‘Rogue One’ is a milestone (and warning sign) for CG resurrection
Spoilers ahead for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.
You probably didn’t expect many surprises in Rogue One, the first Star Wars “side story” which details how, exactly, the Rebel Alliance acquired the plans for the Death Star. Indeed, the entire film seems to exist just to fill in a bit of background detail for A New Hope, our first Luke Skywalker adventure. But it turns out Rogue One is much more than an elaborate bit of fan service. It’s surprisingly harrowing, genuinely moving and it’ll likely go down as a milestone for digital-actor resurrection.
Rogue One brought Peter Cushing, the legendary British actor who played Grand Moff Tarkin in the original Star Wars and passed away in 1994, back from the dead this past weekend as a CG character. His digital copy, which was portrayed by actor Guy Henry, isn’t just a quick cameo, either. He has several important scenes and lengthy dialogue exchanges with real actors, particularly Ben Mendelsohn’s Orson Krennic.
The film never highlights his digital nature; he’s simply treated like a typical actor. In many ways, CG Tarkin (as I’ll call him) is a landmark achievement. At the same time, though, the limitations of today’s computer rendering are quickly apparent in his stiff movements and cold, dead eyes.
It might be a bit cruel to say this, but it’s not hard to argue that CG Tarkin is the Jar Jar Binks of Rogue One. They’re both ambitious digital characters that are commendable on a technical level, but whose problematic execution can’t help but take you out of their films. And the notion of placing an actor in a film decades after their death raises some serious questions about how we’ll treat digital likenesses in the future.
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen deceased actors return to the screen. Oliver Reed’s face was digitally reconstructed for Gladiator in 2000 after his death, and most recently Paul Walker was digitally revived in Furious 7. We’ve seen the likes of Audrey Hepburn and Bruce Lee brought back in commercials. You could even count the holographic return of Tupac and Michael Jackson as one aspect of this trend. CG Tarkin, then, is just the next logical step.
“When he first showed up, my initial reaction was pure excitement at seeing Tarkin again,” one visual-effects artist who works with Disney (and asked not to be named) told me. “I had no idea it would be more than a little cameo. The more he did, the more I wondered why they were using him so much. He seemed as believable to me as I think they could have achieved. Everything looked great visually, but there was something off in the animation. The lips always give it away for me. There is a subtlety to mouth movements that gets lost in the motion-capture.”
I found it hard not to get distracted by CG Tarkin. While ILM’s animators did a fine job of recreating Peter Cushing’s visage, today’s technology still can’t effectively render things like believably human eyes. And those deficiencies are even more pronounced when a digital character is acting alongside extremely talented actors like Ben Mendelsohn. Rogue One also brings back some fan favorite Rebel fighter pilots by reusing old footage, as well as a major character from A New Hope with digital effects, but those instances are less noticeable because you see them only briefly.
“Don’t get me wrong, though — what they pulled off with all these characters is an absolutely impressive feat,” the visual-effects artist said. “A CG character that doesn’t immediately jump out as CG is a hell of a thing to pull off. As an industry, we’ve basically nailed creature work down. Just look at Caesar from Planet of the Apes and tell me that he isn’t a living, breathing character. It’s people that are the final challenge, and I think we are nearly there.”
While watching Rogue One, I couldn’t help but think of Ari Folman’s The Congress, a science-fiction film set in a world in which actors can sell their likenesses to movie studios that can do whatever they want with their digital doppelgangers. It’s only a matter of time until that fantasy is made real. And, let’s be honest, audiences will likely flock to see their favorite actors frozen in time, never aging with every subsequent comic-book sequel.
The visual-effects industry worker I talked to doesn’t think we’ll see many resurrections like CG Tarkin outside big-budget tentpole films. The worker also noted that it seems disrespectful to the memory of deceased actors, who don’t have the chance to turn down these posthumous film roles. These days, actors’ estates usually dictate how their images are licensed. But is that appropriate when the actors end up playing significant roles in films?
I wouldn’t be surprised if we settle on a solution similar to what was presented in The Congress. In that film, actors had to sign away their likenesses, and they were also barred from acting again (a particularly twisted noncompete clause). That wouldn’t be an ideal future, but at least it’s one actors can choose for themselves.
Vote for the winners of the first ever Steam Awards
Back in November, Valve asked you to nominate titles for the first ever Steam Awards — now, the gaming titan also wants you to choose its winners. It sounds like the nomination phase was a success, since Valve ended up with four write-in categories instead of one. Since there are eight pre-determined categories, there are now 12 in total, including “Villain Most In Need Of A Hug,” “Just 5 More Minutes” and “I’m Not Crying, There’s Something In My Eye.”
