SIGGRAPH 2014 Announce Computer Animation Festival Winners

Jerome Solomon

SIGGRAPH 2014 is pleased to announce the 41st annual Computer Animation Festival award recipients for Best in Show, Jury Award, Best Student Project, Best Animated Short, and Best Visual Effects, among others. More than 100 pieces will be shown during the Computer Animation Festival at the Vancouver Convention Centre, 10-14 August. The 2014 nominees were chosen by an expert panel of jury members from more than 450 submissions.

“Each piece that is in the Festival is truly something special on its own merit,” said Jerome Solomon, SIGGRAPH 2014 Computer Animation Festival Director from Cogswell College. “There's no other stage in the world comparable to SIGGRAPH’s Computer Animation Festival and this year we have added more categories which only enriches the diversity and richness of the show."

The Computer Animation Festival is recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a qualifying festival. Since 1999, several works originally presented in the Computer Animation Festival have been nominated for or have received a "Best Animated Short" Academy Award. This year’s selections will be featured during the Computer Animation Festival through a series of Daytime Selects and the iconic Electronic Theater, allowing attendees to glimpse behind the magic of computer-generated effects, visualizations, and animations.

To view the Computer Animation Festival preview video, click here.

BEST IN SHOW

Box (United States)
Directed by Tarik Abdel-Gawad, Bot & Dolly

“Box” explores the synthesis of real and digital space through projection mapping on moving surfaces. The short film documents a first-ever live synchronized performance using 3D projection mapping, robots, and actors.

JURY AWARD

Paper World (Hungary)

Directed by Dávid Ringeisen, László Ruska, Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design

“Paper World” is an image film for the World Wildlife Fund Hungary where the values that WWF stands for become visible metaphorically on the level of a micro-world.

BEST ANIMATED SHORT

Home Sweet Home (France)

Directed by Pierre Clenet, Alejandro Diaz, Romain Mazenet, Stéphane Paccolat, Supinfocom Arles

A house uproots herself and goes on an adventure.

BEST STUDENT PROJECT

Wrapped (Germany)

Directed by Roman Kalin, Falko Paeper, Florian Wittmann, Filmakademie Baden-Wüerttemberg

The deterioration of one is the foundation of another one's life. The world, with its never-ending interplay of eating and being eaten, takes on new dimensions when the unexpected forces of nature clash with the existing structures of our society. The only constant is change.

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

Gravity (United Kingdom)

Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, Esperanto Filmoj
VFX work submitted by Framestore, United Kingdom

Image courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures and Framestore

“Gravity,” this year’s VFX Bafta and Oscar-winner, turns filmmaking on its head. Rather than adding visual effects to a live-action plate, the film is around 80% computer generated, with the live-action elements (Sandra Bullock and George Clooney’s faces), integrated seamlessly with their CG spacesuits and surroundings.

BEST VISUALIZATION & SIMULATION

Kinematics (United States)

Directed by Jessica Rosenkrantz, Jesse Louis-Rosenberg, Nervous System

This video visualizes Kinematics, a system for designing and simulating flexible structures for 3D printing. Kinematics generates customized designs composed of 10s to thousands of hinged, interlocking modules. The designs are computationally folded using rigid-body physics into a smaller form for fabrication by 3D printing.

BEST GAME

The Crew (France)

Directed by Maxime Luère, Dominique Boidin, Rémi Kozyra, Unit Image

The concept of this full-CGI trailer consists of juxtaposing the two worlds valued highly by car lovers: aesthetically pleasing advertisements and action scenes. The features of the game, such as the novelty of the multiplayer aspect and the feeling of freedom in an open world, are highlighted through this concept.

BEST REAL-TIME GRAPHICS

RYSE: Son of Rome (Germany)                                                                                           Directed by Chris Evans, Peter Gornstein, Martin L'Heureux, Crytek

With Ryse, Crytek decided to focus on characters and emotion to serve the game and story. Ryse is an eight hour game with an additional 110-minutes of linear storytelling content. The submission shows gameplay and cutscenes, both utilize the same assets and can be rendered in real-time.

