Benjamin Guler of EvolveLab joins the show to talk about Veras, the AI rendering tool for Revit, Rhino, SketchUp, Vectorworks, and most recently Autodesk Forma that is used for creating stunning architectural diffusion-based visualizations. Ben takes us behind the scenes to give us a glimpse into its unique features, its development process, and the team's ambition to further innovate it.
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The Confluence podcast is a collaboration between TRXL and AVAIL, and is produced by TRXL Media.
Ben, welcome to the Confluence podcast.
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:It's great to have you.
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:And today we're gonna be talking
about Veras and I think a lot of the
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:things that have been going on behind
the scenes leading up to and during
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:development of Veras, maybe you could
just start off and explain what Veras is.
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:And I, you know, I, the stuff
that I see you guys reposting on
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:LinkedIn is absolutely incredible.
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:It has to make you just like grin
with pride that people are creating
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:amazing things with your tools.
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:So tell, tell everybody what it
is, if they haven't heard of it, if
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:they've been living under a rock,
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:uh, and we'll just go from there,
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:Benjamin Guler: For sure.
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:Yeah.
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:So it's gonna be back, uh, or at least
maybe this is the first in this format,
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:uh, but yeah, it's gonna be here.
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:Yeah.
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:So Ves ves is a, I guess render is, is the
way we, you could say, but it's AI render
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:and it uses a diffusion based rendering
to take your, model, your geometry and
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:diffuse it so that it actually uses.
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:Machine learning models to
actually get a rendition for you.
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:And it's, the way it does that
is it, it, it de noises the image
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:and then it adds noise back and it
essentially takes the way, it adds that
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:noise back as per trained material.
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:And it uses a prompt to guide
what you want to see in the image.
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:So you could have something
like, okay, here's a building.
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:Render it during summer or winter,
or, you know, make it a log cabin.
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:So those sorts of like ridiculous, you
know, prompts you could put in there.
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:And you don't have to be as ridiculous,
but it will actually respect that.
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:It will actually try to get,
okay, this part of the building
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:looks like it could be that.
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:So it's starting to form that way
and then it becomes that it becomes
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:a log cabin part of the building.
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:So, um, it's, it's a, so it's an
application that's integrated within
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:SketchUp, Revit, uh, rhino, we
have a beta version of Vectorworks.
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:It also has a standalone and form.
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:So we have all those different, uh,
applications that we're extending
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:that, you know, in the AC space.
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:So,
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:yeah.
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:Evan Troxel: And, and, and I just
want to throw out there like.
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:You
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:don't have to model all that stuff to
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:get that kind of output.
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:Right.
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:And that's, to me, where this really
becomes a decision making or ideation kind
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:of prototyping tool very much, which is
very different from traditional rendering.
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:Right?
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:Rendering was, was always like a
later stage, or it was a visualization
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:technique a lot of times to use for
communication with clients, with
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:pinups in the office, things like that.
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:And now it's kind of shifted
the weight of the potential
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:of a rendering, quote unquote
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:rendering application because
you could feed it a generic piece
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:of geometry and it fills in the
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:details magically.
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:Uh, and just
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:as a personal anecdote, I have a model
of a, a house that I was working on as
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:an architect and was using Veras to.
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:You guys have these
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:amazing little presets, right?
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:Which are like with Snow and
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:Grassy
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:Hills and, and just to
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:kind of show off because not everybody
necessarily knows what to prompt the first
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:time they're gonna prompt this thing.
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:So you give them
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:a little bit of a shortcut.
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:Head start,
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:Benjamin Guler: right.
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:Evan Troxel: I clicked one
of those buttons and I got to
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:see this house in the snow.
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:It happens to be a house in the
mountains, I showed it to my
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:family and they were blown away.
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:Right?
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:Just
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:blown away.
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:And to get back to that, the
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:images that I see you
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:guys sharing on
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:LinkedIn in these various posts,
it's absolutely incredible.
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:So people should definitely check out.
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:I do You guys have a hashtag that
you try to use to kind of group
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:these together on social posting?
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:Benjamin Guler: #VerasAI usually,
but a lot of times I search #Veras
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:'cause you know, that's easier.
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:It's just that one's a very common
one, so you might not get everyth.
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:So like #VerasRender, that's another one.
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:Randall Stevens: it resonates with me.
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:Uh, Ben, I don't know if you know,
but My personal history is I started
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:a company called ArchVision years
ago, which was actually in the
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:services business doing visualization.
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:And what's interesting, I
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:think about what you're tapping into
is it was kind of counterintuitive that
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:a lot of the earliest stage of where
visualization was wanted or needed was
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:actually just to, um, to service the
customer on, for them to go out market,
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:raise money, move a project along.
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:And of course you want that to be
as photo realistic as possible, and
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:that was counterintuitive to the, the
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:design process hasn't
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:even started.
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:So I need, I want Hyperrealism just
to get the project moving along,
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:and then it's gonna go to zero and
then some design process starts that
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:actually, you know, is the real thing.
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:But I, I could imagine that you're, uh,
definitely able to help fill that gap
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:in those earliest stages of, we just
need, the customer needs something to go.
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:You know, we're not designing.
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:We're just
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:trying to sell.
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:Right.
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:Move the
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:project along.
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:Benjamin Guler: Yeah.
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:that, that also reminds me of, or just
back in when I started in this industry
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:too, is, uh, I, I had a course and it
was like just drawing with like prisma
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:color and markers and pen and actually
just getting renditions of that and
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:using all sorts of like different media.
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:And you have one render and it's
like hand done and this is it.
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:So take this render and, and you know,
you'll won't replicate it the same way.
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:And it's just of this perspective.
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:And you can have five different
iterations that have a complete
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:different color palette.
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:It's much more analogous
to that, where it's like.
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:On the ideation side, where
we're like, okay, let's just
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:look at this and explore ideas.
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:And yes, it looks pretty photo realistic
and that is that counterintuitive part
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:where it's like people get kinda set
into like, this is, you know, they get
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:married to, but it's also very powerful.
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:Like it could be that, uh, but yeah,
it's, it's kind of more like that.
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:It's like this kind of expert
painter that learned how to paint
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:really well, how to fine pixel by
pixel, uh, way where, you know, it
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:could produce these, these images.
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:And then, uh, Evan, you were talking
about earlier about, uh, how, uh, you
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:were kind of using it for like a personal
project and just, uh, testing that out.
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:It's funny 'cause um, it bill, uh,
he's in the process of, of, uh,
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:purchasing a house, uh, our CEO and,
uh, he was doing the same thing.
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:It's like, uh, he's just taking
pictures of the house and looking at
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:it like, okay, what I, I want this, uh.
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:I know this is kind of dated and
this, you know, the kitchen looks like
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:this, but what could it look like?
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:So just like, just kind of having, you
know, the whole, you know, the bones
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:are there, the skeleton's there, you
know, just changing the finishes of the
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:building and he was playing with that and
sharing it with our team, and it's pretty
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:fantastic like that you could do that.
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:Uh, and yes, it's not replicated where
it's kind like a traditional renderer
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:where you kind of, okay, you have the
theme model, you set all your views,
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:uh, or your camera and you have your
materials, your lighting and all that.
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:And then you could, you know, make
a video out of it, uh, and, and
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:start to, you know, it's every,
everything is prescriptive, but you
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:have to be that expert and you have
to devote that time to get there.
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:It's, it's not reproducible right now.
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:It could become there soon.
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:We'll see how, how things are working.
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:But, um, right now it's kind of really
powerful for the aviation, uh, stage
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:where you could just explore ideas and
just kinda see what, what could look good
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:and just kinda have that inspiration.
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:It's like your like
Pinterest board, right?
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:Within your actual project, not,
not just kind of going online to
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:find those inspiration images.
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:Like what?
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:Just take those images and put 'em there.
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:So.
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:Evan Troxel: I, I find that is a super
useful way to use these kinds of tools,
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:which is stop hunting for hours online
for something that it represents what
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:you're looking for, and just prompt
what you're looking for and create it.
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:Co-create it with these tools.
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:Uh, so obviously it's using your guidance
to get there and you will get better
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:at prompting it, and it will give you
better results, uh, by doing that.
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:Um, but, but you're, you're
learning a new way of working.
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:And even for like PowerPoint
presentations, instead of going
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:out and looking for imagery
that I, I need for a PowerPoint,
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:I will
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:use Dolly
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:three to do that with prompting
or mid journey, right?
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:Because it gives me something unique.
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:Number one, it gives me something that
really kind of focuses on what I needed
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:to focus on, because it's very difficult
to find stock photography or imagery that
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:may be exactly what you're looking for.
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:It's a fantastic use for that.
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:And now we can do that
with architectural images.
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:As a designer myself, I
also want to throw out that.
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:Like what Randall was talking about
a minute ago has always been a
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:really difficult thing for architects
to deal with on the client side.
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:And it's not getting easier, which is, it
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:looks done, it looks done,
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:done, when you see these images
and clients don't know what it
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:takes to get
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:there.
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:And so
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:reverse engineering something that you
may come up with during this ideation
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:process into actual architecture
is the skill of an architect.
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:And it takes a new conversation
point with a client to get there now.
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:And I think, uh, that, that is something
that we're kind of working our way
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:through on the
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:design side, which is
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:how to talk to people about this stuff.
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:Because like
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:there is your log
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:cabin
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:in the woods.
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:It's Right,
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:there, it looks
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:done, and it's like, nope.
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:Now we actually have to do
everything it takes to turn
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:that into actual architecture.
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:Um, and we've always
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:had this issue on one
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:way or another with,
with rendering, right?
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:It's like, well, it.
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:Like, my wife and I did a project for my
sister-in-Law, and she, like, we had Revit
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:floor plans and she thought it was done.
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:It's like, we haven't even started.
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:And how do you communicate that?
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:Because it
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:was just space layouts.
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:It's
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:just adjacencies.
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:It's,
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:it's like, does this feel right?
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:We're trying to figure out if
we're going in the right direction.
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:And, and they're thinking
because they don't, they're
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:not well versed in this, man.
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:It's, it's done.
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:Right.
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:Can we, let's get
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:started on the project.
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:And it's like, oh my
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:gosh, we have so much work to
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:do and this is
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:that on steroids.
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:And I just
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:wanna throw all that
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:out because these are the kinds of
conversations that architects are
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:having amongst themselves
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:on their teams as they're
pinning stuff up on the wall and
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:sending images out to clients.
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:And, um, I mean, you're, you're
probably getting a lot of heat
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:even back, I would imagine, as
a developer of a tool like this.
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:Like, you're killing our process
that we've gotten so good at.
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:It's com It's changing it, right?
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:You're pulling the rug
out from under our feet.
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:I
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:bet you, you hear all
kinds of weird stuff like
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:Benjamin Guler: Yeah.
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:Now I, I want to, I wanna touch on that.
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:Like, I think it's, I really do
think it's a co-authoring approach,
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:regardless, like you talked about
communication with the client.
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:Yes.
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:That's great.
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:Like as architects and as designers,
you can look at an image of a building
251
:and know the project you're working
on and visualize it in your own
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:mind, what you envision that to be.
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:Because you've, you're trained and you've
done it so many times that that's kind of
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:like, you know, you can read a four plan
and you can understand what the layout is
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:with a client.
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:Like it's emotional.
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:Like you can't depict that, you
know, simply by showing a floor
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:plan or like how, how things are.
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:If you actually show a, a imagery of that,
like it's, it's kind of the equivalent of.
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:Teleporting what, how you are thinking
in something that's, you know, something
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:a bit more consumable, something that
could actually be interpreted and,
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:and invoke that emotion with a client.