Can you think of games that fit those descriptions perfectly? Good, because Steam will start accepting votes for one category a day starting at 1PM EST on December 22nd. You only have 24 hours to vote for the winner for each one before moving to the next until all eight pre-determined categories are done. Then on December 30th, all four write-in categories will be open for voting for another 24 hours. Valve will announce the winners on New Year’s Eve, and we can finally know which game made the most people cry and which has been keeping the most people glued to their computer screens.
Source: Steam
LG’s Full HD laser projector is bright enough for daytime use
LG has unveiled a compact laser projector that, depending on the price, could appeal to a lot of folks. The LG ProBeam features 1080p (Full HD) resolution and 2,000 lumens of brightness, making it a viable home theater option. The laser system (LG didn’t say which kind, exactly) should provide a sharp, accurate picture, and nearly maintenance-free light source. At the same time, it weighs just 4.6 pounds and has a table-friendly form factor, making it portable and easy to use in small rooms.
Furthering its appeal as a projector-on-the-go, the ProBeam can transmit audio to any Bluetooth speaker using its Sound Sync Adjustment tech, eliminating the need for any wiring. It also supports wireless mirroring via Miracast, letting you project a movie from your smartphone. That’ll make it much easier to set up in a small apartment, for instance, or let you “stream TV shows on a camping trip,” as LG puts it.
To help you set things up quickly, the device has four corner and auto keystone features, in case your setup is off kilter from the projection wall. To make the ProBeam useful as a regular TV, it comes with LG’s webOS Smart TV platform and Magic remote, giving you easy access to Netflix, Amazon Prime Video or BBC’s iPlayer in the UK, to name a few services.
It sounds like a nice option, but as I mentioned, all depends on the price — if it’s well under $1,000, it may end up being the hit that LG’s hoping for. Hopefully, we’ll get a look at it during CES 2017 starting January 3rd in Las Vegas, where it’ll be on display in LG’s booth.
Source: LG
Apple Tested Larger Battery and Gold Color Option on MacBook Pro, Lightning Port on MacBook
In a comprehensive new Bloomberg article diving into the slow refresh cycle of Apple’s line of Mac computers, and how the company slowly “alienated Mac loyalists,” a few interesting tidbits surfaced providing insight into what could have been for the Touch Bar MacBook Pro, as well as the 12-inch Retina MacBook.
In the MacBook Pro line launched this past October, Apple planned to introduce “higher capacity battery packs” that would have been terraced and shaped to the inside compartment of the computer, boosting battery life in the process. According to a person familiar with the creation of the MacBook, the battery failed a “key test,” so instead of delaying the laptop and missing the holiday shopping season, “Apple decided to revert to an older design.” This created a domino effect that went on to hit other Mac design teams whose engineers were taken to finish the MacBook Pro.
In the run-up to the MacBook Pro’s planned debut this year, the new battery failed a key test, according to a person familiar with the situation. Rather than delay the launch and risk missing the crucial holiday shopping season, Apple decided to revert to an older design.
The change required roping in engineers from other teams to finish the job, meaning work on other Macs languished, the person said. The new laptop didn’t represent a game-changing leap in battery performance, and a software bug misrepresented hours of power remaining. Apple has since removed the meter from the top right-hand corner of the screen.
Battery life has been a big complaint among many MacBook Pro users, with some claiming in early December to get as little as 3 to 6 hours of battery life on a single charge. Some users claimed to see better battery life after updating to macOS 10.12.2 last week, but Apple “repeatedly and emphatically” told Ars Technica there are no specific battery life improvements included in the update. The laptop’s battery “appeared to be performing as intended,” according to the company.
The MacBook Pro is rated for up to 10 hours of battery life for the 13-inch and 15-inch laptop, but the Bloomberg article didn’t specify how much that may have been increased by if the larger battery would have made it into the MacBook Pro.
The article continued by saying that a few early prototypes of last year’s 12-inch Retina MacBook were built with ports for the iPhone’s Lightning cable, but the MacBook eventually launched with USB-C instead. A gold colorway for this year’s MacBook Pro was even planned, but Apple designers eventually decided the color didn’t work “on such a large product.”
These test runs for iPhone-like features on the MacBook are “part of a broader shift toward making Macs more like iPhones.” The critique rests on Apple’s inability to see what its more creative and loyal users need desktop and laptop computers for, instead opting to bring features from its best-selling product — the iPhone — into the Mac line.
That’s part of a broader shift toward making Macs more like iPhones. Apple prioritizes features, like thinness and minimal ports, that sell its iPhones and iPads, which generated about 75 percent of revenue this year. Those are contrary to professional needs, like maximum computing power. Early prototypes of the 12-inch MacBook used the iPhone’s Lightning connector, although this was ditched for a more standard USB-C port. There was even a gold MacBook Pro planned, but this was shelved because the color didn’t look good on such a large product.
