Erich Atlas Ocean
(323) 482-3204
erich.ocean@me.com
Los Angeles, CA
New! Virtual lighting paper I wrote for the Virtual Production Conference at SIRT Center.
Directing actors on a short-film using the then-new Nikon D90. (early 2009)
I've spent 10+ years working on live-action, non-linear film production.
I began directing films during college in the late 90s. Filmmaking was the first thing I'd ever done where I liked everything about the process.
Making films my way has meant learning computer science — an unlikely detour for a filmmaker. I had to go out and create the technology to do what I want to do.
After 10+ years, I still don't have an IMDB page. What I do have is a kick-ass way to make live-action feature films. Time will tell if I've spent my time on the right things.
Virtual Lighting and Live-Action Story Reels
My primary focus now is on virtual lighting and production-ready story reels for live action filmmakers. Most of the other tools needed have already become commercially available.
Virtual lighting is a process that allows a traditional live-action DP (like Roger Deakins) to light a film virtually in both pre-production and production using their existing knowledge and toolset. (Think of it as performance capture for a DP.)
Live-action story reels are a critical improvement to pre-production and story development that has already proven to be hugely effective on 3D animated films at studios like Pixar. With story reels, a live-action film can be made over and over and over again, iteratively, improving each time. Just like story reels in 3D animation, the decisions and lessons learned each iteration carry directly into the production phase.
→ Learn more about non-linear production.
Blossom
Blossom is a modern, cross-platform application framework written entirely in JavaScript.
It builds off of SproutCore, the open source JavaScript application framework behind Apple’s iCloud and iWork web application suites. Blossom extends the reach of traditional SproutCore applications beyond the web browser by re-architecting the view layer to be HTML and CSS-independent.
Blossom also extends the kinds of apps that can be written in JavaScript by implementing an easy-to-use, high-performance animation subsystem that leverages hardware acceleration on the GPU whenever possible. The API is roughly based on Apple's Core Animation framework, and provides similar capabilities — even in modern web browsers.
Since SproutCore's HTML and CSS dependencies were removed, Blossom can support native runtimes on the desktop (Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux) and on mobile devices (iOS, Android, and Windows Phone) and tablets (iOS, Android) -- and that's in addition to modern web browsers, all with the same API.
SproutCore
I've also become an expert in both Cocoa and SproutCore while developing a workflow system for film production and pre-production. Although not my primary focus, I frequently help out the SproutCore community.
In 2008-2009, I consulted with Apple on the transition from SproutCore 0.9 to 1.0 which entailed almost a complete rewrite of the codebase. I am still considered to be a SproutCore "thought leader", though I no longer guide SproutCore's day-to-day development. I have also trained and mentored companies and individuals on SproutCore throughout the world.
Looking for SproutCore Training? I regularly train new developers online with a 4-hour class.
I also lead a group of developers doing SproutCore Mentoring for individuals and teams.
HubSync
My passion for filmmaking has sent me deep into the computer science field to develop the tech needed to make the next generation of films. I've done PhD-level work in computer science, especially in the area of data syncing where I developed HubSync, a new algorithm and data structure that substantially improves the state of the art.
Non-linear production involves a huge amount of data, continuously updated by many individuals at multiple companies, both in-office and in disconnected operations in the field. HubSync reliably and efficiently supports all of this in a way that "just works" for app developers.