Long-Time Exhibitors and New Ones Bring Excitement to SIGGRAPH 2014

Autodesk and Intel Corp. are just two of many companies returning to SIGGRAPH in 2014.

SIGGRAPH is delighted to share the current amazing caliber of exhibitors already committed to this year's event in Vancouver. Featuring both veteran and new partners, SIGGRAPH 2014's exhibiting companies will offer expertise that is invaluable to the field of computer graphics and interactive techniques.

Even though SIGGRAPH 2014 is still a few months away, it is interesting to report that 16% of the current exhibitor list are first timers. In addition, they represent a total of 17 countries thus far with 44% of SIGGRAPH 2014 exhibitors having bases outside of the United States. This accounts for a 14% increase in foreign partners over SIGGRAPH 2013.

"We feel this type of growth is a direct result of rotating SIGGRAPH to newer geographical areas," says Mike Weil, SIGGRAPH Exhibition Director. "We pay very close attention to both our exhibitors and attendees when it comes to a conference venue location. This year is no different. We expect Vancouver to be an even better experience then it was in 2011."

He continues, "We are extremely proud to welcome these companies to SIGGRAPH 2014, especially those who were unable to attend last year or are long-time supporters of the conference."

Following is the list of SIGGRAPH 2014 exhibitors as of May 20th:

• 3D Consortium
• 3dMD
• 3DTotal.com
• Academy of Art University
• Account Name
• ACUTE3D
• Advanced Micro Devices (AMD)
• American Express OPEN
• Animation Magazine
• ARM
• ASC-American Cinematographer
• Aspera, an IBM Company
• Autodesk
• Avere Systems
• Axceleon Inc.
• B&H Photo, Video & Pro Audio
• Beijing Noitom Technology Ltd.
• BenQ America Corp.
• Canfield Scientific, Inc.
• Cap Digital
• Carnegie Mellon Entertainment Technology Center
• cebas Visual Technology Inc.
• Centre for Digital Media
• CG Masters, School of 3D Animation and Visual Effects
• CGAL - The Computational Geometry Algorithms Library
• Chaos Group
• Christie Digital Systems
• Clara.io
• Computer Graphics World
• CyberGlove Systems
• DigiPen Institute of Technology
• Dimensional Imaging
• Eizo Inc.
• EnvisionTEC
• Epson America
• Esri
• ETRI
• Faceshift AG
• Facet School of Visual Effects
• FARO Technologies Inc.
• ForgeFX Simulators
• Formlabs Inc.
• FORUM8 Co., Ltd.
• Full Sail University
• FXGear, Inc.
• Gener8 Digital Media
• GI LLC
• Government of British Columbia Ministry of International Trade
• IATSE
• IdN magazine
• IDV/SpeedTree
• IEEE Computer Society
• Imagination Technologies
• Imagineer Systems Ltd.
• Imaging Media Research Center, Korea Institute of Science and  Technology
• Intel Corporation
• Isotropix
• JourneyEd
• KOMMERZ
• Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA)
• Lightrig
• Lightwork Design Ltd.
• LMI Technologies Inc.
• Lost Boys Studios
• Luxion, Inc.
• MAXON
• Motion Analysis Corporation
• MSI Computer
• Next Limit Technologies
• NGRAIN
• NVIDIA Corporation
• Oculus
• Ontario Canada Delegation
• Open Exhibits
• OptiTrack
• OTOY, Inc.
• Panasas
• Peer 1 Hosting
• PhaseSpace Inc
• PipelineFX, LLC
• Pixar Animation Studios
• PNY Technologies
• Point Grey Research, Inc.
• Prometheus Kaleido Beijing Technology Limited
• ProMexico
• Purdue University
• QUALCOMM Technologies Inc.
• Quebec Film and Television Council
• Reallusion Inc.
• RebusFarm GmbH
• Ringling College of Art and Design
• Savannah College of Art and Design
• Scanline VFX
• Shapeways
• Sheridan College
• Shotgun Software, Inc.
• "SIAT, Simon Fraser University
• School of Interactive Arts and Technology"
• Side Effects Software
• Siliconarts, Inc.
• Simply Computing
• Simplygon
• Sketchfab Inc.
• Smith Micro Software
• Spheron-VR AG
• Stereolabs
• Stratasys 3D Printers & Production Systems
• Supermicro
• Synertial MotionWerx
• Taylor Francis/CRC/ Focal Press
• TechViz
• The Captury GmbH
• The Foundry Visionmongers
• The University of the Arts
• Think Tank Training Centre
• Thinkbox Software Inc.
• Tinkerine Studios
• United Scenic Artists, Local USA 829 IATSE
• Unity Technologies
• VanArts
• Vancouver Animation School
• Vancouver Film School
• Vicon
• Virtual Motion Labs
• Wacom Technology
• Web3D Consortium
• Western Digital

For more information about this year's exhibition, please visit the SIGGRAPH 2014 website.

