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Disney Animation Adopts Python
Sommelier writes "
Interesting article on the O'Reilly Python site about Walt Disney Feature Animation adopting Python to accomplish a lot of their work.
"
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There was an interesting case study about it a while back. But was several years ago, and on a much smaller project. Now that Disney's getting into the action, Python will be more palatable to other suits.
Now the GPL on our Python implementations won't expire in 95 years, with Disney's support we can keep them out of the public domain forever!
Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
It's all great stuff that allows for rapid development and building (sometimes glueing) systems together.
-danimal
Personally, though, I've settled on Ruby. It delivers on clean, simple reuse and has a flexible and very object-oriented syntax that agrees with my Perl-addled sensibilities. Have a look at the very nice introductory book which is now available online.
Of course, I still do one-liners in Perl...
ls -l `which python1.5`
Naturally it would take some time to change over those 1,000's of scripts, and why fix scripts that aren't borked. But for new packages...
If you are a debian maintainer, please consider this carefully.
--
Life's a bitch but somebody's gotta do it.
My first thought on reading the headline was:
... ?
What? They're reverting to crudely cut out and meticulously airbrushed Monty Python animation?
Um, cool!
And there was much rejoicing... "yay..."
Kevin Fox
--
Kevin Fox
One a slightly less childish note (or perhaps not) I was fantasising about the potential of the EBEDA Public License (Everything But The Evil Double A's Public License). Wouldn't it give you a warm feeling to read that BeOpen Labs had taken legal action against Disney for using Python? viz.:
"Our client has advised us that as a member of the MPAA, you are forbidden to use the Python programming language in any shape or form anywhere in your organisation."
I know it's petty and childish but then is so is the current scenario:
Sigh.
--- Hot Shot City is particularly good.
Free Software Foundation Voice: +1-617-542-5942
59 Temple Place - Suite 330 Fax: +1-617-542-2652
Boston, MA 02111-1307, USA
Free Software Foundation
gnu@gnu.org
Dear MPAA23@pacbell.net:
The Free Software Foundation Represents the following projects:
Linux
Apache
Python
Perl
Zope
PHP
Sendmail
Postfix
Beowulf
And many other free software projects covered under the GNU Public License (GPL).
We have received information the motion picture studios listed have been using open source software created by the aforementioned open source software projects our organization represents. These projects create their software using the open source engineering model, which your organization and the studios it represents are trying to eliminate through legal action. We request that the following movie studios and all parent companies that own them cease and desist in all usage of open source software.
Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.
Disney Enterprises, Inc.
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc.
Paramount Pictures Corporation
TriStar Pictures, Inc.
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
United Artists Pictures, Inc.
United Artists Corporation
Universal City Studios, Inc.
Warner Bros., a Division of
Time Warner Entertainment Company, L.P.
We have forwarded a copy of this letter to the United States Justice Department for future use in any trial regarding the open source reverse-engineering of the Content Scrambling System (CSS).
Thank you for your prompt attention to this matterRichard Stallman
President
Free Software Foundation
Please contact us at the above listed address or by replying to this email if you should have any questions.
Now, just like the window-peeping scene in The Rescuers and the phallic mushrooms in The Little Mermaid, we have to be on the lookout for some guy named Guido showing everyone his Python in all the forthcoming Disney cartoons -- just what every expectant father wants to hear!
Better than a girl showing her Perls for everyone to C, giving away her Ruby, or using a french TCLer or some character taking PHP I guess. Its all industry Smalltalk anyway and just another Scheme by the MPAA. Drinking Java, getting VB from some Gimp girl giving them uncalled-for Access on the first date and not having to decency to Serverlet her breakfeast in the morning.
I'll stop now.