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:You can say, okay, from these five
very different ideas, it seems like
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:you're gravitating towards this thing.
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:And then, okay, what is that
reverse, reverse engineering process?
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:I think that process actually is also
creative because you're still kind of
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:doing that when you're kind of going
deep into your mind to kind of sculpt
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:out or, or, or re you know, re retract
more things that you've learned over
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:the past and compose this new project.
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:It's kind of similar to that.
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:I think that that kind of synergy is
still there, but at least you are kind
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:of have a much better communication and
more, uh, connectivity with the client.
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:So I think, I think it's a really
kind of, it's not taking away like,
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:okay, like now we don't get to render.
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:Like I think it's a different process.
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:It's actually a hybrid thing
where you're using it even for
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:yourself actually as a designer,
you can use it as an inspiration.
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:Like, oh, I didn't think of, you
know, that kind of materiality here,
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:but okay, how could it really work?
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:And then you kind of design and you
build a building and you design the
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:building in such a way that you.
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:You know, you can
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:put
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:those pieces of the
puzzle together properly,
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:Evan Troxel: Yeah.
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:Benjamin Guler: so
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:Randall Stevens: maybe,
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:uh, maybe Ben, you can take us back
to, uh, just in the development of
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:this, when, uh, what's the backstory?
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:When did, when did
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:it happen?
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:Was there a,
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:when did the technology,
uh, present itself?
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:And then
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:ultimately, how did that evolve
into the product that it is and,
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:and how did y'all think about that?
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:Benjamin Guler: of course.
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:Yeah.
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:So we, I think in 2022, I believe, uh,
it's when we had like merger mid journey
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:V one come out and everyone was super
excited and we saw these kinda like
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:painterly, like ghost-like imagery.
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:It's like V one, V two.
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:And then during that time I
was like very intrigued by it.
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:I'm like, oh, this is interesting.
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:So I made an account and, and started
to play with that and it was awesome.
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:It was very fun.
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:And I was using it for, I
think we were working on.
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:Glyph at the time, or not
glyph another product.
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:And we were trying to come up
with a, come up with a logo.
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:So we're like prompting ideas in there.
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:It's like, okay, what's
the logo gonna be like?
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:So it was a really fun process.
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:And then Stable Diffusion came out,
uh, at, at a similar time with, and
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:it was, you know, lower quality.
315
:It was pretty, you know, people
were, but it was exciting 'cause
316
:it was open source and now a lot
of people could build on that.
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:That's what we build up,
that's what we built on too.
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:Uh, but back then it was very basic
and it was a lot of different, like
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:very poor quality, uh, imagery.
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:But then they upgraded to 1.4, 1.5,
and then, uh, I think at one point
321
:they also added image to image.
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:And then like, okay, this is
interesting image to image.
323
:What can you do with image to image?
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:And this is before like, you know,
depths and uh, other kind of models
325
:came out, uh, or candy models.
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:And so what we wanted to just play
out was like, okay, what if we
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:get, the idea was just to test.
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:What if we get like, uh,
a Revit image that looks.
329
:Close to realistic, like the materials
are better, you make the lighting better.
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:Like what if it's like a close
enough like, like digital image that
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:looks kinda like a rendering that's
digital and just a little bit like
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:let AI change it ever so slightly.
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:What does it look like?
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:Will it look better?
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:Can it fit?
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:You know, correct those edges where
it looks very like digital and just
337
:make, add that little dirt just to
make it look like, almost like a photo.
338
:And that's what, you know, before
anything, like all the other models
339
:came out, we just play with that.
340
:We had like really cool results.
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:Like, wow, this is cool.
342
:I mean, it still looks
like Rev or whatever.
343
:'cause we're testing in Rev first, but
it looks better than Rev a little bit,
344
:it was so bare bone, but that was,
you know, so we already started
345
:developing like something, some
ideas with that, okay, this is great.
346
:And that was like middle of, uh, 2022.
347
:Uh, and so, and then, um, control Net
came out and like other models came out.
348
:I'm like, okay, let's try
that and let's, let's add add.
349
:And we already kinda had the pipeline
for that where we, 'cause we started
350
:to tinker with it and we started to
add all, all those, you know, other
351
:technologies that's being developed.
352
:And so as we were adding that, uh, it
really started to become a product.
353
:Okay.
354
:Like, actually this is like good,
like we should, like, you know,
355
:like, let's see what people think.
356
:And then I think at the beginning of, of
January, uh, in, uh, I think it was like,
357
:uh, January 2nd or something like that,
uh, we wanted to get it before the, the
358
:year ended, but you know, the holidays
and they're like, Ugh, it was so close.
359
:But anyways, uh, January of, uh, um,
:
360
:for, for Revit it was very basic.
361
:It's just like, uh, you know,
limited resolution and, and, and,
362
:you know, uh, but it was really cool.
363
:It was like a really cool start.
364
:And then as things have developed
and things have, uh, upgraded over
365
:time, we just kind of kept on adding
and started to build our like.
366
:More of our own, um, even our own models.
367
:And we start to train and we, we
started to kind of really finesse
368
:the process and, uh, kind of take
more, more own ownership of it.
369
:But that's kind of how,
like it's nascency.
370
:That's how it started.
371
:We just kept on tinkering and like,
okay, let's just see what this is.
372
:This is fun.
373
:And, and uh, yeah.
374
:That's kind of how it, uh, started.
375
:Evan Troxel: So Ben, can you show
everybody what this actually looks like?
376
:I think we've, we've talked about
it, we've alluded to it, but I
377
:think now would make a lot of sense
to just show how it's working.
378
:Um, and then we can get into
kind of how you got to this
379
:point.
380
:Benjamin Guler: Sure.
381
:Sounds great.
382
:So, um, I have a SketchUp model
I like the nav a lot in SketchUp.
383
:So, uh, it's a button on the ribbon
here or on the tool, uh, panel.
384
:And so as soon as we click that,
uh, UI opens and then, uh, we
385
:could see our, our model in here.
386
:Uh, change the resolution.
387
:And these are the presets that
you were talking about earlier.
388
:Uh, Evan.
389
:So we have a few different presets here.
390
:So if I click this one, you know,
it, um, it starts off right away.
391
:One thing that we've learned with
our Helix product is, um, and
392
:that's our kind of interoperability
from Sketch Up to Revit
393
:so it brings in, uh, sketch geometry
into Native bim, was just a challenge
394
:to get people as few clicks as
possible to get like a success.
395
:Just like, okay, get me, like, I wanna
click one button and I get something.
396
:It's not the right thing,
but it's something.
397
:And so we've learned that and
that's how kind we added this,
398
:uh, explore mode where, uh, we've
learned from that application where.
399
:Even in this one as well, we've kind
of seen how people would like write
400
:different prompts in the beginning.
401
:Like they just wouldn't
know what to write.
402
:Like I just, I don't know.
403
:I'm lost for words.
404
:So, you know, the, the rendition
doesn't look great if you
405
:don't put anything in in there.
406
:You have to kind of
define something in there.
407
:Uh, we try to help that a little bit
and it sometimes, you know, some, you
408
:could get some, some decent results
now without any prompt, but it's, it
409
:really does help guide the rendering
as soon as you add some prompts.
410
:So this page is kind of like that, where
it's like, okay, this is that single
411
:one button click where you could just,
uh, so I'll just try a few of these.
412
:I'll just click them.
413
:I'll just go for it.
414
:Evan Troxel: I.
415
:think it's really important to just
sit on what you just said for a moment.
416
:Uh, doing something that makes it as
easy as possible for somebody to see
417
:some results that matter to them.
418
:It's their model.
419
:Right?
420
:It's not like these presets are
some model that you're supplying.
421
:No, it's applying these presets to
whatever I give the Veras application to,
422
:to work with as an underlay basically.
423
:And it, it immediately gives me as
the user permission to play with this.
424
:And I think that is super important
from a development standpoint to
425
:kind of reiterate that message.
426
:It's like, what do you do when
you don't know what to do?
427
:Oh, there's these buttons right here.
428
:And that's a great place to start.
429
:And, and just for people who are
developing apps, I, I, I see this
430
:come up over and over and over again.
431
:Like, what would it look
like if it was easy?
432
:Because we've all been
through on this call, right?
433
:What does the
434
:vray interface look
435
:like?
436
:It's
437
:like, are you serious?
438
:It's like flying a jet, right?
439
:It's, it's, it's got the, the dialogue
boxes and the settings and the, the
440
:sliders and the words I've never
seen before as a first time user.
441
:And it can't, we, we know what it
takes to be a, an expert V-Ray user
442
:with the materials and the lighting
and all the settings, and then there's
443
:something like this, which is, this
is a completely different paradigm
444
:Randall Stevens: Yeah,
445
:Evan Troxel: you're making
it as easy as possible to
446
:get started with
447
:that.
448
:Randall Stevens: we talk about
449
:that as time to value, Right.
450
:What's your time to value for
451
:that customer so they get their
452
:kind of taste of success
as quickly as possible.
453
:Uh, just a quick backstory.
454
:I used to, like in the early, early days,
early two thousands, I was teaching at the
455
:university and I used to teach 3D studio.
456
:And it was like, I don't know if it was
me or the students, but it seemed like
457
:every year that I taught it, it got hard.
458
:It took longer and longer to
get them to the point where they
459
:could actually just do anything.
460
:And then SketchUp came around
and I'm like, man, the time
461
:to value is just like nothing.
462
:They can start,
463
:you know, in, in 10 minutes,
464
:start seeing some success.
465
:So I agree, and, and I think you
know, what you're doing here,
466
:Ben, is, is, is a key to success.
467
:Show some instant value and then.
468
:They'll give you more time, right.
469
:Evan Troxel: these are just amazing.
470
:Like, let's just, they're magic.
471
:These are just magic.
472
:Like I, you're smiling, I'm, I know
like you feel this feeling all the
473
:time, but, but it's literally magic when
people see these for the first time,
474
:no matter what you feel about AI and
the training and who's getting paid and
475
:who, like that, that's, we've, we've
476
:talked about those things on this
477
:podcast, right?
478
:The
479
:governance, the ethics, uh, there's
so many things around this, and
480
:this is, this is seriously magical.
481
:And I just wanted to also point that
out, that these images that you're,
482
:that, that your tool is presenting
us with immediately give us that
483
:emotional connection potential.
484
:To, to respond in real time, and I think
that is an extremely valuable tool to have
485
:as a designer.
486
:Benjamin Guler: Totally agreed.
487
:And it is, it is very magical.
488
:Like it never ceases to amaze
me like, oh, that looks cool.
489
:The other one also looks cool.
490
:So that's kind of part of it,
uh, part of the process of,
491
:of, uh, developing the tools.
492
:So like fun and so, uh, uh, you know.
493
:There's so much fulfillment to
just kind of like, play with it.
494
:And so like we just
keep on building on it.
495
:Um, one thing that you said earlier
too that I wanna also kind of come
496
:back just slightly to is, uh, as you
know with the presets, once you kind
497
:of have those presets on here, you
could go back to any one of these kind
498
:of renditions and you could see kind
of all the settings that were used.
499
:So if you
500
:change your, your image here, it updates
the prompt that was used for that.
501
:And then you can kind of see,
okay, this is how that was written.
502
:Uh, and like I think us as humans
is, we're pretty good at like reverse
503
:engineering, uh, or not just reverse
engineer, but if learning by mimicry.
504
:So like if you see like, okay, it
looks like those ideas are combat
505
:separated and those phrases are built
that way for each comma, you kind
506
:of start to read that without even
needing a, you know, a tutorial.