SIGGRAPH 2014 Offers Courses for Every Skill Level

Put on Your 3D Glasses Now: The Past, Present, and Future of Virtual and Augmented Reality © 2014
Douglas Lanman, NVIDIA Research; Henry Fuchs, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Mark Mine, Walt Disney Imagineering; Ian McDowall, Intuitive Surgical, Fakespace Labs; Michael Abrash, Oculus VR

 Courses are short (1.5 hours) or half-day (3.25 hours) structured sessions where attendees learn from experts in the field and gain inside knowledge that is critical to career advancement.

Courses range from an introduction to the foundations of computer graphics and interactive techniques (for those new to the field) to advanced instruction on the most current techniques and topics.

"We have a very exciting and diverse program of courses spanning a wide range of topics including games, asset production, wearable displays, and mobile graphics hardware. If you want to see the future of computer graphics, the courses program at SIGGRAPH 2014 is the must-see program," said Mashhuda Glencross, SIGGRAPH 2014 Courses Chair from Loughborough University.

Editor's note: Earlier this year, SIGGRAPH University was launched and offers five free full length courses given at SIGGRAPH 2013.  For more details click here.

SIGGRAPH 2014 Courses Highlights:

Put On Your 3D Glasses Now: The Past, Present, and Future of Virtual and Augmented Reality

With wearable displays on the cusp of consumer adoption, this course reviews their history, applications in research and development, the current consumer state of the art, and future optical designs that will enable eye-glasses-like form factors. Presenters include virtual reality and augmented reality pioneers, leading entrepreneurs, and academic researchers.

Presenters: Douglas Lanman, NVIDIA Research; Henry Fuchs, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Mark Mine, Walt Disney Imagineering; Ian McDowall, Intuitive Surgical, Fakespace Labs; Michael Abrash, Oculus VR

Digital Ira and Beyond: Creating Photoreal Real-Time Digital Characters

This course explains a complete process for creating next-generation real-time digital human characters, using the Digital Ira collaboration between USC's Institute for Creative Technologies and Activision as an example, and covers high-resolution facial scanning, blendshape rigging, video-based performance capture, animation compression, real-time skin and eye shading, hair, latest results, and future directions.

Presenters: Javier von der Pahlen, Activision, Inc.; Jorge Jimenez, Activision, Inc.; Etienne Danvoye, Activision, Inc.; Paul Debevec, USC Institute for Creative Technologies; Graham Fyffe, USC Institute for Creative Technologies; Hao Li, University of Southern California

Building an Empire: Asset Production in Ryse

"For Ryse: Son of Rome", Crytek appropriated many techniques that are usually reserved for film production. The team made a 90-minute movie and a 10-hour game using the same assets. This course reviews what worked and what didn't, ranging from reference acquisition to final in-game set pieces.

Presenters: Christopher Evans and Sascha Herfort, Crytek GmbH

Real-Time Live! Submission Deadline Approaching

Are you an Evil Genius? Mad Scientist? Creative Computer God?

If so, we want YOU! 

The submission deadline for the Real-Time Live! program is fast approaching. Submit your work by Tuesday, 1 April, 22:00 UTC/GMT, for consideration to present at SIGGRAPH 2014!

Real-Time Live! remains the premier showcase for the most innovative and interactive real-time graphics created in the last 12 months, packaged into a diverse and fast-paced show.

We are seeking the latest examples of real-time graphics, interactions and simulations, including:

• Computer games
• Real-time art explorations
• Research projects
• Military or industrial simulations
• Interactive animation and graphics
• Scientific visualizations: medical, astrophysics, astronomy
• Interactive data visualizations and information graphics
• Armies of autonomous penguin drones with shrink-ray bowties

As long as the submission is interactively controlled, rendered in real time, and repeatable for a live audience, it WILL be considered. Accepted work is demonstrated live on stage with a PC, game console, or telepathic device.