The rest of the Bloomberg article is an interesting read, pointing towards the lack of a “singular vision” in Apple’s design and engineering departments that leads to product delays and underwhelming reveals. In the end, dozens of Mac hardware managers and engineers are said to have left for different teams, or left Apple entirely, in the past 18 months. “Some were looking for a less all-consuming work environment, while others felt the future of Mac hardware was unclear in a world of iPhones and iPads.”
Related Roundup: MacBook Pro
Tag: bloomberg.com
Buyer’s Guide: MacBook Pro (Buy Now)
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Apple Planning USB-C iMac and Faster Notebooks in 2017, Mac Pro and Touch Bar Magic Keyboard in Question
Apple is preparing modest updates to its Mac lineup for next year, including new iMac models with USB-C ports and new AMD graphics chips, and “minor bumps” in processing power for 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro models, according to Bloomberg.
Mac fans shouldn’t hold their breath for radical new designs in 2017 though. Instead, the company is preparing modest updates: USB-C ports and a new Advanced Micro Devices Inc. graphics processor for the iMac, and minor bumps in processing power for the 12-inch MacBook and MacBook Pro. Cue the outrage.
KGI Securities analyst Ming-Chi Kuo likewise said new iMacs will launch in the first half of 2017 in a research note shared earlier this year, while current iMac models have not been updated in 434 days per our Mac Buyer’s Guide, so updates to Apple’s consumer desktop lineup would be unsurprising. USB-C ports on new iMacs would likely double as Thunderbolt 3 ports akin to the new MacBook Pro.
Apple designers are also said to be exploring standalone keyboards with a Touch Bar and Touch ID for desktop computers. The report claims Apple will decide whether to release the keyboards depending upon how well the touchscreen strip and fingerprint scanner are received on new MacBook Pro models released a few months ago. Apple’s current Magic Keyboard was released in October 2015.
Meanwhile, some Apple engineers have reportedly raised the possibility of moving Mac Pro production back to Asia, as these people believe the supply chain workers have the “required skills” for “ambitious” products. Apple currently assembles the Mac Pro in Texas as its only “Made in USA” computer, but the professional-oriented desktop machine has not been updated in three years.
Three years on, the Mac Pro is ripe for an upgrade with its chips and connector ports lagging rival products. Because of the earlier challenges, some Apple engineers have raised the possibility of moving production back to Asia, where it’s cheaper and manufacturers have the required skills for ambitious products, according to a person familiar with those internal discussions.
President-elect Donald Trump recently said he will offer Apple incentives to bring manufacturing back to the United States, including a “very large tax cut” and reduced regulations. Apple CEO Tim Cook himself has said the majority of its products are made in China because the U.S. workforce has a smaller number of individuals with the “vocational kind of skills” needed.
Overall, the article suggests the Mac is “getting far less attention than it once did,” partly due to “a lack of clear direction from senior management, departures of key people working on Mac hardware, and technical challenges.”
Apple, for its part, told employees it has “great desktops” in its roadmap. Cook said the desktop is “very strategic” to Apple because the performance desktops can provide is “really important” to a lot of people and “critical” for others. He says the current iMac is the best desktop Apple’s ever made and its 5K display is the best desktop display in the world. The fate of the Mac Pro and Mac mini is less clear.
Related Roundups: iMac, Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, Retina MacBook
Tags: bloomberg.com, Magic Keyboard
Buyer’s Guide: iMac (Don’t Buy), Mac Pro (Don’t Buy), MacBook Pro (Buy Now), MacBook (Neutral)
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Apple TV’s Live Tune-In Feature Now Supports TBS and TNT
Apple has added support for TBS and TNT to the Live Tune-In feature on the fourth-generation Apple TV in the United States.
Live Tune-In lets users jump directly into the live streams of select apps using the Siri Remote. Users can simply hold down the microphone button and say commands such as “Watch TBS” or “Watch TNT live.” The feature requires tvOS 9.2 or later.
Live Tune-In also supports ABC News, CBS, CBS News, CNN Go, Cooking Channel, Disney Channel, Disney Jr, Disney XD, DIY, ESPN, Food Network, FXNOW, HGTV, and Travel Channel, plus live sporting events in the NHL app.
Meanwhile, Apple TV universal search now supports NRK TV and TV 2 Sumo in Norway and SVT Play in Sweden.
Universal search enables fourth-generation Apple TV users to conduct Siri voice searches or text-based searches to find TV and movie content across a wide range of channels. A wide number of apps are supported.
Related Roundups: Apple TV, tvOS 10
Buyer’s Guide: Apple TV (Caution)
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Shake Shack’s mobile app now takes orders across the US
You might have one more option to choose from if you don’t feel like lining up for some fast food. Shake Shack has joined the growing list of food chains with mobile apps that give you a way to order and pay ahead of time. The restaurant has been testing the service in Manhattan for the past few months, but it’s now available in multiple locations across the US. Sadly, it’s not a full nationwide rollout — the company left out some locations, including Austin, Dallas and Atlanta. Plus, only the iOS app is available for now, though according to Eater, Shake Shack is also developing an Android application.
