Appearances
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December 18, 2008 at 1:00 am
Image Metrics Secures More Funding for Emily Project
Image Metrics, the animation company Emily teamed up with to create the Emily Project, has secured an additional $6.5 million in funding, which brings the grand total of funding to about 10.7 million. The extra money will be used to advance research and development on the company’s jaw-dropping facial animation solutions, which are sure to play an important role in the film and gaming industries.Image Metrics is currently working on re-creating Emily digitally by converting the measurements of her face into animation, something that has never been done before.
The company provides its technology for companies like Digital Domain, Sony Computer Entertainment, and Rockstar Games, which partnered with Image Metrics to make Grand Theft Auto IV look more realistic than previous versions.
Posted December 18, 2008
Source: TechCrunch
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August 20, 2008 at 1:00 am
Image Metrics’ "Emily" Ushers in a New Era for Animation
Image Metrics' "Emily" will set a new precedent for photo-realistic characters in video games and films. The company is hoping their approach will finally allow animations to look more like humans and less like "corpses."
A long standing barrier known as "uncanny valley" refers to the perception that animation looks less realistic as it approaches human likeness. Image Metrics' new modeling technology hopes to change that, by enabling minute details of a facial expression to be captured and created.
Source: Times Online / Technology
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August 8, 2008 at 1:00 am
Image Metrics unveils “Emily” at Siggraph Trade Show
The Wall Street Journal's "Market Watch" reports that Image Metrics, the leading provider of facial animation solutions to the entertainment industry, will debut their Computer Generated "Emily" model at the Siggraph 2008 trade show in Los Angeles. Image Metrics partnered with Paul Debevec of the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies to create a completely photo-realistic computer-generated (CG) animated face.
Source: Market Watch / Image-Metrics
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May 21, 2008 at 12:00 am
MiraCosta College Honors Distinguished Alumni
MiraCosta College recently unveiled its new Theatre Hall of Fame, and Emily is one of the four inductees. She attended the campus ceremony and spoke about her experience at MiraCosta. She advised students to play to their strengths, and described how useful she found "script-scoring," a skill she acquired in theater professor Eric Bishop's acting class.
The Hall of Fame's other inductees are Wendell Wright (class of 1969), Kathi Nishimoto (Class of 1976), and Joshua Everett Johnson (Class of 2003).
Framed photos of distinguished alumni of MiraCosta's theater department have been hung in the hallway of the MiraCosta College Theatre to serve as inspiration for current students.Source: North County Times
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May 13, 2008 at 12:00 am
Jana Hawkes is the Perfect Girl
Soaps.com loves the character of Jana Hawkes on "The Young and the Restless," and Emily is only too happy to talk about portraying the edgy and adventurous bad girl.
Emily didn’t know that her character was a killer until shortly before Jana revealed it to Kevin and Colleen (Greg Rikaart and Tammin Sursok) on the show. But she was happy for Jana to finally break out of her façade and show everybody who she really is. "Playing the villain is always fun, but this was particularly different because she had to show her genuine love for Kevin through it all."
It’s this dichotomy that makes the character so interesting. Emily relishes playing "bad," since that's the opposite of who she really is, and because it provides such meaty material. "I view [her] as the perfect girl," she says. "She could sweep you off your feet with her charm, [or] teach you to climb a water tower, and yet she is capable of bringing forth a sweet smile or a devilish laugh. You never know with her!"
With the purple streaks in her hair and skull and cross bone accessories, Jana isn’t a "typical soap star beauty," and Emily likes it that way. "I can see how her fun and edgy personality can capture the hearts of the audience."
And "The Young and the Restless" cast and crew has captured hers. She loves her time on set because "everybody is like family and so supportive of each other, which makes the experience so much better." Her future plans include more television and film work, plus a small role in "Coma," a podcast starring Michael Madsen. Sounds edgy and adventurous.Source: Soaps.com
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May 12, 2008 at 12:00 am
Emily's Daytime Emmy Nomination
Emily talks to Soaps.com about her nomination for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series, and her favorite storyline as Jana Hawkes on "The Young and the Restless."
