Step behind the curtain of visual storytelling with MotionPixel Studios latest VFX breakdown! Using Unreal Engine 5.4 and 5.5, this cinematic showcase combines cutting-edge technology with artistry to craft breathtaking visuals. Shot on RED Camera and ARRI Alexa Mini, the team skillfully integrated green screen footage, leveraging the power of Unreal Engine for realistic environments and dynamic lighting.In the post-production of After Effects, every frame is enhanced for the seamless blending of live action with virtual elements. This showreel showcases how VFX work can turn raw footage into amazing cinematic experiences, so sit tight and watch for the moments when magic comes to life through the before-and-after!The post Unreal Engine 5 VFX Cinematic by MotionPixel Studio appeared first on Vfxexpress.

Firefighters battling the deadly wildfires that raced through the Los Angeles area in January 2025 have been hampered by a limited supply of freshwater. So when the winds are calm enough, skilled pilots flying planes aptly named Super Scoopers are skimming off 1,500 gallons of seawater at a time and dumping it with high precision on the fires.Using seawater to fight fires can sound like a simple solutionthe Pacific Ocean has a seemingly endless supply of water. In emergencies like Southern California is facing, its often the only quick solution, though the operation can be risky amid ocean swells.But seawater also has downsides.Saltwater corrodes firefighting equipment and may harm ecosystems, especially those like the chaparral shrublands around Los Angeles that arent normally exposed to seawater. Gardeners know that small amounts of saltadded, say, as fertilizerdoes not harm plants, but excessive salts can stress and kill plants.While the consequences of adding seawater to ecosystems are not yet well understood, we can gain insights on what to expect by considering the effects of sea-level rise.A seawater experiment in a coastal forestAs an ecosystem ecologist at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, I lead a novel experiment called TEMPEST that was designed to understand how and why historically salt-free coastal forests react to their first exposures to salty water.Sea-level rise has increased by an average of about 8 inches globally over the past century, and that water has pushed salty water into U.S. forests, farms and neighborhoods that had previously known only freshwater. As the rate of sea-level rise accelerates, storms push seawater ever farther onto the dry land, eventually killing trees and creating ghost forests, a result of climate change that is widespread in the U.S. and globally.In our TEMPEST test plots, we pump salty water from the nearby Chesapeake Bay into tanks, then sprinkle it on the forest soil surface fast enough to saturate the soil for about 10 hours at a time. This simulates a surge of salty water during a big storm.Our coastal forest showed little effect from the first 10-hour exposure to salty water in June 2022 and grew normally for the rest of the year. We increased the exposure to 20 hours in June 2023, and the forest still appeared mostly unfazed, although the tulip poplar trees were drawing water from the soil more slowly, which may be an early warning signal.Things changed after a 30-hour exposure in June 2024. The leaves of tulip poplar in the forests started to brown in mid-August, several weeks earlier than normal. By mid-September the forest canopy was bare, as if winter had set in. These changes did not occur in a nearby plot that we treated the same way, but with freshwater rather than seawater.The initial resilience of our forest can be explained in part by the relatively low amount of salt in the water in this estuary, where water from freshwater rivers and a salty ocean mix. Rain that fell after the experiments in 2022 and 2023 washed salts out of the soil.But a major drought followed the 2024 experiment, so salts lingered in the soil then. The trees longer exposure to salty soils after our 2024 experiment may have exceeded their ability to tolerate these conditions.Seawater being dumped on the Southern California fires is full-strength, salty ocean water. And conditions there have been very dry, particularly compared with our East Coast forest plot.Changes evident in the groundOur research group is still trying to understand all the factors that limit the forests tolerance to salty water, and how our results apply to other ecosystems such as those in the Los Angeles area.Tree leaves turning from green to brown well before fall was a surprise, but there were other surprises hidden in the soil below our feet.Rainwater percolating through the soil is normally clear, but about a month after the first and only 10-hour exposure to salty water in 2022, the soil water turned brown and stayed that way for two years. The brown color comes from carbon-based compounds leached from dead plant material. Its a process similar to making tea.Our lab experiments suggest that salt was causing clay and other particles to disperse and move about in the soil. Such changes in soil chemistry and structure can persist for many years.Sea-level rise is increasing coastal exposureWhile ocean water can help fight fires, there are reasons fire officials prefer freshwater sourcesprovided freshwater is available.U.S. coastlines, meanwhile, are facing more extensive and frequent saltwater exposure as rising global temperatures accelerate sea-level rise that drowns forests, fields, and farms, with unknown risks for coastal landscapes.Patrick Megonigal is an associate director of research at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center at the Smithsonian Institution.This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