BEST COMMERCIAL ADVERTISEMENT

Three, "The Pony" (United Kingdom)

Directed by Dougal Wilson, Blink Productions
VFX work submitted by MPC

The pony’s bouncy moves were created using a photo-real CG digital double and extensive R&D to translate human movement to a horse. The film cuts seamlessly between CG and real-life footage. Fur was created using MPC's Furtility tool, and environments were altered using compositing and matte painting.

SIGGRAPH 2014 images are available to authorized news media representatives. To request access, please contact the SIGGRAPH 2014 Media Office at media@siggraph.org. For full details, visit s2014.siggraph.org.

A Q&A with the SIGGRAPH 2014 Computer Animation Festival Chair Jerome Solomon

Jerome Solomon

Editor's note:  When not volunteering or being a great dad, Jerome Solomon serves as Academic Dean and Director of Game Design & Development at Cogswell Polytechnical College in Sunnyvale, CA.

What can we expect from the 2014 Computer Animation Festival?

We have added more categories for entry into the festival.  And, this year, we are giving more awards.  In addition, we are curating in more content than ever via our two outreach reps who are at ILM and Blizzard.

What will be the same/different?

A lot will be the same.  Last year’s Director, Jason RM Smith, did a great job.  I’m following in his footsteps.  The plan is to build off of what he did last year and also improve every aspect possible for both submitters and attendees.

     

Last year’s jury had a definite international make-up. What will your jury be like this year?

My jury will be international for sure.  We built criteria for jury selection.  Some of the criteria were geographical location, storytelling, anime, games, visual quality, and other criteria that aligned with our categories.  

We receive so many submissions from around the world that it only makes sense for the jury to be international and diverse.  We already have secured Dr. Jim Foley from Georgia Tech, whose co-authored texts have been called "the bible of computer graphics". Plus, we have Greg Butler, who is an Oscar-nominated VFX Supervisor and Head of FX from MPC.  LAIKA has sent us Georgina Hayns Head of Puppet Fabrication.  This is just the beginning. The jury will be amazing.  But, I can’t spill all the beans just yet!  

That said, to get your work in front of this type of talent is an amazing opportunity for people.   The question is, “When will you ever get eight of the most talented people representing the best studios on Earth in one theatre on the Disney Lot to look at your work?”  The answer is NEVER… except if you submit work to SIGGRAPH. But, people must submit work before Tuesday, March 4^th, because this is our hard deadline!

SIGGRAPH's "Animation Mother" has been a symbol of the Computer Animation Festival for several years.

 What were some of the more helpful things that you learned from last year’s chair?

To not cry when there is so much work and pressure that you want to cry.  I never saw Jason cry :)  Seriously, it was amazing. He is steady and has great leadership skills.

What do you expect to be some of the more difficult challenges in putting the show together?

The hardest part seems to be the timing of everything and how it all comes together. There are simply a lot of facets to the show that are outside of our control.  So, we have to collaborate with vendors, studios, conference management, ACM, and the individuals delivering content to make it all happen.  Some people think we control everything.  But, I think we have just been lucky for 40+ years straight.  Go figure.

Students have had success with submission getting major recognition.What do you think are some of the reasons behind this trend?

The jury simply wants to put forth the world’s best work.  We don’t care where it comes from or who it comes from.  So, we don’t look at work and say “Ohhhhh, this is student work so let’s be nice and lower the bar”.  We also don’t say “Oh, well, this came from studio X so it’s in.”  I’ve seen student work and studio work get cut.  We also maintain our morals and consistent grading practices.  So, jury members volunteer to step out of the room if they are associated with any work that was submitted.  The bar for SIGGRAPH is high.  Period.

The elegant and inspiring Vancouver Convention Centre is conveniently located downtown.

What type of reaction are you expecting from the local Vancouver film community?

We are expecting a positive response just like the last time we were in Vancouver.   It has a rich tradition of filmmaking and supporting the arts.  Also, recently high-level creative and technical work has grown quite a bit in this city.

Who should be submitting to the Computer Animation Festival?

