I am finalizing my campfire animation that is due in a couple weeks, but I just wanted to post my progress. I think it’s a large improvement over my last update so I am very happy about that! All my models and textures are a lot more realistic. Rendering out this one frame took 8 minutes, so I am very nervous to start the full render of my 30 second animation. I am still making final adjustments such as adding smaller branches in the campfire and by the logs. The actual fire needs a little bit more work as well. I currently have an area light above the fire to draw add an extra glow, but I need to lessen the intensity. Look out for the final animation in a couple weeks!

Last Friday at the Facebook Marketing Conference, Facebook unveiled timeline for brand pages which is aimed to boost brands’ and advertisers’ engagement efforts. Facebook says it allows “brands to tell their story” similar to the options users are given. A notable feature is the direct-to-fan-page messaging which allows users to send private, direct messages to your page. This creates a new channel for communication so that you can address concerns without them being viewed publicly by others. While some are embracing the change, others are very upset. Almost all companies previously Read more →

I’m still alive and trucking along with my campfire animation! Check it out above. I’m pretty happy with the progression from my animatic. This is not the finished product by any means; it’s only my first-pass.. I still have tons of work to do! Read more →

SpotXchange has announced that it is the first real-time bidding (RTB) supply source to offer initiation type for video ad inventory, in real-time with every bid request. The company says that this information will help its real-time bidding partners valuate inventory more effectively and make more efficient buying decisions as they will have a better understanding of which ads were auto-initiated and which were Read more →

According to a new report from mobile advertising and analytics firm Flurry, there is a significant disparity between the amount of time being spent on mobile (23%) and the amount of U.S. ad dollars directed toward the media platform (1%). According to Peter Fargo, VP of Marketing at Flurry, “…the main reason for this disparity is that the mobile app platform has emerged so rapidly over such a short period of time. With the iOS and Android app economy only three-and-half years old, Madison Avenue and brands have yet to adjust to an unprecedented adoption of apps by consumers,” Other interesting tidbits from the report include Read more →

As a social media intern at FEARnet/Lionsgate Entertainment last summer, I was responsible for keeping up with latest digital trends. I found a lot of great websites that were especially helpful in the field of social media. Trendrr.tv is a unique service that tracks the online activity of all major TV networks and shows in real time. They look at a variety of inputs from social media activity, to blog buzz and video downloads. Trendrr takes all of this social data and organizes it into an informative list that includes Read more →

According to comScore’s Video Metrix service, the top 5 U.S. online video content properties in January 2012, in terms of unique video viewers, were:

1. Google websites (152 million)
2. VEVO (51.5 million)
3. Yahoo! Websites (49.2 million)
4. Viacom Digital (48.1)
5. Facebook (45.1)

Overall for the month of January 2012, 181 million U.S. internet users watched nearly 40 billion videos, with the average viewer watching 22.6 hours of online video content. Video Metrix’s data for the top U.S. online video ad properties as ranked by video ads are as follows Read more →

I’m currently working on a campfire animation in Maya. I’ve posted the animatic here so you can get an idea of what animation im going for. There will be trees and grass that is affected by a wind source. The campfire in the middle will be flickering while also emitting light that matches the flicker. The image above is just a still and my first pass. I’m having some issues rendering the draft animation, but will update with my progress.

In Facebook’s recent IPO filing they disclosed a potential pitfall for the company: mobile. Facebook does not display ads on their mobile products. Over half of Facebook’s 845 million users access the site on a mobile device, which means Facebook isn’t making revenue from these mobile users. As more people steer away from personal computers and towards mobile, this can negatively impact Facebook’s financial results. Facebook mentioned in order to compete effectively in the business, they must successfully Read more →

Since Facebook’s recent IPO filing on February 1st, some financial data has been released, which contradicts many who previously valued Facebook at over $100 billion. A company’s value is determined by how much money the company makes and how much it might make in the future. Facebook made $1 billion last year, which was a 66% increase from 2010. It is growing faster than the top companies Google and Apple. Facebook has other sources of revenues that will continue to grow, such as Read more →