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	<title>Stumbling Toward &#039;Awesomeness&#039;</title>
	<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog</link>
	<description>A Technical Art Blog</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Sun, 29 Aug 2010 06:53:23 +0000</lastBuildDate>
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	<item>
		<title>Perforce Triggers in Python (Pt 1)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Perforce is a wily beast. A lot of companies use it, but I feel few outside of the IT department really have to deal with it much. As I work myself deeper and deeper into the damp hole that is asset validation, I have really been writing a lot of python to deal with certain [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=551</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Sigma 8mm vs 4.5mm Comparison on Nikon APS-C</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I have been researching the best options available for the D300 when it comes to quickly generating some lightprobes/panoramas. This of course means fisheye lenses. Currently, Sigma is the only company that makes a 180 degree circular fisheye. They come in two flavors, 8mm, and 4.5mm. The 8mm projects a full circle onto a full [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=537</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Python: Simple Decorator Example</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In Python, a Decorator is a type of macro that allows you to inject or modify code in functions or classes. I was turned onto this by my friend Matt Chapman at ILM, but never fully grasped the importance.

class myDecorator&#40;object&#41;:
	def __init__&#40;self, f&#41;:
		self.f = f
	def __call__&#40;self&#41;:
		print &#34;Entering&#34;, self.f.__name__
		self.f&#40;&#41;
		print &#34;Exited&#34;, self.f.__name__
&#160;
@myDecorator
def aFunction&#40;&#41;:
	print &#34;aFunction running&#34;
&#160;
aFunction&#40;&#41;

When you run the [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=530</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Python: Special Class Methods</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I have really been trying to learn some Python fundamentals lately, reading some books and taking an online class. So: wow. I can&#8217;t believe that I have written so many tools, some used by really competent people at large companies, without really understanding polymorphism and other basic Python concepts.
Here&#8217;s an example of my sequence method [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=524</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Nikon D300 Stereo Rig [$30 DIY]</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
This is what the final product will look like. Two D300s, mounted as close as possible, sync&#8217;d metering, focus, flash, and shutter. Rig cost: Less than 30 dollars! Of course you are going to need two d300s and paired lenses, primes or zooms with a wide rubberband spanning them if you are really hardcore. Keep [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=507</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Dealing with File Sequences in Python</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I have been parsing through the files of other people a lot lately, and finally took the time to make a little function to give me general information about a sequence of files. It uses regex to yank the numeric parts out of a filename, figure out the padding, and glob to tell you how [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=499</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Drop Files on a Python Script</title>
		<description><![CDATA[So I have always been wondering how you can create almost like a &#8216;droplet&#8217; to steal the photoshop lingo, from a python script. A while ago I came across some sites showing how to edit shellex in regedit to allow for files to be dropped on any python script and fed to it as args [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=494</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>MPO to JPS and PNS</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I got some good feedback from the last post and updated the script to export JPEG Stereo (JPS) and PNG Stereo (PNS, really.) This way you can convert your images into a single lossless image that you can pop into photoshop and adjust hsv/levels, etc.

import mpo
mpo.makePNS&#40;'DSCF9463.MPO'&#41;
#&#62;&#62;Saving image: DSCF9463.PNS
#&#62;&#62;Save complete.

