Sony Corp and Sony Marketing Inc exhibited a set of 3D video production system for business use at International Broadcast Equipment Exhibition 2009, which runs from Nov 18, 2009, at Makuhari Messe in Chiba Prefecture, Japan.
"Not only movies but also other moving images will go 3D in the near future," the companies said.
The two companies showcased a business-use camera, processor to compensate and adjust 3D images, switcher and recorder for editing, monitors to check images, projector and so forth.
Among them, there was the "SRX-R320," a digital cinema projector that can project 4k2k 3D video and was released Nov 9, 2009. The "HDC-P1," a multi-purpose camera for taking 3D images, and a "rig" will be launched in February 2010. The rig is a mount for the camera, and it enables to combine two units of the HDC-P1 and a half mirror to shoot 3D video.
This time, Sony and Sony Marketing exhibited the "3D LED Wall," a 280-inch LED display that is 6.4m in width and 3.4m in height and can switch between 2D and 3D video. It seemed to be made by combining 70 LED displays, each of which measures about 28 inches.
3D images are shown by using two overlapping images for the right and left eyes. And polarization glasses are used to separate those images.
Home-use TVs and Blu-ray players that can show 3D images are expected to be released in 2010. But it is still impossible to predict when terrestrial TV broadcasts will support 3D images in Japan.
"In the United States, 3D images are already broadcast in live sports and music programs via cable TV networks and satellite broadcasting," Sony said. "In the future, such movements will occur in Japan, too."
2009年11月19日星期四
2009年11月17日星期二
Toledo's OC begins to recover from chilled sales
WHEN HARD times cause boaters on Italy's Lake Como to delay trading up, executives at the Toledo headquarters of Owens Corning take notice.
Slumping sales of swimming pools, corrosion-resistant oil pipelines, and windmills - wherever in the world - are also a cause of concern.
A deal with a rival in late 2007 helped cement the downtown Toledo corporation's position as the globe's undisputed No. 1 producer of glass to reinforce plastic, which is commonly known as fiberglass - "composites," in company parlance.
The product has many uses, including sporting goods, blades for windmills, pipelines, construction, auto parts, blast protection for military vehicles, and smart-phone cases. Sliced into fibers, the glass is combined with polymers to form plastic that is tough, corrosion-resistant, and lightweight.
It is so common around the globe that it is something of a bellwether for the international economy.
And late last year, it became a fire bell.
Fiber-glass sales at OC in December plunged 45 percent from 2008's monthly averages as economies around the world fell into a deep recession that experts described as the worst since the Great Depression.
Officials at the firm's Cesar Pelli-designed office building on the Maumee River characterized what happened to fiber-glass sales as a "global demand collapse."
Blades for wind turbines are among uses for fiber glass-reinforced plastics.
They responded quickly, shutting down more than half of production lines worldwide.
In a conference call with financial analysts three weeks ago, Mike Thaman, OC's 45-year-old chief executive officer, said: "We still have a lot of equipment turned off and a lot of our operations turned off."
Other industry players also experienced declines.
In the United States alone, manufacturers of frp grating shipped 16 percent less product in 2008 than in 2007, according to the American Composites Manufacturers Association.
"Demand dried up," Chuck Dana, head of the division of the Fortune 500 firm that makes fiber glass, said in an interview last week.
But OC's sales of fiber glass are beginning to revive, especially in China, India, and Brazil, he said. The recovery has been slower in western Europe, the United States, and Canada.
"We are restarting capacity in a number of places around the world," Mr. Dana said. He cited a plant in Italy and one in Amarillo, Texas, which had been partially shut down.
After two consecutive quarters of losses, the company's fiber-glass business broke even in the third quarter. But sales in that three-month period, which ended Sept. 30, were down 23 percent from a year earlier to $451 million, according to the firm's financial report issued late last month.
Through the first nine months of the year, the company overall has had a profit of $86 million on sales of $3.6 billion.
The firm's core insulation business also is struggling.
A bright spot is the roofing business, where sales and profits remain strong.
The situation illustrates how OC became much more vulnerable to international economic forces after its purchase two years ago of the fiber-glass business of French rival Saint-Gobain. Fiber glass, which generated $2.4 billion last year, accounted for 41 percent of total company sales in 2008, up from 30 percent in 2006 before the deal with the French firm.
The business has 7,100 of OC's 16,500 employees worldwide, with 100 at the Toledo headquarters.
Two-thirds of fiberglass sales were outside the United States and Canada last year, compared with just 7 percent of building products sales.
The business operates 38 manufacturing plants, including ones in Amarillo, Texas; Jackson, Tenn.; Anderson, S.C.; Chambery, France; Gous, Russia; Vado Ligure and Besana, Italy; Kimchon, South Korea; Ibaraki, Japan, and Apeldoorn, Netherlands.
Construction is under way on a second plant in China in the outskirts of Shanghai. It is to be completed next year.
The renewed importance of fiberglass at OC represents something of a return to the firm's roots.
The company was founded in 1938 as Owens Corning Fiberglas Corp. but dropped Fiberglas from its name in the mid-1990s as then-Chief Executive Officer Glen Hiner sought to enlarge the firm's fiberglass-insulation franchise into a building-materials powerhouse.
Fiberglas, without the second "s," is a company trademark. But it is rarely used in promotional material anymore.
More often, executives refer to "composite materials" or "reinforcements." Consumers continue to talk about "fiberglass boats" and "fiberglass skis." But that is something of a misnomer. In actuality, they are made of glass-reinforced plastic. Fiberglass refers to the glass fibers that are combined with polymers to create the material with which the products are made.
In recent decades, glass' dominance has been challenged by other advanced materials. For example, manufacturers of aircraft and high-end bicycles have mixed carbon fibers with polymers to create a light, steel-like material that is much stronger -and more costly-than glass-reinforced plastic.
But, according to experts, glass continues to represent 85 percent to 95 percent of reinforcements.
Other fiberglass manufacturers include Johns Manville Corp., Denver, and PPG Industries, Pittsburgh.
More recent entrants into the industry include China's state-owned Jushi Group Co. Ltd. Its Web site boasts that Jushi is "the world's leading manufacturer in terms of capacity, technology, and economic efficiency."
OC officials aren't ready to concede leadership in those areas.
"We know Jushi and we know they have grand aspirations," said Mr. Dana. "Their strategy is largely emulating Owens Corning and aspiring to be as big and as technologically oriented as we are."
Said Garik Shmois, a stock analyst with Longbow Research in Cleveland: "OC is certainly No. 1 globally."
He recently raised his rating on OC shares to buy, and predicted that they will reach $27 each. They were in the $24 range in trading last week on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock dropped as low at $5.02 a share over the past year.
The stock analyst expects OC's roofing business to continue to nail down strong profits, sees early signs of a recovery in insulation, and is pleased with progress made by the fiberglass unit.
Even before the Saint-Gobain unit purchase, many of OC's fiberglass sales were outside North America. Partly as a result, business has grown 5 to 7 percent annually for at least a decade as product manufacturers sought out lighter-weight alternatives to steel and other traditional materials, company officials said.
In the United States, shipments of fiberglass material have declined by 26 percent after peaking at 4.2 billion pounds in 2005, according to the American Composites Manufacturers Association.
Problems culminated last year. Losses can be traced largely to problems in three key markets supplied by the industry: boat-building, auto manufacturing, and construction.
However, the crisis of 2008 had been brewing for some time, said John Busel, director of the association's composites growth initiative.