Any person or company that has a piece of work that they think is worthy and of high quality in any category.  Some categories that people often overlook are Games, Visualizations and Simulations, and Real-Time Graphics.  I would love to see more types of work in these areas.  I also think there are many people who are not sure if they should submit.  If you have recent work that is done and looks great, I think it’s worth submitting.   It’s simply a few forms and you need to upload your work. So, it is be a fairly easy process.  We are seeing more submissions pour in each day.

 What do you consider to be important aspects of a submission – story line, technical details, etc?

I think innovation is important.  So, this may be creative innovation in story, visual quality, sound design or it may be technical innovation in the techniques (tools that produce visually amazing results).  I think the projects that really stand out are those that amaze or drive emotion in the human spirit.

You have years of both studio/commercial experience and now have crossed over into education.What motivated you to make the switch?

The industry is a lot of fun.  But, it is also very hard work.  I moved into academia to help other people do what they want to do. I wanted to bring my experience and knowledge to students.  But, to also be very honest with them about the realities of this type of work.  You have to be dedicated, talented, determined, focused, smart, and alert: you cannot sleep a lot!  You have to love this type of work to do it.  So many of the students at Cogswell College are like this.  I see our smartest students walking around the hallways and I think, “Oh my goodness, do they look tired!”  And then I think, “Wow, they might have what it takes.  They work diligently  at their homework because they love what they are doing.”

What valuable lessons do you try to teach your students for making it in this business?

There are honestly too many to list.  I try to counsel them depending on what they need that day at that moment.  I care about our students as individual people.  The definition of success in their eyes is most important to me.  So, how I guide each of them based on my experience is different.  It’s an organic process.

On a personal level, what are your favorite parts of the SIGGRAPH conference?

First, I love our community.  For me, it’s a family and we are growing each day.  Every new person at SIGGRAPH is always greeted with warm open arms.  This is simply how SIGGRAPH is.  It’s an amazing thing to experience.  As far as conference content, I’m a big fan of Emerging Technologies. I just love to see how software meets hardware meets art.  In Emerging Technologies, you see some of the most amazing things.  Since these are physical exhibits, you really do have to be at SIGGRAPH in that room to see it and interact with it.

For someone coming to SIGGRAPH for the first time, what are your recommendations?

My recommendations are to be prepared to feel really dumb.  SIGGRAPH has this special way of making you feel like you are dumb and lazy.  This is because the smartest, most creative,and most amazing people in the world are sharing their knowledge and skills with you for five straight days.  You leave SIGGRAPH extremely excited and motivated.  You look at old problems in new ways.  You leave thinking about things you have never thought about before.  So, be humble, and learn all you can from everyone you meet and everything you experience.

 Finally, who was one of your greatest influences in your career?

For me, that has to be my father the late Gabriel William Solomon, who was an attorney and civil rights leader for people less able to defend themselves.  He literally risked his life to help others.  So, I feel I owe him. I have to do my part to give back too.  I just happen to help others via SIGGRAPH and teaching at Cogswell College.  It’s less risky, Dad. :)

SIGGRAPH 2013 Unveils Riveting Final Lineup of Production Sessions

SIGGRAPH 2013, 21 -25 July at the Anaheim Convention Center in California, released the final lineup of 15 Production Sessions to be featured at this year’s conference.  These Production Sessions are part of the overall Computer Animation Festival, which is open to the public and accessible for as little as $150.

Jerome Solomon

“There’s only one place where the world’s best creative and technical people converge for a week of exchanging industry know-how and ideas that helps everyone push the boundaries of what is possible forward,” says Jerome Solomon, SIGGRAPH 2013 Production Sessions Chair from Cogswell College.  “These incredible production sessions are just one example of what is so great about SIGGRAPH and makes it so unique.”

The Computer Animation Festival, chaired this year by Jason R.M. Smith, is recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a qualifying festival. Since 1999, several works originally presented in the Computer Animation Festival have been nominated for or have received a "Best Animated Short" Academy Award. This year’s selections will be featured during the Computer Animation Festival through a series of daily Festival Screenings and the iconic Electronic Theater, allowing attendees to get a glimpse behind the making of computer generated effects, visualizations, and animations

In all there will be 15 Production Sessions.  Here is the full lineup:

Warner Brothers Presents the VFX for 'Man of Steel'
Tuesday, 7/23, 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

© 2013 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. and Legendary Pictures Funding, LLC

The Visual Effects teams from MPC, Weta Digital, Double Negative, Scanline and LookFX will each provide a unique insight into their work on Man of Steel.  This session is designed to highlight signature moments from the film and show how creative contributions came from around the globe to help deliver one of the year's most exciting films.  The final Q&A with all five vfx studios is not to be missed.

