Create the Gotham for your Batman, the African savannah for your Simba, or the bustling newsroom for your Clark Kent. Background, setting, environment.whatever you call it, it is the silent character in the visual story, and a dynamic and compelling setting can define and hone the action and drama of your story. If you're in the habit of creating disembodied characters or adding backgrounds as an afterthought, Set the Action! will help you understand and utilize the importance of the setting in your narrative. Understand perspective, blocking, and color-and focus your narrative by establishing and designing your setting to interact with characters and story.

All professional animators know a handful of secrets that give them an edge in a production environment. "How to Cheat in Maya" puts these secrets in your hands Learn time and energy-saving techniques tested in real Hollywood productions in this book, jam- packed with screenshots and scene files designed to get you up to speed quickly. From menus to modeling, lipsync to lighting, How to Cheat in Maya 2013 covers all of the methods available in the latest version of Maya. Get up to speed quickly and produce stellar results with these insider workflows. With new, updated cheats for the latest version of Maya, "How to Cheat in Maya" is an essential guide for amateur and professional 3D animators alike. Fully updated with gold-mine coverage including: expanded sections on production workflow, all new chapters covering rigging cheats and Maya's referencing tools, and brand new project files demonstrating production-proven techniques. The companion website includes complete scene files for exercises and techniques, extra rigs, Quicktime movies of full projects, and video tutorials. NOTE: there is a problem with the companion web site. As Focal Press continues to work on this issue, please visit http: //www.kennyroy.com/public/How-to-Cheat-in-Maya-2013.cfm for the scene files, extra rigs and movies of full projects. We apologize for any inconvenience.

Covering the theoretical aspects of image processing and analysis through the use of graphs in the representation and analysis of objects, Image Processing and Analysis with Graphs: Theory and Practice also demonstrates how these concepts are indispensible for the design of cutting-edge solutions for real-world applications."

Explores new applications in computational photography, image and video processing, computer graphics, recognition, medical and biomedical imaging"

With the explosive growth in image production, in everything from digital photographs to medical scans, there has been a drastic increase in the number of applications based on digital images. This book explores how graphs which are suitable to represent any discrete data by modeling neighborhood relationships have emerged as the perfect unified tool to represent, process, and analyze images. It also explains why graphs are ideal for defining graph-theoretical algorithms that enable the processing of functions, making it possible to draw on the rich literature of combinatorial optimization to produce highly efficient solutions.

Some key subjects covered in the book include:

• Definition of graph-theoretical algorithms that enable denoising and image enhancement
• Energy minimization and modeling of pixel-labeling problems with graph cuts and Markov Random Fields
• Image processing with graphs: targeted segmentation, partial differential equations, mathematical morphology, and wavelets
• Analysis of the similarity between objects with graph matching
• Adaptation and use of graph-theoretical algorithms for specific imaging applications in computational photography, computer vision, and medical and biomedical imaging

Use of graphs has become very influential in computer science and has led to many applications in denoising, enhancement, restoration, and object extraction. Accounting for the wide variety of problems being solved with graphs in image processing and computer vision, this book is a contributed volume of chapters written by renowned experts who address specific techniques or applications. This state-of-the-art overview provides application examples that illustrate practical application of theoretical algorithms. Useful as a support for graduate courses in image processing and computer vision, it is also perfect as a reference for practicing engineers working on development and implementation of image processing and analysis algorithms.

Shadow Algorithms Data Miner provides a high-level understanding of the complete set of shadow concepts and algorithms, addressing their usefulness from a larger graphics system perspective. It discusses the applicability and limitations of all the direct illumination approaches for shadow generation. With an emphasis on shadow fundamentals, the book gives an organized picture of the motivations, complexities, and categorized algorithms available to generate digital shadows. It helps readers select the most relevant algorithms for their needs by placing the shadow algorithms in real-world contexts and looking at them from a larger graphics system perspective. As a result, readers know where to start for their application needs, which algorithms to begin considering, and which papers and supplemental material should be consulted for further details.

Award-winning Vegas guru Douglas Spotted Eagle takes readers beyond the mechanics of Vegas, teaching them an industry-tested professional editing workflow. Packed with all the necessary materials, including raw video footage, sequences, and detailed instructions, this book and DVD combo lets readers gain a working knowledge of Vegas including its exceptional audio features and the DVD Architect toolset. Woven into this Editing Workshop are hands-on tutorials covering a complete range of essential tasks from installing the application to outputting. Novices learn the basics, and experienced editors get practical techniques with real-world examples for working more efficiently and making better media. This edition has been updated to include changes to both the Vegas 10 and Vegas 11 software releases.