"Our industry was something of a bellwether that something was happening," he said. "We probably didn't know it was going to turn into what happened."
It is difficult to predict how rapidly the U.S. fiberglass industry will recover, but the nation's struggling construction, auto, and boat-building industries are unlikely to lead the recovery, he acknowledged.
OC executives have acknowledged that the firm's fiberglass business is unlikely to turn a profit in 2009.
Jim Barrett, an analyst with C.L. King & Associates, Albany, N.Y., expects losses for the unit to reach $20 million by the end of the year. He predicts a turnaround next year, for which he expects $100 million in profit.
"This assumes that worldwide economies show gradual recovery as we move through 2010," he said in a research note to clients after OC released its third-quarter earnings.
Slumping sales of swimming pools, corrosion-resistant oil pipelines, and windmills - wherever in the world - are also a cause of concern.
A deal with a rival in late 2007 helped cement the downtown Toledo corporation's position as the globe's undisputed No. 1 producer of glass to reinforce plastic, which is commonly known as fiberglass - "composites," in company parlance.
The product has many uses, including sporting goods, blades for windmills, pipelines, construction, auto parts, blast protection for military vehicles, and smart-phone cases. Sliced into fibers, the glass is combined with polymers to form plastic that is tough, corrosion-resistant, and lightweight.
It is so common around the globe that it is something of a bellwether for the international economy.
And late last year, it became a fire bell.
Fiber-glass sales at OC in December plunged 45 percent from 2008's monthly averages as economies around the world fell into a deep recession that experts described as the worst since the Great Depression.
Officials at the firm's Cesar Pelli-designed office building on the Maumee River characterized what happened to fiber-glass sales as a "global demand collapse."
Blades for wind turbines are among uses for fiber glass-reinforced plastics.
They responded quickly, shutting down more than half of production lines worldwide.
In a conference call with financial analysts three weeks ago, Mike Thaman, OC's 45-year-old chief executive officer, said: "We still have a lot of equipment turned off and a lot of our operations turned off."
Other industry players also experienced declines.
In the United States alone, manufacturers of frp grating shipped 16 percent less product in 2008 than in 2007, according to the American Composites Manufacturers Association.
"Demand dried up," Chuck Dana, head of the division of the Fortune 500 firm that makes fiber glass, said in an interview last week.
But OC's sales of fiber glass are beginning to revive, especially in China, India, and Brazil, he said. The recovery has been slower in western Europe, the United States, and Canada.
"We are restarting capacity in a number of places around the world," Mr. Dana said. He cited a plant in Italy and one in Amarillo, Texas, which had been partially shut down.
After two consecutive quarters of losses, the company's fiber-glass business broke even in the third quarter. But sales in that three-month period, which ended Sept. 30, were down 23 percent from a year earlier to $451 million, according to the firm's financial report issued late last month.
Through the first nine months of the year, the company overall has had a profit of $86 million on sales of $3.6 billion.
The firm's core insulation business also is struggling.
A bright spot is the roofing business, where sales and profits remain strong.
The situation illustrates how OC became much more vulnerable to international economic forces after its purchase two years ago of the fiber-glass business of French rival Saint-Gobain. Fiber glass, which generated $2.4 billion last year, accounted for 41 percent of total company sales in 2008, up from 30 percent in 2006 before the deal with the French firm.
The business has 7,100 of OC's 16,500 employees worldwide, with 100 at the Toledo headquarters.
Two-thirds of fiberglass sales were outside the United States and Canada last year, compared with just 7 percent of building products sales.
The business operates 38 manufacturing plants, including ones in Amarillo, Texas; Jackson, Tenn.; Anderson, S.C.; Chambery, France; Gous, Russia; Vado Ligure and Besana, Italy; Kimchon, South Korea; Ibaraki, Japan, and Apeldoorn, Netherlands.
Construction is under way on a second plant in China in the outskirts of Shanghai. It is to be completed next year.
The renewed importance of fiberglass at OC represents something of a return to the firm's roots.
The company was founded in 1938 as Owens Corning Fiberglas Corp. but dropped Fiberglas from its name in the mid-1990s as then-Chief Executive Officer Glen Hiner sought to enlarge the firm's fiberglass-insulation franchise into a building-materials powerhouse.
Fiberglas, without the second "s," is a company trademark. But it is rarely used in promotional material anymore.
More often, executives refer to "composite materials" or "reinforcements." Consumers continue to talk about "fiberglass boats" and "fiberglass skis." But that is something of a misnomer. In actuality, they are made of glass-reinforced plastic. Fiberglass refers to the glass fibers that are combined with polymers to create the material with which the products are made.
In recent decades, glass' dominance has been challenged by other advanced materials. For example, manufacturers of aircraft and high-end bicycles have mixed carbon fibers with polymers to create a light, steel-like material that is much stronger -and more costly-than glass-reinforced plastic.
But, according to experts, glass continues to represent 85 percent to 95 percent of reinforcements.
Other fiberglass manufacturers include Johns Manville Corp., Denver, and PPG Industries, Pittsburgh.
More recent entrants into the industry include China's state-owned Jushi Group Co. Ltd. Its Web site boasts that Jushi is "the world's leading manufacturer in terms of capacity, technology, and economic efficiency."
OC officials aren't ready to concede leadership in those areas.
"We know Jushi and we know they have grand aspirations," said Mr. Dana. "Their strategy is largely emulating Owens Corning and aspiring to be as big and as technologically oriented as we are."
Said Garik Shmois, a stock analyst with Longbow Research in Cleveland: "OC is certainly No. 1 globally."
He recently raised his rating on OC shares to buy, and predicted that they will reach $27 each. They were in the $24 range in trading last week on the New York Stock Exchange. The stock dropped as low at $5.02 a share over the past year.
The stock analyst expects OC's roofing business to continue to nail down strong profits, sees early signs of a recovery in insulation, and is pleased with progress made by the fiberglass unit.
Even before the Saint-Gobain unit purchase, many of OC's fiberglass sales were outside North America. Partly as a result, business has grown 5 to 7 percent annually for at least a decade as product manufacturers sought out lighter-weight alternatives to steel and other traditional materials, company officials said.
In the United States, shipments of fiberglass material have declined by 26 percent after peaking at 4.2 billion pounds in 2005, according to the American Composites Manufacturers Association.
Problems culminated last year. Losses can be traced largely to problems in three key markets supplied by the industry: boat-building, auto manufacturing, and construction.
However, the crisis of 2008 had been brewing for some time, said John Busel, director of the association's composites growth initiative.
"Our industry was something of a bellwether that something was happening," he said. "We probably didn't know it was going to turn into what happened."
It is difficult to predict how rapidly the U.S. fiberglass industry will recover, but the nation's struggling construction, auto, and boat-building industries are unlikely to lead the recovery, he acknowledged.
OC executives have acknowledged that the firm's fiberglass business is unlikely to turn a profit in 2009.
Jim Barrett, an analyst with C.L. King & Associates, Albany, N.Y., expects losses for the unit to reach $20 million by the end of the year. He predicts a turnaround next year, for which he expects $100 million in profit.
"This assumes that worldwide economies show gradual recovery as we move through 2010," he said in a research note to clients after OC released its third-quarter earnings.
2009年11月15日星期日
Despite All of the Clouds
The use of a 3D Laser scanner to survey can quickly result in a cloud of more than one million points; none of which contain any intelligence or reference information on the their topology or what they are supposed to be representing.
