Tag Archives: Star
Beam this up: Creating the sounds of Star Trek
'Star Trek Into Darkness' sound designer Ben Burtt working in his studio at Skywalker Ranch in Marin County, Calif.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)
NICASIO, Calif.–Growing up in the 1960s, Ben Burtt was such a big “Star Trek” fan that when he went off to college at a school where he had no TV, he had his father record the audio from each week’s episode and mail it to him.
Sitting in his dorm room, Burtt would listen to the shows with headphones on, taking in each new episode with no pictures. But he didn’t need the video to understand what was going on. “It was so vividly portrayed with excellent sound effects,” Burtt said, “It helped me with what” he wasn’t seeing.
Today, Burtt is one of the most important people in the “Star Trek” ecosystem. As the sound designer on the brand-new “Star Trek Into Darkness,” as well as 2009′s “Star Trek,” and five of the six “Star Wars” films (he also worked on the original “Star Wars”), there may not be anyone alive today with a better sense of what it takes to put a major sci-fi movie’s sound together.
And as genres go, sci-fi may be in more need of a sound designer than any other. After all, Burtt said, in science fiction, “everything is imaginary — the weapons, the creatures. And [ever... [Read more]
Related Links:
     |
Bing Translator gains support for Star Trek language Klingon
Microsoft has teamed up with Paramount Pictures to bring Trekkies a translation tool essential for interplanetary communications: support for the alien language Klingon on Bing Translator. The feature was added in honor of the latest installment of the movie, Star Trek: Into Darkness, which hit theaters today. As with other languages, translation works both directions.
Users can type an English phrase and receive its Klingon translation in the proper alphabet, and for those times when you need a Klingon translation, you can reverse the process and enter the alien phrases, in turn getting the English translation. The feature is available via the Web version of Bing, and via the Bing Translator app for Windows Phone 8 with the update Microsoft rolled out.
Microsoft went into detail on how the translation process project was performed over on MSDN, offering an explanation in both English and another in Klingon, for those fluent among us. The project was done in partnership with the Klingon Language Institute, and was particularly difficult because of the lack of substantial texts in the language, let alone transcribed texts.
That is where the fan community came in, providing feedback and corrections. The translation engine was trained with an initial bought of transcribed Klingon texts using the Microsoft Translator Hub. Over time, the combination of these two things resulted in more accurate results as the project progressed and was refined, and finally the finished project, which is now available.
You can get a translation in either Latin script or in its native plqaD script, but Microsoft advises that you must manually select the language rather than relying on Auto-Detect. If the translation option isn’t enough for you, there’s also a widget that can be added to websites, allowing visitors to translate the pages into the Star Trek language. And just for the record, this is how you say SlashGear in Klingon:
SOURCE: Bing
Bing Translator gains support for Star Trek language Klingon is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
SlashGear
J.J. Abrams to talk up ‘Star Trek: Into Darkness’ via Facebook Live
(Credit: Paramount Pictures)
Beam — er, stream — me up, Scotty. And do it via Facebook.
The social network is powering up its Facebook Live site Friday evening to give Trekkies, Trekkers, and Trekyamacallits of all stripes the chance to transport the original Mr. Sulu into their living room — along with J.J. Abrams, director of the soon-to-be-released Trek flick, “Star Trek: Into Darkness.”
Old Sulu, new Sulu. George Takei, left, from the original TV series, and John Cho, from "Into Darkness."
(Credit: georgetakai.com; Paramount Pictures)
Abrams and George Takei will be interviewed live on the Net at 5:30 PT tonight by “Saturday Night Live’s” Andy Samberg, with viewers invited to submit questions in real time.
Facebook Live debuted in the summer of 2010 as a way for the social network to tout its new products and publicize the activity happening at the company, such as airing interviews with people who stop by its headquarters.
The site features a handful of archived streams, including events with celebs of one sort or another, from Barack Obama to Shimon Peres to Oprah Winfrey to Rihanna.
(A Facebook rep … [Read more]
Related Links:
John Williams to compose ‘Star Wars’ score? J.J. Abrams hints at it
Facebook’s ‘lie’ button and other fun from Shorty Awards
Filmmaking at the atomic level? IBM nets Guinness world record
‘Star Trek’ Wikia fan portal warps into cyberspace
How to sing a cutesy love song in Klingon
| |
“Star Wars Kid” talks about experience a decade after going viral
Remember Ghyslain Raza? If you’re thinking hard and still drawing a blank, that is probably because he is better known as “Star Wars Kid,” the victim of what amounted to, in some ways, as a large scale personal attack by the Internet at large when a video of him went viral. Which video? The one of a 14-year-old boy wielding a stick as a lightsaber, flipping it about while alone in a room filming himself. After the video – which currently has millions of views on YouTube – went viral, Raza went silent.
In 2010, Raza briefly reappeared in the public eye when it was revealed that after the incident he ended up depressed, eventually dropping out of high school and ending up in a children’s psychiatric ward, according to Vice. His family sued the families of the three students who posted the video online without Raza’s permission, seeking a quarter of a million dollars for the bullying he suffered as a result of it. Eventually the matter was settled, terms unspecified. While it took time to heal, he eventually overcame his unwanted fame and the overwhelming negativity that came with it, moving on to greater things.