This year, the show will be an extravaganza with a mad science noir, fun-filled fanfare, and prizes!

What are you waiting for? 

Submit your work today!

We are looking forward to all of your submissions. Please contact the Real-Time Live! Chair if you have any questions about presentation opportunities at SIGGRAPH 2014.

SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival 2012 Preview Video Is Now Live

The SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival is the annual festival for the world's most innovative, accomplished, and amazing digital film and video creators. An internationally recognized jury receives hundreds of submissions and presents the best work of the year in daily Festival Screenings and the Electronic Theater. Selections include outstanding achievements in time-based art, scientific visualization, visual effects, real-time graphics, and narrative shorts. Here is this year's preview video:

SIGGRAPH 2012 Computer Animation Festival Trailer

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 daily Festival Screenings and the iconic Electronic Theater, allowing attendees to get a glimpse behind the making of computer-generated effects, visualizations, and animations.

Interesting statistics from this year's amazing content:

• Total Juried Submissions – 601
• Student Entries – 289
• Jury Selections – 81  
• Total Computer Animation Festival Selected Entries – 370+
• Number of Countries Represented – 43 

The Festival is open to the public and a one day pass is available for $50 [includes access to Birds of a Feather, Computer Animation Festival, Exhibitor Tech Talks, Keynote Speaker, Job Fair, Real-Time Live!, SIGGRAPH Dailies!, Technical Papers Fast Forward, and the Exhibition (Tues-Thurs)].

SIGGRAPH 2012 takes place 5-9 August in Los Angles, California. Visit the SIGGRAPH 2012 website to learn more.

Computer Animation Festival Preview Video is Live

For a preview video of the incredibly packed 2011 SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival use the following link and be prepared to get blown away. It is going to be a great show!

To request interviews with the key folks behind this year's Festival, contact media@siggraph.org.

SIGGRAPH 2010 Announces Computer Animation Festival Winners

(Chicago, IL) - SIGGRAPH announces the Computer Animation Festival's Best in Show, Jury Award, and Best Student Project recipients for SIGGRAPH 2010 to be held in Los Angeles this July. Nominees were chosen from 750 submissions from around the globe, presented by both professional studios and students alike.

"It was difficult to narrow the pool of submissions because of the high level of quality and technical expertise," said Isaac Kerlow, Computer Animation Festival Director from The Earth Observatory of Singapore/NTU ADM. "Attendees will experience an endorphin rush as they watch the screenings of independent and commercial films, and will get a behind-the-scenes perspective from the planned Production Sessions featuring the visionaries behind some of this year's most successful Hollywood films. Whether you are an industry veteran or someone who just enjoys quality visual effects and animation, there is something for everyone this year."

In all, approximately 100 films will be shown during the Computer Animation Festival. The Electronic Theater, the iconic and tribal SIGGRAPH experience, features an identical program three nights in a row, including most of the Jury Selections. Four thematic Special Screenings show the best in TV Commercials and Cinematics, Long Shorts, Student Animations, and for the first time a special focus on Chinese Student Animations. Truly an international event, the festival had entries from 49 different countries and five continents. Fifty-two of the accepted entries are international, and 18 countries are represented in the final selection.

Some of the year's top visual effects for feature films are featured in the Computer Animation Festival including "Avatar", "The Last Airbender", "Sherlock Holmes", "Iron Man 2", "Prince of Persia", "2012", and "Alice in Wonderland". Plus, eight Live Real-Time Demos, ranging from mainstream to independent work, also contribute to making the Computer Animation Festival a memorable experience.

Since 1999, the SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival has been an official qualifying festival for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences "Best Animated Short Film" Academy Award®. The film "French Roast" became an Academy nominee in the Best Animated Short category after winning Best in Show at last year's Festival. For the third consecutive year, the Festival's screenings, panels and production sessions will be open to the public, allowing general audiences to get a glimpse behind the making of computer generated effects, visualizations, and animations that is rarely available.

A complete preview video of the 2010 Computer Animation Festival is available here.

For a complete list of films and images, click here.