German studio Batek Architekten has designed the T7.2 dental clinic in Berlinusing saturated colours and tactile materials to give the space an "inviting, artful atmosphere".The dental prophylaxis practice in west Berlin is an extension of the T7 clinic that Batek Architekten designed in 2017.The T7.2 dental clinic has a green acrylic box at its centre"As with the first dental practice, the concept aligns with the client's brief to craft an interior design that evokes the atmosphere of an art gallery," Batek Architekten founder Patrick Batek told Dezeen."The bright, minimalist space functions as both a practical setting for daily medical operations and a showcase for the client's carefully chosen pieces, adding a distinctive and personal touch to the practice."The space was designed with a gallery-like feelAt the centre of the 200-square-metre interior, a green acrylic glass cube that reaches from the floor to the ceiling holds spaces for the clinic's personnel.Batek chose to add the colourful cube to the otherwise mostly white space to create a striking contrast that also nods to the design of the original clinic.Walnut wood was used for the doors"Strategically positioned, it becomes the centrepiece of the practice, with the functional rooms thoughtfully arranged around it," he said."With its material choice and comparatively darker, bold colour, it adds an accent similar to the yellow reception area from the previous design while enclosing spaces designated exclusively for staff use."Treatment room are arranged around the green box"Green was selected as a counterpart to the distinctive yellow from the first practice, aligning with the corporate design," he added. "This choice allows both colours to coexist harmoniously while maintaining a clear distinction between them."Surrounding the green box are waiting areas and treatment rooms, which have doors made from walnut wood and "cathedral glass".Read: Batek Architekten renovates historic cinema in pastel and earth-coloured huesThese materials were chosen to contrast against the minimalist materials used in the rest of the clinic."The floors, walls and ceilings are designed in bright, clean white to meet the practical demands of the space," Batek said. "It is important that the surfaces comply with hygiene regulations and are easy to clean."Batek Architekten chose a desk made of foamed aluminium for the T7.2 receptionThe reception area also features touches that were added to underline the gallery feel, including a pale sage-green partition wall and a desk with a decorative grey pattern."The partition wall, crafted from glass-fibre-reinforced plastic, and the reception counter, made of foamed aluminium, stand out as artistic elements within the interior due to their unusual materiality, thus aligning with the overall design," Batek said.A pink bathroom adds another touch of colourAlso adding a touch of colour to the space are the bathroom and sanitary spaces, which were "completely immersed" in a pastel-pink hue.Furniture in organic materials including leather and wood adds a warm feel and matches the walnut wood door frames of the function rooms.The T7.2 dental clinic has an "inviting" atmosphereBatek's aim was for visitors to feel like they are going to an art gallery, rather than their dentist."Visitors should feel as if they are in a gallery, which is just as homely as a private apartment," he concluded. "The carefully chosen furniture, artwork, and fixtures should reinforce this inviting, artful atmosphere."Other dental clinics recently featured on Dezeen include a Montreal clinic with a residential vibe and an Amsterdam clinic with colour-block interiors.The photography is by Daniel Schfer.The post Batek Architekten arranges gallery-like dental clinic around acrylic glass cube appeared first on Dezeen.