GPU Pro3, the third volume in the GPU Pro book series, offers practical tips and techniques for creating real-time graphics that are useful to beginners and seasoned game and graphics programmers alike. Section editors Wolfgang Engel, Christopher Oat, Carsten Dachsbacher, Wessam Bahnassi, and Sebastien St-Laurent have once again brought together a high-quality collection of cutting-edge techniques for advanced GPU programming. With contributions by more than 50 experts, GPU Pro3: Advanced Rendering Techniques covers battle-tested tips and tricks for creating interesting geometry, realistic shading, real-time global illumination, and high-quality shadows, for optimizing 3D engines, and for taking advantage of the advanced power of the GPGPU. Sample programs and source code are available for download on the book's CRC Press web page.

Updates and addendum for the new version of FCPX (10.0.3) are available on the companion website, fcpxbook.com. Are you an iMovie or Final Cut Express user ready to make the jump to Final Cut Pro? If so, look no further. Take your movies to the next level with this easy-to-follow, hand-on guide from one of the preeminent Apple trainers in the world today. Author Tom Wolsky starts with the basics of Final Cut Pro X, allowing you to easily make the leap from Final Cut Express or iMovie, then gradually introduces you to more complex techniques with step-by-step tutorials. Tom specifically shows you how certain techniques and concepts you utilized in iMovie and Final Cut Express translate to Final Cut Pro. More than a button-pushing manual, this editing workshop gives your firsthand experience with the art and technique of editing with Final Cut Pro. It includes in-depth information on the application's features, interface elements, and tools. You will develop a working knowledge of the principles and methods taught in film schools with tutorials that covers the essentials: . Nuances of system set-up to ensure smooth operation . Getting your tape-based and file-based AVCHD and DSLR media into Final Cut Pro and getting it organized . Editing to build and trim a sequence of shots . Working with audio, split edits, back-timing and level control . Adding transitions . Final Cut Pro titling tools . Color correction, image animation, and special effects . Compositing to enhance your projects . Outputting your material

Graphics Shaders: Theory and Practice is intended for a second course in computer graphics at the undergraduate or graduate level, introducing shader programming in general, but focusing on the GLSL shading language. While teaching how to write programmable shaders, the authors also teach and reinforce the fundamentals of computer graphics. The second edition has been updated to incorporate changes in the OpenGL API (OpenGL 4.x and GLSL 4.x0) and also has a chapter on the new tessellation shaders, including many practical examples.

The book starts with a quick review of the graphics pipeline, emphasizing features that are rarely taught in introductory courses, but are immediately exposed in shader work. It then covers shader-specific theory for vertex, tessellation, geometry, and fragment shaders using the GLSL 4.x0 shading language. The text also introduces the freely available glman tool that enables you to develop, test, and tune shaders separately from the applications that will use them. The authors explore how shaders can be used to support a wide variety of applications and present examples of shaders in 3D geometry, scientific visualization, geometry morphing, algorithmic art, and more.

Features of the Second Edition:

• Written using the most recent specification releases (OpenGL 4.x and GLSL 4.x0) including code examples brought up-to-date with the current standard of the GLSL language.
• More examples and more exercises
• A chapter on tessellation shaders
• An expanded Serious Fun chapter with examples that illustrate using shaders to produce fun effects
• A discussion of how to handle the major changes occurring in the OpenGL standard, and some C++ classes to help you manage that transition

The authors thoroughly explain the concepts, use sample code to describe details of the concepts, and then challenge you to extend the examples. They provide sample source code for many of the book s examples at www.cgeducation.org

This book presents a simple, yet comprehensive, treatment of the basic principles and applications of novel phase masks and non-uniform optical windows under the increasingly popular umbrella term "pupil engineering." It discusses current research topics in the areas of phase-space representations for engineering imaging devices with extended depth of field, as well as sparse optical sensing and emergent phenomena such as vortices and singularities, highlighting the heuristic applications of key concepts in novel models and their graphic representations. The book is appealing to anyone interested in robotic vision and is a valuable resource for upper-level students, teachers, scientists, and engineers in the field of image science, lasers, and digital image processing.

