Category Archive: Digital Drag Race
And the Battles Continue: Interview with Tom Spawton
This battle was all about Speed and when you watch the video, you will know what I mean. Both designers are awesome but Tom's video prevailed with a whopping 76% of the votes. Here is his video; and the interview is below.Digital Drag Race User Battle: Winner is Momcilo Stojkovic
Skill and talent are two words that come to mind when I think about the winner of the 2nd Digital Drag Race User Battle. Before I get into the actual meat of the interview, please take a look at this video from Momcilo Stojkovic. Awesome does not even describe this amazing piece of art.
Digital Drag Race User Battle: And the winner is ...
... well, first let me explain what a user battle is before I reveal the winner. When we first starting planning for the Digital Drag Race a few months ago; we wanted to find a way to engage the community and activate their creative skills. And, since the official (or invitational) Drag Races were limited, we wanted provide an opportunity for those not invited to showcase their skills and participate as well.Basically, we selected two user generated videos; put them side by side, and let the community decide who the winner is. The grand prize is well ... a stroking of the ego and an interview on the Inside Scoop.
But, before I get into the interview, I wanted to say that everyone who submitted their own videos did an AWESOME job; and I want to thank everyone for your participation.
The long, yet short road to the CES show!
It's December 19 and there is less than 3 weeks before thousands of tech geeks congregate in the streets of Las Vegas to attend the 2009 Consumer Electronics Show. For Intel, this is a very important show for us because it allows us to showcase our very cool products, talk with real people and share our story. It's one thing to have conversation online; it's another to foster those same relationships up close and personal.
For me though, it's going to be beyond hectic; but that's how I live my life anyway so bring it.
I will be in Vegas for about 5 days supporting the show blogging, recording video, twittering, doing interviews, etc. Here are some things you can expect from me while I am there:
What the experts are saying about the Digital Drag Race
Mike Kanfer, Business Development Manager for Adobe Systems -- who also contributed a few posts to this blog -- does a great job analyzing the four racers over at the Digital Drag Race blog. His analysis of Matt and Angela can be found here. Chris and Ehren's analysis can be found here. The actual videos are also on the post for your reference. Check it!
Final Thoughts from the Digital Drag Race
The work that we have seen from the four talented artists is a testament to their creativity, skill and resourcefulness with the Adobe CS4 suite of products running on a blazing fast Intel Core i7 system. Being under the gun as they were, time was of the essence. The integration between Photoshop, Illustrator, Flash, After Effects and Premiere is unique to our industry, and when every second counts, you don't want to be stuck going in and out of unrelated applications with vastly different interfaces. I was blown away by the processing speed of the Intel Core i7 based computers and how well they functioned with our software. You really get to see these processors shine on things like lightning fast rendering of some very CPU intensive plug-ins such as the particle and atmospheric glows that are in the videos. And don't forget how crucial fast processing was to rendering the After Effects lighting layers that the artists used throughout their compositions.
Drag Race speed shootouts like this require that ability to render as quickly as one can, so that you can get as many iterations as possible viewed in the course of an hour. In day-to-day work in the real world, jobs don't of course have to be cranked out at this extreme pace, but as deadlines approach, and clients get more demanding, incredible processing power and state of the art software are two things you can't live without.
For more info on Mike Kanfer's credits and awards, check him out on the Internet Movie Database.
Digital Drag Race: the judges talk
The judges talk and discuss the work of Eric and Clint. It's a little hard to hear.
Uncut Interview with both Digital Drag Racers
I'm not telling who won this Drag Race. You will have to visit Digital Drag Race in the upcoming weeks.
Interview with Clint and Eric: the two Digital Drag Racers
Sorry no smack talking quite yet. But here is Clint and Eric explaining their work.Meet Eric
Behind the scenes at the Core i7 launch in San Francisco
I am having a blast here at the Core i7 launch event in San Francisco. This is my first product related event at Intel and the excitement here at the Dog Patch Studios is contagious. I am gearing up for the keynote in about 5 minutes but wanted to share this quick video of the scene here. The Digital Drag Race is going on as I write these words and I had a chance to interview the three judges and the host. I will also be interviewing both racers and post them tomorrow.
Guest Post: Mike Kanfer from Adobe and Digital Drag Race Judge
Hi there. I'm Mike Kanfer. I'm a Business Development Manager for Adobe specializing in video and film production in Hollywood. In a former life I was a compositing and visual effects supervisor for feature films for 12 years. I joined Adobe in 2005 to promote the use of our tools such as After Effects and Premiere Pro by filmmakers all over the world. Before I became a VFX supervisor, I was a compositor and editor, so I have a special place in my heart for artists who do great work with our tools, especially the ones who can work at lightning pace and make it all look so easy! I was excited to be asked by Intel to come on board for a few days as a Digital Drag Race judge, and had a great time critiquing the work and meeting the artists afterwards.
In the next few days, I will be providing a few posts that talk about each of the two drag races; and share my thoughts and opinions about the racers.
For more info on Mike Kanfer's credits and awards, check him out on the Internet Movie Database.
Take a sneak peak at the Digital Drag Race
No commentary. No editorial. Not even my charming personality. Just watch!
First Mass Animation, now Digital Drag Race?
So, the other day I wrote about this killer Facebook application, Mass Animation, for animators to compete against each other and showcase their skills for the world.Well, how about trying on the Digital Drag Race for size. The Digital Drag Race is a chance for leading designers in the industry to face off and showcase their mad skills in a digital design challenge. Chosen designers will be given the same software, system build and set of design assets to race against the clock in a timed, motion graphics design challenge. When the challenge is completed, Judge's Choice will be determined by a panel of industry experts. People's Choice will be determined by public voting held on the Digital Drag Race site.
The holidays are coming... what's on your Intel wish list?
Tips and Insights on Windows 7
My Windows 7 Ultimate upgrade experience rates 7 out of 7!
Meet Gwen; the winner of the Extreme Photoshop Contest
Ajay Bhatt on the Conan O'Brien show
Introducing the Extreme Photo Contest Winner!
tagged: animation, corei7, corei7, digitaldragrace, graphics