Sigh. I really, really wanted to be in LA this week for SIGGRAPH 2008, but I had to design a few crappy fliers, organize some gifts, and send those over instead.

News from SIGGRAPH has been all over my Google Reader these past couple of days, and it’s only day 2! You can check out teasers of all the mind-blowing technology on the SIGGRAPH website, but this in particular caught my eye. Via Gizmodo:

Microsoft’s “Unwrap Mosaics” Add Moustaches (and More) to Video

Imagine being able to put a handlebar mustache on Grandma in a home video as easily as you could with Photoshop and a digital image. Microsoft showed off new technology called “Unwrap Mosaics” at the SIGGRAPH trade show in Los Angeles that could make this dream a reality without the need for fancy professional equipment.

By “unwrapping” or flattening a 3D image, the program simplifies the editing process, making it possible to add artifacts and other special effects with greater ease. The project is only in the research phase at the moment, but the long term goal would undoubtedly be to slap a UI on there and deliver it to a mustache hungry public. Hit the link for a videos and documentation on the Unwrap Mosaic technology. [Unwrap Mosaics]

Remember Calculus III in college? And how everything got even more convoluted as you delved into the world of 3D processing? For this same reason, video editing has always been a very complicated process. But now, Microsoft has found a solution that actually seems too user-friendly to be true.

Simply. Amazing.

You can find me pouring over more SIGGRAPH goodies for the rest of the week, cursing the damned project that has me chained to my desk.