Master the most powerful photo editing tools and techniques that Elements has to offer! Using step-by-step projects, Mark Galer will have you creating stunning images in no time at all. Whether you want to create impressive, seamless montages, optimize your photos for perfect print quality, or simply enhance your images for maximum impact, Maximum Performance will give you the skills and know-how you need to create professional quality results. Featured projects teach you how to work with multilayered 16 bit/channel files, as well as convert to black and white using Adobe Camera Raw, create High Key images, work with image borders and textures, and create tilt-shift and cross-process effects. Three movie tutorials featuring specific techniques from the book are available for free online, and a supplemental package of images and movies can be purchased with an easy one-time download from the authors' website, www.elements-maxperformance.com. Find everything you need to unleash the power of Elements with Max Performance, or for a more interactive learning experience, download the supplemental images and movies for comprehensive, hands-on learning.

Pattern recognition basically deals with the recognition of patterns, shapes, objects, things in images. Document image analysis was one of the very ?rst applications of pattern recognition and even of computing. But until the 1980s, research in this ?eld was mainly dealing with text-based documents, including OCR (Optical Character Recognition) and page layout analysis. Only a few people were looking at more speci?c documents such as music sheet, bank cheques or forms. The community of graphics recognition became visible in the late 1980s. Their speci?c interest was to recognize high-level objects represented by line drawings and graphics. The speci?c pattern recognition problems they had to deal with was raster-to-graphics conversion (i.e., recognizing graphical primitives in a cluttered pixel image), text-graphics separation, and symbol recognition. The speci?c problem of symbol recognition in graphical documents has received a lot of attention. The symbols to be recognized can be musical notation, electrical symbols, architectural objects, pictograms in maps, etc. At ?rst glance, the symbol recognition problems seems to be very similar to that of character recognition; - ter all, characters are basically a subset of symbols. Therefore, the large know-how in OCR has been extensively used in graphical symbol recognition: starting with segmenting the document to extract the symbols, extracting features from the s- bols, and then recognizing them through classi?cation or matching, with respect to a training/learning set.

Focal Press adds a new star to its brightening constellation of superb Animation titles: The "Tradigital" line of books. "Tradigital" titles bridge the gap between animating with a particular software tool, and applying the 12 principles of animation to your work. The first three titles in the series cover: 3ds Max, Maya, and Blender. The 12 basic principles of animation were introduced by the Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas, who wanted to codify the efforts of the leading Disney animators from the 1930s onwards to produce more realistic animations. The principles mainly teach animators how to create characters that look like they are adhering to the basic laws of physics. The principles also deal with more abstract issues, such as emotional timing and character appeal. Today, the core Disney principles are generally adopted by animators around the world. Though originally intended to apply to traditional, hand-drawn animation, the principles still have great relevance for today's more prevalent computer animation. Richard Lapidus presents "Tradigital 3ds Max" which shows animators how to use the 3ds Max controls, while applying the classical principles of animation and core techniques. With our new "Tradigital" series, we are finally bridging the gap between software-specific instruction and the world of classical animation.

This text reviews the field of digital image processing from the different perspectives offered by the separate domains of signal processing and pattern recognition. The book describes a rich array of applications, representing the latest trends in industry and academic research. To inspire further interest in the field, a selection of worked-out numerical problems is also included in the text. The content is presented in an accessible manner, examining each topic in depth without assuming any prior knowledge from the reader, and providing additional background material in the appendices. Features: covers image enhancement techniques in the spatial domain, the frequency domain, and the wavelet domain; reviews compression methods and formats for encoding images; discusses morphology-based image processing; investigates the modeling of object recognition in the human visual system; provides supplementary material, including MATLAB and C++ code, and interactive GUI-based modules, at an associated website.

Important elements of games, movies, and other computer-generated content, shadows are crucial for enhancing realism and providing important visual cues. In recent years, there have been notable improvements in visual quality and speed, making high-quality realistic real-time shadows a reachable goal. Real-Time Shadows is a comprehensive guide to the theory and practice of real-time shadow techniques. It covers a large variety of different effects, including hard, soft, volumetric, and semi-transparent shadows. The book explains the basics as well as many advanced aspects related to the domain of shadow computation. It presents interactive solutions and practical details on shadow computation. The authors compare various algorithms for creating real-time shadows and illustrate how they are used in different situations. They explore the limitations and failure cases, advantages and disadvantages, and suitability of the algorithms in several applications. Source code, videos, tutorials, and more are available on the book's website www.realtimeshadows.com.

