• Yamauchi on GT5’s Mechanical Damage, Updates, & More

    // Gradly // blog, Games, News 1 Response

    Gran Turismo 5

    Kazunori Yamauchi has been fielding questions from fans on Twitter over the past few hours. The tweets are in Japanese, but with a little help from Google and medhi_san, we can get a pretty good idea of what he’s talking about. Here’s the highlights:

    • Flexible camera angles and “dynamic and wide-area lighting needs” are to blame for the sometimes blocky shadows. Yamauchi admits they are a problem and wants to improve them.
    • Yamauchi appears to consider the possibility of removing the in-game HUD (heads-up-display features) at some point in the future.
    • To unlock the Red Bull X1, you’ll need to complete the “Sebastian Vettel Challenge”, which appears at Level 30.
    • Online “lounge” functionality and other features will be added “one by one”.
    • Polyphony Digital continues to work on fully supporting the Logitech G25 and G27, though Yamauchi admits he would like a “new steering device soon”…
    • Mechanical damage options will be implemented in a new update for GT5 coming “early December”.
    • As you may know, many players noticed that GT5’s face-tracking functionality only worked in Arcade mode. According to Yamauchi, it’s not available in GT mode due to memory issues with the PS3.
    • In-game rewards (such as the monetary prize in GT5 Prologue) for your performance in online events is something Polyphony Digital is considering, and may be implemented in a future update.
    • Gran Turismo 5’s official, 2-disc sound-track will be released soon.
    • Yamauchi wanted to implement a “free roam” gameplay mode in GT5, where players could drive around, respecting speed limits and obeying traffic laws, and even exit the car to walk around and explore the environment on foot.
    • The YouTube replay upload feature had to be pulled from the final version of the game because it took a very long time to render and it consumed too much memory. Yamauchi is still considering it, however.

    As always, it is refreshing and exciting to see Yamauchi’s interactions with fans via Twitter. Let’s hope the medium continues to be a valuable open line into Polyphony Digital as GT5 to evolves!

    Photomode image by Gradly.

    + Source: GTPlanet

  • Loads of News from The Hobbit!

    // Gradly // blog, Movies, News 3 Responses

    Now that the seemingly endless saga of The Hobbit’s pre-production woes has finally resolved itself, we can get on with bringing you actual production news, which is a decidedly varied bag today.

    Firstly, we have the not wholly surprising news that (although not definitively confirmed) Ian McKellen seems set to return as Gandalf. His website (www.mckellen.com) details the following in the “2010′s” section:-

    THE HOBBIT’s, two films, start shooting in New Zealand in February 2011. Filming will take over a year. Casting in Los Angeles, New York City and London has started. The script too proceeds. The first draft is crammed with old and new friends, again on a quest in Middle Earth.

    If it’s on his website and in his plans, it should be safe to assume that he will commit to the films before too long. As soon as there is clear confirmation from McKellen or Jackson.

    Next up, Total Film have got on-set snaps of the building work on The Shire, which is taking shape nicely and looking much like we’d expect it to:

    The Shire

    Finally and more positively, Coming Soon report that Jackson has been singing the praises of the 3D rig he is planning to work with on the two prequels. RED Studios Hollywood have announced that the production will be using their (soon to be released) EPIC Digital Cameras. RED said:-

    The successor to RED’s industry changing RED ONE, the EPIC has 5K resolution, can shoot up to 120 frames per second and has a new HDRx™ mode for the highest dynamic range of any digital cinema camera ever made. Taking everything they had learned from building their first camera, RED designed the EPIC from scratch and have produced a smaller, lighter camera that is an order of magnitude more powerful.

    The Hobbit will be amongst the first productions in the world to use the EPIC and at least thirty cameras will be required by the 3-D production. The EPIC’S small size and relatively low weight, makes it perfect for 3-D – where two cameras have to be mounted on each 3D rig.

    Peter Jackson went on to gush effusively as follows:-

    “I have always liked the look of Red footage. I’m not a scientist or mathematician, but the image Red produces has a much more filmic feel than most of the other digital formats. I find the picture quality appealing and attractive, and with the Epic, Jim and his team have gone even further. It is a fantastic tool, the Epic not only has cutting edge technology, incredible resolution and visual quality, but it is also a very practical tool for film makers. Many competing digital systems require the cameras to be tethered to large cumbersome VTR machines. The Epic gives us back the ability to be totally cable free, even when working in stereo.”