The Tesla Cybertruck has always been a magnet for both innovation and intrigue, but the latest third-party modification takes its futuristic aura to another levela $10,000 solar panel wrap that adds more range. While Tesla itself teased the idea of a solar-powered Cybertruck, this bold move by California-based Sunflare Solar gives the concept a tangible form. But the question lingers: is this ambitious wrap the leap forward it claims to be, or just an expensive novelty?To understand the appeal, lets revisit Teslas early flirtations with solar integration. Back in 2017, Elon Musk floated the idea of equipping the Model 3 with solar cells, though the technology then was deemed impractical. Fast forward a few years, and solar cell efficiency has improved significantly, with Tesla channeling its expertise into products like solar roof tiles. Musk reignited excitement in 2019 by announcing the Cybertruck would feature a solar roof capable of adding up to 15 miles of range daily. However, this feature never materialized (like a lot of Musks promises), leaving enthusiasts to wonder what could have been. Enter Sunflare Solar, which decided to fill that gap with its own cutting-edge solution.Designer: Sunflare SolarShowcased at CES 2025, Sunflare Solars flexible panels adhere seamlessly to the Cybertrucks flat, angular surfaces, generating up to 1.5 kW of power. This translates into roughly the same 15-mile daily range Musk once envisioned for Teslas solar roof. The package includes a 5 kW battery inverter to channel that energy back into the truck, theoretically making off-grid adventures a bit more self-sustaining. On paper, the concept is undeniably coola rugged electric vehicle gaining autonomy with renewable energy. But lets peel back the shiny layer and assess the trade-offs.One of the Cybertrucks hallmark features is its stainless steel exterior, celebrated for its durability and carefree resistance to scratches. The solar wrap, while innovative, swaps this resilience for fragility. Solar panels, even flexible ones, arent impervious to the rigors of outdoor wear and tear. Off-road trips, harsh weather, and everyday debris could all pose risks to these expensive cells, raising doubts about their long-term viability. Practicality becomes a sticking point when you consider the original ethos of the Cybertruck: an indestructible utility vehicle.Moreover, the inherent limitations of car-mounted solar panels cant be ignored. Despite advancements, the energy yield from panels covering a vehicles surface area remains modest. The 15 miles of extra range might be enticing for niche scenarios, like remote camping or commuting in sunny regions, but its far from game-changing. For most drivers, the added utility may not justify the hefty price tagespecially when home-based solar systems provide a far more efficient alternative.And yet, theres an undeniable allure to the concept. The visual impact of a Cybertruck cloaked in solar cells is enough to turn heads, and the idea of harnessing the suns power on the go taps into our collective fascination with sustainability and innovation. After all, its a lot better than a gold Cybertruck or one with Trumps face painted on it.This leaves us in a familiar place with Tesla and its ecosystem: balancing groundbreaking ideas with real-world usability. The Cybertruck itself is no stranger to polarizing opinions, and this solar wrap continues that tradition. Whether its a fleeting trend or a glimpse into the future, one thing is clearit keeps the Cybertruck in the spotlight, sparking discussions that blend tech, design, and sustainability.For now, the $10,000 question looms: is this the dawn of a new era for solar-powered vehicles, or just a shiny experiment destined for a niche audience? Time, and miles, will tell.The post Tesla Cybertruck with a Solar Panel Wrap Gives it an Extra 15 Miles of Range first appeared on Yanko Design.

Ignore the haters, this is a refresh worth celebrating.

Huione Guarantee, a gray market researchers believe is central to the online scam ecosystem, now includes a messaging app, stablecoin, and crypto exchangewhile facilitating $24 billion in transactions.

Nintendo has made a remarkable turnaround with the Switch where third-party support is concerned, and reports continue to insist that the companys upcoming next-gen console is going to continue down that path. Allegedly, thats set to encompass not only a large number of Ubisoft titles, but also a major upcoming Konami release that many have been looking forward to for some time.Known leaker NateTheHate recently claimed in his podcast that Konami is working on a Nintendo Switch 2 version of its upcoming remake,Metal Gear Solid Delta: Snake Eater.The leaker stated that he was unsure of whether the game would see a day and date on the Switch 2 alongside other platforms- as youd imagine, that would depend entirely on when the game releases.And whenwillit release? Konami hasnt said much on that front, but recently seemed to suggest that the game officially in development for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC will release sometime this year.As for the Nintendo Switch 2, its claimed that the console will be officially unveiled at long last later this week, so stay tuned for more details.