As more images and videos are becoming available in compressed formats, researchers have begun designing algorithms for different image operations directly in their domains of representation, leading to faster computation and lower buffer requirements. Image and Video Processing in the Compressed Domain presents the fundamentals, properties, and applications of a variety of image transforms used in image and video compression. It illustrates the development of algorithms for processing images and videos in the compressed domain. Developing concepts from first principles, the book introduces popular image and video compression algorithms, in particular JPEG, JPEG2000, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and H.264 standards. It also explores compressed domain analysis and performance metrics for comparing algorithms. The author then elucidates the definitions and properties of the discrete Fourier transform (DFT), discrete cosine transform (DCT), integer cosine transform (ICT), and discrete wavelet transform (DWT). In the subsequent chapters, the author discusses core operations, such as image filtering, color enhancement, image resizing, and transcoding of images and videos, that are used in various image and video analysis approaches. He also focuses on other facets of compressed domain analysis, including video editing operations, video indexing, and image and video steganography and watermarking. With MATLAB (R) codes on an accompanying CD-ROM, this book takes you through the steps involved in processing and analyzing compressed videos and images. It covers the algorithms, standards, and techniques used for coding images and videos in compressed formats.

Let Mark Galer guide you through the most powerful photo editing tools and techniques that Elements has to offer! A unique cominbtion of step-by-step projects, movie tutorials and sample images will have you creating stunning images in no time at all. Whether you want to enhance your images for maximum impact, optimize your photos for perfect print quality, or creating impressive, seamless montages, Maximum Performance will give you the skills and know-how to create professional quality results, enabling you get maximum performance from this credit crunch approved software. The package is completed with an astonishingly supportive website packed with over 7 hours of movie tutorials, 100+ sample images, multimedia content and stock photography as well as automated actions to get even more out of the software.

This book is a result of a workshop, the 8th of the successful TopoInVis workshop series, held in 2019 in Nykoeping, Sweden. The workshop regularly gathers some of the world's leading experts in this field. Thereby, it provides a forum for discussions on the latest advances in the field with a focus on finding practical solutions to open problems in topological data analysis for visualization. The contributions provide introductory and novel research articles including new concepts for the analysis of multivariate and time-dependent data, robust computational approaches for the extraction and approximations of topological structures with theoretical guarantees, and applications of topological scalar and vector field analysis for visualization. The applications span a wide range of scientific areas comprising climate science, material sciences, fluid dynamics, and astronomy. In addition, community efforts with respect to joint software development are reported and discussed.

Matchmoving has become a standard visual effects procedure for almost every situation where live action materials and CG get combined. It allows virtual and real scenes that have been composited together to seamlessly appear as though they are from the same perspective. This authoritative step-by-step guide from one of the best matchmovers in the business allows you to master this technique that has been called the foundation upon which all VFX work stands. Author Erica Hornung (sr. matchmover for Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Matrix: Revolutions, and more) imparts her techniques, tips, and wisdom from the trenches that will have you matchmoving like a true professional in no time. Lessons in the most popular matchmoving software (Maya, Boujou, and others) are included, as well as tips and techniques for surveying on set, dolly moves, and operating nodal cameras. Individual chapters dedicated to object and character matchmoves show you how to matchmove for shadow casting, adding weapons and other objects, focusing on center of gravity, as well as complete CG character support. The downloadable resources include Quicktime examples of techniques shown in the book, as well as project files that allow you to master these techniques yourself by working alongside the lessons featured in the text.

Blender Foundations is the definitive resource for getting started with 3D art in Blender, one of the most popular 3D/Animation tools on the market . With the expert insight and experience of Roland Hess, noted Blender expert and author, animators and artists will learn the basics starting with the revised 2.6 interface, modeling tools, sculpting, lighting and materials through rendering, compositing and video editing. Some of the new features covered include the completely re-thought interface, the character animation and keying system, and the smoke simulator. More than just a tutorial guide, "Blender Foundations" covers the philosophy behind this ingenious software that so many 3D artists are turning to today. Start working today with Blender with the accompanying web site which includes all of the projects and support files alongside videos, step-by-step screenshots of the trickier tutorials, as well as a direct links to official resources like the Blender download site and artist forums.