This is a super simple python script, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=486</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Splitting MPO Files with ExifTool and Python</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Many stereo cameras are using the new MPO format to store multiple images in a file. Unfortunately, nothing really works with these files (Other than Stereo Photo Maker). Here is a simple python wrapper around ExifTool that will extract the Right and Left image, and return EXIF data as a dict. I think this is [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=479</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>PyQt4 UIC Module Example</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I have been really amazing myself at how much knowledge I have forgotten in the past five or six months&#8230; Most of the work I did in the past year utilized the UIC module to load UI files directly, but I can find very little information about this online. I was surprised to see that [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=468</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>RigPorn: Uncharted 2</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
My friends Judd and Rich gave a talk on some of the Character Tech behind Uncharted 2. Here are the slides.
]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=462</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>PyQt4 in wSciTE</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I have gotten back into some pyqt in my spare time, just because it&#8217;s what I used on a daily basis at the last place I worked at. However, I had trouble getting it to run in my text editor of choice. (SciTE)
I couldn&#8217;t find a solution with like 45 minutes of googling. When trying [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=458</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>32K Sistine Chapel CubeMap [Python How-To]</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
The Vatican recently put up an interactive Sistine Chapel flash application. You can pan around the entire room and zoom in and out in great detail.
The Vatican is not very open with it&#8217;s art, the reason they scream &#8216;NO PHOTO&#8217; when you pull a camera out in the chapel is that they sold the ability [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=451</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Avatar: Aspect Ratio Note</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Theaters presenting Avatar in 2D and Real3D, show a cropped 2.35:1 version, while 3D IMAX shows the original work at 1.85:1. You might not think that this matters, but you are losing a lot of the image in the crop. If you want to see it as the artists/director intended it looks like IMAX 3D [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=447</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Update</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I haven&#8217;t posted in a while, lots of changes going on, I left ILM after Avatar, and have moved back to Germany where my girlfriend is finishing medical school. I promise a good tech art post soon (my pick for tech art game of the year!) I look to be rejoining Crytek next year, working [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=417</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Decode the Hype: HP DreamScreen 130 Review</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Decode the Hype
Being digital artists, photo frames might look like attractive ways to showcase art and content, these devices are being pushed more and more. I got HPs &#8216;flagship&#8217; model as a present, it retails for $300! I was so excited, but not for long. Unable to find any info online especially reviews, I thought [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=409</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>See 25 Minutes of Avatar this Friday, Free!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
http://www.avatarmovie.com/
]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=405</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Buggy Camera Issues In Maya on x64</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Many, many people are having weird, buggy camera issues where you rotate a view and it snaps back to the pre-tumbled state (view does not update properly). There are posts all over, and Autodesk&#8217;s official response is &#8220;Consumer gaming videocards are not supported&#8221;. Really? That&#8217;s basically saying: All consumer video cards, gaming or not, are [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=399</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Critical Analysis</title>
		<description><![CDATA[One of the Year&#8217;s Worst Films
Transformer&#8217;s 2 was rated by critics at around a 18% as shown on Rottentomatoes.com. This is possibly one of the lowest ratings for a hugely expensive summer blockbuster that I can remember. This makes the movie less well reviewed than Species III, Rambo IV, or even Rush Hour III.
But it [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=394</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Common Character Issues: Attachments</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
I love this picture. It illustrates a few large problems with video games. One of which I have wanted to talk about for a while: Attachments of course. I am talking about the sword (yes, there is a sword, follow her arm to the left side of the image..)
Attaching props to a character that has [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=330</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Make a 3D Game for the Right Reasons! (My SF4 post)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I ran out and got Street Fighter 4 (SF4) just like everyone else. Street Fighter was &#8216;the game&#8217; you had to beat all the kids in the neighborhood at for an entire generation (sadly replaced by PES), and I have very fond memories of playing it.
SF4 is the first 3D game in the series created [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=298</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>First Transformers 2 Teaser Trailer!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
It&#8217;s exciting that you can see some of our work already! Check out the teaser trailer, be sure to click [watch in high quality]
]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=290</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Kavan et al Have Done It!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[
Ladislav Kavan is presenting a paper entitled &#8216;Automatic Linearization of Nonlinear Skinning&#8216; at the 2009 Symposium on Interactive 3D Graphics and Games on skinning arbitrary deformations! Run over to his site and check it out. In my opinion, this is the holy grail of sorts. You rig any way you want, have complex deformation that [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=283</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Quantic Dreams</title>
		<description><![CDATA[




No longer working for Crytek, maybe I can comment on some industry related things without worrying that my opinions could be misconstrewn as those of my former employer.
EuroGamer visited Quantic Dream this week, the studio working on the game &#8216;Heavy Rain&#8217;, who&#8217;s founder, de Fondaumière, arrogantly proclaimed that there was &#8216;no longer an uncanny valley&#8216;, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=272</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>24&#8243;+ Monitor Panels in One Easy Table (TN/PVA/IPS)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The market is flooded with cheap &#8216;TN&#8217; TFT panels. TN (twisted nematic) panels are terrible when it comes to reproducing color and have a very limited viewing angle. I used to have one and if I just slouched in my chair (or sat up too straight) the black level would change drastically. These panels are [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=236</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Best Buy? I think not!</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I really needed a stick of 800mhz DDR2. There&#8217;s a Best Buy somewhat close to here so I went over. When I get there, I see they have one stick of Kingston Value RAM, however it&#8217;s 145 DOLLARS. Thinking this was clearly a typo, I headed to the &#8216;Geek Squad&#8217; guy at the register who [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=230</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Change of Venue</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I am now living in San Francisco! My last day at Crytek was October 31st, and it was pretty difficult for me as it is one of the best companies I have ever worked for. I have so much respect for all the guys that helped constantly push the envelope and make Crytek the renowned [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=224</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Weekend Python Snippet- IsItThere.py (Pt. 2)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[So, before we looked at just outputting a list of the files that were on device1 and not device2, now I will copy the files to a folder on the main device.
The tricky thing about this is I want the directory structure intact. After looking as os.path, and pywin32, I didn&#8217;t see anything like &#8216;mkdir&#8217; [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=216</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Weekend Python Snippet- IsItThere.py (Pt. 1)</title>
		<description><![CDATA[I am anal-retentive about data retention. There, I said it. There are many times when I find myself in the situation of having two storage devices, that may or may not have duplicate files. I then want to erase one, but do I have all those files backed up?
I use two existing programs to aid [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=209</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>Autodesk Acquires Softimage for 35 Million</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Really? Wow, I mean this isn&#8217;t as surprising as when they bought Alias 3 years ago (182 Million), but still. And 35 million? That&#8217;s the price of a single movie or three year videogame production these days. I thought the &#8216;desk bought Maya to kill it, but it&#8217;s still around&#8230; Wonder how long XSI will [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://www.chrisevans3d.com/pub_blog/?p=207</link>
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