html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd"The Gnomon Workshop has released World Building using Blender and Photoshop, a guide to visual development for games, animation and VFX, recorded by Concept Artist Thiago Sousa.The workshop, which is aimed at junior and intermediate-level artists, provides over two hours of video training in Blender and Photoshop.Create environment concepts suitable for games, animation or VFX projectsIn the workshop, Sousa presents his complete workflow for creating the foundation for a world, from conception of a simple story through to the final environment.The aim is not simply to create a single scene, but a base that can continue to be developed.He begins by providing tips for establishing the main elements of a story, and how to find and organize reference images, before moving on to sketching out ideas.Costa uses open-source 3D software Blender to block out the scene, demonstrating how to test your initial ideas using basic tools.He also discusses the importance of camera angles, and how to generate multiple renders to visualize the world as it comes to life.For the final steps, Costa moves to Photoshop, where he shares his techniques for painting, photobashing, and polishing a chosen scene.As well as the training videos, viewers of the workshop can download Costas Blender project file with all of the 3D assets and cameras, and a layered Photoshop file with adjustments.About the artistTiago Sousa is a Concept Artist at visual development and game asset creation studio Volta.He previously worked at at game studio Insane on the MMORPG Profane, and has contributed to projects including Spider-Man 2, Last Epoch, Dragon Age: Inquisition and Diablo Immortal.Pricing and availabilityWorld Building using Blender and Photoshop is available via a subscription to The Gnomon Workshop, which provides access to over 300 tutorials.Subscriptions cost $57/month or $519/year. Free trials are available.Read more about World Building using Blender and PhotoshopHave your say on this story by following CG Channel on Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter). As well as being able to comment on stories, followers of our social media accounts can see videos we dont post on the site itself, including making-ofs for the latest VFX movies, animations, games cinematics and motion graphics projects.Full disclosure: CG Channel is owned by Gnomon.

Later in 1967, flower children of all ages gathered in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park Ted Streshinsky Photographic Archive / Getty ImagesOn a sunny, unseasonably warm winter day in 1967, an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people participated in what would become a preview of the Summer of Love. On January 14, hippies and other counterculture participants swarmed to the polo grounds in San Franciscos Golden Gate Park in a gathering called the Human Be-In.Timothy Leary advised attendees to Turn on, tune in, drop out. Bands including the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane played and poets like Allen Ginsberg and Lawrence Ferlinghetti made appearances. A parachuterrumored to be famous chemist Owsley Stanley IIIgave out LSD. Hells Angels acted as the events security.People sat on the grass with nothing to do, sometimes moving up near to the small platform where a poetry-reading might be going on, or where a band might be playing. There was no program; it was a happening, wrote researcher Helen Perry, who attended the event and likened it to a religious rite.The happening was an effort spearheaded by Allen Cohen and Michael Bowen, who were among the founders of the underground newspaper the San Francisco Oracle, to bring together various cultural and political groups in what they called a gathering of the tribes. In the lead-up to the event, the underground newspaper the Berkeley Barb wrote, Berkeley political activists are going to join San Franciscos hippies in a love feast that will, hopefully, wipe out the last remnants of mutual skepticism and suspicion.The Be-Ins organizers based their plans off a smaller event the previous fall called the Love Pageant Rally, which was held to mark the day California outlawed LSD. That event saw several thousand people attend in San Franciscos Haight-Ashbury neighborhood and Golden Gate Park, but the Be-Ins organizers wanted to achieve something even bigger.There was an awakening going on, and we knew it was happening across the country, and we knew there were pockets of people out there who felt isolated and alone and scared, Martine Algier, who helped publicize the Be-In, told the San Francisco Chronicle on the events 50th anniversary. We wanted to send a signal out to them: 'Hey, it's OK to come out and spread your wings.Send a signal they did: Mass media covered the successful Be-In, showing youth all over the country that San Francisco was the epicenter of the counterculture. Retrospectively, I feel quite certain that the Be-In also marked the beginning of nationwide attention, Perry wrote.Young people began to pour into San Francisco after the event. The crowds on Haight Street got bigger and bigger and bigger, Rusty Goldman, a 1960s historian and archivist who was at the Be-In, told the Chronicle. Word spread like fire. Everybody came to San Francisco.A February article in Newsweek called what was happening a psychedelic picnic. As more people began to move to the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood, countercultural leaders realized they needed to organize for the influx and created a council. In April, the council held a press conference urging Americas youth to come be part of what was happening in San Francisco that summerit was time for the Summer of Love.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: California, Movement Leaders, On This Day in History, Protest, San Francisco

