more products are starting to come
with Justin and talked to his artistic friends to
spent most of my adult years learning to paint
around. They’re getting ready for the future.”
learn what technology has done for them lately.
digitally, so in a way I’m married to technology.”
Justin introduced three of his digital heroes: Kirsi
Kirsi Salonen, a dark fantasy author and digital
Salonen, Alex Ruiz, and Erlend Mørk.
Digital artist and animator Alex Ruiz works in the
artist from Finland, recently upgraded to 24 GB of
heart of the digital art scene in Los Angeles. He’s
RAM and a new Intel® Core i7 processor on an
Lassen credits Intel with bringing him in contact
worked on the television series The Simpsons,
Asus P6T* motherboard. “The more layers you
with this trio of creative souls. “As a result of my
and he teaches digital art to aspiring students.
add to the picture, the more you need some
collaboration with Intel, I was able to meet and
“Since I use Photoshop* mostly, the faster and
serious power. Sometimes I have over 30 layers
develop relationships with them. We did
stronger the machine, the faster one can be in
within one work. It’s easier to play with layers,
Synaesthesia together, and we’re like a family.
creating. Photoshop uses a lot of RAM, and since
and it helps to construct the image better than
We’re all so different and spread across the world.
file sizes can get huge, it’s extremely important
traditional painting.”
to have a good setup.”
intel visual adrenaline no. 10, 2011 27
Animated scene from The Mummy: Tomb
of the Dragon Emperor (2008 Universal
Pictures), created in part by the Indian
animation studio subsidiary of
Los Angeles-based Rhythm & Hues.
1 “Bollywood,” a combination of “Bombay” (Mumbai’s former name) and “Hollywood,” is the name given to the Mumbai-based Hindi language film industry.
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The Roxio GameCap box lets gamers
capture video streams from Microsoft
Xbox* 360 or Sony PlayStation* 3
consoles and store them on their PCs.
CAPTURE,
EDIT,
POST, & BOAST!
Roxio Game Capture
What fun is shooting a hole-in-one or scoring the “Gamers have been creating and posting gameplay Media* Video (WMV), and DivX*. The software
winning goal if no one sees you do it? Gaming videos using DIY tools,” said Michael Demeyer, VP also makes it easy to grab still-image screenshots
glory, after all, is best when you’ve got witnesses. of product marketing for the Corporate Products and save them in a number of Internet and print-
Two new products from the Roxio division of
Group at Rovi. “You need a fair amount of technical friendly formats.
Rovi Corporation are taking bragging rights to savvy to do that, especially when recording
a new level. With the Intel® Quick Sync Video
gameplay from a game console. We have a one-
Capturing PC Gameplay
media processing technology built into the 2nd stop solution for capturing, editing, and sharing
generation Intel® Core processor family, PC and game videos that is easy enough for everyone to on a PC
console gamers get instant replay on steroids— use. We’re giving users a robust feature set and
With Roxio PC Game Capture, there’s no external
the ability to record, enhance, and share
offer it in a cost-effective package.”
hardware box. “The software runs in the
gameplay videos.
background,” Demeyer said, “capturing video or
still-screen grabs of gameplay events and
Capturing Console
Roxio Game Capture* and Roxio PC Game
recording it in up to full HD resolution. Keep in
Capture* let gamers record their gameplay onto Gameplay on a PC
mind that recording and playing back full HD
their PCs. Using a full-featured set of video
To capture Microsoft Xbox* 360 and Sony
footage at its full frame rate is best handled with
editing and enhancement tools, they can add
PlayStation* 3 gameplay, Roxio Game Capture a muscular processor, such as a 2nd generation
text, special effects, and soundtracks complete
comes with a USB hardware device that connects Intel® Core i7 processor or [Core] i5 [processor].
with commentary to embellish racing sequences,
to the game console, TV, and PC. Setup is easy, Whether you’re playing Black Ops* or World of
high-score-shattering events, and harrowing
and video tutorials on the Roxio Web site make Warcraft*, all of the action will be stored on your
adventures. Or they can produce game reviews
it even easier. Games can be played at full HD drive, waiting for you to bring it into the editor,
and even create machinima—movies based
resolution (1920x1080), recorded in real time as add creative transitions, background music, and
on their gaming exploits—all of which can be
480p (standard definition, 720x480 progressive voice-over commentary.”
uploaded to popular video sharing sites such as
scan) video, and output in a variety of formats fit
Facebook*, WeGame*, and YouTube*.
for viewing online, including AVI, H.264, Windows
* software with Intel® Quick
Sync Video built into the 2nd generation Intel® Core
processor family lets gamers show off their skills
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Digital Artists Harness PC Power
Justin Lassen: justinlassen.com
Erlend Mørk: erlendmork.com
Kirsi Salonen: kirsisalonen.com
Alex Ruiz: conceptmonster.net
The Intel® Digital Media “Creators” Program
For more info on each of the Media Program channel
partners, see:
pcaudiolabs.com
the3dshop.com
boxxtech.com
Cakewalk Music Creator:
cakewalk.com/products/sonar/x1-essential/default.aspx
CyberLink PowerDirector* 9:
cyberlink.com/powerdirector
Industry Snapshot: India’s Animation Studios
Showing Rapid Growth
Crest Animation Studios: crestindia.com
Rhythm & Hues Studios: rhythm.com
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce
and Industry: ficci.com
Capture, Edit, Post, & Boast!
Roxio Game Capture* family products:
roxio.com/enu/products/game-capture/default.html
The 2nd generation Intel® Core processor family:
intel.com/consumer/products/processors/core-family.htm
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