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Hello @Pixar ( @StephenFMay, @Powerken, @levork, @DocterPete):
Are you going to disclose the shader technology you developed for rendering Black skin in SOUL?
There are roughly ZERO technical publications on this topic, and it is holding back diversity in CGI movies.
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Are you going to disclose the shader technology you developed for rendering Black skin in SOUL?
There are roughly ZERO technical publications on this topic, and it is holding back diversity in CGI movies.
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You consulted with the esteemed cinematographer Bradford Young to make SOUL’s characters look gorgeous.
Right now, nobody understands the nuts-and-bolts of beautiful Black CGI skin better than you.
https://slate.com/culture/2020/12/pixar-soul-kemp-powers-interview-black-lead-barber-shop.html
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Right now, nobody understands the nuts-and-bolts of beautiful Black CGI skin better than you.
https://slate.com/culture/2020/12/pixar-soul-kemp-powers-interview-black-lead-barber-shop.html
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I’m sure you know about “Shirley Cards”, “China Girls” and “Leader Ladies” from traditional photography.
White-skin-only benchmarks entrenched racial bias in the fundamental chemical composition of celluloid film.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/25/lens/sarah-lewis-racial-bias-photography.html
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White-skin-only benchmarks entrenched racial bias in the fundamental chemical composition of celluloid film.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/25/lens/sarah-lewis-racial-bias-photography.html
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Right now, the exact same thing is happening to digital film. For the last 20 years, skin rendering algorithms have been designed for young, white skin.
Every subtlety of young, white skin is now understood in excruciating algorithmic detail.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-racist-legacy-of-computer-generated-humans/
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Every subtlety of young, white skin is now understood in excruciating algorithmic detail.
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-racist-legacy-of-computer-generated-humans/
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There is no equivalent technical understanding of Black CGI skin. Nobody has initiated the discussion. There are zero benchmarks.
Right now, the state-of-the-art exists in the shader code that your TDs wrote for SOUL. You can start this long-overdue conversation.
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Right now, the state-of-the-art exists in the shader code that your TDs wrote for SOUL. You can start this long-overdue conversation.
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@Pixar, you have shown the power of TELLING diverse stories. Now lead the technology of MAKING diverse stories.
The SIGGRAPH 2021 Talks deadline is February 23. Tell us how you expanded the palette of humanity.
https://s2021.siggraph.org/program/talks/
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The SIGGRAPH 2021 Talks deadline is February 23. Tell us how you expanded the palette of humanity.
https://s2021.siggraph.org/program/talks/
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The knowledge is evaporating this very moment. You’ll have to rediscover all that hard-won intuition the next time around. Invest in documenting it now, and it will pay back tenfold.
Most of all, you know it's the right thing to do.
Sincerely,
Your Former Senior Scientist
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Most of all, you know it's the right thing to do.
Sincerely,
Your Former Senior Scientist
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