Panelists:
•    Dan Lemmon - Visual Effects Supervisor, Weta Digital
•    Guillaume Rocheron - Visual Effects Supervisor, MPC
•    Ged Wright - Visual Effects Supervisor, Double Negative
•    Stephan Trojansky, President/Sr. VFX Supervisor, Scanline VFX
•    Max Ivins - Visual Effects Supervisor, LOOK Effects

Blue Sky Studios Presents: The Fantastical World of Epic
Wednesday, 7/24, 3:45 PM - 5:15 PM

TM and © 2013 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.  All rights reserved.
Photo Credit:  Blue Sky Studios

At Blue Sky Studios we have always taken inspiration from nature, and that is certainly true of our latest movie, Epic.  For example, the armor of the Leafmen was inspired by the multi-segmented exoskeleton of crickets.  Their costumes use iris petals instead of muslin fabric, and thistle down instead of tulle.  Looking at real-world physics, Leafmen could jump more than twice their height, and their sense of time would be sped up by the change of scale, which was taken into consideration during animation.  Along with that, the selective use of a wider-than-usual lens package helped us tell a story about a seemingly distant and fantastical world that feels right at your fingertips. We plan to show this process, along with portions of Epic, which demonstrate these points.  We will show some of the reference material that designers and animators used as inspiration and how our cinematography was carefully mapped out in order to better serve our story-telling endeavor.

Panelists:
•    Mike Knapp, Art Director
•    Galen Chu, Supervising Animator
•    Renato Falcão, Cinematographer

TM and © 2013 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.  All rights reserved.
Photo Credit:  Blue Sky Studios

The Making of Pixar's "The Blue Umbrella"
Sunday, 7/21, 10:45 AM - 12:15 PM

© Disney•Pixar.  All rights reserved

A screening of Pixar’s "The Blue Umbrella" will be followed by a "Making-of" presentation with the director Saschka Unseld.  He will retrace his journey from discovery of the idea all the way through the Pixar story process and onto the big screen. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the artistry and technology that went into every frame and then re-watch "The Blue Umbrella" with new eyes.

Panelist:
•    Saschka Unseld, Director of The Blue Umbrella


Industrial Light & Magic Presents: The Visual Effects of "Star Trek Into Darkness"
Tuesday, 7/23, 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Copyright/Image credit: © 2013 Paramount Pictures. image courtesy of Industrial Light & Magic/Paramount Pictures

Visual Effects Supervisor Roger Guyett and the team from ILM discuss the visual effects challenges overcome for the intergalactic manhunt portrayed in J.J. Abrams’ “Star Trek Into Darkness”. From the on-set approach to the effects work to constructing a Starfleet and building and destroying future San Francisco and London, the panelists will cover the creative solutions developed for the film.

Panelists:
•    Roger Guyett, Visual Effects Supervisor / Second Unit Director
•    Paul Kavanagh, Animation Supervisor

Rhythm & Hues Studios presents: How to bake a Pi
Thursday, 7/25, 10:45 AM - 12:15 PM

Image credit: © 2012 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.
Courtesy Rhythm & Hues Studios.

Get a first-hand look at the story behind the stunning, Oscar-winning visuals of Life of Pi as Rhythm & Hues takes you on a journey from script to screen through a world of vast oceans, carnivorous islands, flying fish, bioluminescent jellyfish, whales and tigers. Leaders from the visual effects team will discuss in detail how they attempted to tackle the project, share the hard lessons learned along the way and explain the complex process used to seamlessly combine live-action with extensive digital environments and hand-crafted character animation in a fully-stereo pipeline that required a total rethink of much of the traditional vfx process.