PointCloud and PointCloud Pro from kubit allow the display and processing of point clouds directly inside AutoCAD. Every single point of a 3D cloud can be accessed (OSNAP) and thus be used in combination with all traditional AutoCAD commands. Furthermore, PointCloud provides numerous tools for an efficient analysis of 3D laser scan data.
Coordinate systems, polylines, planes and cylinders can easily be fitted to point cloud sections. Planes can be fitted and intersected to quickly derive the edges of houses or curbs. Corners can also be precisely determined using the intersection point of three planes. Full pipe-runs and routing lines can easily be fitted for pipe design programs.
The results of such post-processing techniques can vary between 2D plans or 3D models.
The latest release of PointCloud Pro 5 extends AutoCAD by adding a photogrammetric, multiple image analysis. Three-dimensional objects can now be modelled using digital photos instead of scanned point clouds.
Oriented images can be generated directly within PointCloud and then drawn on to get an image plan. Lines drawn on a two dimensional photograph are simultaneously displayed inside the 3D point cloud at the correct geometric position.
PointCloud license holders may deliver fully functional cloud files free of charge with the FreeEdition version of PointCloud. Thus, service providers can hand their measured point cloud data to their customers for further processing in AutoCAD without the customers having to purchase a licence of PointCloud.
Versions 5 of PointCloud and PointCloud Pro support AutoCAD 2007-2010 and all vertical applications (e.g. Architecture, Civil 3D). They run on both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. Prospects may try the software free of charge.
Related blog:djthsurty.gujaba.com
PointCloud and PointCloud Pro from kubit allow the display and processing of point clouds directly inside AutoCAD. Every single point of a 3D cloud can be accessed (OSNAP) and thus be used in combination with all traditional AutoCAD commands. Furthermore, PointCloud provides numerous tools for an efficient analysis of 3D laser scan data.
Coordinate systems, polylines, planes and cylinders can easily be fitted to point cloud sections. Planes can be fitted and intersected to quickly derive the edges of houses or curbs. Corners can also be precisely determined using the intersection point of three planes. Full pipe-runs and routing lines can easily be fitted for pipe design programs.
The results of such post-processing techniques can vary between 2D plans or 3D models.
The latest release of PointCloud Pro 5 extends AutoCAD by adding a photogrammetric, multiple image analysis. Three-dimensional objects can now be modelled using digital photos instead of scanned point clouds.
Oriented images can be generated directly within PointCloud and then drawn on to get an image plan. Lines drawn on a two dimensional photograph are simultaneously displayed inside the 3D point cloud at the correct geometric position.
PointCloud license holders may deliver fully functional cloud files free of charge with the FreeEdition version of PointCloud. Thus, service providers can hand their measured point cloud data to their customers for further processing in AutoCAD without the customers having to purchase a licence of PointCloud.
Versions 5 of PointCloud and PointCloud Pro support AutoCAD 2007-2010 and all vertical applications (e.g. Architecture, Civil 3D). They run on both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems. Prospects may try the software free of charge.
Related blog:djthsurty.gujaba.com
2009年11月10日星期二
Towards a safer construction industry
The National Building Research Organization (NBRO) formed in 1984, became a pioneering research and development organization in the country specializing in various spheres of technology. After 25 years NBRO now stands as one of the leading multidisciplinary institutions in the country.
This institution was initially formed under the Local Government Ministry, subsequently brought under the Policy Planning and Plan Implementation Ministry and later placed under the Housing and Construction Ministry covering the requirements of housing sector which was then a national priority. During that period NBRO developed solutions for cost effective housing, structural engineering research, and housing in problematic soil areas. NBRO kept expanding their fields of expertise and consequently developed their capacity on landslide studies. Now NBRO is under the Disaster Management and Human Rights Ministry catering to new areas of Disaster Management, Disaster Risk Reduction and Landslide Mitigation.
During this 25-year period, NBRO has stayed ahead of other institutions by developing a multidisciplinary human and physical assets base. NBRO had two laboratories related to building industry; building materials laboratory and soil or geotechnical engineering laboratory.
These laboratories gave NBRO a unique identity of being capable of testing both soil and building materials. Twenty five years ago, NBRO was the only institution that had the capacity in investigating soils or problematic ground conditions.
Formerly the soils and materials laboratories belonged to the Buildings Department and these facilities were used by the Department to conduct investigations on building on problematic soils and on construction materials used in their construction work. As this became inadequate with soil investigations for complex construction becoming common and most of the consultants requesting soil and material investigation reports, a market demand was created naturally that the Department could not ignore.
Also, outside work could not be done within the Buildings Department. In 1984, these became push factors for soil and building material laboratories to break off from their original ‘owners’, the Buildings Department.
The pull factor being that at that time, the Government was looking for an independent institution to provide support services to implement the million housing program. After forming NBRO, the Geotechnical Engineering Division and Building Materials Division provided services such as lab investigation of soils and building materials to such programs.
In 1984, Structural Engineering Research Centre and Project Management Division were added when forming the organization.
The Million Housing Program lacked proper for project management and this was provided by the NBRO at that time. Due to the highlighted Government focus at that time, NBRO got the highest level of attention. NBRO was the main focal point in providing project management services to the Million Housing Program.
To meet other service requirements, the Human Settlements Division and the Environmental Division were created and these supported the process of project management and monitoring.
In 1986, a large number of deaths were reported due to landslides in the hilly areas. This attracted the attention at the highest level. NBRO had been newly established and at this juncture, NBRO was the only institution that was capable of geotechnical and soil related work. For these reasons, the Government decided to develop the capacity of NBRO in the field of landslides and the UNDP stepped forward to help. The initial landslide investigations were carried out by the Geotechnical Engineering Division (GED) of NBRO and at that time, they highlighted the need for further advancement in this newly emerging field. Later, the Landslide, Studies and Services Division was created.
With the establishment of the NBRO and subsequent developments, two diversified areas appear to coincide, the work related to construction industry and housing sector merging with work related to landslides or geo-technical matters. In 1988, UNDP developed a project on landslide risk reduction in hilly areas. This project was conducted with the overall assistance of a Chief Technical Advisor (CTA). The project initially tries to understand the landslide occurring phenomena and the possible remedial measures that can be adopted to reduce the risk on the affected population.
In parallel to the housing program, NBRO seemed to have reached to its climax at that time and most of the value addition programs were carried out based on the research work of NBRO. Most of this research work has gone unnoticed since they were used in policy making by the decision makers. Hence, the access to these reports was very limited to the public. Some of these research work included building standards for economically and differently abled population and condition of workers’ dwellings in the export processing zones. NBRO embarked on a program to introduce cost effective building materials.
Numerous research work was carried out by the Building Materials Division on micro concrete tiles, rice husk ash cement and dolomite lime. During this period, Structural Engineering Research Centre and Project Management Division (SERC and PMD) assisted various development projects in the country specially the Gam Udawa program.
In this program SERC and PMD provided the technical inputs in engineering research, project management and overall project monitoring work. NBRO became one of the silent partners in the Gam Udawa program. NBRO was one of the organizations that could develop through the process and divert from the mainstream of housing and construction at that time. During the past 25 years, NBRO diversified from mainstream of housing and construction to environmental management, landslide disaster risk reduction and now disaster risk reduction through safer environment.
The landslide studies conducted during the past 20 years have created some important developments in the organization, and important land mark being the establishment of the ‘Landslides Services and Studies Division’ (LSSD) of the NBRO.
