Back here in Timişoara, we – the guys in the office – weren’t sure what to expect from Ky and Căcă’s trip to Milan. To be honest, a bit envious on the chance they got to be there, we started joking about them attending another international event in Milan: the Fashion Week. We waited for their return home, and surprised them with an ambush interview! Here is the result:
Lexu: So, what about you going to Milan? Why Adobe Max? Did we get something out of this? Did you learn any new tricks?
Căcă (tapping a dumb beat): Wow, guess what? We were looking for community and we found one!
Ky: To be honest, we had no expectations set for this event. I saw some pictures from previous Max events, I read some reviews and looked-up the speaker’s line-up and the sessions listed. It was enough to realize it’s an event we shouldn’t miss.
Căcă: It wasn’t a learning event if that’s what you’re asking. We were not expecting that anyway, as Ky mentioned. We saw Max as it was: a great chance to meet people and see where the “industry” is heading. In the end, we managed to do both.
Lexu: You weren’t involved in any trainings then. What about some “rocket science” samples from Max?
Căcă: One hands-on experience I had was the chance to play a bit with Pixel Bender, as I joined a lab by Adobe’s Kevin Goldsmith. I can’t help feeling a bit guilty, as I only appreciated the PB toolkit as any programming geek would 
Unlike most of my lab colleagues there – which were obviously more interested in playing with image filters – my interest was code-related. PB seemed interesting, as its flexible technology can be adapted or extended. For example, it can be used to create some cool textures for 3D models, PB can also be used for normal mapping, bump mapping, reflection (environment) mapping, or for creating procedural textures. All this, using Pixel Bender’s programmatic image filters which allow programs that run separate scripts to write image generators and image filters.
I also enjoyed one presentation I attended: “Using C++ libraries in Flash Player”. The featured solution is Alchemy – a compiler which converts code to ActionScript bytecode usable in Flash CS4 Professional and Flex applications, running either in Adobe AIR or Flash Player. Lucky thing I knew what Pixel Bender was, as I couldn’t help asking Adobe’s Jim Corbett if image processing is quicker when implemented in C++ (using Alchemy), or by using Pixel Bender. As his answer was “I don’t have a clue”, I guess I also got a homework on my hands now
Ky: I personally enjoyed more 3D oriented presentations and talks. I attended the Away3D session by Rob Bateman, and the Advanced Papervison3D session by Carlos Ulloa. Both sessions focused on overcoming challenges for real time 3D implementation in Flash, as Rob covered the functionality and 3D environment management, and Carlos presented the 3D creation process “from concept and planning, to development and art production”, as he put it.
I missed out on Alternativa3D’s presentation, which showcased some demos, but did not unveil any code. However, we got the chance to hang-out with Alex and Anton later on. In fact, one of the coolest parts of Max were the small-talks we had with Alternativa and Away3D. Thomas Pfeiffer from Sandy 3D joined as well, as we were discussing our plans and sharing our visions on how next year’s 3D internet will look like. During such a chat about BSP and collision detection solutions, Rob mentioned a release by the end of this year. So far, we’re keeping an eye on them, as I have a hunch their solution will fit FlipMove.
Lexu: I see you’re switching from the event to people. How were the guys attending Max?
Căcă: Like any other event gathering 1300 people who program, design, interact and sell, it was quite a funky place, you can imagine. Guys in t-shirts, people wearing suits, people who knew what they were doing, people who seemed parachuted there. It’s the place where Adobe users meet and connect, and the guys from Adobe try to sell their goodies.
Lexu: Do they sell good?
Căcă: It depends, we didn’t buy anything 
Although, after 3 days of exposure, it’s very likely you will buy at least a mouse-pad… or something.
Ky: We kept telling ourselves that we’re there to work, so it was kind of confusing since most of what we did was to network and meet people, to chat, and to see how other 3D tradesmen handle their problems and (why not?) how would they handle ours.
The time was way too short, and so we could only interact (real life this time) during breaks between sessions and in the evenings, during parties. This was quite a challenge, as I’m not quite the social type. However, the topics we were discussing made it a lot easier for me. Suddenly, we realized that we weren’t the ones listening to stories, but were also the ones telling them. I was very surprised to hear that we weren’t the only ones facing specific problems while working with 3D and Papervision, as now other people were sharing how they overcame the same issues we had. Ah, and all this over a beer, in a crib somewhere in Milan, while also discussing the weather in London, prices in Moscow, and real estate in Timişoara
The Look
Lexu: Although I’ve already got what I missed in Milan, is there anything else you forgot to mention?
Ky: We met a lad and a lassie, Charlie and Sandra, both of them web designers from Ireland. What began as a beer in at the party, turned into a very interesting discussion about design fees in Ireland and how we could work together on future projects
Căcă: Ah, don’t forget the trip to Bucharest and the ad-hoc Christmas carols concert in the student dorm we slept before heading home to Timisoara! It really made our day
PS: we took the suggestion received @ Max and started posting in English on our blog.
PPS: some pics here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/12356311@N02/sets/72157611010271410/
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