Archive for January, 2017
The queen Missy Elliott has shared a new single and video, “I’m Better.” The song is a minimal slapper that finds Missy going in with a vintage-Migos triplet flow and harmonizing with herself, and the hook comes courtesy of Lamb. The visuals find the legend and a team of dancers hitting choreographed steps underwater in a swimming pool. Check the method below.
This may not be people’s first time seeing this 3D printed exo-prosthetic leg. But it sure is remarkable enough to take a look back at. The ‘exo-prosthetic leg’ was created by Adam Root, this 3D printed artificial limb uses modern technologies to fabricate its customizable, intimate, form-taking design to fit the leg. Developed to resolve the time intensive, costly and tedious current process of adapting a prosthesis to an amputee’s specific anatomy, this design enhances a combination of a 3D scanner, printer and modeling software in order to create a more precise and affordable manufacturing procedure.
Scanning technologies such as an inverted laser, form a highly precise virtual model of the patient’s residual limb and matches its anatomy to within a fraction of a millimeter. This, as well as the MIT biomechatronics lab developed fitsocket that captures leg tissue properties to enable a better fit, is then ready for 3D software modeling. All this information is combined in a custom-patterned mesh model and is hollowed out into an exo-skeleton, to reduce weight. By fusing together titanium dust particles in a laser sintering process, an extremely durable, lightweight and biocompatible prosthetic limb.
Combination of Art Direction, Digital Art, Visual Effects to create amazing portraits. Louise Merterns, from Antwerp, Belgium has a project simply titled “AKANE”
With Rogue One: A Star Wars Story having been in theatres for a few weeks now, one of the biggest talking points of the film has been the digital resurrection of the late Peter Cushing as Grand Moff Tarkin. While there were plenty of rumors prior to release about the character appearing in the film, the villain ended up having an unexpectedly sizeable role as a secondary antagonist.
Reactions to the use of Cushing’s skeletal visage have ranged from praise over the effects to derision over morality, though the team behind the film maintains that his involvement was imperative to the story, given Tarkin’s position as Commander of the Death Star in Episode IV. “If he’s not in the movie, we’re going to have to explain why he’s not in the movie,” said Lucasfilm story development executive Kiri Hart to the New York Times. “This is kind of his thing.”
Industrial Light And Magic worked on Tarkin, with permission and input from Cushing’s estate. Actor Guy Henry portrayed the character on set, with his facial performance replaced by a digital recreation of Cushing in the film’s final cut. The team at ILM used archived daily footage from A New Hope to study and simulate the facial tics of Cushing. “When Peter Cushing makes an ‘aah’ sound, he doesn’t move his upper lip,” explained ILM chief creative officer John Knoll. “He only opens his jaw about halfway, and makes this square shape with his lower lip, that exposes his lower teeth.” Before these nuances in Cushing’s face were accounted for, the team felt like their creation resembled a relative of Cushing, and not the actor exactly. However, their first rule was that “realism trumped likeness.”
While ILM was certain they could pull off Tarkin as a fully-realized character in the film, there were back-up plans just in case, though it would have resulted in a significantly reduced on-screen presence for the character. “We did talk about Tarkin participating in conversations via hologram, or transferring that dialogue to other characters,” Knoll said.
Some of the criticism stemming from the use of Cushing’s likeness in Rogue One was that it opened the door to using the digital appearances of deceased actors in other films. Knoll, however, said he doesn’t see that happening, with Rogue One acting as a special cirumstance. “I don’t imagine that happening,” Knoll said. “This was done for very solid and defendable story reasons. This is a character that is very important to telling this kind of story. It is extremely labor-intensive and expensive to do. I don’t imagine anybody engaging in this kind of thing in a casual manner. We’re not planning on doing this digital re-creation extensively from now on. It just made sense for this particular movie.”
Freestyling is an art form that is one of the most beautiful things to witness in hip-hop. The act of spitting off the top is a skill rappers need to showcase when they’re on a radio show, for their fans at a concert or just kicking it with friends. There’s just something about watching your favorite rapper spit witty wordplay, analogies, double entendres and slip in a diss or two. When a rapper is in the zone, crushing one of the game’s most popular beats, it should get any hip-hop fan excited.
Who can forget The Diplomats or Eminem ripping the mic during BET’s iconic video mixshow, Rap City: Tha Basement? Or Royce Da 5’9, Mr Porter and Slim Shady on Tim Westwood? How about Jay Z freestyling over Kanye West’s “Grammy Family” on Hot 97’s Funkmaster Flex show? There was the iconic The Notorious B.I.G. and Nas freestyle where Method Man introduced both of them to the masses as well. The list can go on and on. In 2016, there’s been a bunch of freestyles that prove rappers young and old still got it. From rising Brooklyn star Young M.A to West Coast veteran The Game and more, hope you enjoyed some of the best freestyles displays of yesteryear.
Los Angeles based beauty photographer Julia Kuzmenko McKim has an incredible portfolio of diverse styles and designs, but her collaboration with make up goliath Vlada Haggerty titled “Stripes & Polka Dots” hits the spot. Featuring models Eugena Washington and Ekaterina Koba, both the styles of make up and photography are remarkable.
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