Join our daily and weekly newsletters for the latest updates and exclusive content on industry-leading AI coverage. Learn MoreEuropes Imec.xpand is spinning out memory chip firm Vertical Compute in a seed investment round worth $20.5 million. Founded by CEO Sylvain Dubois (ex-Google) and CTO Sebastien Couet (ex-imec), today announced that it successfully closed a seed investment $20.5 million, or 20 million euros. The round was led by Imec.xpand and supported by a strong investor base including Eurazeo, XAnge, Vector Gestion and imec. The funding will support Vertical Computes ambition to develop a novel vertical integrated memory and compute technology, unlocking a new generation of AI applications.Vertical Computes technology will have a transformative impact, enabling next-generation applications with unparalleled efficiency and privacy. By minimizing data movement and bringing large data closer to computation, the innovation ensures energy savings of up to 80%, unlocks hyper-personalized AI solutions, and eliminates the need for remote data transfers, protecting user privacy.Memory technologies face limitations in both density and performance scaling, while processor performance continues to surge. The extreme data access requirements of AI workloads exacerbate this challenge, making it imperative to overcome the memory wall to enable the next wave of AI innovations. We believe going Vertical is the path to 100X gains, said Sbastien Couet, CTO of Vertical Compute, in a statement.Tackling the Memory WallThe rapid advancements in large language models and generative AI are transforming virtually all industries at an unprecedented pace. However, these large-scale AI models still heavily rely on complex cloud infrastructure and high bandwidth memories, leading to data transfer latency, high energy consumption and sending sensitive data to distant servers. Edge computing can address these issues, but inferencing large AI models on smartphones, PCs or smart home devices faces significant cost, power and scalability constraints.The big underlying problem is the memory wall. Static Random Access Memory (SRAM), integrated as caches of the CPU or GPU, is fast but very small and expensive. Dynamic Random-Access Memory (DRAM), the main memory of compute systems, is larger but expensive and energy-consuming. The scaling of both memory technologies in density and performance is slowing down while processor speeds and market needs keep increasing, causing a significant bottleneck. This problem is rapidly escalating due to the surging demand for AI workloads, requiring vast amounts of data to be accessed quickly. Overcoming this memory wall is crucial for advancing AI inference.Innovating with Vertical Computes Chiplet TechnologyVertical Compute is spinning out of Imec.The convergence of large-scale AI models and edge computing calls for a transformative shift in the way data is processed. Vertical Compute will capture this opportunity by developing chiplet-based solutions which take a modular approach to chip design leveraging a new way to store bits in a high aspect ratio vertical structure. The concept behind Vertical Computes core patented technology has been invented by Sebastien Couet, Imecs former Magnetic Program Director. The core innovation resides in the integration of vertical data lanes on top of computation units. It has the potential to outperform DRAM in terms of density, cost and energy, by reducing data movements from centimeters to nanometers. This promising technology, coupled with an ambitious commercialization plan, has led to the creation of this new semiconductor venture.The surge in data-intensive applications like generative AI demands a drastic new approach to transferring data between computing cores and memory units. Our solution is designed to overcome the fundamental scaling limitations of memory technologies by going vertical. We are committed to unlocking the full potential of large language models on the edge without any compromise, said Sylvain Dubois, CEO of Vertical Compute, in a statement.We want to recruit the very best from all over Europe, and finally put Europe at the forefront in terms of tech, said Dubois.Driving Recruitment and GrowthVertical Compute is headquartered in Louvain-La-Neuve (BE), with its main R&D offices in Leuven (BE), Grenoble (FR) and Nice (FR). The company is recruiting an elite team of engineers to support its ambitious R&D goals and accelerate the development and commercialization of its chiplet-based technology.This seed investment round highlights the confidence in the leadership teams capabilities and the disruptive potential of this game-changing technology. We could not be more excited to collaborate with Sylvain, Sebastien and their team and to help them to achieve their ambitious goals, said Tom Vanhoutte from Imec.xpand, in a statement.We are confident that, with the ongoing support of our teams and ecosystem, Vertical Compute can become a disruptor in the semiconductor industry. The strong international investor base shows that we are not alone in this belief, said Patrick Vandenameele, co-COO at Imec, in a statement. Vertical Compute was founded in 2024 to solve the memory bottleneck in computer systems.Daily insights on business use cases with VB DailyIf you want to impress your boss, VB Daily has you covered. We give you the inside scoop on what companies are doing with generative AI, from regulatory shifts to practical deployments, so you can share insights for maximum ROI.Read our Privacy PolicyThanks for subscribing. Check out more VB newsletters here.An error occured.