507
:Like, oh, okay.
508
:That's how that that prompt was.
509
:'cause you could write anything,
you might write a narrative
510
:and, and con a conversation.
511
:Like, but it's not, you could see
the examples, it doesn't do that.
512
:So you could, we're pretty intuitive
creatures where you could like, okay,
513
:I could see how it's being written.
514
:So I think that was kind of part of that.
515
:I think you're also talking about
Randall water, like we want to get
516
:to that aha moment where it's like.
517
:The first click and then it's not
the right image yet, but you got
518
:something with your data, like
it's your project and it looks
519
:interesting.
520
:Okay, now let's make it look like
what you want it to look like.
521
:And you've seen an example of, you know,
of what that input, what it produces.
522
:So if you wanted to change this,
you know, like let's say I don't
523
:want a timber building, I want a
monolithic concrete building, right?
524
:Then I'll render a few of those.
525
:Then I, 'cause I know that's my
project, I'll just change the parts.
526
:Like if you have something you we're
good at, like picking up certain parts
527
:that are incorrect or what you want.
528
:And so you just change the part
that you want to, what you think
529
:it should be for your context.
530
:And then, yeah, that, so that was
also part of that, uh, part of that
531
:kind of thinking how we, we built like
those two kind of menus where it's
532
:just like a separate menu altogether.
533
:Randall Stevens: yeah, I think,
534
:Benjamin Guler: you go.
535
:We have it.
536
:Model concrete,
537
:Randall Stevens: I think people will
give you infinite amount of time if
538
:they got that first hit of value.
539
:Because then they will they
will stay in here forever,
540
:maybe longer than they should.
541
:Right.
542
:Um,
543
:Evan Troxel: I was gonna
544
:say, I was gonna say dopamine, uh,
uh, you said hit of value, but hit
545
:of dopamine is what I was thinking.
546
:It's just as, as somebody who is
literally addicted to creating images
547
:of architecture.
548
:Right.
549
:Uh, this is, this is feeding that, that
addiction in a, in a very interesting way.
550
:Benjamin Guler: right.
551
:So I'll, I'll just, uh, let
me reframe this a little bit.
552
:Just gonna move it ever so slightly this
553
:Randall Stevens: very cool.
554
:Benjamin Guler: you go.
555
:Yeah.
556
:I'm, I'm giggling out here
even just by, by this project.
557
:Like I, I, I'm lucky the concrete look.
558
:Let's get a few more of 'em.
559
:Evan Troxel: So, yeah, this is,
this is what it's like being on
560
:a Zoom call with you, Ben, right?
561
:Like we're, we're, we're
supposed to be talking
562
:about this, but you're
doing that on the side.
563
:You're, you're not distracted by
564
:Benjamin Guler: a little bit.
565
:Evan Troxel: You, you're
not distracted by email.
566
:You're, you're
567
:actually doing
568
:rendering.
569
:Benjamin Guler: Yeah.
570
:Yeah.
571
:Randall Stevens: So
572
:what, uh, Ben, can you, uh.
573
:Can, like how many images are
people creating when they're like
574
:working on a project like this?
575
:Do you have any stats on like they
create 10 variations or a thousand
576
:variations, or what does that look like?
577
:Benjamin Guler: Yeah.
578
:So, uh, we do have optional
analytics, uh, that, that we
579
:do collect, that kind of stuff.
580
:Uh, we don't collect the images
or we don't train on the images.
581
:That's a lot.
582
:Those questions come up a lot.
583
:Sorry, I'm gonna get to the answer.
584
:Uh, but in the same vein, like these are
just things in my memory that come up.
585
:Um, but
586
:like what we've observed is like,
people like to stay within like one
587
:shot and just explore with that,
like a hundred images or 200 images.
588
:Uh, it was more, more images kind
of in the very beginning because the
589
:quality wasn't that great and every
like 20th one was a really good one.
590
:So then you're like just going there.
591
:'cause like I want that good one.
592
:But now almost every rendition
is, is pretty decent.
593
:So that number kind of came down a bit.
594
:Um.
595
:But, uh, yeah, like we have a few
different, like we have our forums and
596
:we see some people how their process is.
597
:Some people render like the scene
without any objects 'cause they want
598
:like a baseline and then they wanna
build on that, okay, I just want
599
:my ceiling and like, no furniture
for an interior scene, let's say.
600
:And then you build on that your furniture,
you, you build other the pieces and then
601
:you have control of all the layers if
you wanted to, uh, to kind of just keep
602
:different parts and different pieces.
603
:And that's actually we, what we
already offer already inside the
604
:application, but it's kind of limited
right now, which we're expanding to.
605
:But yeah, to answer the, the original
question, it's, it's, uh, quite a
606
:few different images and sometimes
changing on and off, uh, different
607
:kind of aspects of the, of the, of the
image and using the seed, like which
608
:the seed is, uh, uh, lets you kind of
keep the same, uh, if you were to, it's
609
:prescriptive, uh, it's deterministic.
610
:So if you were to run into the same
scene again and you turn the seed on,
611
:then it will produce the same results.
612
:Uh.
613
:Uh, so then if you make minor
changes, let's say you remove a door,
614
:everything else will stay the same,
but you'll have that rendition of
615
:the version with that door removed.
616
:So if I wanted to do, for this one,
for example, uh, and I hide, I don't
617
:know, part of this, uh, you could, you
could see how, uh, that will change.
618
:Let's see.
619
:I want to kind of hide a
significant part of the building.
620
:Let's see if this could work.
621
:Okay, that's probably good enough.
622
:So I'll, I'll, I'll leave the same, uh,
um, seat here and then I'll, I'll, I'll
623
:render it one more time without, uh, okay.
624
:So I'll use this one actually.
625
:Okay.
626
:There you go.
627
:So, I mean, it's gonna take
a second to render, but yeah.
628
:So the, the original question, like,
I think people like explore and try
629
:different, uh, um, kind of renditions to
get kind of that design and then they kind
630
:of finesse, uh, in like, let's say you
like most of the image, then you render
631
:more different parts of that, that image.
632
:So.
633
:Yeah,
634
:Evan Troxel: So when it came to you
designing this tool, this application,
635
:uh, as, and it, it, it looks the
same no matter what tool you're
636
:using as kind of the host, right?
637
:It's like you see the same
presets on the, on the side.
638
:You see the same row of
imagery across the bottom.
639
:Maybe take us through the layout
of this and, and why you decided to
640
:do it the way that you did as, as
641
:you developed the app.
642
:Benjamin Guler: sure.
643
:So a bit of a background.
644
:My, my background is
also from architecture.
645
:I went to school for that and
um, I actually schedule was the
646
:first application I learned.
647
:Uh, then I learned Rhino and
then, uh, when I got hired to
648
:work in the firm, I learned Revit.
649
:So, uh, that's kinda was my journey.
650
:Uh, but throughout that, even in school,
like I was, uh, always, uh, excited
651
:about renditions and like I always
got a better CPU to be able to render.
652
:Uh, you know, I.
653
:High resolutions just for presentations.
654
:So that was always a, a thing
that I was really drawn to.
655
:Uh, and so as a, in my, uh, career, uh,
when I was kind of more in that architect
656
:role, I would, uh, you know, produce
a lot of visualizations and do that.
657
:So I've used tools like Lightroom,
I've used Photoshop a lot, and all
658
:those elements kind of, I think
affected kind of the layout of this.
659
:So if you look at the bottom
RI room, that's totally,
660
:uh, affected by light room.
661
:Like light room,
662
:you can see it.
663
:Yeah.
664
:Evan Troxel: Yep.
665
:Benjamin Guler: So, uh,
that, that's how that works.
666
:Uh, the Photoshop side is kind of
something that we're actually bringing
667
:in, but we have kind of, part of it
is we're about to release this week
668
:is just the layer system where you
want to build your image and you kind
669
:of like, you know, this part of the
image and not this part of the image.
670
:So, for example, we
could do that even now.
671
:This is a, uh, let's say if we added, uh,
let's say, I'm just gonna make this part
672
:something ridiculous, like some kind of
maybe red material for the sake of, it
673
:might just call it red or something red.
674
:Okay.
675
:And you'll see that, um, you know,
you could, you layer your composition
676
:when you get to that design.
677
:So those kind of elements and those
tools that I've used in the past, uh,
678
:and other people in our, in our, in our
team used in the past kind of start to
679
:find their, their way into, into how the
application, the interface is, is built.
680
:Um, so yeah, so if I go over it a little
bit, we have these three tabs at the top.
681
:The first one's kind of like that
onboard, like almost, uh, beginner,
682
:like you're, you're learning it.
683
:But we didn't want to just keep it for
the, for the beginner because like I
684
:go back to it, like when I wanna try
something very, like a quick start.
685
:So we didn't wanna make it just, you
know, wanted to have more use out of it.
686
:So it's very simple.
687
:You're not inundated with any, you
know, any dials or any, any sliders.
688
:Then compose the ideas that, okay, you
are taking kind of ownership of this,
689
:this, this design and you know what you
want, you know, the materials you want
690
:so you can start to explore a bit more.
691
:Um.
692
:Uh, more restricted, you kind of with
certain materiality and then refine
693
:is, okay, I'm set with this view.
694
:I like most of it, but I
wanna start to change it.
695
:So this is where you can't
change the resolution anymore.
696
:You're actually, this is like your
Photoshop mode where you're getting
697
:in there and you're kind of making
slide changes in here and everything
698
:that we're adding to this kind of tab.
699
:And there's a lot of things that
are, is coming, is kind of geared
700
:towards that, where it's helping
with, with getting that design, uh,
701
:much closer to what your vision is.
702
:So, and then at the bottom
703
:Evan Troxel: the
704
:Benjamin Guler: have,
705
:yeah,
706
:Evan Troxel: oh, just just before you
go on here, I think one of the things
707
:that, that really stands out to me is
that this tool is based on workflows.
708
:Of an architect.
709
:Right?
710
:And, and one of the things that I think
we've all struggled with in the past with
711
:Renderers is it produces one image or, or
an animation at a time, and then it's kind
712
:of left up to you and your folder layout,
713
:folder structure on your
714
:drive
715
:to kind of flip, flip between images.
716
:And that's where Lightroom or Photoshop
kind of changed the game, right?
717
:Because they're really workflow based
tools and, and rendering is a workflow,
718
:so it gives you the tools you need
when you're in that mode of working.
719
:I think that makes a lot of sense to
kind of think about the end user as
720
:a developer and what they're doing
in this process and what tools they
721
:need at their fingertips right then.
722
:And, and that you're, you're pulling that
off here because when I'm ideating, I
723
:want to look at all the
724
:snapshots and I want to
725
:flip back and forth and see what I like
about this one, what I don't like about
726
:this one, because that's gonna help me
craft the next prompt for the next one.
727
:Potentially or refine an area.
728
:And all of those have to do with
my workflow, uh, because that's
729
:the mode I'm in when I'm doing
730
:this kind of thing.
731
:Benjamin Guler: exactly.
732
:That's you could, you
said it better than me,
733
:so, yeah,
734
:Evan Troxel: This episode is made
possible with support from Chaos-Enscape.
735
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to set good intentions and
736
:resolutions for the months ahead.
737
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738
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739
:the click of a button, here's some good
news: you won't need any resolutions.
740
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741
:Chaos Enscape is the industry leading
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742
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743
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744
:Starting today, you can get a 20% discount
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745
:Just head to Chaos-Enscape.com
and use code RES24 at checkout.
746
:That's Chaos-Enscape.com using
code RES24 at checkout to
747
:supercharge your design workflow.