The Open Source Swimming Hole; C’mon In The Water’s Fine^h^h^h^h Murky
Sunday, 21 July, 2 pm -3:30 pm

Open Source Software (OSS) has become an integral piece of the ever-expanding Animation and Visual Effects industry. With OSS firmly implemented into many studios’ production and development pipelines, what has been gained? Professionals within these fields will discuss the challenges and benefits of using OSS, reflecting on how the industry has changed as a result. They will look back on their own innovations that have become widespread within the community, in addition to revealing what future developments are in the works.

The panelists represent a community of developers and enthusiasts who encourage open collaboration, as they share their thoughts and experiences with the world.

Topics Include:

•    What are some legality challenges that arise when implementing OSS into a company’s pipeline?
•    The benefits and disadvantages between closed source and open source software
•     The future of OSS in various studio settings
•    Updates and new developments from the panelists

Panelists:
•    Rob Bredow, Sony Pictures Imageworks
•    Andrew Pearce, DreamWorks Animation
•    Bill Polson, Pixar Animation Studios
•    Ton Roosendaal, Blender Foundation
•    Kevin Gambrel, Disney Animation Studios

The Visual Effects of Marvel’s ‘Iron Man 3’
Wednesday, 7/24, 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

 Image Credit: Marvel's "Iron Man 3"still photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2013 Marvel

In Marvel's “Iron Man 3,” from Director Shane Black, brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man goes on a harrowing quest to find the enemy who has destroyed his personal world. Marvel Studios, Digital Domain, Scanline VFX, and Weta Digital take SIGGRAPH audiences through their VFX journey as they created some of the movie’s most heart-stopping moments – the house attack sequence, the dramatic ‘barrel of monkeys’ sky rescue and the climactic final battle.

Panelists:
•    Victoria Alonso, EVP of Visual Effects and Post Production, Marvel Studios / Executive Producer Iron Man 3
•    Christopher Townsend, VFX Supervisor, ‘Iron Man 3’
•    Guy Williams, VFX Supervisor, Weta Digital
•    Geoff Baumann, CG Supervisor, Digital Domain
•    Bryan Grill, VFX Supervisor, Scanline VFX

DreamWorks Animation Presents: A Journey to the Croodaceous
Wednesday, 7/24, 9:00 AM - 10:30 AM

Copyright: © 2013 DreamWorks Animation. All Rights Reserved.

A behind-the-scenes look at DreamWorks Animation's hit film "The Croods" directed by Chris Sanders and Kirk DeMicco. The session explores the artistic and technical challenges of bringing uniquely designed, appealing, gritty and at times dangerous prehistoric characters, creatures and environments to life, all with the ultimate goal of delivering an insightful emotional family journey set against a pending natural disaster.  The artistic leadership of the film will talk about the aesthetic decisions made along with the technical and workflow innovations necessary to accomplish the film.

Panelists:
•    Chris Sanders, Director
•    Matt Baer, Head of Effects
•    Mark Edwards, Head of Lighting
•    Damon Crowe, Character Effects Supervisor


Walt Disney Animation Studios Presents "Frozen": The Craft of Character and Cold
Tuesday, 7/23, 10:45 AM - 12:15 PM

Copyright/ImageCredit:  © 2012 Disney

The team from Walt Disney Animation Studios gives a first-time, behind-the-scenes look at the their November 27, 2013 film, "Frozen".  Attendees will learn how the team of artists and technologists created the film's characters through visual development, rigging, animation and advanced rendering tools and discover how the elements of cold - ice, snow and frost - were brought to life through new simulation techniques.

OLM Digital Presents the Anime Spirit: From Pokémon, Pac-Man to live action films
Wednesday, 7/24, 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Image Copyrights:
©Nintendo•Creatures•GAME FREAK•TV Tokyo•ShoPro•JR Kikaku ©Pokémon ©2012 PIKACHU PROJECT
©2012 NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc.
©2012 CAPCOM / "Ace Attorney" FILM PARTNERS

Anime has gained great popularity in the world for its unique expressiveness in contrast to western animation. OLM Digital, a digital production company in Tokyo, keeps trying new anime styles, making the Pokémon movies over 15 years. This session presents the company’s various works in 2D/3D hybrid anime, 3DCG, S3D anime and live action films. The showcase focuses on how the anime spirit of OLM Digital is put into various visual forms. The brand-new Pac-Man animated TV series, which is a collaborative work with Sprite Animation Studios, is also one of the highlights of this session.

