CGI

Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) completely revolutionized the movie industry. CGI is a technology that allows filmmakers the freedom to imagine virtually anything and bring it to the screen. Using CGI, any type of element or effect can be added to a film at a tiny fraction of what shooting an elaborate scene would cost in location expenses, setup and labor.

Digital Delivery of Movies

The development of a high speed Internet, combined with technologies that allow for the compression of large video files, has created a whole new method of getting movies out to the public. Viewers can now watch movies by paying a fee to a third party facilitator, then downloading the entire film to their computer’s hard drive.

High Definition Video

The development of high definition video has altered the landscape of the movie industry, tempting many filmmakers away from the more traditional but costly film stock towards the cheaper and simpler to edit high-def video. High definition video creates beautiful, crystal clear images that never degrade over time, unlike those same images captured on film.

Desktop Editing

Advances in software that allow for editing of video on one’s home computer has opened up the movie industry to independent, low-budget storytellers who otherwise never would have been able to bring their stories to the screen. These software applications, combined with YouTube and other online video sites, allow aspiring filmmakers to showcase their talents to a huge audience.

Audio Capture and Correction

Computers have also revolutionized the manner in which audio for movies is captured as well as the ease and extent to which it can be corrected. Capturing audio in a digital format not only provides for clearer initial sound, but it also facilitates much easier and more comprehensive correction of audio glitches and assorted sound difficulties.

Colorization

The colorization of old movies from black and white into vivid color was a major technological advancement made possible by the use of computers and software. Many people think that this process ruins the original film, but despite one’s personal preference, colorization truly gave the public a whole new look at some old classics.

Thrillers Have Become More Thrilling

The advent of computer-generated special effects has taken the genres of action, thriller and horror movies to a whole new level by providing scenes of realistic violence. As gruesome as it is to describe, when a psycho killer is turned loose in a digitally enhanced movie as opposed to an old school format, the resulting carnage can be much more terrifying.

Lighting

Computers have even upgraded the quality of movie lighting. Computer controlled sensors can accurately depict precisely where potential “hot spots” or other lighting issues reside, and can allow film staff to make the proper corrections before a poorly lit scene is ever filmed.

DVD and Blu-Ray

Computers are responsible for the process of turning a film into a digital file that can be burned onto a DVD or Blu-Ray disc. Fairly recent advances in computer technology have allowed for the compressing of video files without a loss in quality. This is what allows viewers to experience the breathtaking images on their high-def TV screens.

3-D and Holograms

3-D movies are completely facilitated by the use of computer technology. 3-D is all the rage right now, but in the near future, it is possible that it will be forgotten due to the fact that holographic imagery might soon be available through the use of computers. 3-D could be muscled aside by holographs in much the same manner that DVD is being shoved aside by Blu-Ray.

After years of patient waiting I finally got my answer.

The game that nearly caused me to repeat the fourth grade is coming to Facebook. That’s right! Game developers Blue Fang have announced the time consuming return of the one, the only, The Oregon Trail.

If you’re not the type to enjoy games about dysentery and shooting buffalo across America’s heartland, don’t worry. Blue Fang has also released “Where in the World is Carmine San Diego?” Of all the fads of my early childhood (Furbies, Power Rangers, Slap Bracelets), who’d have thought that a computer game about traveling to Oregon in covered wagons would ever find its way back into my heart?

But the addition of “Carmen San Diego” and “The Oregon Trail” are just the beginning of yet another Facebook revolution.

Along with speakers from SproutCore and Zynga, Corey Ondrejka and Bruce Rogers, two graduates of Facebook’s Engineering Bootcamp, held a live stream tech talk to discuss the possibilities for online gaming using HTML5.

Their goal: “Creating amazing users experiences that are just a link away.”

I know it’s hard to wrap your mind around, but the plan is to not only allow users the ability to click mouse buttons repeatedly, but to actually have characters interacting in a 3D environment as well. Is it just me or did we just travel back in time to 1993?