This Wiki Feeds You TV and Anime - vidwiki.org
Scripting languages have been a big part of production work for a while and for good reason. Lightwave, 3D studio, Maya, Softimage all have some good scripting languages that enanble some nice benefits from the productive side. I read that the many of huge battle scenes in $tar War$ the Phantom Menace were done with Maya scripts. Not some huge AI package that ILM bought or built in-house, but scripts. High end production demands some kind of programming solution but doesn't need it to be as fast as possible, half the development time and half the speed is a very nice trade off. If you wanted to make a program to automate something you are tired of doing manuall, would you do it in C or Perl? If you chose C you are eighther a glutton for punishment or running on a 286 in my opinion. Computers can be bought, but programmers must be rented, so it doesn't really surprise me, but it does intrigue me.
This Wiki Feeds You TV and Anime - vidwiki.org
Moving from C++ to Java results in a 2x improvement in programmer productivity, he says, while the move from C++ to Python results in a 5x to 10x improvement. He is still developing his reasons as to why this is the case, but he believes that Python allows a programmer to focus on concepts, rather than on mechanics.
Lacking any scientific studies, Bruce offered his top ten reasons why he loves Python:
10. Reduced Clutter - The indented nature of Python makes it easier to read, an important criteria since code is read more often than it is written. According the the extreme programming (XP) folks, consistant formatting really is important.
9. It's not Backward Compatible in Exchange for Pain - Many popular languages promote their backward compatability, but at the cost to the programmer of awkward syntax (C++ and Perl) and lots of typing (Java).
8. It Doesn't Value Performance Over Productivity - Rather than forcing the programmer to implement awkward coding sequences for the sake of "speed," Python implements easy-to-learn idioms (but allows extensions to be written in C when performance becomes an issue).
7. It Doesn't Treat Me Like I'm Stupid - Python doesn't prevent operator overloading, doesn't insist on type declarations, and it doesn't pretend to be something that it isn't.
6. I Don't Wait Forever for a Full Implementation of the Language - C++ still does not fully implement features invented by the C++ committee.
5. It Does Not Make Assumptions About How We Discover Errors - Python does not force static type checking, moving the programmer quickly along to the discovery of errors using "real" data.
4. Marketing People Are Not Involved... Yet -- Java and MS Visual C++ have been over-hyped.
3. I Don't Have to Type So Much - Not obscure like APL, not endlessly inventive like Perl or FORTH, not verbose like Java.
2. My Guesses are Usually Right - Java and C++ require programmers to constantly look up syntax in a language reference. Python idioms are easier.
1. Python Let Me Focus on Concepts - No stumbling through Java designs, no fighting with C++ compilations or runtime bugs."
PS...if you've been living under a rock, Zope is the Open Source Application server and is Python's "killer app". Also, Bruce's books are available for free online and available from mirrors listed at http://www.mindview.net/DownloadSites/
Curious George
***General Consultant to the Human Race*** My opinions are free. You get what you pay for.
The guy who's in charge of the Alice project, a Python based 3D/VR environment designed for beginners, has been working with Disney extensively. He mainly concentrates on interactive rides rather than movies, though.
___
__
Do ya feel happy-go-lucky, punk?
Wow. Disney's doing Python. That's great.. Some things we can look forward to:
1. A complete misrepresentation of Python's history.
2. Horrible, obnoxious, loathesome songs by Elton John singing the praises of Python and the open-source movement.
2. Python coders being paid $0.10 a day in faraway lands to produce Disney-related work.
3. Erections and sexually-related messages secretly embedded into all Python code.
I love it!
Mein Mickey, I can walk!
jack's bicycle is music to my ears
The Python software Foundation was announced on Tuesday, but I guess that isn't important enough for a story.
Trolls throughout history:
Jonathan Swift
as part of my last year of college (99-00) i was part of a group of four students that was sponsored by WDFA to do research on this very subject. we designed and implemented an algorithm to add a random yet not "jittery" sense movement to line art, in order to save labor and eliminate the need for "tracebacks", hand traces over previously drawn images to create the same effect.
disney was very pleased with our results, but we never designed any sort of interface, just the algorithm. i had been wondering what they were going to wrap it with, but now i see that they're using python. i guess now they'll put this into some sort of GUI.
oh and they never paid us anything for our year of labor, just the pleasure of becoming acclimated to a corporate environment. our school got a nice fat check (far less than they would have had to pay us though).