Panelists:
•    Yasuhiro Mikami, CGI Director OLM Digital
•    Masashi Kobayashi, CGI Producer OLM Digital
•    Moto Sakakibara, CEO and Creative Director Sprite Animation Studios
•    Ken Anjyo, R&D supervisor OLM Digital

LAIKA Presents: The Seamless Fusion of Stop-Motion and Visual Effects Technologies in LAIKA's Feature Films
Wednesday, 7/24, 10:45 AM - 12:15 PM

Image Credit: LAIKA, Inc.

LAIKA, the Oregon-based animation studio behind the remarkable features ParaNorman (2012), Coraline (2009) and The Boxtrolls (in theaters 26 September 2014) has inspired audiences -- and industry professionals -- with an unprecedented visual artistry. Animators breathe life into meticulously hand-crafted puppets while visual effects artists seamlessly enhance the performance with cutting-edge technologies. This unparalleled fusion of stop- motion and computer graphics has garnered the studio two Oscar nominations and worldwide acclaim. In this session, Georgina Hayns and Brian McLean address the key interdependent and collaborative relationships between these uniquely different but critically important departments.

The presentation will address the following:
•    The use of Maya and Zbrush to enhance practical sculpts;
•    3D Printed material and subsurface scattering to allow puppet builders to break free of previous design limitations;
•    The advancements in color 3D printing and the enabling of puppet builders to evolve beyond prior design limitations;
•    The use of in-house developed silicones which enable character performance previously unseen in stop-motion animation;
•    The utilization of 3D Printers to pre-vis puppet construction issues and control how practical materials perform;
•    The use of laser cutting fabrics to enhance the design and functionality of the puppets costumes.
•    Production puppets will be displayed during the presentation.
Panelists:
•    Georgina Hayns, Creative Supervisor, Puppet Fabrication
•    Brian McLean, Director of Rapid Prototype.

Sony Pictures Imageworks Presents: Take a Journey Down the Yellow Brick Road
Tuesday, 7/23, 10:45 AM - 12:15 PM

© 2013 Disney Enterprises Inc.

Sony Pictures Imageworks, under the direction of VFX supervisor Scott Stokdyk, created the majority of the visual effects for Disney's OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL. As a cinematic prequel to L. Frank Baum’s first book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” the film explores the backstory of the wizard character. The goal of the film was to create a beautiful stylized environment for the land of Oz and bring to life computer graphics characters that accompany Oz on his journey, including Finley the monkey, the porcelain China Girl, and various creatures that surprise them along the way.

Scare School 101: The Making of Disney•Pixar's "Monsters University"
Thursday, 7/25, 12:45 PM - 2:15 PM

Copyright/ImageCredit: ©Disney•Pixar

The filmmaking team will guide attendees through the production process of the summer 2013 Disney•Pixar film, "Monsters University".  Twelve years after the original film, see how creators rebuilt the Monster world; updated familiar characters into college-age versions of themselves; designed, built and lit a campus fit for a monster; and populated the university with a student body of diverse, unique and terrifying monster types.

Storytelling through Stereography Industry Panel
Monday, 7/22, 2:00 PM - 3:30 PM

Image copyright: Marco Barragan

This panel brings together the Stereoscopic supervisors from some of the leading studios in the computer animation industry to discuss the artistry of the Stereo process and to show how storytelling is enhanced through the use of stereo.

From the beginning, stereography has been seen as either a gimmick, a trend, or a technical process done in post production.  But now, stereography has moved into the filmmakers tool belt – filmmakers have begun using stereography to raise and lower the emotional temperature of a film in the same way as lighting, color, composition, and the choice of lens.