Eight years after the incident, Raza held the title of president of the Patrimoine Trois-Rivieres conservation society, and revealed that he was seeking a law degree from McGill University, having since graduated. Although such information was provided, Raza still remained silent about what those years were like, leaving us to guess what he experienced in the unspoken phrases between such admissions of depression and stints in a psychiatric ward.
Now, a full decade later, that silence has finally been broken, with Raza talking about what he experienced and felt during those years in an interview with Canadian magazine Macleans. Why the change? According to Raza, he felt compelled to take a public stand against cyberbullying, not only because he understands it in a way most of us (thankfully) never will, but also because of the growing instances of Internet bullying that have, in some cases, resulted in suicide.
“No matter how hard I tried to ignore people telling me to commit suicide, I couldn’t help but feel worthless, like my life wasn’t worth living,” said Raza. He talked about such instances as fellow students climbing on top of tables to mock him. “In the common room, students climbed onto tabletops to insult me.” The friends he had before the incident, which he says had been very little, stopped associating with him after the video surfaced. He was finally forced to change schools before dropping out altogether.
There is light at the end of the tunnel, however, and when asked what advice he has for those who are suffering cyberbullying, Raza said: “You’ll survive. You’ll get through it. And you’re not alone. You are surrounded by people who love you.”
SOURCE: Macleans
Image via Motherboard
“Star Wars Kid” talks about experience a decade after going viral is written by Brittany Hillen & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
SlashGear
Redskins star Robert Griffin III and fiancée Rebecca Liddicoat to be married this summer
Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III is living a pretty good life.
In 2011, he became a legend at Baylor by winning the Heisman Trophy. In 2012 he was picked second in the draft, became a commercial success and set the NFL on fire with his dazzling play. There’s the knee injury thing, but since he’s got the whole superhuman thing going on, he should be fine.
And now comes news that he’s getting married.
Griffin’s mother Jackie told the Fox affiliate in Washington, D.C. that Robert and fiancée Rebecca Liddicoat are getting married this summer. Hat tip on that piece of news to the Washington Post’s D.C. Sports Bog, which also pointed out that if this Bed, Bath and Beyond registry is real, the couple will be married on July 6 (We can hear Griffin telling teammates, “I don’t know if we’ll have enough time!”).
According to the Washington Post, the couple met at Baylor. He proposed to her in 2010 by singing a self-written love song (geez, is there anything the guy can’t do?). Three years later, he’s one of the hottest stars in the NFL and they’ll finally be tying the knot.
Congratulations to the happy couple. We’re off to Bed, Bath and Beyond to buy that 7-speed electric hand mixer for their big event.
Electronic Arts obtains exclusive rights to Star Wars games
In a piece of news that informs on the future of Star Wars video games after Disney shut down LucasArts last month, Disney and Electronic Arts have signed a multi-year agreement that will see the game publisher obtain exclusive rights to the Star Wars video game franchise, allowing them to make Star Wars video games from here on out.
Electronic Arts says that DICE and Visceral Games will produce new Star Wars titles in the future, as they join BioWare, who is continuing to develop games for the franchise. As for what to expect in upcoming games from EA, the company’s Labels President, Frank Gibeau, says that the new games will be “entirely original with all new stories and gameplay,” with some elements being borrowed from past films.
However, the agreement between EA and Disney doesn’t give the game publisher all the rights to the Star Wars game franchise, as Disney will still retain the rights for “mobile, social, tablet and online game.” Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed, but we’re guessing it was for quite a large sum of money, especially for something so popular like Star Wars.
However, this gets us thinking as to how these upcoming Star Wars games will be published. Electronic Arts doesn’t have a very good track record, and they were recently voted the “worst company in America” for the second straight year, which has us worried about the Star Wars franchise. It’s possible that EA could turn things around by the time they release a new Star Wars game, but we’ll ultimately have to wait and see.
Electronic Arts obtains exclusive rights to Star Wars games is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
SlashGear
Helping ‘Star Wars’ newbies finally embrace the Force
Mashable deputy editor Chris Taylor, Change.org's Charlotte Hill, and Lucasfilm's Pablo Hidalgo sport light sabers at a screening of 'Star Wars' for newbies in San Francisco Saturday night.
(Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET)
SAN FRANCISCO–What I’m about to tell you is 100 percent true, no matter how much you will want to tell me I’m full of it: there are American adults who have never seen “Star Wars.”
The 1977 George Lucas film is a timeless global phenomenon and may be one of the most embedded of all our cultural artifacts. It spawned an empire that Disney ended up buying for $ 4 billion, in large part because of the passion and commitment of its worldwide audience. But still some people, even those who watch other movies, and are part of mainstream society, managed to make it to 2013 without ever seeing it.
For one group of “Star Wars” newbies, though, their lifelong exclusion from one of the biggest clubs on Earth is over.