748
:Thanks to Chaos Enscape so much
for their support of this episode.
749
:And now let's get back
to the conversation.
750
:Benjamin Guler: yeah.
751
:You start like lower, like big, broad, uh.
752
:A big, large gamut.
753
:It's like, I don't know,
754
:like, I wanna try 10 things and, uh, and
then, okay, I like one of those 10 things.
755
:Okay, now let's try, you know,
10 variation variations of that.
756
:Okay, I like this variation.
757
:Let's make this the real thing.
758
:So that's kind of the
Exactly, that's the process.
759
:Evan Troxel: It's just like architecture.
760
:You start way back and then you zoom
in, and then you zoom out, and then
761
:you zoom in and then at some point you
decide, okay, this is the direction
762
:and we're gonna zoom in more and more
and refine and refine and refine.
763
:And it makes a lot of sense for the
actual user who's using this application,
764
:I think, because it, it feels pretty
765
:natural then at that point.
766
:Benjamin Guler: It's also
like diffusion the noises.
767
:And the noises.
768
:Evan Troxel: Hmm.
769
:Benjamin Guler: I had to do that.
770
:Add that in there.
771
:It gets clear, the image gets
clear and clear and clear, uh,
772
:to, to what it needs to be.
773
:So, yeah.
774
:Mm-hmm.
775
:Randall Stevens: So the, been the, uh,
this ability to mask and layer and build
776
:that up, uh, it sounds like that's close.
777
:Uh, was that, uh, driven
by a user request?
778
:Uh, how, how did that feature,
how did y'all decide that that
779
:should be what, what you do next?
780
:Benjamin Guler: Yeah, there's quite a
few different examples of how, uh, even
781
:personal examples, like I would take from
five images and I would go and Photoshop
782
:and, and you know, get elements from
each one that's coming, essentially.
783
:So you just don't have to leave
the application to get that.
784
:Let's say you have five or these
three images and you like part of
785
:one, but not part of the other one.
786
:I want to just blend the two and I
want to keep the parts that I like.
787
:And then in Photoshop, you know,
it's kind of super powerful.
788
:You can do anything you want, but
in Photoshop you have to know like,
789
:okay, where you add little mask,
the, you know, the feather of the
790
:mask and where, where it is in the,
in the channels, the alpha channel.
791
:So you have to do all that, and you have
to kind of know how those things are.
792
:And our interface's
just, you know, simple.
793
:It's like, okay, you know what you want?
794
:You want to combine these two
images, there's just two buttons
795
:and you don't have to learn that.
796
:Um, so we've seen that actually
with a lot of our end users,
797
:users already doing that.
798
:Like they're, they're taking their
images and they're, they're going to,
799
:to Photoshop it and doing that, so.
800
:Okay.
801
:It makes sense.
802
:Okay.
803
:It seems like this is something that, that
you're doing, let's just add it in there.
804
:Uh, so, and also personal,
personal experience too.
805
:Like, I, I think I've done that, uh,
quite a few times and I think there's
806
:a third one, but I'm, I'm forgetting
there's a third example on that.
807
:Randall Stevens: Are are, are you
able, uh, and I'm not as familiar with
808
:this, with this tech bin, but are you
able to separate material choices from
809
:lighting and say, I want that material,
but it needs to now be consistent?
810
:'cause that, you know, Photoshop,
that was always the challenge was,
811
:you know, you could end up with mixed
lighting and, you know, yeah, you could
812
:collage stuff together, but, um, are
you able to control those separately
813
:and then use those as separate
passes or separate inputs, I guess.
814
:Benjamin Guler: Yes, we could, we
could do that in the live version
815
:that we have right now, we don't have
that, but, uh, not so much on the
816
:lighting side, but the material side.
817
:Uh, definitely on the material side,
the different maps and channels that
818
:you could have for all the different
materials that are present in the
819
:scene, that's, uh, something that,
uh, is actually, uh, very, uh, man, we
820
:could manipulate that a lot actually.
821
:And that's very powerful.
822
:Randall Stevens: Yeah, I was just
noticing even as you flip through
823
:those, the, you know, the lighting,
the where shadows were were different.
824
:So if, if all of a sudden in one part of
the image you said, I really like this, I.
825
:But maybe what you really like is
the material choices or the way that
826
:that was affected.
827
:Can you, can you end up re basically
re rendering, holding the material
828
:there and changing it over here with
consistent lighting and those things.
829
:It
830
:seemed like natural
831
:evolution of this would be that
832
:kind of granularity.
833
:I.
834
:Benjamin Guler: Yeah.
835
:So with, with the lighting, if
you wanted, like if it's uh, you
836
:know, overcast, that's kind of
nice 'cause then it just blends in.
837
:So if you're kind of have that
part of your prompt, then you don't
838
:have to worry so much about it.
839
:But if it's direct lighting, then
that's also something that, something
840
:that we've seen other users do
because of the, uh, the base.
841
:You have actually have the shadows
that had shadows and you know,
842
:you have to include in the prompt
what that means, what those,
843
:you know, what is that geometry?
844
:Is that the carpet changing its color or
is it actually a shadow of the carpet?
845
:So you kinda have to add them the prompt.
846
:That's what we've seen.
847
:And per that, you could then, you know.
848
:Allow the engine to, okay, understand
it's the same material, but you're
849
:kind of rendering the shadow.
850
:So then you can have consistent views.
851
:Let's say if you have like a sun
through a window, uh, coming through
852
:and you, you, you want it to render
just different materials, but you still
853
:want the same shadow in the same spot
that we, we've seen success in that.
854
:So
855
:Evan Troxel: One of the, one of the
benefits that you mentioned there
856
:is just not having to learn another
tool or know another tool to the
857
:level of expertise that you needed.
858
:Are there additional benefits to you
doing all of this in Veras, like giving
859
:those abilities to a user, like like
blending, like you mentioned, feathering
860
:and masking and all those things.
861
:Are those things being taken care of
then by Veras at a, at a, at a pretty
862
:nice level to So where I, I feel like I'm
gonna be pretty happy with the outcome
863
:without knowing the depths of Photoshop
to get those kinds of results if I
864
:had to do it manually.
865
:Benjamin Guler: yeah, I actually
changed, uh, the dev version here.
866
:Uh, but that's exactly what
we're working on, uh, this week.
867
:I think I could show you a GIF though.
868
:It's really cool.
869
:I wonder if we, we recorded that gif.
870
:Uh, let's see.
871
:But yes, yes.
872
:The answer is yes.
873
:Uh, I don't know if I
have a visual for it yet.
874
:Again, this will be probably released
by the time, uh, this, this airs.
875
:Uh, let's see.
876
:I think I have maybe this one.
877
:Okay.
878
:I'll show you this one.
879
:It's a bit, uh, early, so it's
a, you have to forgive it.
880
:cause I think it's really fun to,
to look at and it's really, uh,
881
:interesting how it, how it blends things.
882
:And that's exactly, uh, what you want.
883
:Let's say you want to, um, talking
about lighting, let's say you want it
884
:to just change the sky to something
that's very different the way you
885
:would want to blend that matters.
886
:Like, you really wanna,
887
:you don't wanna,
888
:Evan Troxel: the, the, building, right?
889
:It's not just the sky,
it's, it's the lighting,
890
:it's the shadows, it's everything.
891
:Benjamin Guler: Right.
892
:So here I will do something a little
bit scary, but I think it's gonna work.
893
:So this is gonna get reset
for a second here, but I will
894
:share my screen in a second.
895
:It's pretty neat.
896
:Okay.
897
:Here, sharing screen and
let's see here, our screen.
898
:Alright, cool.
899
:So I'm going to just render this
once and then I'll go to the,
900
:uh, the mask, uh, to, to show you
guys, uh, how, how that will work.
901
:Again, this is without the
layer system, uh, built in yet.
902
:So it's, it's all the backend is
already, it's just the UI is not ready.
903
:So it's, that's kind of
the, the cadence there.
904
:Uh, so let's see here.
905
:Uh, this will take a second here.
906
:Okay, so let's say that, uh,
okay, let's say I wanted to change
907
:the, uh, the sky, let's say.
908
:So if we added this and we just say.
909
:I'll kind of eat into it, and
you could actually kind of draw
910
:here if you drag and click.
911
:So I'll just leave it there.
912
:And that's a pretty, you
know, funky mask there.
913
:Let's just say, uh, night sky.
914
:All right, let's see what we get here.
915
:And I'll render that.
916
:And right now I didn't enable that, that
mask to be kind of feathered properly.
917
:So you'll see, you'll see what
I mean, uh, when it, when it
918
:renders, uh, what the issue is.
919
:But we have this kind of currently
in the, okay, there it is.
920
:So pretty, pretty rough, uh, there.
921
:But we have this, uh, kind of
feather where we could start
922
:to kind of feather that in.
923
:You can see here, like I
could go all the way to
924
:a hundred, but again, it's, it's early on.
925
:So this is getting there.
926
:But you can see here like
how, how you want it to.
927
:Just further that ever so slightly
that it looks like part of, so if I
928
:go back and forth, it looks a bit more
929
:correct.
930
:Randall Stevens: Makes
931
:sense.
932
:Benjamin Guler: yeah.
933
:We could go here and actually
keep a constant thing.
934
:Let's see here.
935
:So if I do this, say just red
or red, seems to give some
936
:interesting results sometimes.
937
:Like red architecture.
938
:Yeah, it's pretty decent.
939
:Right now we're like around 15 seconds
per render and at 10 24 by 10 24.
940
:And we're looking at, um,
getting that even, even faster.
941
:A lot faster.
942
:It looks like I didn't do it, but
um, so if I look at this one, uh,
943
:actually, let me go back to this one.
944
:Yeah.
945
:So if I want to have a hard edge and
then if I go all the way down, you
946
:could see that that's kind of exactly
what that selection was versus kind
947
:of blend, blending it a little bit.
948
:Cool.
949
:Yeah, that's a lot of fun.
950
:Having fun all the time, like
playing with it, trying different.
951
:Uh, prompts and, and, and,
uh, uh, exploring different
952
:projects, interiors, exteriors.
953
:Evan Troxel: I've seen
some incredible interior.
954
:Renderings.
955
:Uh, I think you just posted on LinkedIn,
you reposted somebody's post a day or
956
:two ago where they had never used a tool
like this and they were just playing
957
:around with, in some interiors of, I
958
:think it was like a living room.
959
:And it was like, and they, they were
just completely blown away by what they
960
:were able to co-produce with a tool like
this in such a short amount of time.
961
:And I think that's what's so exciting
about this for people who try it out,
962
:who are willing to put in a little
bit, I mean, it's literally like the
963
:least amount of effort you could do
964
:to get renderings right?
965
:and
966
:and decent really,
really decent renderings.
967
:And, And, then therefore a direction,
uh, you know, a pot, a potential
968
:emotional response, which then says,
yes, that's the right direction.
969
:Let's go that direction.
970
:It's pretty
971
:incredible.
972
:Benjamin Guler: Yeah, so I'm playing
just with this kind of cabin interior
973
:here, uh, chair, you know, wood
ceiling, but I'm using a prompt
974
:that's probably not the right one.
975
:So let's say we started to change
it to something that's more.
976
:Also, we have this, um, I'll
change the prompt soon, but we
977
:have this kind of slider here.
978
:So if you really want it to stay closer
to the geometry that you have in your, uh,
979
:model, you have this geometry of a ride.
980
:If you go all the way out, it
will really start to, you know,
981
:introduce other elements and go
a little bit more exploratory.
982
:Uh, and then we also have the material
override, which tries to keep, you
983
:know, the, when it sketch up here tries
to keep those sketch up materials.