In this panel we will discuss the varied approaches that each studio has used.  We will discuss our individual philosophies and our interactions with the directors in the execution of each of our films.  We will present specific examples from recent movies.
Panelists:
•    Dan Abramovich, Stereo Supervisor, Blue Sky Studios
•    Robert Neuman, Stereo Supervisor; Walt Disney Animation Studios
•    Joshua Hollander, Director of 3D Production, Pixar Animation Studios
•    Rob Engle, Freelance Stereo Supervisor
•    Gil Zimmerman, Head of Layout, DreamWorks Animation

'Cancel the Apocalypse' – Industrial Light & Magic Presents: The Visual Effects of “Pacific Rim”
Tuesday, 7/23, 3:45 PM - 5:15 PM

Image copyright - © 2013 Warner Bros. Courtesy of Industrial Light & Magic.

From aliens that threaten Earth’s very existence to massive human-piloted robots, this panel will discuss the wide-ranging scope of Industrial Light & Magic’s effects work on Guillermo del Toro’s science fiction epic “Pacific Rim.” The artists will cover creative and technical challenges overcome in the areas of asset development, character animation, lighting, digital environments, advanced fluid simulation work and more.

Panelists:
•    John Knoll – Visual Effects Supervisor
•    Hal Hickel – Animation Supervisor

SIGGRAPH 2013 Releases Preliminary Line-Up of Production Sessions

SIGGRAPH 2013, 21 -25 July at the Anaheim Convention Center in California, released an early preview of its impressive schedule of production sessions that will be featured at this year’s conference and are a part of the Computer Animation Festival, which is open to the public.

Jerome Solomon

“The production sessions at SIGGRAPH 2013 are your only opportunity to experience the world’s best talent in one place during one week,” says Jerome Solomon, SIGGRAPH 2013 Production Sessions Chair from Cogswell College. “Major studios share their latest creative work, allowing attendees to experience the newest and most significant achievements.  In many instances this is the first time these particular topics are discussed with the public. Nowhere else but at SIGGRAPH is this type of cutting-edge content available.  There are 'must see' sessions every day at SIGGRAPH.  It’s very exciting for our attendees.  And, this preliminary line-up is just the beginning of what we have in plan.”

The Computer Animation Festival, chaired this year by Jason R.M. Smith, is recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a qualifying festival. Since 1999, several works originally presented in the Computer Animation Festival have been nominated for or have received a "Best Animated Short" Academy Award. This year’s selections will be featured during the Computer Animation Festival through a series of daily Festival Screenings and the iconic Electronic Theater, allowing attendees to get a glimpse behind the making of computer generated effects, visualizations, and animations

In all, there will be more than 15 sessions. Following are the details on just some of the 2013 Production Sessions:

Industrial Light & Magic Presents:  'Cancel the Apocalypse' – The Visual Effects of “Pacific Rim”
Panelists: John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Lindy De Quattro and Eddie Pasquarello

Image copyright: © 2013 Warner Bros. Courtesy of Industrial Light & Magic

From aliens that threaten Earth’s very existence to massive human-piloted robots, this panel will discuss the wide-ranging scope of Industrial Light & Magic’s effects work on Guillermo del Toro’s science fiction epic “Pacific Rim.” The artists will cover creative and technical challenges overcome in the areas of asset development, character animation, lighting, digital environments, advanced fluid simulation work and more.

LAIKA Presents: The Seamless Fusion of Stop-Motion and Visual Effects Technologies in LAIKA's Feature Films
Speakers: Georgina Hayns, Creative Supervisor, Puppet Fabrication and Brian McLean, Director of Rapid Prototype.

Image Credit: LAIKA, Inc.

LAIKA, the Oregon-based animation studio behind the remarkable features "ParaNorman" (2012), "Coraline" (2009) and "The Boxtrolls" (in theaters 17 October 2014) has inspired audiences -- and industry professionals -- with an unprecedented visual artistry. Animators breathe life into meticulously hand-crafted puppets while visual effects artists seamlessly enhance the performance with cutting-edge technologies. This unparalleled fusion of stop- motion and computer graphics has garnered the studio two Oscar nominations and worldwide acclaim. In this session, Georgina Hayns and Brian McLean address the key interdependent and collaborative relationships between these uniquely different but critically important departments.