This was carried out in 1993 by combining all the staff members working in the Landslide Hazard Mapping Project (LHMP) to form the LSSD.
The landslide studies project developed by the Chief Technical advisor of the NBRO/UNDP led to the Landslide Hazard Mapping Project. The study team noted the importance of establishing a system to map the landslide prone area of the country. The team highlighted this issue of the importance in developing mapping methodology. Today these maps are effectively used in development planning, project approval, landslide risk reduction and mitigation projects.
This institution was initially formed under the Local Government Ministry, subsequently brought under the Policy Planning and Plan Implementation Ministry and later placed under the Housing and Construction Ministry covering the requirements of housing sector which was then a national priority. During that period NBRO developed solutions for cost effective housing, structural engineering research, and housing in problematic soil areas. NBRO kept expanding their fields of expertise and consequently developed their capacity on landslide studies. Now NBRO is under the Disaster Management and Human Rights Ministry catering to new areas of Disaster Management, Disaster Risk Reduction and Landslide Mitigation.
During this 25-year period, NBRO has stayed ahead of other institutions by developing a multidisciplinary human and physical assets base. NBRO had two laboratories related to building industry; building materials laboratory and soil or geotechnical engineering laboratory.
These laboratories gave NBRO a unique identity of being capable of testing both soil and building materials. Twenty five years ago, NBRO was the only institution that had the capacity in investigating soils or problematic ground conditions.
Formerly the soils and materials laboratories belonged to the Buildings Department and these facilities were used by the Department to conduct investigations on building on problematic soils and on construction materials used in their construction work. As this became inadequate with soil investigations for complex construction becoming common and most of the consultants requesting soil and material investigation reports, a market demand was created naturally that the Department could not ignore.
Also, outside work could not be done within the Buildings Department. In 1984, these became push factors for soil and building material laboratories to break off from their original ‘owners’, the Buildings Department.
The pull factor being that at that time, the Government was looking for an independent institution to provide support services to implement the million housing program. After forming NBRO, the Geotechnical Engineering Division and Building Materials Division provided services such as lab investigation of soils and building materials to such programs.
In 1984, Structural Engineering Research Centre and Project Management Division were added when forming the organization.
The Million Housing Program lacked proper for project management and this was provided by the NBRO at that time. Due to the highlighted Government focus at that time, NBRO got the highest level of attention. NBRO was the main focal point in providing project management services to the Million Housing Program.
To meet other service requirements, the Human Settlements Division and the Environmental Division were created and these supported the process of project management and monitoring.
In 1986, a large number of deaths were reported due to landslides in the hilly areas. This attracted the attention at the highest level. NBRO had been newly established and at this juncture, NBRO was the only institution that was capable of geotechnical and soil related work. For these reasons, the Government decided to develop the capacity of NBRO in the field of landslides and the UNDP stepped forward to help. The initial landslide investigations were carried out by the Geotechnical Engineering Division (GED) of NBRO and at that time, they highlighted the need for further advancement in this newly emerging field. Later, the Landslide, Studies and Services Division was created.
With the establishment of the NBRO and subsequent developments, two diversified areas appear to coincide, the work related to construction industry and housing sector merging with work related to landslides or geo-technical matters. In 1988, UNDP developed a project on landslide risk reduction in hilly areas. This project was conducted with the overall assistance of a Chief Technical Advisor (CTA). The project initially tries to understand the landslide occurring phenomena and the possible remedial measures that can be adopted to reduce the risk on the affected population.
In parallel to the housing program, NBRO seemed to have reached to its climax at that time and most of the value addition programs were carried out based on the research work of NBRO. Most of this research work has gone unnoticed since they were used in policy making by the decision makers. Hence, the access to these reports was very limited to the public. Some of these research work included building standards for economically and differently abled population and condition of workers’ dwellings in the export processing zones. NBRO embarked on a program to introduce cost effective building materials.
Numerous research work was carried out by the Building Materials Division on micro concrete tiles, rice husk ash cement and dolomite lime. During this period, Structural Engineering Research Centre and Project Management Division (SERC and PMD) assisted various development projects in the country specially the Gam Udawa program.
In this program SERC and PMD provided the technical inputs in engineering research, project management and overall project monitoring work. NBRO became one of the silent partners in the Gam Udawa program. NBRO was one of the organizations that could develop through the process and divert from the mainstream of housing and construction at that time. During the past 25 years, NBRO diversified from mainstream of housing and construction to environmental management, landslide disaster risk reduction and now disaster risk reduction through safer environment.
The landslide studies conducted during the past 20 years have created some important developments in the organization, and important land mark being the establishment of the ‘Landslides Services and Studies Division’ (LSSD) of the NBRO.
This was carried out in 1993 by combining all the staff members working in the Landslide Hazard Mapping Project (LHMP) to form the LSSD.
The landslide studies project developed by the Chief Technical advisor of the NBRO/UNDP led to the Landslide Hazard Mapping Project. The study team noted the importance of establishing a system to map the landslide prone area of the country. The team highlighted this issue of the importance in developing mapping methodology. Today these maps are effectively used in development planning, project approval, landslide risk reduction and mitigation projects.
2009年11月8日星期日
Portable 3-D Laser Technology Preserves Texas Dinosaur's Rare Footprint
Using portable 3D laser technology, scientists have electronically preserved a rare 110 million-year-old fossilized dinosaur footprint that was previously excavated and built into the wall of a bandstand at a Texas courthouse in the 1930s.
The laser image preserves a "type specimen" footprint -- an original track used to describe a species of dinosaur identified in the 1930s as ichnospecies Eubrontes glenrosensis, says paleontologist Thomas L. Adams at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
Portable 3D laser scanners capture original fossil morphology and texture, making it possible to use the data for rapid 3D prototyping in foam or resin, Adams says.
Without prototyping, the shape of the original track might ultimately be lost. The footprint embedded in the bandstand has been exposed to the elements for nearly 75 years, causing portions of it to erode, Adams says. Erosional loss has affected the outer edge of the toes and heel, altering the initial shape of the track impression.
The track of the ichnospecies Eubrontes glenrosensis was originally excavated in 1933 from a main track layer in a riverbed in what is now 1,500-acre Dinosaur Valley State Park in North Central Texas. Not long after it was excavated, the citizens of Glen Rose built a stone bandstand and embedded the track in one of its walls.
The track was described in 1935 by Ellis W. Shuler, SMU's first geology professor.
Adams says the footprint is that of a three-toed, bipedal, meat-eating dinosaur, with the most likely candidate being the theropod named Acrocanthosaurus, found mostly in Texas, North Carolina and Oklahoma.
"The track is scientifically very important," says Adams, who is earning his doctoral degree in paleontology at SMU. "But it's also a historical and cultural icon for Texas."
Dinosaur Valley State Park boasts the ancient shoreline of a 113 million-year-old sea and is renowned for some of the best preserved dinosaur footprints in the world. The bandstand track is a popular draw for tourists passing through Glen Rose, which is an hour southwest of Dallas.
In an effort to preserve the specimen, as well as to compare its present state with the original description, Adams used a portable 3D laser scanner to perform in situ digitization of the track.
The scans were post-processed to generate high-resolution 3D digital models of the track. Finally the models were rendered in various media formats such as Quicktime VR Virtual Reality and Tagged Image File Format for viewing, publication and archival purposes.
Adams will make the raw scan data and industry-standard 3D object files format available for download.