If the chain now accepts mobile orders where you are, you’ll be able to choose the branch where you want to pick up your grub, as well as the time you’ll be dropping in. Most of the items in the resto’s menu are available through the app, save for some exceptions like its frozen custard concretes. However, you can only buy four items per category, so if you need a fifth burger, one of your friends has to order the last one.
Via: Eater
Source: iTunes
Honda’s next-gen Clarity hydrogen cars land in California
Honda has delivered the first hydrogen-powered Clarity fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) to dealers in Torrance, California, home of the automaker’s US campus. Approved buyers can take one home on a lease for $2,868 down and $369 a month for three years, a price that includes 20,000 miles per year and up to $15,0000 of hydrogen fuel.
The advantage of a Clarity over regular EVs? You can fuel up to the top in about 10 minutes and travel 366 miles before you need to do it again. By contrast, you can only go about 315 miles in the Tesla Model S P100D, and it takes 40 minutes to get to an 80 percent charge, at best (using a supercharger). The Clarity’s 174 HP engine can propel you to a top speed of 100 mph, but lack of emissions is the point of an FCV, not performance.
If you get out a calculator, you may notice that the total purchase cost ($16,152) is not a lot higher than the amount of free fuel. Honda isn’t selling the Clarity to make a profit; instead, the automaker wants to test its practicality in the real world on a larger scale than it did with the original Clarity FCX.
Honda’s first Clarity customers in Torrance, CA (Honda)
For now, availability is limited to California, the only US state with an extensive hydrogen filling station network. As it stands, there are around 25 retail and 5 non-retail stations (not selling unrestricted H2 to consumers) on California’s “Hydrogen Highway” from Lake Tahoe to San Diego. That includes a non-retail station in Torrance that should be upgraded to full retail by next year. On top of that, there are around 20 retail stations currently under development.
As I noted in Engadget’s hydrogen vehicle explainer, it costs up to several million dollars to set up a hydrogen fueling station, compared to around $300,000 to install a Tesla supercharger. Most hydrogen comes from reformed methane, which is plentiful in the US thanks to fracking. In theory, from ground to wheels, methane-based hydrogen should be less polluting than gasoline. However, thanks to infrastructure leaks and other issues, it may actually be more harmful, because methane is a much worse greenhouse gas than CO2.
Honda and Toyota, spurred by the Japanese government, went all-in on hydrogen in Japan and the US. However, Toyota is now hedging its bets, saying that it’s now building a lithium-battery powered EV.
Via: Reuters
Source: Honda
ICYMI: Hydroponics on a grand scale
Today on In Case You Missed It: Sundrop Farms in Australia produces tomatoes from using solar power and seawater, no soil, pesticides or groundwater involved. You can watch the video of the facility here or the CNN story here. The story about the weather study using man-made ice storms is described here.
If you’re interested in the bird-inspired drone design, that’s here, and the meat pie into the stratosphere is here. As always, please share any interesting tech or science videos you find by using the #ICYMI hashtag on Twitter for @mskerryd.
VSCO Update Adds RAW Image Capturing and Editing on iOS 10 Devices
Popular photography app VSCO recently announced that users can now capture and edit images in RAW on the iPhone 6s, 6s Plus, iPhone 7, 7 Plus, and iPhone SE, while running iOS 10. Apple introduced the ability for third-party apps to support RAW shooting and editing in iOS 10, and began highlighting the professional photography feature soon after the launch of the iPhone 7 and iPhone 7 Plus.
Now, VSCO announced that its iOS app will support full RAW capturing, importing, and editing. The company’s blog post said that RAW offers “greater creative control” over an image, and users will be able to better adjust color balance and recover any lost highlight details in the process. RAW image capture isn’t supported on the iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, but users of those devices will be able to import and edit RAW images.
In our latest update, full RAW image support includes RAW capture, importing and editing, offering greater creative control by preserving an image’s original data and capturing exactly what your camera sees. With RAW, you’re able to recover lost highlight detail, freely adjust color balance, and bring out the full potential of RAW images from both your iPhone and DSLR camera.
Another new feature introduced in the update is called “Film X,” and VSCO said that it will “give you the full expressive power of film itself,” leading to customized film modeling and high image quality through two new controls called “Character” and “Warmth.” Film X is an exclusive feature to the new membership plan, VSCO X, which runs for $19.99/year and grants users new “entitlements” each month like camera presets and advanced controls.
VSCO is available to download from the iOS App Store for free. [Direct Link]
Tag: VSCO
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