Over 125 million users visit Facebook with HTML5 capable browsers from mobile phones alone, so the future of HTML5 as an industry standard is clear. Ondrejka points out, “what still remains to be seen is HTML5’s capabilities as a high performance gaming platform.”

To test the limits of these capabilities Facebook engineers are ready to release JSGameBench.

So what will JSGameBench bring to your browser?

1. 3D gaming.
2. More sprites! Not lemon and lime, but rotating sprites, animated with nearly 1000 per frame.

Well that’s just super… But I feel like it’s missing something.

Because they have recently released JSGameBench version 0.1, developers have a long way to go before having a fully functional program. Here’s what they are planning to work on:

1. Mobile Abstractions
As it is, JSGameBench is predominately designed for mobile browsers. With properly abstracted touch and gesture events, they plan to make JSGameBench available on a wide range of phones.
2. Networking
JSGameBench will utilize socket.io; however revisions of the network layer, as well as library functions, is still on the to do list.
3. Prediction and Synchronization
It still remains to be seen whether or not a proper set of prediction and synchronization tools can be generalized.
4. Creating their own reference engine
While a number of open and closed source JavaScript game engines exist today (Impact, EaselJS, Crafty, and Diggy to name a few), the JSGameBench Engineers feel it is important to create their own in order to understand more about HTML5’s high performance game capabilities.

Will Facebook start making games then?

According to Ondrejka they will “Definitely not. We think the best way to share knowledge is through code and examples, so we will continue to refine JSGameBench and experiment with what is possible. We also believe there is a knowledge gap in game development we would like to help fill.”

So in accordance with Facebook’s mission of peace, love, and complete social unity over the web, they look only to unite the wayward game developers in order to bring you the best possible gaming environment.

All I want to know now is if I will be able to play Street Fighter II on Facebook anytime soon? If not, how about The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past?

“My job is to come up with good software ideas that meet public and professional needs–then to lay plans for seeing the project through to completion,” Steve explains. “Because ours is a small company, I participate in a wide range of tasks, from brainstorming new software to writing design documents to actually writing code.”

A Day in the Life of a Computer Scientist

8:00 a.m. Steve arrives at his desk, checks e-mail, and sets the day’s priorities. Designing and programming computer software is very detail-oriented and complex, so Steve likes to set a few simple priorities at the beginning of every day so that he doesn’t get derailed too far by the fine particulars of whatever arises during the workday.

8:25 a.m. Steve browses several technology blogs and publications. In a field that changes as quickly as computer science, it’s important to stay abreast of new gadgets, software, and computer hardware. “Sometimes I get ideas just by reading about the capabilities of a new tech gadget, like the new generation of cell phones,” he says. “Right now mobile phones with Internet access are becoming more and more popular all over the world, so I’m constantly looking for ways to use this new technology to tie-in with our existing programs or enhance future projects.”

9:30 a.m. Time to work on a proposal for the company’s next major software project. This time, Steve’s idea is to develop specialized productivity software for use by individuals and corporations. It allows for the planning of long-term projects, then tracks progress on the variety of smaller tasks that comprise them. “The core idea is to give the management of any given company a way to visualize, at a glance, how progress on a complex project is going on a number of fronts. Is one department ahead while another is behind? Is any part of the project behind schedule? This program will allow supervisors to instantly answer those questions at any stage.”

11:00 a.m. Having written out a rough draft of the design document, Steve now focuses his efforts on estimating how long it will take the company’s team of programmers to actually write the software’s many features. “This is where my experience as a programmer helps,” he says. “You can never say for certain how long development is going to take, but after a long time in this industry your guesses do become more accurate.”

1:00 p.m. Steve takes lunch at his desk while reading more tech blogs for ideas.

2:00 p.m. Steve receives an e-mail pointing out a significant bug that has turned up in one of the company’s existing products. Steve devotes the rest of the afternoon to searching through hundreds of lines of programming code, searching for the subtle programming error that’s causing the problem.

5:00 p.m. The bug still isn’t found, but Steve has managed to narrow his search. He’ll spend more time on his software ideas and the bughunt tomorrow—for today, it’s time to go home.