The research demonstrates the advantages of using portable laser scanners to capture field data and create high-resolution, interactive models that can be digitally archived and made accessible to others via the Internet for further research and education.
"It's a nice way to share scientific data," Adams says.
For more information, go to www.smuresearch.com. Adams' research was funded by the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man at SMU. He presented the research at a scientific session of the 2009 annual meeting of The Geological Society of America in Portland, Ore., Oct. 18-21. His co-researchers are Christopher Strganac, Michael J. Polcyn and Louis L. Jacobs in the Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences at SMU.
The laser image preserves a "type specimen" footprint -- an original track used to describe a species of dinosaur identified in the 1930s as ichnospecies Eubrontes glenrosensis, says paleontologist Thomas L. Adams at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.
Portable 3D laser scanners capture original fossil morphology and texture, making it possible to use the data for rapid 3D prototyping in foam or resin, Adams says.
Without prototyping, the shape of the original track might ultimately be lost. The footprint embedded in the bandstand has been exposed to the elements for nearly 75 years, causing portions of it to erode, Adams says. Erosional loss has affected the outer edge of the toes and heel, altering the initial shape of the track impression.
The track of the ichnospecies Eubrontes glenrosensis was originally excavated in 1933 from a main track layer in a riverbed in what is now 1,500-acre Dinosaur Valley State Park in North Central Texas. Not long after it was excavated, the citizens of Glen Rose built a stone bandstand and embedded the track in one of its walls.
The track was described in 1935 by Ellis W. Shuler, SMU's first geology professor.
Adams says the footprint is that of a three-toed, bipedal, meat-eating dinosaur, with the most likely candidate being the theropod named Acrocanthosaurus, found mostly in Texas, North Carolina and Oklahoma.
"The track is scientifically very important," says Adams, who is earning his doctoral degree in paleontology at SMU. "But it's also a historical and cultural icon for Texas."
Dinosaur Valley State Park boasts the ancient shoreline of a 113 million-year-old sea and is renowned for some of the best preserved dinosaur footprints in the world. The bandstand track is a popular draw for tourists passing through Glen Rose, which is an hour southwest of Dallas.
In an effort to preserve the specimen, as well as to compare its present state with the original description, Adams used a portable 3D laser scanner to perform in situ digitization of the track.
The scans were post-processed to generate high-resolution 3D digital models of the track. Finally the models were rendered in various media formats such as Quicktime VR Virtual Reality and Tagged Image File Format for viewing, publication and archival purposes.
Adams will make the raw scan data and industry-standard 3D object files format available for download.
The research demonstrates the advantages of using portable laser scanners to capture field data and create high-resolution, interactive models that can be digitally archived and made accessible to others via the Internet for further research and education.
"It's a nice way to share scientific data," Adams says.
For more information, go to www.smuresearch.com. Adams' research was funded by the Institute for the Study of Earth and Man at SMU. He presented the research at a scientific session of the 2009 annual meeting of The Geological Society of America in Portland, Ore., Oct. 18-21. His co-researchers are Christopher Strganac, Michael J. Polcyn and Louis L. Jacobs in the Roy M. Huffington Department of Earth Sciences at SMU.
2009年11月4日星期三
Workshop takes on sustainable building
Ben Sasse installed a rainwater cistern in his development to help reduce water consumption -- saving him nearly $1,000 annually on water bills.
Joe King decided not to clear-cut his building lots, nestling his homes in the natural Florida landscape to reduce irrigation costs and storm-water runoff and create a forested feel his buyers love.
The building boom may be gone, but Sarasota County leaders are working to ensure that future developments look more like what Sasse and King have created when construction returns.
Some of the ideas proposed Tuesday at the county's annual Sustainable Communities Workshop included impact fee credits for builders who conserve water, allowing taller buildings that preserve more green space, better storm-water management to limit runoff into streams and bays, and charging higher prices for treated water to encourage conservation.
Sasse told the audience of about 100 that his office building uses 83 percent less water than conventional buildings because of the rainwater cistern, low flow urinals and other conservation methods.
"It's really impressive," said County Commissioner Joe Barbetta. "Hopefully it will be contagious throughout the community."
Yet the increased costs of many "low impact" development practices have limited widespread acceptance and it is unclear if government leaders will hold developers to higher standards when people are desperate for economic development.
Current plans include a mix of incentives for developers and new regulations.
New development standards in the works would require more native landscaping and building materials such as pervious concrete that can absorb storm water.
County leaders have also established a panel to investigate impact fee reductions for developers who conserve water.
Sasse believes the impact fee incentives are essential to make products like cisterns more affordable. Sasse's system cost $27,000.
It will take 30 years to recoup that cost based on the $1,000 annual savings in reduced water bills. Technologies will not move from the fringe to the mainstream until they are more affordable, Sasse said.
"Saving water is more than just about saving dollars," Sasse said, "but we live in a real world."
Barbetta said he supports reducing impact fees for conservation. "If you reduce your impact it seems logical to reduce the fees," he said.
But some speakers at the workshop favored more drastic measures that would force developers to abide by higher standards and shock consumers into action.
Pierce Jones, a University of Florida professor in the Resource Efficient Communities program, believes water rates need to be raised to encourage conservation.
"That would change the payback if the cost of water was raised to where it should be," he said.
Reated website:frp grating,http://www.lydry.com/
Joe King decided not to clear-cut his building lots, nestling his homes in the natural Florida landscape to reduce irrigation costs and storm-water runoff and create a forested feel his buyers love.
The building boom may be gone, but Sarasota County leaders are working to ensure that future developments look more like what Sasse and King have created when construction returns.
Some of the ideas proposed Tuesday at the county's annual Sustainable Communities Workshop included impact fee credits for builders who conserve water, allowing taller buildings that preserve more green space, better storm-water management to limit runoff into streams and bays, and charging higher prices for treated water to encourage conservation.
Sasse told the audience of about 100 that his office building uses 83 percent less water than conventional buildings because of the rainwater cistern, low flow urinals and other conservation methods.
"It's really impressive," said County Commissioner Joe Barbetta. "Hopefully it will be contagious throughout the community."
Yet the increased costs of many "low impact" development practices have limited widespread acceptance and it is unclear if government leaders will hold developers to higher standards when people are desperate for economic development.
Current plans include a mix of incentives for developers and new regulations.
New development standards in the works would require more native landscaping and building materials such as pervious concrete that can absorb storm water.
County leaders have also established a panel to investigate impact fee reductions for developers who conserve water.
Sasse believes the impact fee incentives are essential to make products like cisterns more affordable. Sasse's system cost $27,000.
It will take 30 years to recoup that cost based on the $1,000 annual savings in reduced water bills. Technologies will not move from the fringe to the mainstream until they are more affordable, Sasse said.
"Saving water is more than just about saving dollars," Sasse said, "but we live in a real world."
Barbetta said he supports reducing impact fees for conservation. "If you reduce your impact it seems logical to reduce the fees," he said.
But some speakers at the workshop favored more drastic measures that would force developers to abide by higher standards and shock consumers into action.
Pierce Jones, a University of Florida professor in the Resource Efficient Communities program, believes water rates need to be raised to encourage conservation.
"That would change the payback if the cost of water was raised to where it should be," he said.