984
:Um, but yeah, let's, let's say if we,
the issue with the, with the material
985
:override is just, it doesn't, um, I.
986
:The ketchup materials are not that great.
987
:So the more it blends with that, the,
you know, but we're working on that,
988
:the, the less interesting it looks.
989
:Um, but yeah, let's say if I made this
one, uh, let's say, uh, wood walls,
990
:wood walls, uh, wood ceiling, and then
we'll leave everything else to save.
991
:Um, but yeah, I think, I think
that's one, one thing that we've
992
:seen a lot too with frontiers.
993
:'cause interiors are usually hard,
especially in traditional rendering
994
:because you have global illumination
that affects so many different services
995
:and the way blends, like, were really
good to pick up those inaccuracies.
996
:Uh, whereas exteriors is a lot of times
easier because it's like, you know, it's
997
:strong lit, you know, or, or hard lighting
from sun, or even if it's soft lighting,
998
:like just the way you, you know, in
traditional rendering, it's a bit easier
999
:to get to, to, to a good result there.
:
00:42:11,134 --> 00:42:15,274
Whereas interiors have all these, you
know, subtle reflections and so many
:
00:42:15,274 --> 00:42:17,404
different, uh, um, material interactions.
:
00:42:17,704 --> 00:42:22,744
That start to, uh, you know, in
traditional method is, is, is challenging.
:
00:42:22,774 --> 00:42:25,925
You have to be really good at
and, and learn that process and,
:
00:42:25,954 --> 00:42:29,164
and, and craft that art, uh, to be
produce, produce decent results.
:
00:42:29,782 --> 00:42:32,992
Evan Troxel: What's the most kind of
valuable feedback if you had to, you
:
00:42:32,992 --> 00:42:37,282
know, pick one or a top three of from
users as you've gone through this process?
:
00:42:37,282 --> 00:42:39,922
Because it sounds like, I mean,
this, this tool has just been
:
00:42:39,922 --> 00:42:40,792
out for a little more than a
:
00:42:40,792 --> 00:42:45,082
year at this point in being
used by people, and obviously
:
00:42:45,087 --> 00:42:47,182
you're developing very quickly.
:
00:42:47,182 --> 00:42:51,922
It seems like I, I'm seeing you,
you're available on a new platform.
:
00:42:52,102 --> 00:42:56,812
You've got selective replacements, you've
got, you know, this new layering system.
:
00:42:56,812 --> 00:43:00,832
You've got all of this stuff that
the geometry, you know, adhering
:
00:43:00,837 --> 00:43:02,242
to the geometry versus not.
:
00:43:02,247 --> 00:43:05,422
These are all things that have kind
of shown up over the last year.
:
00:43:06,142 --> 00:43:08,542
What was a really valuable
piece of feedback that you got?
:
00:43:09,012 --> 00:43:12,792
Along that path that that really
kind of maybe even changed how
:
00:43:12,792 --> 00:43:15,462
you thought about the direction
that the development was gonna go.
:
00:43:15,824 --> 00:43:17,474
Benjamin Guler: I had like an
answer for the first part, and
:
00:43:17,474 --> 00:43:18,464
I'm not sure if I have a sentence.
:
00:43:18,614 --> 00:43:19,904
Let me, let me come up
with the second answer.
:
00:43:19,904 --> 00:43:23,774
But for the first one, I think the biggest
valuable feedback which we're working on,
:
00:43:24,134 --> 00:43:29,234
uh, even with our layer system is just,
uh, having control over the materials.
:
00:43:29,264 --> 00:43:32,264
Like having more control with
the materials and, and let's say
:
00:43:32,264 --> 00:43:35,084
if I want that to be wood, what
color would, should that be?
:
00:43:35,624 --> 00:43:40,094
Uh, specifically, so kind of getting
a bit more another level of finesse,
:
00:43:40,124 --> 00:43:44,204
like, I want this product specifically,
and so it comes in these three colors.
:
00:43:44,324 --> 00:43:46,634
Now there could be slight
variations because of lighting.
:
00:43:46,694 --> 00:43:50,774
We will always kinda change the diffuse
color of that, but that's something that's
:
00:43:50,834 --> 00:43:54,824
very evident that we, we see a lot of
times like, can we keep that material?
:
00:43:55,159 --> 00:43:56,959
Uh, um, you know, more finesse.
:
00:43:56,959 --> 00:44:01,399
And then I guess, uh, uh, another
comment on that one is, uh, being able
:
00:44:01,399 --> 00:44:05,569
to reproduce the same image more than
once, which is kind of making it be
:
00:44:05,569 --> 00:44:07,429
used more as a traditional render.
:
00:44:07,609 --> 00:44:11,869
So if I wanted to change the angle ever so
slightly, can I produce almost identical?
:
00:44:11,869 --> 00:44:14,869
And that's also something that we're,
we're working on to get, get that better.
:
00:44:15,289 --> 00:44:17,179
Um, something that
changed the development.
:
00:44:17,989 --> 00:44:19,579
Uh, I'm trying to think.
:
00:44:20,869 --> 00:44:24,979
I think, I dunno if I have a specific
one, but a lot of them along the way have
:
00:44:25,099 --> 00:44:26,479
altered the development of the process.
:
00:44:26,479 --> 00:44:27,859
Like from feedback that we've seen.
:
00:44:28,189 --> 00:44:30,469
Uh, we watch, you know,
social media a lot.
:
00:44:30,474 --> 00:44:32,534
We see people that are posting
on LinkedIn and, and, and,
:
00:44:32,534 --> 00:44:34,009
and Instagram and our forums.
:
00:44:34,009 --> 00:44:37,369
And so, uh, like we didn't think, I
think one time, like we didn't have
:
00:44:37,369 --> 00:44:40,819
like, portrait to be able to render
like decent portrait aspect ratios.
:
00:44:41,089 --> 00:44:42,139
So that was something, okay, yeah.
:
00:44:42,144 --> 00:44:43,459
That's something easy we could do.
:
00:44:43,459 --> 00:44:45,709
And um, so we added that.
:
00:44:46,009 --> 00:44:49,159
Uh, but yeah, that's, I think a lot
of smaller thing, you know, kind of
:
00:44:49,159 --> 00:44:51,259
decisions that were made that were, uh.
:
00:44:51,949 --> 00:44:54,694
That started to craft the application
more and more towards, you know,
:
00:44:54,834 --> 00:44:56,254
how, how people are using it.
:
00:44:58,054 --> 00:45:00,814
Evan Troxel: Can you talk about kind
of the, because this, this operates
:
00:45:00,814 --> 00:45:02,374
very differently than a traditional
:
00:45:02,374 --> 00:45:03,844
CPU or GPU based
:
00:45:03,844 --> 00:45:04,414
renderer where it's
:
00:45:04,414 --> 00:45:06,964
happening locally on the
hardware that I have, right.
:
00:45:06,964 --> 00:45:11,314
Versus this, where it's sending a
prompt out, there's an exchange of
:
00:45:11,554 --> 00:45:16,054
information happening, um, with the,
the model that you're using and the
:
00:45:16,054 --> 00:45:17,854
base image that I'm sending to it.
:
00:45:19,114 --> 00:45:23,344
Talk about like what that, what that's
been like for you because the, this
:
00:45:23,344 --> 00:45:27,004
is very different than the traditional
sense of like, what I need on my end
:
00:45:27,004 --> 00:45:31,084
to do a rendering versus a, a tool
like this and, and how you guys have
:
00:45:31,114 --> 00:45:35,614
kind of navigated that because this
is, this is a new paradigm when it
:
00:45:35,614 --> 00:45:38,284
comes to delivering images based on
:
00:45:38,404 --> 00:45:39,034
my model.
:
00:45:40,364 --> 00:45:40,744
Benjamin Guler: for sure.
:
00:45:40,774 --> 00:45:41,064
Yeah.
:
00:45:41,244 --> 00:45:41,464
So.
:
00:45:42,529 --> 00:45:45,619
The way it's set up is it's
cloud-based, the processing.
:
00:45:45,679 --> 00:45:49,009
So, you know, your model
stays on your machine.
:
00:45:49,009 --> 00:45:53,299
It doesn't use your CPU or GPU,
uh, on your local machine, but
:
00:45:53,299 --> 00:45:54,559
it gets in up to the cloud.
:
00:45:54,619 --> 00:45:57,259
We render it in our GPU
instances, and then we send it
:
00:45:57,259 --> 00:45:58,879
back to your, uh, local machine.
:
00:45:59,539 --> 00:46:02,359
Uh, so that's kind of the,
the main setup for this.
:
00:46:02,569 --> 00:46:05,449
Now we do have, uh, enterprise
clients that want to use this for
:
00:46:05,449 --> 00:46:08,419
more sensitive projects, and they
just don't want to have a connection
:
00:46:08,424 --> 00:46:09,439
to the internet while using it.
:
00:46:09,559 --> 00:46:12,229
And so we are working on
a, a local deployment.
:
00:46:12,229 --> 00:46:15,619
So then if, you know, if you have server
racks and you're your, uh, a company that
:
00:46:15,624 --> 00:46:20,389
has a few different, uh, GPUs that could
power it, then uh, that's also something
:
00:46:20,389 --> 00:46:22,759
that we've, we're working with a few
different, actually, companies that,
:
00:46:22,879 --> 00:46:24,709
uh, wanna have that local deployment.
:
00:46:25,129 --> 00:46:29,419
So what's nice about that is that,
you know, those companies that kind of
:
00:46:29,424 --> 00:46:34,339
need that sensitivity to, to explore
is behind their kind of, you know, um,
:
00:46:34,609 --> 00:46:37,099
intranet or their, their, uh, uh, system.
:
00:46:37,489 --> 00:46:41,149
And so that their networking doesn't
kind of, you know, leave that, um.
:
00:46:41,809 --> 00:46:45,859
So, yeah, that's how it's con And even
with that setup though, it's still not
:
00:46:45,859 --> 00:46:48,499
on your client, it's on a local server.
:
00:46:48,499 --> 00:46:52,009
So you have like a local server
system that, you know, load balances
:
00:46:52,009 --> 00:46:54,439
your requests and then sends back,
you know, whoever's using it.
:
00:46:54,529 --> 00:46:58,909
Um, 'cause it's really nice to not have
to have that, um, that on-prem setup.
:
00:46:59,149 --> 00:46:59,389
Right.
:
00:46:59,394 --> 00:47:00,259
On the client side.
:
00:47:00,499 --> 00:47:04,759
'cause then it's, it's like 30
gigabytes of just data just to, for,
:
00:47:04,759 --> 00:47:08,179
for one installation for example,
where you have that, uh, if you have
:
00:47:08,179 --> 00:47:10,939
it on, on your GP since then it's,
you know, it's more manageable.
:
00:47:10,939 --> 00:47:13,669
And then you have, you know, your
lighter clients be able to, you could
:
00:47:13,669 --> 00:47:16,789
even use, you know, um, a very thin
client to, to just do anything because
:
00:47:16,789 --> 00:47:19,699
it's just, you receive the images
and you interact with it that way.
:
00:47:20,499 --> 00:47:23,164
Evan Troxel: I I, I don't know if you
guys have done any kind of calcs based
:
00:47:23,194 --> 00:47:27,184
on that, but it seems to me like that
even is a, a, a valuable selling point
:
00:47:27,184 --> 00:47:29,944
to a firm who you, everybody's got a
:
00:47:29,944 --> 00:47:31,354
balance hardware spend,
:
00:47:31,624 --> 00:47:31,894
you know,
:
00:47:31,899 --> 00:47:34,504
capital expenses versus
this kind of thing.
