Computer Graphics World

November / December 2015

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2 cgw n o v e m b e r . d e c e m b e r 2 0 1 5 THE FUTURE REVISITED he year was 1989. And the future had arrived! On October 21, 2015, people across the US were celebrating Back to the Future II, or more specifi- cally, the future as depicted in that movie when Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox) and Dr. Emmett Brown (Chris- topher Lloyd) set their time-travel clock to October 21, 2015. The movie was direct- ed by Robert Zemeckis, who later devised a digital process that mapped facial performances from real-life actors onto CG characters for such feature films as The Polar Express, Beowulf, and A Christmas Carol. Industrial Light & Magic also played an important role in the film, using digital compositing and the Vista- Glide portable motion-con- trol dolly system with video playback. It enabled an actor to play two or more parts in a single scene, with a com- puter controlling the pan, tilt, focus, zoom, and split line during each pass – perfect for scenes that included the "current" and "future" versions of the characters side by side and interacting with their other self. So, let's start our ad- venture in 1989. What was life actually like? As far as computers were concerned, Intel rolled out the 486 series of microprocessor, paving the way for the first release of Microso Office. Nintendo released the 8-bit Game Boy system. The first GPS satellites were put into orbit. Florida and Virginia permitted the use of DNA genetic finger- printing evidence in court. Leather blazers and paisley ties were popular men's clothing items. In sports, the Oakland Athletics swept the World Series, beating the San Francisco Giants. Before we look ahead (or, rather, in the "movie" version of the present), it should be noted that predicting the future is not easy (obviously), and Zemeckis had stated in various interviews that coming up with the futuristic concepts in the movie was his least favorite part of mak- ing the film. So, the focus was on humor rather than science when devising the scenarios. That said, the filmmakers did introduce some out-of- this-world technology in the movie, but they also had con- cepts that hit the bull's-eye. In Zemeckis' imagined 2015, hoverboards were the cool mode of teen transpor- tation. Well, they got that right – you can get yours now at Amazon, Target, and other retailers, although they lag in functionality to those in the movie. Flying cars? Nope, we still do not have them, but then again, they sure made the movie cool. Drones, yup. They will be one of the big gis under the tree this year. Giant wide-picture, flat-screen TVs with multiple-channel display – oh yes! Video chat systems, hands-free video game systems, wearable tech- nology, and head-mounted displays? Yes to all, partic- ularly that last one, with the Oculus Ri and other gear heading for stores shortly (the other holiday favorite). The Wii and Kinect give us hands-free gaming, and TVs today are getting larger, giv- ing us higher resolutions, and getting cheaper each year. We even have 3D televisions! Thumbprint payment? Apple has us covered with its novel payment system, while fingerprint scanning gains us access to many things, even Disney parks. But a phone booth readily accessible along the sidewalks, as shown in the movie? Nope, mobile phones take care of that need in the real 2015. As for high-tech goggles, try out Google Glass. Fax machines everywhere? Nope, they became obso- lete with the "digital fax," scans, and e-mails. Just try to escape your boss – not so easy with smartphones. 3D holographic technology may not be used every day, but we do have it and see it every year at SIGGRAPH. Getting news from newspapers? Digital T Karen Moltenbrey, Editor-in-Chief karen@CGW.com R E C E N T A W A R D S THE MAGAZINE FOR DIGITAL CONTENT PROFESSIONALS E D I T O R I A L EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Karen Moltenbrey e: karen@cgw.com t: 603.432.7568 DIRECTOR OF WEB CONTENT Marc Loftus e: mloftus@postmagazine.com t: 516.376.1087 CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Courtney Howard, Jenny Donelan, Kathleen Maher, George Maestri, Martin McEachern, Barbara Robertson PUBLISHER / PRESIDENT / CEO William R. 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