Reated website:frp grating,http://www.lydry.com/
3D Laser Mapping Appoints South American
3D Laser Mapping has appointed GEOCOM to act as Chilean representative for it's hi-tech laser scanning systems. With over 20 years experience in providing advanced solutions for field surveying, GEOCOM was the obvious partner for the region. Chile is a vital area for mining and economic development and 3D Laser Mapping sees the region is a key market for its laser monitoring systems. The partnership with GEOCOM will build on 3D Laser Mapping's position as an international specialist in the global development and deployment of 3D laser monitoring systems.
SiteMonitor is a safety monitoring system that automatically detects tiny movements in slopes and walls in open pit mines and other environments. Using advanced laser scanning technology, the modular SiteMonitor 3 system offers extensive user-defined alarm options with remote monitoring over the Internet and automated warning e-mails. SiteMonitor 3 can be used with virtually
any terrestrial laser scanner giving flexibility in the range, rate and accuracy of scan measurements. It has been designed as a completely flexible laser scanning system that includes configurable software modules to meet individual user's requirements, plus hardware accessories and a comprehensive service package including commissioning, training and remote support, making it a
complete turn key solution.
SiteMonitor is a safety monitoring system that automatically detects tiny movements in slopes and walls in open pit mines and other environments. Using advanced laser scanning technology, the modular SiteMonitor 3 system offers extensive user-defined alarm options with remote monitoring over the Internet and automated warning e-mails. SiteMonitor 3 can be used with virtually
any terrestrial laser scanner giving flexibility in the range, rate and accuracy of scan measurements. It has been designed as a completely flexible laser scanning system that includes configurable software modules to meet individual user's requirements, plus hardware accessories and a comprehensive service package including commissioning, training and remote support, making it a
complete turn key solution.
2009年11月3日星期二
Thomas Jane’s Dark Country 3D
October 6th, 2009 saw two very momentous occasions. Firstly, and most importantly, it was my birthday. Secondly, Thomas Jane’s first feature directorial effort (he’s listed as having directed Jonni Nitro, but even I’m clueless as to what that is) Dark Country was released on DVD. Our own Rob Hunter listed the film as a rental in his DVD recommendations but that didn’t stop me from heading out and purchasing it. Then, in a bit of good fortune, I promptly tossed it on the “to watch” pile and forgot about it for three weeks. I say good fortune because not watching the standard, 2D version of the film allowed me to walk into a small, one of a kind screening in late October, the first ever Annual Halloween screening of the film – in glorious 3 dimensions. So my first experience with the film would be as intended – in a theater, with the full effect of the 3D, not on some TV with a flat picture.
Cut to late October and I’m settled in at a Halloween screening, complete with decorations and, no joke, a string trio playing along. The film is introduced by Tom Jane and some characters in face paint as he takes a very Crypt Keeper like approach to the night, complete with “gaping chest wound” t-shirt and flashlights. After a brief intro, the glasses go on and the film comes up.
Dark Country is a Twilight Zone-esque thriller that follows a newly-wed couple Dick (Tom Jane) and Gina (Lauren German) as they drive out of Las Vegas in a vintage car, heading deep into the dark desert country with some steamy love between them and plenty of questions between them. In the dark night on the empty roads, things quickly go south when they come across a car wreck and a badly injured man in the road. Attempting to do the right thing, they load his bloody, disfigured body into the car and go off in search of a hospital. As one might expect, soon they’re lost and the bloodyfaced hitchhiker in the back reveals he’s got some murderous secrets of his own.
Walking into a film like this, I often don’t know what to expect or what I’m in store for. I’m no stranger to lower budget Tom Jane movies, like the not-great Mutant Chronicles or the totally-awesome Give ‘em Hell Malone of late, two different sides of the coin. One works, the other not as much. What makes Dark Country both smart and impressive is the budget – under $4million dollars. For that price, most movies only get the gift bags for their star actors, but Jane and crew get a coherent 3D motion picture up on the screen. I mention smart because when you’re working with little money, you can’t over extend yourself. Shooting for a sci-fi epic (a la Mutant Chronicles) you’re probably going to come up short. But if you’re smart, you find the right story with the right location and $4 million becomes just enough to put out the finished product. Indeed, when you hear about all the ingredients to this film, that it turns out as well as it did, it’s downright amazing. Firstly, you have Tom Jane, a hard-working guy taking his first crack at directing who decides to make it even more difficult on himself by jumping right into 3D. Secondly, toss in a low budget, the untested 3D technology, brand new (aka untested) equipment, night shoots, a short 25 day shooting schedule and the freaking New Mexican desert. The cards were seemingly stacked against the production, that was mired with freezing cold nights and equipment that didn’t always want to work correctly. In one story relayed by Jane after the film, a fancy shmancy piece of equipment meant to raise and lower the 3D camera malfunctioned, stopping production. One for practical solutions, they replaced the machine with the simplest of tools – the human hand – then set the camera onto the road and let the car drive harmlessly over it. That’s how you stretch a budget.
About the movie itself – overall, I liked it. The film is by no means perfect and, personally, started off on the wrong foot for me. I wasn’t engaged in the first few minutes and was beginning to fear a long ride into mediocrity. Luckily, once Dick and Gina had moved into the car, the story quickly shifted gears, sunk in its hooks, and managed to be an enjoyable ride through the dark country. Not until writing down their names (Dick and Gina) did I realize that their names are in fact Dick and (va)Gina. I don’t say this in jest, but perhaps this was a very intentional choice to have them symbolize masculine and feminine sex. Perhaps a wayward thought – until you see the steamy scene in the car. Then the theory gains about a metric ton of weight behind it. We’ve seen terrible sex scenes in cars, like in The Chase when two people somehow engage in coitus while in the middle of a high speed car chase without crashing. The scene in Dark Country is not Dick in Gina (haha, I crack myself) sex, but it is one of the most effective and exciting sexual scenes I’ve seen on film in years. That is the moment when the film really has you and from then on in, it was a far better experience than the first minutes indicated.
dark-country-7Plot wise, the story has that Twilight Zone esque twist you know is coming from the very start. Many of you will probably be able to predict it correctly, but that said, it’s not a deal breaker. I’m a huge fan of The Twilight Zone and even when you know what’s coming, it’s still a fine drive to the finish.
The biggest divider of people who see this movie is going to be style. It’s a love it or leave it type deal, that most likely works far better in 3D than in 2D. Make no mistake, the look of the film is very intentional. Both Jane and Tim Bradstreet (famed artist, Dark Country unofficial production designer and Raw Studios honcho) talked at length about the look of the film, describing it as “intended for a comic book audience.” This is an accurate way to describe much of the film, from the color palate to the angles. Color wise, the film is silvery, channeling in bits of noir and vintage film, while in shot selection, Jane proves himself to be visually very deft with the camera. Certain angles (namely a low angle looking at Bloodyface and out the back of the rear window of the car) are rarely seen in movies, at least in my experience, but are fairly common in graphic novels.
There was a lot of attention paid to the sky with almost every scene having a brilliant, colorful night sky composited in. The photography was taken especially for the film by one of the nation’s only 3D nightsky photographers (a very limited position, one assumes), who spent days up in the hills taking shots of the night sky. To call the images breath-taking is an understatement, though some may be unable or unwilling to look past the fact that it’s a stylized nightsky, the kind you’d never see with the naked eye. I say, when you’re dealing with a stylized film, let’s do it – go all out. The sky worked for me.
dark-country-9Now, I haven’t fully watched the 2D version of the film, but from what I have seen the 3D element makes the entire picture look better. The compositing (green-screening), which is one of the main criticisms of the 2D version, looks far better in three dimensions than it does in two. Dark Country is also one of the first films to fully utilize 3D for image depth rather than gimmicks. In the entirety of the movie there are only two “gimmick” 3D shots, with everything else being about the expansion of the image rather than making you giggle. I have long championed the return of 3D as a valuable and viable tool for creating image depth rather than jump scares. (I saw my first RealD live action movie in 2006 and have supported the technology ever since) Dark Country goes miles down the road in proving that 3D is here and it isn’t a joke or a toy for a kid’s movie. For any photographers out there, you understand the real magic of photography is in the depth of field and focal lengths and 3D technology opens an entirely new window.
