a blog of links related to computer animation and production technology Sponsored by ReelMatters.com
Year: 2023
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Here’s What the WGA Has to Say About the Big 3 Streaming Monopolies
https://gizmodo.com/here-s-what-the-wga-has-to-say-about-the-big-3-streamin-1850758992
- Disney controls the means of production
- Amazon controls the means of distribution
- Netflix controls the means of employment
The WGA proposes the following legislative actions, copied verbatim from their executive summary.
- Block further consolidation
- Proactively investigate anti-competitive issues and outcomes
- Increase regulation and oversight in streaming.
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Executing Python Scripts With a Shebang
https://realpython.com/python-shebang
In this tutorial, you’ll:
- Learn what a shebang is
- Decide when to include the shebang in Python scripts
- Define the shebang in a portable way across systems
- Pass arguments to the command defined in a shebang
- Know the shebang’s limitations and some of its alternatives
- Execute scripts through a custom interpreter written in Python
In short, a shebang is a special kind of comment that you may include in your source code to tell the operating system’s shell where to find the interpreter for the rest of the file:
#!/usr/bin/python3 print("Hello, World!") -
The top Hollywood exec made $498 million in the last 5 years
The top 10 highest-paid Hollywood executives in the last 5 years includes:
- David Zaslav, Warner Bros. Discovery Inc.: $498,915,318
- Ari Emanuel, Endeavor Group Holdings Inc.: $346,935,367
- Reed Hastings, Netflix: $209,780,532
- Bob Iger, Walt Disney Co.: $195,092,460
- Ted Sarandos, Netflix: $192,171,581
- Rupert Murdoch, Fox Corp.: $174,929,867
- Lachlan Murdoch, Fox Corp.: $171,359,374
- Brian Roberts, Comcast Corp.: $170,158,088
- Joseph Ianniello, Paramount Global: $152,793,125
- Patrick Whitesell, Endeavor Group Holdings Inc.: $143,584,597
In a random comparison:
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10 Difficult Skills that Pay Off Forever
- Working out consistently
- Personal Finance Skills
- Meditation
- Communication
- Waking up early
- Public Speaking
- Be honest within
- Leadership
- Decision Making
- Listening
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Introduction to Autodesk ShotGrid
https://customersuccess.autodesk.com/learning/course/introduction-to-shotgrid
Learn about ShotGrid’s basic capabilities and functionality in this introductory course. Set up your account, gain an understanding of the structure of data within ShotGrid, learn to navigate ShotGrid, determine your role, including what you can and cannot do, and customize the view of on-screen data.
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OpenAI may go bankrupt by 2024, AI bot costs company $700,000 every day
While OpenAI and ChatGPT opened up to a wild start and had a record-breaking number of sign-ups in its initial days, it has steadily seen its user base decline over the last couple of months. According to SimilarWeb, July 2023 saw its user base drop by 12 per cent compared to June – it went from 1.7 billion users to 1.5 billion users. Do note that this data only shows users who visited the ChatGPT website, and does not account for users who are using OpenAI’s APIs
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WGA Response to Studios Indicates No Quick End to Strike
https://variety.com/2023/biz/news/wga-response-studios-not-quick-strike-1235697413/
The two sides remain at odds on items across the board, including streaming residuals and a higher minimum tier for TV writer-producers
The WGA wants to tie streaming residuals to the popularity of a show, but streamers had adamantly refused to share such viewership data.
The WGA is also seeking a provision that would allow its members to honor other unions’ picket lines.
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Most bosses regret how they mandated workers return to the office. They blamed it on not having enough data
Four in five (80%) of bosses told workplace software firm Envoy that, had they had a better grasp on actual employee preferences, they would have taken a starkly different approach to their return to office plans. The problem, they said: They didn’t have access to workplace data to help them make their decision.
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Lucasfilm to shut Singapore operations, affecting more than 300 employees
Lucasfilm is winding down operations in Singapore after nearly 20 years in the country, with parent company Disney citing economic factors affecting the industry.
According to an ILM employee in Singapore, there are 340 staff members in the company and work will continue until the end of the year.
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Unpremult and Premult in compositing cycles
Steve Wright
https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-oh-premultiply-steve-wright/
James Pratt
https://jamesprattvfx.wordpress.com/2018/11/08/premult-unpremult/
The simple definition of premult is to multiply the alpha and the RGB of the input together.
Un-Premult suggests that this does the opposite operation to the premult node. Therefore instead of multiplying the RGB values by the alpha, it divides instead.
Alan Martinez
“Unpremult” and “premult” are terms used in digital compositing that are relevant for both those working with computer-generated graphics (CG) and those working with live-action plates.
“Unpremult” is short for “unpremultiply” and refers to the action of undoing the multiplication of a pixel by its alpha value. It is commonly used to avoid halos or unwanted edges when combining images. (This by making sure that edits to a layer are added independently from edges’ opacity levels.)
“Premult” is short for “premultiply” and is the opposite process of “unpremult.” In this case, each pixel in an image is multiplied by its alpha value.
In simple terms, premult crops the RGB by its alpha, while unpremult does the opposite.It’s important to perform color corrections on CG renders in a sort of sandwich approach. First, divide the image to extend the edges fully of the RGB channels. Then, apply the necessary color corrections. Finally, pre-multiply the image again to avoid artifacts on the edges.
Typically, most 3D rendered images are premultiplied. As a rule of thumb, if the background is black or even just very dark, the image may be premultiplied. Additionally, most of the time, the 3D render has antialiasing in the edges.
Aaron Strasbourg
https://www.aaronstrasbourgvfx.com/post/2017/06/23/002-unpremult-and-premult
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