:
00:47:34,504 --> 00:47:38,284
And to give people, um, the
ability to have, like you said,
:
00:47:38,284 --> 00:47:39,754
a really thin client, like to,
:
00:47:39,759 --> 00:47:41,674
you could have an iPad potentially, right?
:
00:47:41,674 --> 00:47:42,214
That, That,
:
00:47:42,214 --> 00:47:45,424
you are, you you're, you're
running sketch up on your iPad.
:
00:47:45,424 --> 00:47:48,304
You pull up a view and you say,
send this to, to Veras, and you get
:
00:47:48,304 --> 00:47:53,254
something back and, and you're not
spending $5,000 on the highest end.
:
00:47:53,854 --> 00:47:59,074
Laptop with GPU, you know, with an RTX
card, you, you've got an iPad, right?
:
00:47:59,104 --> 00:48:03,784
And, and you could effectively,
you know, in front of a client be
:
00:48:03,784 --> 00:48:07,954
coming up with this kind of prompt
based imagery, getting real time
:
00:48:07,954 --> 00:48:09,874
feedback from anywhere in the world.
:
00:48:10,264 --> 00:48:14,614
I mean, that's, that's gotta be a, an
interesting, that's gotta pique a leader's
:
00:48:14,619 --> 00:48:18,334
interest when it comes to like what
they need to outfit their staff with.
:
00:48:19,549 --> 00:48:19,849
Benjamin Guler: right.
:
00:48:20,659 --> 00:48:22,039
Yeah, it's, it's really, it's really nice.
:
00:48:22,039 --> 00:48:24,679
I mean, if you do have the resources,
you could do it and you can know,
:
00:48:24,684 --> 00:48:27,769
invest in the hardware and the
commercial grade hardware that we,
:
00:48:27,949 --> 00:48:29,629
we use like is pretty expensive.
:
00:48:29,899 --> 00:48:31,999
So you have to be very,
uh, like committed to that.
:
00:48:32,089 --> 00:48:33,169
Okay, yes, we're doing this.
:
00:48:33,529 --> 00:48:36,319
We're gonna buy a few of these and
it's gonna stay in our temperature
:
00:48:36,319 --> 00:48:39,589
controlled server room and, you know,
uh, everyone's gonna connect to it.
:
00:48:39,859 --> 00:48:42,499
Uh, versus, yeah, like you said,
like, um, you know, if you use the
:
00:48:42,499 --> 00:48:45,349
cloud instances, then it's, you
know, it's, it's very convenient
:
00:48:45,649 --> 00:48:46,279
to not have to,
:
00:48:46,579 --> 00:48:47,179
and, uh,
:
00:48:47,539 --> 00:48:50,239
you know, have that kind of
hardware, uh, you know, locally.
:
00:48:50,784 --> 00:48:51,647
Randall Stevens: do you have any stories?
:
00:48:51,647 --> 00:48:55,667
Who's, you don't have to say who it was,
but who's created the, what's the number
:
00:48:55,667 --> 00:48:59,627
of images that you know, somebody has
generated a single person with this?
:
00:49:00,582 --> 00:49:01,377
Benjamin Guler: Uh, I don't know.
:
00:49:01,377 --> 00:49:02,742
So we do collect analytics, but it's,
:
00:49:03,402 --> 00:49:09,642
but it's an anonymous, so we don't know
who, which is obviously, uh, but again,
:
00:49:09,642 --> 00:49:11,172
I haven't monitored that recently.
:
00:49:11,172 --> 00:49:14,952
I'm sure maybe Bill or, or someone
else will know more, uh, Ben Brun.
:
00:49:15,492 --> 00:49:19,152
Uh, but yeah, I think
it's, I, I'd have to check.
:
00:49:19,272 --> 00:49:20,442
I think it's in the thousands.
:
00:49:20,802 --> 00:49:24,072
Yeah, I think, I think per month
we get, I'm trying to think.
:
00:49:24,072 --> 00:49:24,132
I.
:
00:49:25,092 --> 00:49:27,222
Like half a million, maybe
renders or something like that.
:
00:49:28,032 --> 00:49:28,482
It's pretty,
:
00:49:28,962 --> 00:49:29,592
it's pretty fun.
:
00:49:29,592 --> 00:49:29,862
Yeah.
:
00:49:30,372 --> 00:49:30,612
Yeah.
:
00:49:30,612 --> 00:49:34,332
So we also have our free trial too,
so people kind of explore that.
:
00:49:34,392 --> 00:49:35,802
Uh, so they play with that.
:
00:49:35,802 --> 00:49:39,552
So a lot of users, um, you know,
um, have fun with it that way.
:
00:49:40,111 --> 00:49:40,286
Yeah,
:
00:49:40,541 --> 00:49:43,386
Evan Troxel: is there anything behind
the scenes that you could maybe talk
:
00:49:43,386 --> 00:49:48,366
about here when it came to how you
thought through the process of, of this?
:
00:49:48,396 --> 00:49:50,466
You mentioned you might have
some mural boards or something.
:
00:49:50,466 --> 00:49:53,496
I'm just wondering if, if there's anything
back there that you could show that kind
:
00:49:53,496 --> 00:49:56,046
of talks about how you handle internal
:
00:49:56,051 --> 00:49:56,371
development.
:
00:49:58,341 --> 00:49:58,611
Benjamin Guler: yeah.
:
00:49:58,611 --> 00:50:00,051
I was thinking about the beer boards.
:
00:50:00,111 --> 00:50:05,571
Uh, I think more in the context maybe
of, of local deployment and that set up.
:
00:50:05,571 --> 00:50:08,841
So I don't know if that is, you know,
that that interesting right now.
:
00:50:08,841 --> 00:50:11,661
But essentially, like, I think I already
talked about it, like it's essentially
:
00:50:11,666 --> 00:50:13,221
you have the client and then you have the,
:
00:50:13,761 --> 00:50:16,221
the instances, um.
:
00:50:17,436 --> 00:50:17,796
Yeah.
:
00:50:18,126 --> 00:50:20,076
Dev process wise, we're,
we're a small team.
:
00:50:20,196 --> 00:50:24,546
We're uh, nine, uh, we kind of,
our, our dev team is kind of
:
00:50:24,546 --> 00:50:27,576
structured like a Scrum team, so
we do agile, um, we have sprints.
:
00:50:27,846 --> 00:50:33,126
Um, we, uh, have internal releases
more often than, than, 'cause you
:
00:50:33,131 --> 00:50:37,806
know, some of these initiatives are
a bit, uh, more, uh, uh, ambitious.
:
00:50:37,806 --> 00:50:42,096
So we don't have a, we haven't had a
release, uh, a major release, actually,
:
00:50:42,096 --> 00:50:44,916
no, we did, we had the vector one very
recently, so I shouldn't say that.
:
00:50:45,126 --> 00:50:47,256
We had, that was, that was, that
was, we didn't have one in January.
:
00:50:47,256 --> 00:50:47,616
I think.
:
00:50:47,706 --> 00:50:50,136
Uh, we always have patches, so we
always kinda released a smaller patches.
:
00:50:50,136 --> 00:50:52,176
I think last year we
had a lot of iterations.
:
00:50:52,176 --> 00:50:56,166
Like almost every month we had
like a, a, a really big release.
:
00:50:56,316 --> 00:50:59,466
Uh, right now, I think one thing
that we've worked on from the dev
:
00:50:59,466 --> 00:51:03,396
side, which is a challenge, is, uh,
uh, just like working with certain
:
00:51:03,396 --> 00:51:07,326
applications that, um, are a bit
harder, like harder APIs, uh, for
:
00:51:07,331 --> 00:51:08,946
example, Vectorworks as a c plus plus.
:
00:51:09,186 --> 00:51:10,566
So that's like something that like.
:
00:51:10,851 --> 00:51:15,591
You know, is, is a harder language
to code in, and then documentation
:
00:51:15,591 --> 00:51:16,971
might not be the best documentation.
:
00:51:16,971 --> 00:51:19,101
So, uh, but it was, it was really great.
:
00:51:19,101 --> 00:51:22,671
Like it was a very good collaboration
with, uh, with, with their team.
:
00:51:23,061 --> 00:51:27,081
Um, we also have like SDK that,
sorry, I'm kind of blabbering on.
:
00:51:27,081 --> 00:51:29,421
I'm just trying to think about,
uh, kinda how we're set up
:
00:51:29,421 --> 00:51:30,501
and what we've done recently.
:
00:51:30,921 --> 00:51:36,111
Uh, where we, with our SDK, we actually
implement Veras as a separate application
:
00:51:36,111 --> 00:51:37,521
within your web app, web application.
:
00:51:37,551 --> 00:51:40,161
We're working with, with a few
different, um, parties that
:
00:51:40,161 --> 00:51:44,361
built their own, uh, formal like
application that they use internally.
:
00:51:44,481 --> 00:51:48,231
And so if you wanted to, you could
add Veras as an extension to that ac
:
00:51:48,231 --> 00:51:49,461
actually show you what that looks like.
:
00:51:49,461 --> 00:51:51,981
It looks pretty, pretty cool.
:
00:51:53,421 --> 00:51:54,711
Uh, let me see here.
:
00:51:54,801 --> 00:51:56,031
Sorry if I'm rambling on
:
00:51:56,106 --> 00:51:56,796
Evan Troxel: No, no worries.
:
00:51:57,321 --> 00:52:00,171
Benjamin Guler: Uh, but, so this
is a, um, this is online, so anyone
:
00:52:00,171 --> 00:52:02,781
AC has access to this, uh, and
he's a, here's a live demo of it.
:
00:52:02,781 --> 00:52:06,681
So this is just a quick little
application that we, uh, uh, put together.
:
00:52:06,681 --> 00:52:08,931
You could just, it's like
a little, uh, sketch tool.
:
00:52:09,321 --> 00:52:12,111
Uh, and you know, this could be, you
know, someone else's sketch tool.
:
00:52:12,441 --> 00:52:16,491
And if you, uh, start Vera, it opens
up Veras in a separate window, uh,
:
00:52:16,521 --> 00:52:20,541
that is kind of linked to, uh, you
know, it's, it's the same application,
:
00:52:20,571 --> 00:52:23,391
and then you can start to render
within that, uh, as an extension.
:
00:52:23,451 --> 00:52:26,031
You know, and this could be your own
3D view or your own application that
:
00:52:26,031 --> 00:52:29,331
you're doing something or a sketch
application, but it loads it as an
:
00:52:29,331 --> 00:52:30,711
extension to your own application.
:
00:52:30,711 --> 00:52:33,651
That's just like a few lines of
code that you have to add and you,
:
00:52:33,651 --> 00:52:35,421
you get, you know, the application.
:
00:52:35,601 --> 00:52:38,481
This was inspired with the, uh,
from the form collaboration.
:
00:52:38,661 --> 00:52:41,301
So Form has also has an extension
and it's fully a web app.
:
00:52:41,661 --> 00:52:44,871
And you could just open up form,
open up your project and extensions,
:
00:52:44,871 --> 00:52:46,161
you click Vera and it's in there.
:
00:52:46,491 --> 00:52:48,891
Uh, so yeah, this is, uh, let's
see, what setting am I using?
:
00:52:49,581 --> 00:52:50,601
Let's use this one.
:
00:52:50,601 --> 00:52:51,171
This one's better.
:
00:52:52,371 --> 00:52:57,651
Um, so yeah, but like going back
to our kind of team makeup, uh, so
:
00:52:57,651 --> 00:53:02,781
we're, we're pretty small, we're very
nimble and uh, yeah, we have fun.