    Wow. So he likes it then. A lot. Frankly, anything that helps these films look every bit as spectacular as they should is a great idea and it is surely beyond question that Jackson knows the best way to get the richest version of his vision up on the screen

  • Peter Jackson to Shoot THE HOBBIT in 3D Using RED EPIC Camera

    // Gradly // blog, Movies, News 3 Responses

    Hobbits on Red Epics

    Peter Jackson’s two film adaptation of The Hobbit will be shot in 3D using RED DIGITAL CINEMA’S soon to be released EPIC Digital Cameras.

    The successor to RED’s industry changing RED ONE, the EPIC has 5K resolution, can shoot up to 120 frames per second and has a new HDRx™™ mode for the highest dynamic range of any digital cinema camera ever made. Taking everything they had learned from building their first camera, RED designed the EPIC from scratch and have produced a smaller, lighter camera that is an order of magnitude more powerful.

    The Hobbit will be amongst the first productions in the world to use the EPIC and at least thirty cameras will be required by the 3-D production. The EPIC’S small size and relatively low weight, makes it perfect for 3-D – where two cameras have to be mounted on each 3D rig.

    Jackson has a long history with RED, dating back to when he directed the short film ‘Crossing the Line’ as a very early test of prototype RED ONE cameras.

    “I have always liked the look of Red footage.” he says, “I’m not a scientist or mathematician, but the image Red produces has a much more filmic feel than most of the other digital formats. I find the picture quality appealing and attractive, and with the Epic, Jim and his team have gone even further. It is a fantastic tool, the Epic not only has cutting edge technology, incredible resolution and visual quality, but it is also a very practical tool for film makers. Many competing digital systems require the cameras to be tethered to large cumbersome VTR machines. The Epic gives us back the ability to be totally cable free, even when working in stereo.”

    Jim Jannard the owner and founder of RED flew to New Zealand earlier this year with members of his team so that Jackson could test the EPIC and assess its suitability. “Everybody at RED is incredibly proud that Peter has chosen the Epic” says Jannard, “The Hobbit is a major production, and could have chosen any camera system that they wanted. The fact that they went with us is extremely gratifying.”

    The Hobbit will start shooting in New Zealand early next year.

    + Source: RED

  • Disney’s All 50 Animated Feature Films Trailer

    // Gradly // blog, Movies, News 1 Response

    Bambi

    Celebrating their 50th feature release “Tangled”. Disney have brought out a brand new trailer showing all 50 of their animated features and if you love Disney movies, then you’ll really love this!

    Check out the trailer below or scroll down to view every single movie featured in the trailer.

    The movies in the trailer include:

    1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs 1937
    2. Pinocchio 1940
    3. Fantasia 1940
    4. Dumbo 1941
    5. Bambi 1942
    6. Saludos Amigos 1942
    7. The Three Caballeros 1944
    8. Make Mine Music, 1946
    9. Fun and Fancy Free 1947
    10. Melody Time 1948
    11. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad 1949
    12. Cinderella 1950
    13. Alice in Wonderland 1951
    14. Peter Pan 1953
    15. Lady and the Tramp 1955
    16. Sleeping Beauty 1959
    17. One Hundred and One Dalmatians 1961
    18. The Sword in the Stone 1963
    19. The Jungle Book 1967
    20. The Aristocats 1970
    21. Robin Hood 1973
    22. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh 1977
    23. The Rescuers 1977
    24. The Fox and the Hound 1981
    25. The Black Cauldron 1985
    26. The Great Mouse Detective 1986
    27. Oliver & Company 1988
    28. The Little Mermaid 1989
    29. The Rescuers Down Under 1990
    30. Beauty and the Beast 1991
    31. Aladdin 1992
    32. The Lion King 1994
    33. Pocahontas 1995
    34. The Hunchback of Notre Dame 1996
    35. Hercules 1997
    36. Mulan 1998
    37. Tarzan 1999
    38. Fantasia 2000 1999
    39. Dinosaur 2000
    40. The Emperor’s New Groove 2000
    41. Atlantis: The Lost Empire 2001
    42. Lilo & Stitch 2002
    43. Treasure Planet 2002
    44. Brother Bear 2003
    45. Home on the Range 2004
    46. Chicken Little 2005
    47. Meet the Robinsons 2007
    48. Bolt 2008
    49. The Princess and the Frog 2009
    50. Tangled 2010