I would be remiss in not talking briefly about the acting, but I do want to keep it brief as I’ve gone on for some time now. Tom Jane has always been an effective actor, whether it’s in comedy or drama or Punishing, but lately it seems that his game is fully realized. Mainstream critics have come around to him and praise his performance in Hung, telling us what we already knew – the guy is good. In Country, he plays a more dramatic role and nails a wide variety of emotions. I feel like he turns in a fantastic performance here. Lauren German is also good, though after her ice-cube-masturbation scene (there, I said it) she could sit there with a blank expression on her face the rest of the time and I’d still praise her performance. Ron Perlman appears late in the game and he’s Ron Perlman – nuff said.
In conclusion, Dark Country is not a perfect film, but it’s a much better film in 3D. The story isn’t groundbreaking and again I’ll mention The Twilight Zone, but the acting is top notch from Jane, the style of the film is very much grounded in the comic world, and several scenes are over the top awesome. If nothing else, Jane has proven two things: The guy can direct and 3D is awesome. As I’m sure many of you are fans of Jane, Bradstreet, and Raw Studios (hey, we’re all nerds here), be on the lookout of “Raw Cola” early in the film.
During the Q&A after the film, Jane and Bradstreet mentioned a desire and intent to tour several cities with the film and show it in 3D. Hopefully this gets off the ground and gives people more opportunities to see the film the way it was meant to be. If we’re lucky in LA, they’ll also keep that “Annual” promise and continue to show the film every Halloween.
Final words? Definitely worth checking out in 3D.
Cut to late October and I’m settled in at a Halloween screening, complete with decorations and, no joke, a string trio playing along. The film is introduced by Tom Jane and some characters in face paint as he takes a very Crypt Keeper like approach to the night, complete with “gaping chest wound” t-shirt and flashlights. After a brief intro, the glasses go on and the film comes up.
Dark Country is a Twilight Zone-esque thriller that follows a newly-wed couple Dick (Tom Jane) and Gina (Lauren German) as they drive out of Las Vegas in a vintage car, heading deep into the dark desert country with some steamy love between them and plenty of questions between them. In the dark night on the empty roads, things quickly go south when they come across a car wreck and a badly injured man in the road. Attempting to do the right thing, they load his bloody, disfigured body into the car and go off in search of a hospital. As one might expect, soon they’re lost and the bloodyfaced hitchhiker in the back reveals he’s got some murderous secrets of his own.
Walking into a film like this, I often don’t know what to expect or what I’m in store for. I’m no stranger to lower budget Tom Jane movies, like the not-great Mutant Chronicles or the totally-awesome Give ‘em Hell Malone of late, two different sides of the coin. One works, the other not as much. What makes Dark Country both smart and impressive is the budget – under $4million dollars. For that price, most movies only get the gift bags for their star actors, but Jane and crew get a coherent 3D motion picture up on the screen. I mention smart because when you’re working with little money, you can’t over extend yourself. Shooting for a sci-fi epic (a la Mutant Chronicles) you’re probably going to come up short. But if you’re smart, you find the right story with the right location and $4 million becomes just enough to put out the finished product. Indeed, when you hear about all the ingredients to this film, that it turns out as well as it did, it’s downright amazing. Firstly, you have Tom Jane, a hard-working guy taking his first crack at directing who decides to make it even more difficult on himself by jumping right into 3D. Secondly, toss in a low budget, the untested 3D technology, brand new (aka untested) equipment, night shoots, a short 25 day shooting schedule and the freaking New Mexican desert. The cards were seemingly stacked against the production, that was mired with freezing cold nights and equipment that didn’t always want to work correctly. In one story relayed by Jane after the film, a fancy shmancy piece of equipment meant to raise and lower the 3D camera malfunctioned, stopping production. One for practical solutions, they replaced the machine with the simplest of tools – the human hand – then set the camera onto the road and let the car drive harmlessly over it. That’s how you stretch a budget.
About the movie itself – overall, I liked it. The film is by no means perfect and, personally, started off on the wrong foot for me. I wasn’t engaged in the first few minutes and was beginning to fear a long ride into mediocrity. Luckily, once Dick and Gina had moved into the car, the story quickly shifted gears, sunk in its hooks, and managed to be an enjoyable ride through the dark country. Not until writing down their names (Dick and Gina) did I realize that their names are in fact Dick and (va)Gina. I don’t say this in jest, but perhaps this was a very intentional choice to have them symbolize masculine and feminine sex. Perhaps a wayward thought – until you see the steamy scene in the car. Then the theory gains about a metric ton of weight behind it. We’ve seen terrible sex scenes in cars, like in The Chase when two people somehow engage in coitus while in the middle of a high speed car chase without crashing. The scene in Dark Country is not Dick in Gina (haha, I crack myself) sex, but it is one of the most effective and exciting sexual scenes I’ve seen on film in years. That is the moment when the film really has you and from then on in, it was a far better experience than the first minutes indicated.
dark-country-7Plot wise, the story has that Twilight Zone esque twist you know is coming from the very start. Many of you will probably be able to predict it correctly, but that said, it’s not a deal breaker. I’m a huge fan of The Twilight Zone and even when you know what’s coming, it’s still a fine drive to the finish.
The biggest divider of people who see this movie is going to be style. It’s a love it or leave it type deal, that most likely works far better in 3D than in 2D. Make no mistake, the look of the film is very intentional. Both Jane and Tim Bradstreet (famed artist, Dark Country unofficial production designer and Raw Studios honcho) talked at length about the look of the film, describing it as “intended for a comic book audience.” This is an accurate way to describe much of the film, from the color palate to the angles. Color wise, the film is silvery, channeling in bits of noir and vintage film, while in shot selection, Jane proves himself to be visually very deft with the camera. Certain angles (namely a low angle looking at Bloodyface and out the back of the rear window of the car) are rarely seen in movies, at least in my experience, but are fairly common in graphic novels.
There was a lot of attention paid to the sky with almost every scene having a brilliant, colorful night sky composited in. The photography was taken especially for the film by one of the nation’s only 3D nightsky photographers (a very limited position, one assumes), who spent days up in the hills taking shots of the night sky. To call the images breath-taking is an understatement, though some may be unable or unwilling to look past the fact that it’s a stylized nightsky, the kind you’d never see with the naked eye. I say, when you’re dealing with a stylized film, let’s do it – go all out. The sky worked for me.
dark-country-9Now, I haven’t fully watched the 2D version of the film, but from what I have seen the 3D element makes the entire picture look better. The compositing (green-screening), which is one of the main criticisms of the 2D version, looks far better in three dimensions than it does in two. Dark Country is also one of the first films to fully utilize 3D for image depth rather than gimmicks. In the entirety of the movie there are only two “gimmick” 3D shots, with everything else being about the expansion of the image rather than making you giggle. I have long championed the return of 3D as a valuable and viable tool for creating image depth rather than jump scares. (I saw my first RealD live action movie in 2006 and have supported the technology ever since) Dark Country goes miles down the road in proving that 3D is here and it isn’t a joke or a toy for a kid’s movie. For any photographers out there, you understand the real magic of photography is in the depth of field and focal lengths and 3D technology opens an entirely new window.