:
00:53:02,901 --> 00:53:04,971
We're excited with what we do every day.
:
00:53:05,951 --> 00:53:06,251
Evan Troxel: When you
:
00:53:06,251 --> 00:53:10,421
approach these, these companies like,
like Vectorworks and you know, I, I
:
00:53:10,421 --> 00:53:15,041
would assume that there's some excitement
that you're coming to them saying, we
:
00:53:15,041 --> 00:53:18,041
want to build on top of what you've got.
:
00:53:18,041 --> 00:53:20,771
We want to talk, we want to get
your users involved in this.
:
00:53:21,101 --> 00:53:21,941
What, what is that?
:
00:53:22,181 --> 00:53:23,291
What's that process
:
00:53:23,291 --> 00:53:23,651
like?
:
00:53:25,101 --> 00:53:26,871
Benjamin Guler: Yeah, it's
really organic actually.
:
00:53:26,871 --> 00:53:30,501
I think we, uh, connected
over social media.
:
00:53:30,501 --> 00:53:31,821
It's like, Hey, you guys
are doing cool things.
:
00:53:31,821 --> 00:53:32,481
Let's just talk.
:
00:53:32,541 --> 00:53:36,201
And then we met in person at a
i a, uh, when, when I met you
:
00:53:36,201 --> 00:53:37,491
guys too, actually in person.
:
00:53:37,821 --> 00:53:38,391
So that was great.
:
00:53:38,391 --> 00:53:40,521
And that's when we're talking
with the VE Vector work team.
:
00:53:40,581 --> 00:53:43,161
And it was just a really good
collaboration, like really good synergy
:
00:53:43,161 --> 00:53:46,461
and like, uh, we liked their, their
personality, their culture, and,
:
00:53:46,521 --> 00:53:48,381
uh, we, we wanted to work with them.
:
00:53:48,381 --> 00:53:50,841
So this was a really
good like, engagement.
:
00:53:51,291 --> 00:53:54,351
Uh, and so yeah, we just set up, you
know, channels to, to talk with one
:
00:53:54,351 --> 00:53:57,711
another and we've, uh, they've helped
us through the process as like, I'm
:
00:53:57,711 --> 00:54:00,921
not a Vector X user, so I don't, like,
I'm learning the interface and you
:
00:54:00,921 --> 00:54:05,931
know, I, not only do I not know that
I know the API even less, uh, so, uh.
:
00:54:06,456 --> 00:54:07,476
It was, it was really good.
:
00:54:07,506 --> 00:54:09,726
Um, with the format team, it was
also a really good engagement.
:
00:54:09,726 --> 00:54:14,256
Like we, um, I think they've added
things 'cause it was pretty early on.
:
00:54:14,256 --> 00:54:17,316
They've added things to their API
to allow things for us to work
:
00:54:17,316 --> 00:54:18,756
together, which is really exciting.
:
00:54:18,786 --> 00:54:22,056
'cause it's like we're both building
these cars at the same time and we wanna
:
00:54:22,061 --> 00:54:23,916
make them both call talk to one another.
:
00:54:24,276 --> 00:54:26,136
Uh, so that was, that
was, that was really fun.
:
00:54:26,556 --> 00:54:28,506
Um, but yeah, it's very organic.
:
00:54:28,506 --> 00:54:32,916
Like, I think, uh, um, I met with,
uh, quite a few people there with,
:
00:54:33,036 --> 00:54:35,646
you know, just going to conferences
and talking to people and say, Hey,
:
00:54:35,646 --> 00:54:38,016
like, Hey, you're doing this cool
thing and we're doing this cool thing.
:
00:54:38,436 --> 00:54:38,946
We should talk.
:
00:54:38,951 --> 00:54:39,726
Yeah, let's talk.
:
00:54:40,056 --> 00:54:44,016
So, uh, yeah, we connected and then,
uh, we, you know, took that conversation
:
00:54:44,016 --> 00:54:45,546
online and we, we made something happen.
:
00:54:46,116 --> 00:54:48,366
Evan Troxel: It's right in line with
what something Randall said in the last
:
00:54:48,366 --> 00:54:50,466
episode with Steve Ano Randall, right.
:
00:54:50,466 --> 00:54:52,926
Because Steve was at Unify and, and you
:
00:54:52,926 --> 00:54:53,886
said what People always
:
00:54:53,886 --> 00:54:54,246
ask
:
00:54:54,246 --> 00:54:54,426
like,
:
00:54:54,696 --> 00:54:54,936
aren't you
:
00:54:54,941 --> 00:54:55,746
guys competitors?
:
00:54:55,746 --> 00:54:56,226
And you said, we
:
00:54:56,231 --> 00:54:57,396
all, we all know each other.
:
00:54:57,726 --> 00:54:58,776
We all like each other.
:
00:54:59,136 --> 00:55:02,496
And I mean, just to kind of what
you're saying is really reinforcing
:
00:55:02,496 --> 00:55:04,926
something that Randall mentioned
in the last one, which is like,
:
00:55:04,926 --> 00:55:10,596
this is a community and, and we're
interested in the a, EC getting better.
:
00:55:10,626 --> 00:55:10,986
Right?
:
00:55:10,986 --> 00:55:15,126
And, and it really sounds like, like
people are interested in working
:
00:55:15,126 --> 00:55:20,106
together and, and forging new pathways
together, collaborations, things like
:
00:55:20,106 --> 00:55:21,936
that to, to really make, make things
:
00:55:21,936 --> 00:55:22,746
better for everybody.
:
00:55:24,021 --> 00:55:24,201
Benjamin Guler: Yeah.
:
00:55:24,206 --> 00:55:25,161
And that's exciting to me.
:
00:55:25,371 --> 00:55:26,601
It's like, that's so great.
:
00:55:26,721 --> 00:55:29,901
That's like the world I wanna be
in, uh, where people corroborate,
:
00:55:29,991 --> 00:55:33,321
no, don't, like, always just compete
and try to kinda up one each other.
:
00:55:33,326 --> 00:55:35,481
It's like, actually yes, this
logistic approach where actually
:
00:55:35,961 --> 00:55:37,101
one plus one equals three.
:
00:55:37,521 --> 00:55:43,341
Uh, so I, I I, I've been very fortunate
and, uh, you know, that we've got to
:
00:55:43,341 --> 00:55:44,601
collaborate with these amazing people.
:
00:55:44,641 --> 00:55:47,136
Randall Stevens: Well, I think the,
uh, I think the tech stacks have.
:
00:55:47,246 --> 00:55:52,586
F as they've matured, have allowed
more and more, right, of more easily
:
00:55:52,586 --> 00:55:54,026
moving data in and out, right?
:
00:55:54,026 --> 00:55:57,776
Having APIs, uh, you know, using
JSON or some other, you know,
:
00:55:58,431 --> 00:55:58,771
you know,
:
00:55:58,886 --> 00:56:02,846
sim simpler ways to move data around
from these applications and workflows.
:
00:56:02,851 --> 00:56:06,476
So it's, uh, it's been conducive,
I think, more and more for
:
00:56:06,716 --> 00:56:07,436
companies to begin
:
00:56:07,436 --> 00:56:08,006
collaborating.
:
00:56:09,456 --> 00:56:09,606
Benjamin Guler: Yeah.
:
00:56:09,606 --> 00:56:13,356
That was a very intentional thing too,
because we're traditionally like Revit
:
00:56:13,356 --> 00:56:18,156
C sharp developers, and we use WPF
and, and for most of our Revit add-ins.
:
00:56:18,246 --> 00:56:22,626
Uh, you know, 'cause part of our
company also does services, uh,
:
00:56:22,626 --> 00:56:26,316
app, app application development
services, and that's kind of our stack.
:
00:56:26,436 --> 00:56:30,456
Uh, and so with Helix, which was
a SketchUp integration, that's
:
00:56:30,456 --> 00:56:32,916
where we start to migrate away
from that to web, web stack.
:
00:56:33,186 --> 00:56:36,246
And with Web Stack right now, with what
we, what we see here in the demo on the
:
00:56:36,246 --> 00:56:38,106
screen, you don't have to do anything.
:
00:56:38,106 --> 00:56:39,576
You could just actually load this up.
:
00:56:39,581 --> 00:56:42,726
If you have a web app without
even like contacting us, you could
:
00:56:42,726 --> 00:56:44,166
just copy those snippets of code.
:
00:56:44,571 --> 00:56:47,541
In your application and you
have it like it's that easy.
:
00:56:47,961 --> 00:56:52,431
Uh, and so it's, yeah, we're really,
uh, we were very intentional about
:
00:56:52,431 --> 00:56:54,861
that because we're seeing how a lot
of things are moving towards that way.
:
00:56:54,861 --> 00:56:59,601
And it's very modular, very, uh,
contained so that you can actually have
:
00:56:59,601 --> 00:57:02,271
these pieces that are part of, you know,
you could build a larger application
:
00:57:02,271 --> 00:57:03,591
of seal of applications together.
:
00:57:03,741 --> 00:57:06,981
It's mosaic of apps by building it
this way and having kind of almost
:
00:57:06,981 --> 00:57:08,601
the same kind of, you know, web stack.
:
00:57:08,901 --> 00:57:09,381
Uh, but yeah.
:
00:57:09,441 --> 00:57:12,471
Yeah, that's, that is something that
we're seeing and it's actually exciting.
:
00:57:12,471 --> 00:57:15,411
It's really cool that a lot of
applications are moving, uh, to the web.
:
00:57:15,711 --> 00:57:18,441
Randall Stevens: So how many, how
many people been, did you say are
:
00:57:18,446 --> 00:57:20,961
working on this particular product?
:
00:57:21,966 --> 00:57:23,241
Benjamin Guler: Uh, so we're four,
:
00:57:23,601 --> 00:57:24,051
uh, working,
:
00:57:24,411 --> 00:57:26,661
um, on the, on the product.
:
00:57:26,726 --> 00:57:26,906
Randall Stevens: Good.
:
00:57:26,906 --> 00:57:27,176
Tight,
:
00:57:27,446 --> 00:57:28,346
good, tight team.
:
00:57:28,406 --> 00:57:28,706
Right?
:
00:57:29,276 --> 00:57:29,996
It's, it is one of
:
00:57:29,996 --> 00:57:33,596
those, you know, if you, if you've
ever been in software development,
:
00:57:33,656 --> 00:57:37,466
you know, sometimes four people
can get more done than 40.
:
00:57:37,556 --> 00:57:37,886
Right?
:
00:57:38,061 --> 00:57:38,691
Benjamin Guler: It's interesting.
:
00:57:39,236 --> 00:57:39,416
Randall Stevens: it
:
00:57:39,621 --> 00:57:41,871
Benjamin Guler: I think our squeeze
spot might be around like 10 or 20.
:
00:57:42,026 --> 00:57:42,296
Randall Stevens: yeah.
:
00:57:42,741 --> 00:57:45,141
Benjamin Guler: Like as soon as
you and what I've seen, it's like
:
00:57:45,141 --> 00:57:46,701
once you go beyond that, it's like
:
00:57:47,040 --> 00:57:48,660
there's more breakers than accelerators
:
00:57:48,735 --> 00:57:49,100
Randall Stevens: Yeah, yeah,
:
00:57:49,250 --> 00:57:49,640
Yeah.
:
00:57:49,890 --> 00:57:50,310
Evan Troxel: You guys are
:
00:57:50,310 --> 00:57:50,790
Benjamin Guler: and then
:
00:57:50,825 --> 00:57:51,225
Randall Stevens: things down.
:
00:57:51,300 --> 00:57:52,170
Evan Troxel: with Brooks Law.
