Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/813438
www.postmagazine.com 12 POST APRIL 2017 BITS & PIECES CHAOS GROUP RELEASES V-RAY 3.5 FOR MAYA LOS ANGELES — Chaos Group (www.chaosgroup.com) released V-Ray 3.5 for Maya, a significant update to its CPU and GPU pro- duction renderer. Used on recent television and film projects including The Fate of the Furious, Beauty and the Beast and Stranger Things, this update brings faster rendering, more responsive look development and added realism to high-end VFX and animation projects. "We are constantly working with studios to address their daily produc- tion challenges, as well as research- ing and developing new ideas," says Vlado Koylazov, co-founder and CTO at Chaos Group. "V-Ray 3.5 is the result of our continued efforts to help artists and to advance rendering tech- nology at the same time." New additions include: Faster rendering with Adaptive Lights, a fast new lighting algorithm that speeds up rendering in scenes with many lights. With Adaptive Lights, V-Ray deter- mines which light sources are most important, so ray tracing calculations are focused and more precise. Interactive look development in V-Ray IPR is quicker and more responsive. The improved V-Ray IPR starts instantly, updates faster and uses less memory. The new V-Ray Frame Buffer tools make rendering with V-Ray IPR even faster. The Render Mask: Isolate select mode focuses rendering on a specific object without rendering the entire scene, and a new Set Focus Point option allows the camera's focal point to be set interactively, simply by clicking on an object. There's also improved shading and re- flections. For more accurate re- flections and realistic skin, V-Ray 3.5 for Maya adds support for the alSurface material. Developed by Anders Langlands, the alSurface shader includes layered subsurface scattering and glossy Fresnel reflec- tions. This makes it a popular choice for rendering photorealistic skin. "Our specialty is our ability to bring creatures to life. With V-Ray's help, we've been able to design and render creatures like the Demogorgon for the Netflix series, Stranger Things," says Aaron Sims, owner of Aaron Sims Creative (see "VFX for TV" feature on page 16). "The new alSurface shader and inter- active look development tools are a perfect fit for creature work. We're looking forward to using them on our next production." V-Ray 3.5 for Maya is a free update for all V-Ray 3.x customers on the company's Website. LENOVO DEBUTS VR- READY WORKSTATION MORRISVILLE, NC — Lenovo Workstations (www.lenovo.com) has launched its new, VR- ready ThinkStation P320. The P320 allows us- ers to add virtual reality more easily into their workflow without requiring an initial high-end hardware and software investment. The refreshed workstation will be available as both a full-size tower and small form factor (SFF) unit, and comes equipped with Intel's newest high-perfor- mance Xeon processors and the fastest Core i7 processors, which offer speeds of up to 4.5GHz with Turbo Boost. Both form factors will support the latest Nvidia Quadro graphics cards, including support for dual Nvidia Quadro P1000 GPUs in the small form factor. The ThinkStation P320 full-size tower is available with Nvidia's Quadro P4000 graphics card. Suitable for both single-part and sub-assembly modeling in VR, the P320 is capable of delivering a refreshing VR experience to mechanical and design engi- neers alike. The P320 supports the fastest storage available in its class, up to 64GB DDR4 memory, and extreme customization with the FLEX Module. In terms of environ- mental sustainability, the P320 is Energy Star-qualified, as well as EPEAT Gold and Greenguard certified. Both form factors will be available at the end of April. NAB PANEL GOES INSIDE GAME OF THRONES LAS VEGAS — The 2017 NAB Show (www.nab. org) will provide an inside look at the development of HBO's popular Game of Thrones with a "Behind the Scenes With Filmmakers" session on Monday, April 24th. The panel is part of the Creative Master Series and is being produced in partnership with the Motion Picture Sound Editors. Show producers and creative professionals will share insight into the series' shooting styles and other unique methods used in filming the HBO hit. Bernadette Caulfield, executive produc- er; Greg Spence, producer; Anette Haellmigk, director of photography; and Jonathan Freeman, ASC, director of photography, will all partici- pate in the panel, which is being moderated by David Geffner, executive editor at ICG Magazine. Collectively, the group will discuss bringing the Game of Thrones lighting style to new locations and storylines, how they chose to block and edit the show's emotional turning points, and how they harnessed post production to visually unify footage that included a cast of hundreds and nearly 1,900 visual effects shots. In addition to showing footage from Season 6, the film- makers will also discuss how they blended practical photography with computer graphics to create innovative scenes, and how post production mastered the content that is distrib- uted to an audience of over 25 million across all HBO platforms. "In addition to the challenge of adapting one of fiction's greatest works for television, these creatives are responsible for creating spectacular battles, giant dragons, and rich environments that span the entire globe," says Chris Brown, NAB executive vice president, conventions and busi- ness operations. "We're proud to host this group of industry experts as they give us a behind the scenes look at how the award-winning universe of Game of Thrones is brought to life." The 2017 NAB Show will take place at the Las Vegas Convention Center from April 22-27. The Game of Thrones panel will take place from 2:30pm to 3:30pm in room S220.