I would be remiss in not talking briefly about the acting, but I do want to keep it brief as I’ve gone on for some time now. Tom Jane has always been an effective actor, whether it’s in comedy or drama or Punishing, but lately it seems that his game is fully realized. Mainstream critics have come around to him and praise his performance in Hung, telling us what we already knew – the guy is good. In Country, he plays a more dramatic role and nails a wide variety of emotions. I feel like he turns in a fantastic performance here. Lauren German is also good, though after her ice-cube-masturbation scene (there, I said it) she could sit there with a blank expression on her face the rest of the time and I’d still praise her performance. Ron Perlman appears late in the game and he’s Ron Perlman – nuff said.
In conclusion, Dark Country is not a perfect film, but it’s a much better film in 3D. The story isn’t groundbreaking and again I’ll mention The Twilight Zone, but the acting is top notch from Jane, the style of the film is very much grounded in the comic world, and several scenes are over the top awesome. If nothing else, Jane has proven two things: The guy can direct and 3D is awesome. As I’m sure many of you are fans of Jane, Bradstreet, and Raw Studios (hey, we’re all nerds here), be on the lookout of “Raw Cola” early in the film.
During the Q&A after the film, Jane and Bradstreet mentioned a desire and intent to tour several cities with the film and show it in 3D. Hopefully this gets off the ground and gives people more opportunities to see the film the way it was meant to be. If we’re lucky in LA, they’ll also keep that “Annual” promise and continue to show the film every Halloween.
Final words? Definitely worth checking out in 3D.
2009年11月2日星期一
Building material prices Danube expects up to 40% yearly growth
Dubai Danube Building Materials eg:frp grating expects 30 to 40 per cent growth in revenues and profits every year.
"We expect 30 to 40 per cent growth every year. In 2008 our growth was 70 per cent but you can't sustain that," said Chairman Rizwan Sajan.
This growth will be due partly to the company's recent diversification into the home retail sphere with its Buildmart stores.
Danube aims to open 10 to 15 Buildmart stores by the end of next year across the UAE.
Sajan told Gulf News at the opening of the first store last week that the smaller stores would generate Dh5 million to Dh10 million per year with the bigger stores generating double this.
However, the main focus will continue to be on building materials. Prices have increased since the rocky first quarter and have since stabilised.
"Prices have been more or less stable for the last six months. There is not much variation — I would say not more than five to 10 per cent plus [or] minus, which is good enough. Normally there is a big variation, but for the last six months we have seen stability in prices," Sajan said.
At the end of last year, prices were at the top, and came down drastically when the full impact of the financial crisis was felt.
For example, steel rebar was $1,500 per tonne. It is now $500. The price of steel is fluctuating between $450 and $500 per tonne.
However, prices of some materials are forecast to rise by year-end.
"For the fourth quarter and the beginning of 2010 we are expecting some prices to go up, especially for wood because of the freight rate and the demand that has been created in this part of the world, in the GCC," said Sajan.
The current freight rate from China is about $1,000 for a container, which used to be $600 or $700.
"Now this freight will go to $1,500 for a container by the end of the year. If freight goes up, it means demand is there for the product, but it is not only freight but also commodity prices are also going up.
"We expect 30 to 40 per cent growth every year. In 2008 our growth was 70 per cent but you can't sustain that," said Chairman Rizwan Sajan.
This growth will be due partly to the company's recent diversification into the home retail sphere with its Buildmart stores.
Danube aims to open 10 to 15 Buildmart stores by the end of next year across the UAE.
Sajan told Gulf News at the opening of the first store last week that the smaller stores would generate Dh5 million to Dh10 million per year with the bigger stores generating double this.
However, the main focus will continue to be on building materials. Prices have increased since the rocky first quarter and have since stabilised.
"Prices have been more or less stable for the last six months. There is not much variation — I would say not more than five to 10 per cent plus [or] minus, which is good enough. Normally there is a big variation, but for the last six months we have seen stability in prices," Sajan said.
At the end of last year, prices were at the top, and came down drastically when the full impact of the financial crisis was felt.
For example, steel rebar was $1,500 per tonne. It is now $500. The price of steel is fluctuating between $450 and $500 per tonne.
However, prices of some materials are forecast to rise by year-end.
"For the fourth quarter and the beginning of 2010 we are expecting some prices to go up, especially for wood because of the freight rate and the demand that has been created in this part of the world, in the GCC," said Sajan.
The current freight rate from China is about $1,000 for a container, which used to be $600 or $700.
"Now this freight will go to $1,500 for a container by the end of the year. If freight goes up, it means demand is there for the product, but it is not only freight but also commodity prices are also going up.
2009年11月1日星期日
Quantapoint Announces Integration of 3D Laser Scan Data
announced the integration of Quantapoint 3D laser scan data with Autodesk? Revit using QuantaCAD(TM). Laser data may be accessed directly within Revit as photo-realistic Laser Images(TM) of individual 3D laser scans and high-definition Laser Models(TM) of integrated laser data, not fuzzy "point clouds" whose sparse measurements make them difficult to use and understand.
"One of the challenges of Building Information Modeling (BIM) has been creating 3D BIM models that accurately represent existing buildings," said Eric Hoffman, Founder of Quantapoint. "By integrating Laser Models and Laser Images with Revit, Quantapoint can more quickly create 3D BIM models and validate their accuracy. Additionally, new 3D BIM designs can be viewed and clashed with the laser data to ensure that they will fit into the existing facility, thus eliminating rework."
QuantaCAD provides a number of useful capabilities to Revit users to enable them to create and validate 3D BIM models, visualize proposed modifications for design and constructability reviews.
By using QuantaCAD to put reality in Revit, BIM remodeling time can be reduced while ensuring accuracy, design time can be decreased by accessing complete and clear Laser Models and Laser Images that represent existing conditions, and rework from design clashes can be eliminated by correcting clashes between the Laser Models and the new design.
If you are interested in finding out more about accessing laser data in Revit using QuantaCAD or would like a demonstration, visit www.quantapoint.com/qp/contact or e-mail info@quantapoint.com.
"One of the challenges of Building Information Modeling (BIM) has been creating 3D BIM models that accurately represent existing buildings," said Eric Hoffman, Founder of Quantapoint. "By integrating Laser Models and Laser Images with Revit, Quantapoint can more quickly create 3D BIM models and validate their accuracy. Additionally, new 3D BIM designs can be viewed and clashed with the laser data to ensure that they will fit into the existing facility, thus eliminating rework."
QuantaCAD provides a number of useful capabilities to Revit users to enable them to create and validate 3D BIM models, visualize proposed modifications for design and constructability reviews.
By using QuantaCAD to put reality in Revit, BIM remodeling time can be reduced while ensuring accuracy, design time can be decreased by accessing complete and clear Laser Models and Laser Images that represent existing conditions, and rework from design clashes can be eliminated by correcting clashes between the Laser Models and the new design.
If you are interested in finding out more about accessing laser data in Revit using QuantaCAD or would like a demonstration, visit www.quantapoint.com/qp/contact or e-mail info@quantapoint.com.
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