Artist imaginations continue to grow and stretch the boundaries of traditional animation. Successful animators adept and highly skilled in traditional animation mediums are branching out beyond traditional animation workflows and will often use multiple forms of animation in a single project. With the knowledge of 3D and 2D assets and the integration of multiple animation mediums into a single project, animators have a wealth of creative resources available for a project that is not limited to a specific animation medium, software package or workflow processs. Enhance a poignant scene by choosing to animate the scenic background in 2D while the main character is brought to life with 3D techniques. Balance the budget demands of a project by choosing to integrate a 2D or 3D asset to save time and expense. Choose which medium Hybrid Animation, learn the systematic development of the 2D and 3D assets and the issues surrounding choices made during the creative process.

After Effects CS5.5 Update: /tv.adobe.com/show/after-effects-cs55-new-creative-techniques/ Chris and Trish Meyer have created a series of videos demonstrating how to use their favorite new and enhanced features in After Effects CS5.5. Virtually all of these videos use exercise files from Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects (5th Edition for CS5) as their starting point, extending the usefulness of this book for its owners. These videos may be viewed for free on AdobeTV. * 5th Edition of best-selling After Effects book by renowned authors Trish and Chris Meyer covers the important updates in After Effects CS4 and CS5 * Covers both essential and advanced techniques, from basic layer manipulation and animation through keying, motion tracking, and color management * The downloadable resources are packed with project files for version CS5, source materials, and nearly 200 pages of bonus chapters Trish and Chris Meyer share over 17 years of hard-earned, real-world film and video production experience inside this critically acclaimed text. More than a step-by-step review of the features in AE, readers will learn how the program thinks so that they can realize their own visions more quickly and efficiently. This full-color book is packed with tips, gotchas, and sage advice that will help users thrive no matter what projects they might encounter. Creating Motion Graphics 5th Edition has been thoroughly revised to reflect the new features introduced in both After Effects CS4 and CS5. New chapters cover the revolutionary new Roto Brush feature, as well as mocha and mocha shape. The 3D section has been expanded to include working with 3D effects such as Digieffects FreeForm plus workflows including Adobe Repousse, Vanishing Point Exchange, and 3D model import using Adobe Photoshop Extended. The print version is also accompanied by downloadable resources that contain project files and source materials for all the techniques demonstrated in the book, as well as nearly 200 pages of bonus chapters on subjects such as expressions, scripting, and effects. Subjects include: Animation Techniques; Layer Management; Modes, Masks, and Mattes; Mastering 3D Space; Text Animation; Effects & Presets; Painting and Rotoscoping; Parenting, Nesting, and Collapsing; Color Management and Video Essentials; Motion Tracking and Keying; Working with Audio; Integrating with 3D Applications; Puppet Tools; Expressions; Exporting and Rendering; and much more.

This book covers essential tools and techniques for programming the graphics processing unit. Brought to you by Wolfgang Engel and the same team of editors who made the ShaderX series a success, this volume covers advanced rendering techniques, engine design, GPGPU techniques, related mathematical techniques, and game postmortems. A special emphasis is placed on handheld programming to account for the increased importance of graphics on mobile devices, especially the iPhone and iPod touch. Example programs and source code can be downloaded from the book's CRC Press web page.

Computer Techniques for Image Processing in Electron Microscopy, Volume 214 in the Advances in Imaging and Electron Physics series, presents the latest advances in the field, with this new volume covering Image Formation Theory, The Discrete Fourier Transform, Analytic Images, The Image and Diffraction Plane Problem: Uniqueness, The Image and Diffraction Plane Problem: Numerical Methods, The Image and Diffraction Plane Problem: Computational Trials, Alternative Data for the Phase Determination, The Hardware of Digital Image Handling, Basic Software or Digital Image Handling, Improc, and much more.

Apply universally accepted cinematic techniques to your Flash projects to improve the storytelling quotient in your entertainment, advertising (branding), and educational media. A defined focus on the concepts and techniques for production from story reels to the final project delivers valuable insights, time-saving practical tips, and hands-on techniques for great visual stories. Extensive illustration, step-by-step instruction, and practical exercises provide a hands-on perspective.
Explore the concepts and principles of visual components used in stories so you are fluent in the use of space, line, color, and movement in communicating emotion and meaning. Apply traditional cinematography techniques into the Flash workspace with virtual camera movements, simulated 3d spaces, lighting techniques, and character animation. Add interactivity using ActionScript to enhance audience participation.