The presentation will address the following:
•    The use of Maya and Zbrush to enhance practical sculpts;
•    3D Printed material and subsurface scattering to allow puppet builders to break free of previous design limitations;
•    The advancements in color 3D printing and the enabling of puppet builders to evolve beyond prior design limitations;
•    The use of in-house developed silicones which enable character performance previously unseen in stop-motion animation;
•    The utilization of 3D Printers to pre-vis puppet construction issues and control how practical materials perform;
•    The use of laser cutting fabrics to enhance the design and functionality of the puppets costumes;
•    Production puppets will be displayed during the presentation.

OLM Digital Presents the Anime Spirit: From Pokémon, Pac-Man to live action films
Panelists: Koichiro Sato, CGI director OLM Digital, Masashi Kobayashi, CGI Producer OLM Digital, Moto Sakakibara, CEO and creative director Sprite Animation Studios and Ken Anjyo, R&D supervisor OLM Digital

Image Copyrights: ©Nintendo•Creatures•GAME FREAK•TV Tokyo•ShoPro•JR Kikaku, ©Pokémon ©2012 PIKACHU PROJECT, ©2012 NAMCO BANDAI Games Inc. and ©2012 CAPCOM / "Ace Attorney" FILM PARTNERS

Anime has gained great popularity in the world for its unique expressiveness in contrast to western animation. OLM Digital, a digital production company in Tokyo, keeps trying new anime styles, making the Pokémon movies over 15 years. This session presents the company’s various works in 2D anime, 3DCG and live action films. The showcase focuses on how the anime spirit of OLM Digital is put into various visual forms. The brand-new Pac-Man animated TV series, which is a collaborative work with Sprite Animation Studios, is also one of the highlights of this session.   

Rhythm & Hues Studios Presents: How to bake a Pi

Image credit: © 2012 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.
Courtesy Rhythm & Hues Studios.

Learn first-hand about the story behind the Oscar-winning visuals of “Life of Pi” as Rhythm & Hues takes you on a journey from script to screen through a world of vast oceans, carnivorous islands, flying fish, bioluminescent jellyfish, whales and tigers. Leaders from the visual effects team will discuss in detail how they attempted to tackle the project, share the hard lessons learned along the way and explain the complex process used to seamlessly combine live-action with extensive digital environments and hand-crafted character animation in a fully-stereo pipeline that required a total rethink of much of the traditional vfx process.

Sony Pictures Imageworks Presents: Take a Journey Down the Yellow Brick Road
Presenters: Scott Stokdyk, Senior VFX Supervisor; Troy Saliba, Animation Supervisor and Francisco De Jesus, Digital Effects Supervisor

Sony Pictures Imageworks, under the direction of VFX supervisor Scott Stokdyk, created the majority of the visual effects for Disney's "OZ THE GREAT AND POWERFUL".

© 2013 Disney Enterprises Inc. 

As a cinematic prequel to L. Frank Baum’s first book “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz,” the film explores the backstory of the wizard character. The goal of the film was to create a beautiful stylized environment for the land of Oz and bring to life computer graphics characters that accompany Oz on his journey, including Finley the monkey, the porcelain China Girl, and various creatures that surprise them along the way.

Walt Disney Animation and Pixar Animation Presents: Scare School 101: The Making of "Monsters University"

"Monsters University" - Copyright/ImageCredit: ©Disney•Pixar

The filmmaking team will guide attendees through the production process of the summer 2013 Disney•Pixar film, "Monsters University".  Twelve years after the original film, see how creators rebuilt the Monster world; updated familiar characters into college-age versions of themselves; designed, built and lit a campus fit for a monster; and populated the university with a student body of diverse, unique and terrifying monster types.

Walt Disney Animation Studios Presents "Frozen": The Craft of Character and Cold

Copyright/ImageCredit:  © 2012 Disney

The team from Walt Disney Animation Studios gives a first-time, behind-the-scenes look at the their
November 27, 2013 film, "Frozen".  Attendees will learn how the team of artists and technologists created the film's characters through visual development, rigging, animation and advanced rendering tools and discover how the elements of cold - ice, snow and frost - were brought to life through new simulation techniques.