by guest blogger, J.J. Ramo
Last summer the Coronado Ventures Forum hosted the New Mexico film community with the intention of introducing investors and entrepreneurs to strengthen the NM film infrastructure. At that meeting, Pete Rogina, President of WorldScape Inc. proclaimed that New Mexico has the opportunity to become a world leader in 3D technology. Rogina’s impressive and optimistic presentation was met with some wide eyes and curiosity from many of us hearing his statistics for the future of New Mexico film and 3D technology.
Today Rogina’s predictions seem more than true. Eric Renz-Whitmore, Program Coordinator of UNM’s ARTSlab, said, “In one example of how investment in media and tech resources is paying off and moving forward, Governor Richardson announced plans by Cerelink Digital Media Group and DreamWorks Animation to use Encanto, New Mexico's Computing Application Center for 3D rendering.” A later Cerelink press release clarified that “While Cerelink Digital Media Group will be using NMCAC's resources to explore the delivery of on-demand and scalable computing resources as a cloud service, DreamWorks Animation, (one of their clients) will not be using the NMCAC supercomputer” directly at this time.
‘Encanto’ is Spanish for charm or lure and it looks like the supercomputer is living up to the name. Governor Richardson said, "Our supercomputer is a major tool in developing a high-tech, high-wage economy and these agreements prove that our investment in it is paying off."
Megan Kamerick, in NM Business Weekly, writes that Richardson expects at least 100 new high-tech jobs to result from the commercial applications he announced at the Intel plant in Rio Rancho. Kamerick explains that an ultra high-speed link will now connect New Mexico to Hollywood, creating 30 new jobs in its early phases.
The Governor’s press release states, “Encanto, which is housed at Rio Rancho's Intel facility, is capable of operating 172 trillion calculations a second making it the 12th fastest computer in the world and the fastest non-federal computer.”
“This joint effort is expected to create new opportunities and demand for New Mexico-based talent and services within the digital media sector," said Richard Draper, Managing Partner of Cerelink DMG. For producers, this means access to an ultra fast private broadband network and existing data center space located in New Mexico where they qualify for New Mexico's 25% film tax rebate on all production expenses.
Says Rogina, “The natural overlap between 3D and gaming and government training should make for a fertile environment. Things get really exciting when preparation meets opportunity. The numbers support a very big opportunity and, therefore, a few percent should be considered to be re-invested into preparation (both academic and professional). Rogina has suggested that New Mexico add a 3-5% tax incentive for 3D projects, He says, “On top of what is already a recognized and aggressive incentive program, the extra targeted incentive will get worldwide attention and, at least, make it worthwhile for just about everyone to shop 3D-related business in NM.”
That eve last summer, I thanked Pete, got his card and admitted that, as a screenwriter, I had nothing at the moment that worked in 3D. But about a month later, a project landed on my desk that I knew was a perfect candidate, thanks to the WorldScape presentation. Pete was willing to tutor me on how to write scenes for the best 3D results. That project, complete with 3D scenes – very well received - has been optioned (Here's PR -- more on that soon) and will be heading to Hollywood studios in a package with my feature script, a video game production team, graphic novel, action figures, etc.
I’ll likely have to let studio writers finish the script, but it’s exciting to think that the 3D rendering could come back to New Mexico, just as Pete had said and I have dreamed.
J.J. Ramo is a professional screenwriter from Taos, NM,
specializing in Action Adventure scripts.
In the movie biz? Link with J.J.
Or contact: jjramo@yahoo.com
Please click below this line on "comments" to add comments. You can skip the Typepad account sign-in if you want. Your e-mail will not be public.
Technorati Profile
Last summer the Coronado Ventures Forum hosted the New Mexico film community with the intention of introducing investors and entrepreneurs to strengthen the NM film infrastructure. At that meeting, Pete Rogina, President of WorldScape Inc. proclaimed that New Mexico has the opportunity to become a world leader in 3D technology. Rogina’s impressive and optimistic presentation was met with some wide eyes and curiosity from many of us hearing his statistics for the future of New Mexico film and 3D technology.
Today Rogina’s predictions seem more than true. Eric Renz-Whitmore, Program Coordinator of UNM’s ARTSlab, said, “In one example of how investment in media and tech resources is paying off and moving forward, Governor Richardson announced plans by Cerelink Digital Media Group and DreamWorks Animation to use Encanto, New Mexico's Computing Application Center for 3D rendering.” A later Cerelink press release clarified that “While Cerelink Digital Media Group will be using NMCAC's resources to explore the delivery of on-demand and scalable computing resources as a cloud service, DreamWorks Animation, (one of their clients) will not be using the NMCAC supercomputer” directly at this time.
‘Encanto’ is Spanish for charm or lure and it looks like the supercomputer is living up to the name. Governor Richardson said, "Our supercomputer is a major tool in developing a high-tech, high-wage economy and these agreements prove that our investment in it is paying off."
Megan Kamerick, in NM Business Weekly, writes that Richardson expects at least 100 new high-tech jobs to result from the commercial applications he announced at the Intel plant in Rio Rancho. Kamerick explains that an ultra high-speed link will now connect New Mexico to Hollywood, creating 30 new jobs in its early phases.
The Governor’s press release states, “Encanto, which is housed at Rio Rancho's Intel facility, is capable of operating 172 trillion calculations a second making it the 12th fastest computer in the world and the fastest non-federal computer.”
“This joint effort is expected to create new opportunities and demand for New Mexico-based talent and services within the digital media sector," said Richard Draper, Managing Partner of Cerelink DMG. For producers, this means access to an ultra fast private broadband network and existing data center space located in New Mexico where they qualify for New Mexico's 25% film tax rebate on all production expenses.
Says Rogina, “The natural overlap between 3D and gaming and government training should make for a fertile environment. Things get really exciting when preparation meets opportunity. The numbers support a very big opportunity and, therefore, a few percent should be considered to be re-invested into preparation (both academic and professional). Rogina has suggested that New Mexico add a 3-5% tax incentive for 3D projects, He says, “On top of what is already a recognized and aggressive incentive program, the extra targeted incentive will get worldwide attention and, at least, make it worthwhile for just about everyone to shop 3D-related business in NM.”
That eve last summer, I thanked Pete, got his card and admitted that, as a screenwriter, I had nothing at the moment that worked in 3D. But about a month later, a project landed on my desk that I knew was a perfect candidate, thanks to the WorldScape presentation. Pete was willing to tutor me on how to write scenes for the best 3D results. That project, complete with 3D scenes – very well received - has been optioned (Here's PR -- more on that soon) and will be heading to Hollywood studios in a package with my feature script, a video game production team, graphic novel, action figures, etc.
I’ll likely have to let studio writers finish the script, but it’s exciting to think that the 3D rendering could come back to New Mexico, just as Pete had said and I have dreamed.
J.J. Ramo is a professional screenwriter from Taos, NM,
specializing in Action Adventure scripts.
In the movie biz? Link with J.J.
Or contact: jjramo@yahoo.com
Please click below this line on "comments" to add comments. You can skip the Typepad account sign-in if you want. Your e-mail will not be public.