Emily was asleep when the Daytime Emmy Award nominations were announced on "The View," but when the ringing phone woke her up at 8:25am, she knew she’d been nominated. She called her mother, and spent the rest of the day trying not to feel overwhelmed. She’s in good company, since co-star Greg Rikaart (Kevin) also received a nomination, and Vail Bloom (Heather) and Tammin Sursok (Colleen) were nominated in the same category as Emily, making "Y&R" a “triple threat” in the Outstanding Younger Actress category.
In addition to the acting nominations, "The Young and the Restless" was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series. “It is such an honor to be a part of this cast and to be on such a well constructed show,” Emily says, adding that she feels the “Out of the Ashes” scenes were particularly Emmy-worthy.
A lot has happened to her character, but Emily enjoyed the challenge of her brain tumor storyline the most. “I did a lot of research so that my performance would be as genuine as possible,“ she says. “I learned so much from watching videos and speaking to nurses and reading numerous articles on tumors…I had to choose what type of tumor Jana had and what kind of performance I would deliver. That was a great experience for me as an actress.”
The 35th Annual Daytime Entertainment Emmy Awards will air on Friday, June 20th on ABC.Source: Soaps.com
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May 9, 2008 at 12:00 am
Emily's Daytime Emmy Nomination Makes International National News
The International Iran Times profiled Emily and her nomination for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series on "The Young and the Restless." The Iran Times is a non-religious, non-political newspaper with over 100,000 subscribers internationally.
Emily's mother is Iranian, and her father is British. She was born in Bedfordshire, England but moved to Carlsbad, California when she was nine. She acted in plays at Carlsbad High School, where she completed a theater major. She speaks fluent Farsi as well as English, French and Spanish, and although she worked hard to get rid of her British accent, it helped her land her Emmy nominated role as Jana Hawkes.Source: Iran Times
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May 9, 2008 at 12:00 am
Emily talks to Buddy TV about her Daytime Emmy Nomination
"The Young and the Restless" topped the nominations for Daytime Emmys, including one for Emily O'Brien as Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series. In this interview with BuddyTV.com, Emily describes how it feels to be nominated.
“It's still sinking in a little bit,” said Emily. “This is the first time for me that something like this has happened, so I feel honored and it's great to be a part of such a great cast and know that so many of us have been nominated. It's just feels great. It's amazing. I feel euphoric today.”
Emily submitted two scenes for Emmy consideration. The first was her “grand exit scene,” in which she threatened Colleen (Tammin Sursok) and Kevin (Greg Rikaart) with a taser, and the second was a hospital scene that showed a more vulnerable side.
"The Young and the Restless" earned 17 total nominations, including one for Outstanding Drama Series.Source: Buddy TV
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April 17, 2008 at 12:00 am
Anything Goes in Soap Land!
In an interview with Soaps.com, Emily talked about her role as Jana Hawkes on the popular CBS daytime show “The Young and the Restless.” The good girl turned bad was involved in one of the “biggest jaw dropping” events Genoa City has ever seen. From staging her own murder to framing Kevin (the love of her life) for murder, Jana is definitely one of soap’s most intriguing characters, and that is why Emily loves playing the role.
Emily then took the time to answer questions sent in by fans to Soaps.com. One of the fans asked about Jana’s fate on Y &R—would she actually come back? At this time, no one knew what was going to happen to her character, but Emily said, “in soap land almost anybody can be brought back somehow, but for now I think things are just as they should be for Jana.” As it turns out, Jana did come back! Y & R fans know that Jana and Kevin are together again—at least for now.
Another fan asked Emily about her start in acting. Born in England, Emily always had a creative side. “I was writing plays, writing music, always eager to perform... my teachers quickly noticed this, and as time went by I noticed that I was always being cast as the leads in the school plays…I was fortunate to have teachers who believed in me. It grew from there...,” Emily said. Her creative side has blossomed in the way she’s been able to seamlessly transition Jana’s different characteristics.
Emily admitted that daytime television wasn’t always part of her plan, but she fondly states, “I came to love the show and the cast and crew. I am actually working towards film and prime time, but will jump back into theater occasionally.” Soap fans, enjoy watching Jana on Y & R… there just might be another jaw dropper waiting to happen!Source: Soaps.com