Take Zeal Caiden, and Jaqueline Marie, for example. A couple for two years, neither had seen what might be alternately called “Star Wars,” “Episode IV,” or “A New Hope.” Until Saturday night, that is, when alo… [Read more]
Related Links:
Toledo Mud Hens mark May the 4th with Chewbacca uniforms
‘Star Wars’ car-wraps put some geek on your gas-guzzler
NASA’s Kepler telescope and the quest for life out there
AT-AT Walker walker assists young surgery patient
Harrison Ford storms out of ‘Kimmel,’ confronted by ‘Star Wars’ characters
| |
Leroy Butler’s church appearance canceled after former Packers star congratulates Jason Collins
Former Green Bay Packers safety Leroy Butler played all 12 of his NFL seasons in the Frozen Tundra from 1990 through 2001. He was a key cog in the Pack’s Super Bowl XXXI-winning team, is credited with inventing the Lambeau Leap, and grabbed 38 interceptions in 181 games and 165 starts despite childhood disabilities that forced him to wear leg braces. Since Butler’s NFL career ended, he’s been pretty tireless with his philanthropic work, heading up the Leroy Butler Foundation. Butler works with churches in the Wisconsin area, but there’s one local church that decided to cancel his scheduled appearance.
Why? Apparently, because Butler dared to congratulate basketball player Jason Collins for coming out last week.
Congrats to Jason Collins
— leroy butler (@leap36) April 29, 2013
Butler went through the timeline of events on his Twitter account.
Wow, I was schedule to speak at a church in WI, and a member said that the pastor wants to cancel my event, I said ok why? — leroy butler (@leap36) May 1, 2013
Then I was told, because I said congrats to Jason Collins on twitter, I said really? we have a contract, he said check the moral cause, — leroy butler (@leap36) May 1, 2013
FYI the fee was 8500$ ,then I was told if i removed the tweet, and apologize and ask god forgiveness, I can have the event, I said no, — leroy butler (@leap36) May 1, 2013
Only god can judge,
— leroy butler (@leap36) May 1, 2013
So. Butler was pulled not for endorsing homosexuality as a preference or lifestyle, but for simply congratulating someone for making an important personal decision. On Twitter. How very sensible.
Kudos to Butler for sticking to his own convictions. Maybe that church could get Chris Broussard to speak instead.
John Williams to compose ‘Star Wars’ score? J.J. Abrams hints at it
John Williams scored all six "Star Wars" films.
(Credit: RTE)
Getting the straight word about the next “Star Wars” movie might be tougher than trying to escape out of a Sarlacc pit, but director J.J. Abrams has let loose a juicy tidbit about who may compose the score — John Williams.
The impromptu revelation occurred during a “Star Trek: Into Darkness” press conference in Berlin on Monday, as Abrams fielded a question about the possibility of composer Michael Giacchino — who has worked extensively with Abrams on previous ventures — taking on “Star Wars.” After speaking a few sentences about Giacchino’s brilliance, Abrams threw everyone a curve ball and name-dropped Williams.
“Again, for Star Wars, it’s very early days, but I believe that, going forward, John Williams will be doing that film because he was there long before I was,” Abrams said.
You can see Abrams field the question in the video below. While nothing is set in stone — yet — this musical note should be great news for devout fans of the sci-fi saga, as they would likely feel that anything less than Williams would be uncivilized.
Related stories
- … [Read more]
Related Links:
Filmmaking at the atomic level? IBM nets Guinness world record
Harrison Ford storms out of ‘Kimmel,’ confronted by ‘Star Wars’ characters
Amazon Studios debuts 14 pilots for free viewing
‘Star Trek’ phaser rifle sells for $ 231k
A $ 12,000 music box for the Sith Lord who has everything
Star Citizen surge shows how crowd funding is shaking up studios
Crowd funding is gaining all sorts of popularity these days, and tons of people are signing up with Kickstarter and Indiegogo to attempt to fund their projects. Recently, game studios have taken a liking to the madness, specifically Cloud Imperium Games who has raised over $ 9 million from crowd funding alone for its upcoming space-based title Star Citizen.
Over 170,000 people have contributed money to the project, which was started by gaming designer veteran Chris Roberts, who is behind classic games like Wing Commander. The game raised over $ 2 million on Kickstarter, with the remaining funds being donated directly on the Star Citizen website.
As for the developer’s reason to go with crowd funding, they cite that “the internet is the great equalizer,” and used examples like Minecraft, Riot Games, and Wargaming.net for not needing a publisher, but rather just die-hard fans willing to pay for a game and support the developers throughout the project.
They continue by saying that they’re essentially throwing themselves “on the mercy of the PC gamers” who share the same vision and passion for the PC as they do. Without a publisher, the game will cost less and it’ll be more “creatively pure.” As for a time frame on when to expect the game to arrive, Star Citizen is expected to enter the alpha stages toward the end of the year.
[via GamesIndustry.biz]
Star Citizen surge shows how crowd funding is shaking up studios is written by Craig Lloyd & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.
SlashGear