:
00:57:52,170 --> 00:57:52,650
Have you heard of
:
00:57:52,650 --> 00:57:53,250
Brooks Law?
:
00:57:53,400 --> 00:57:53,820
If you look at
:
00:57:53,820 --> 00:57:54,000
it, I'll
:
00:57:54,000 --> 00:57:54,780
put a link to it in the
:
00:57:54,780 --> 00:57:55,890
show notes from Wikipedia.
:
00:57:55,890 --> 00:57:56,760
But Yeah.
:
00:57:56,760 --> 00:57:58,110
it's like how many
people are on your team?
:
00:57:58,110 --> 00:58:00,600
If, if you have, if you
have two people, right?
:
00:58:00,600 --> 00:58:01,020
The line of
:
00:58:01,020 --> 00:58:01,950
communication
:
00:58:02,520 --> 00:58:02,970
is
:
00:58:03,540 --> 00:58:06,360
just back and forth if you,
you have a third person, right?
:
00:58:06,360 --> 00:58:08,580
We have, we have two more
lines of communication.
:
00:58:09,210 --> 00:58:12,930
If you have four people now, now we start
:
00:58:12,930 --> 00:58:13,890
getting a little
:
00:58:13,890 --> 00:58:14,940
crazy, right,
:
00:58:15,000 --> 00:58:18,330
And it just gets crazier
and crazier and crazier.
:
00:58:19,080 --> 00:58:19,890
Like Randall's
:
00:58:20,190 --> 00:58:20,610
40
:
00:58:20,615 --> 00:58:21,870
people like you.
:
00:58:21,870 --> 00:58:22,560
Imagine what my
:
00:58:22,560 --> 00:58:23,790
diagram would look like with 40
:
00:58:23,790 --> 00:58:24,180
people.
:
00:58:24,180 --> 00:58:24,540
It would
:
00:58:24,540 --> 00:58:25,890
be, it would be insane.
:
00:58:26,190 --> 00:58:26,430
And
:
00:58:26,430 --> 00:58:28,560
just managing that is
:
00:58:29,100 --> 00:58:29,700
becomes the
:
00:58:29,700 --> 00:58:30,090
job.
:
00:58:30,120 --> 00:58:31,020
I I just talking
:
00:58:31,020 --> 00:58:36,240
about this on another podcast, just
email like in one day, 236 emails,
:
00:58:36,750 --> 00:58:40,110
if leadership of a company knew
how much time people were spending.
:
00:58:40,500 --> 00:58:43,560
Just fielding emails, and
that's just one piece, right?
:
00:58:43,560 --> 00:58:44,610
It's incredible.
:
00:58:44,760 --> 00:58:48,000
Wouldn't you rather have people on
your staff playing with a tool like
:
00:58:48,000 --> 00:58:52,350
this, doing something valuable on a
project rather than fielding email?
:
00:58:52,680 --> 00:58:52,920
Right.
:
00:58:52,920 --> 00:58:55,890
And, and so it, it is like, it's a
:
00:58:55,890 --> 00:58:56,370
crazy thing.
:
00:58:56,370 --> 00:58:57,000
So that's, that's
:
00:58:57,005 --> 00:58:58,080
amazing that you're building
:
00:58:58,080 --> 00:59:02,220
this tool with four people and
to see how fast you're releasing
:
00:59:02,580 --> 00:59:04,890
new features, bug fixes.
:
00:59:05,280 --> 00:59:06,570
It's, it's absolutely
:
00:59:06,930 --> 00:59:07,680
so cool.
:
00:59:08,180 --> 00:59:08,360
Benjamin Guler: yeah.
:
00:59:08,360 --> 00:59:10,970
We literally see, like when we
have one person on the project,
:
00:59:11,480 --> 00:59:13,730
uh, like does say it's a hundred
percent, that's the baseline.
:
00:59:14,030 --> 00:59:17,360
When you add two people, it's
already at like one 50 each.
:
00:59:17,365 --> 00:59:18,380
That's 300% output.
:
00:59:18,755 --> 00:59:19,655
Just because of that.
:
00:59:19,655 --> 00:59:22,115
Like actually, like you build on one
another and you encourage one another.
:
00:59:22,175 --> 00:59:24,845
Just having two, three becomes
like a hundred percent.
:
00:59:24,845 --> 00:59:28,565
Again, all of them four becomes 80%
everyone, or 90% everyone, and it
:
00:59:28,565 --> 00:59:29,765
just kind of starts to go lower.
:
00:59:29,945 --> 00:59:32,105
But you're still getting 90%
of every single person, which
:
00:59:32,105 --> 00:59:35,015
is way more than three still
because of the way it compounds
:
00:59:35,345 --> 00:59:37,145
or not compounds, but the
way it kind of adds up.
:
00:59:37,325 --> 00:59:41,915
So, but at a certain level it's like
you're, like you said earlier, like you're
:
00:59:41,915 --> 00:59:45,395
spending time, a full-time job, just
communicating, just getting everyone you
:
00:59:45,395 --> 00:59:47,885
know, and different emotions, different,
you know, everyone's very passionate and
:
00:59:47,885 --> 00:59:51,035
love the project and you know, there's,
when you're, you know, super passionate
:
00:59:51,040 --> 00:59:53,645
about something, you have different
ideas, different opinions, you have to,
:
00:59:53,650 --> 00:59:54,905
you know, okay, well let's try this one.
:
00:59:55,025 --> 00:59:55,775
Which is good actually.
:
00:59:55,775 --> 00:59:56,525
We like that friction.
:
00:59:56,525 --> 00:59:59,165
We like to have a little bit of friction
because it kind of likes the best idea
:
00:59:59,435 --> 01:00:02,885
when, but when it gets to a certain
size, then it gets like, okay, well
:
01:00:02,885 --> 01:00:06,275
we can't get things done as, as, as
fast as we'd like to get them done.
:
01:00:06,275 --> 01:00:06,515
So.
:
01:00:06,950 --> 01:00:07,190
Yeah,
:
01:00:07,670 --> 01:00:09,650
Evan Troxel: And there's the other
parts of everyone's life that
:
01:00:09,655 --> 01:00:10,910
works its way into what we do.
:
01:00:11,090 --> 01:00:11,330
Right?
:
01:00:11,330 --> 01:00:15,440
There's, there's the, the emergencies,
there's the kids, there's the school,
:
01:00:15,440 --> 01:00:17,960
there's the lunches, there's everything,
:
01:00:18,320 --> 01:00:20,510
there's drama and, and all that
:
01:00:20,540 --> 01:00:22,160
is a piece of that as well.
:
01:00:22,165 --> 01:00:23,090
And it, it's big a
:
01:00:23,090 --> 01:00:24,410
part of that soup for sure.
:
01:00:25,490 --> 01:00:26,125
Benjamin Guler: Yep, yep.
:
01:00:26,125 --> 01:00:26,605
We're all human.
:
01:00:27,315 --> 01:00:27,665
Randall Stevens: Great.
:
01:00:27,670 --> 01:00:27,940
Great.
:
01:00:28,780 --> 01:00:29,710
It's been great, Ben.
:
01:00:29,770 --> 01:00:30,130
Uh.
:
01:00:30,700 --> 01:00:32,950
Appreciate your being able to share.
:
01:00:33,040 --> 01:00:37,600
You know, obviously a lot of people have
seen the output, but you know, we like
:
01:00:37,600 --> 01:00:40,360
to do on this podcast is give a little
bit of the behind the scenes and the
:
01:00:40,360 --> 01:00:42,250
backstory for how all this came about.
:
01:00:42,255 --> 01:00:44,920
So we really appreciate your,
uh, willingness to share.
:
01:00:45,115 --> 01:00:45,235
I.
:
01:00:45,795 --> 01:00:46,135
Benjamin Guler: Of course.
:
01:00:46,365 --> 01:00:46,935
It's a pleasure.
:
01:00:48,365 --> 01:00:51,995
Evan Troxel: so we'll put links to
Evolve Lab Veras in the show notes.
:
01:00:51,995 --> 01:00:55,595
Ben, I'll put a link to your, uh,
LinkedIn so people can follow you.
:
01:00:55,595 --> 01:01:00,515
And, uh, I'll encourage everyone to again,
look up the hashtag Veras ai Veras render.
:
01:01:00,845 --> 01:01:02,285
You mentioned a couple of them earlier.
:
01:01:02,345 --> 01:01:05,435
Um, I think that would be
eye-opening for people to see the
:
01:01:05,435 --> 01:01:08,525
kinds of output that people are
producing with a tool like this.
:
01:01:08,525 --> 01:01:10,985
And it, I, thanks so much for sharing.
:
01:01:11,105 --> 01:01:14,195
I'll just echo what Randall just
said, just to, to take us behind
:
01:01:14,200 --> 01:01:15,815
the scenes and, and get into it.
:
01:01:15,815 --> 01:01:17,975
I think I even learned a
few things just watching you
:
01:01:17,975 --> 01:01:19,145
use the tool today
:
01:01:19,535 --> 01:01:19,865
that
:
01:01:19,865 --> 01:01:21,755
I probably wouldn't have
picked up on my own.
:
01:01:21,760 --> 01:01:24,725
So another benefit for, uh,
people watching this episode.
:
01:01:24,880 --> 01:01:27,400
Randall Stevens: And we should, uh, we
should mention, I don't know if we're
:
01:01:27,405 --> 01:01:30,970
gonna get Ben over for the Confluence
event that we're gonna do in New York
:
01:01:30,970 --> 01:01:35,800
City on April 17th, the one day event,
but it is around AI and machine learning.
:
01:01:35,800 --> 01:01:36,850
So this is right up the alley.
:
01:01:36,855 --> 01:01:40,600
So we'll twist your arm, Ben,
and, and hope to see you there
:
01:01:40,600 --> 01:01:42,460
or other members of your team.
:
01:01:42,520 --> 01:01:43,270
And then, uh.
:
01:01:43,780 --> 01:01:47,890
Hopefully anybody in the, uh, in
that region or in that area will be
:
01:01:47,890 --> 01:01:49,690
able to, to come and learn that day.
:
01:01:49,720 --> 01:01:52,210
'cause we'll have, uh, several
people, uh, the, the speakers
:
01:01:52,210 --> 01:01:54,070
will be, start to be announced
here in the next couple of weeks.
:
01:01:54,070 --> 01:01:55,030
So by the time this
:
01:01:55,030 --> 01:01:56,320
podcast come out, you'll be able to
:
01:01:56,830 --> 01:02:00,280
check out who all, uh, you can come
and meet and greet and have, uh, just
:
01:02:00,280 --> 01:02:01,960
deeper conversations around these topics.
:
01:02:02,840 --> 01:02:05,810
Evan Troxel: Yeah, we'll have a link to
that event in the show notes as well, so
:
01:02:05,810 --> 01:02:07,610
people can click on that and learn more.
:
01:02:08,030 --> 01:02:11,270
Uh, and, uh, yeah, it would be
great to see everyone who's really
:
01:02:11,270 --> 01:02:15,410
interested in this kind of work show
up and, and be in the room for, for
:
01:02:15,410 --> 01:02:16,580
what's gonna happen at that event.
:
01:02:16,580 --> 01:02:16,820
So.
:
01:02:17,540 --> 01:02:20,000
All right, well, I think
we're gonna wrap this one up.
:
01:02:20,005 --> 01:02:21,050
Thanks again everybody.
:
01:02:21,050 --> 01:02:22,790
This was a fantastic conversation.
:
01:02:23,168 --> 01:02:23,523
Randall Stevens: Thanks guys.