Here are just a few highlights of this year's Computer Animation Festival films and Live Real-Time Demos:

BEST IN SHOW AWARD

"Loom"
(Germany)
Directed by Jan Bitzer, Ilija Brunck, and Csaba Letay
"Loom" tells the story of a moth being drowned in one of nature's complex cycles. "Loom" was the final project of Jan Bitzer, Ilija Brunck, and Csaba Letay at the Filmakademie Baden Wьrttemberg, Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction. The production time, including story development and preproduction, was one year. Credit: Loom © 2010 Ilija Brunck, Polynoid

JURY AWARD
"Poppy"
(New Zealand)
Directed by James Cunningham
"Poppy" is an independent short set on France's western front in World War One. Two New Zealand soldiers are trapped behind enemy lines. They find a baby in a muddy ditch, under its dead parents. One of the men wants to save it-the other does not. Based on true events, "Poppy" was written by the great-grandson of one of these soldiers. An innovative combination of motion capture with exquisite facial animation.

BEST STUDENT PROJECT PRIZE

"The Wonder Hospital"
(USA)
Directed by Beomsik Shimbe Shim, California Institute of the Arts
In this student project, a girl enters a mysterious hospital that alters her way of seeing beauty. She is given a choice between two images of her face, "Before" and "After". As she continues on this illusionary journey, she realizes that beauty is something very different from what she expected. Credit: The Wonder Hospital © 2010, all rights reserved by Shimbe

"2012" - The Last Fluid Simulation
(USA/Germany)
Visual Effects by Scanline VFX, Los Angeles/Munich
This reel shows the underlying technology that was used for more than 100 massive fluid simulation shots on "2012". Included are examples of fully computer-generated shots with massive tidal waves, simulated ice and snow, and, finally, the aircraft carrier John F. Kennedy smashing into the White House.


Assassin's Creed 2
(Hungary)
Cinematic by Digic Pictures for Ubisoft Entertainment
Stunningly rendered and animated, this cinematic narrative follows an assassin on the prowl in a street carnival, on his quest to reveal a secular conspiracy during the masquerades of the Italian Renaissance. Image courtesy of Digic Pictures © 2009 Ubisoft Entertainment. All Rights Reserved. Assassin's Creed, Ubisoft, Ubi.com, and the Ubisoft logo are trademarks of Ubisoft Entertainment in the U.S. and/or other countries.


"Animated History of Poland"
(Poland)
Directed by Tomek Bagi?ski, Platige Image
A tale about 1,000 years of Polish history in the format of a musical-visual poem. The story starts with the beginning of the Polish nation in the ninth century, and shows the most important events and processes that took place until the 21st century. The project is a presentation-educational piece produced for the EXPO 2010 in Shanghai. Credit: Animated History of Poland © 2010 Agnieszka Piechnik, Platige Image


"Guinness World"
(United Kingdom)
Commercial by The Mill for AMV BBDO
This commercial spot shows how a pint of Guinness comes to life when poured, opening with a man striking a match and lighting a rocket as a voiceover whispers, "It?s time to bring this place to life." There begins an exhilarating journey, bringing life to barren landscapes across the planet. Credit: Guinness World © 2010 The Mill

"Day & Night"
(USA)
Directed by Teddy Newton, Pixar Animation Studios
When Day encounters Night, sparks fly! At first frightened and suspicious of each other, they get off on the wrong foot. But as they discover each other's unique qualities?and realize that each offers a different window onto the world-the friendship helps them gain a new perspective.


"Suiren"
(Japan)
Directed by Tomoya Kimpara, wow.inc
"Suiren" is a poetic science-fiction visual music piece where the ocean is a symbol of life, and machine-seeds are born to devote themselves to the creation of beautiful creatures. Credit: Suiren © 2010 Tomoya Kimpara, wow.inc


"Upgrades"
(USA)
Directed by Anya Belkina, Emerson College
"Upgrades" is a hilarious and breakneck-paced animated parody chronicling major upgrades in computer graphics software. Set to the music of Rimsky-Korsakov's "Flight of the Bumble Bee".
Credit: Upgrades © 2010 Anya Belkina, Emerson College

"Making of Nuit Blanche"
(Canada)
Directed by Arev Manoukian, Visual Effects by Marc-Andrй Gray, Stellar Scene
In this reel we explore the making of "Nuit Blanche", an elegant and poetic short film that explores a fleeting moment between two strangers, revealing their brief connection in a hyper-real fantasy heavily dependent on visual effects.Credit: Making of Nuit Blanche ©2010 Marc-André Gray, Stellar Scene

"Visualizing Empires Decline"
(Portugal)
Directed by Pedro Cruz, Centre for Informatics and Systems of the University of Coimbra
This information visualization project narrates the decline of the top four maritime empires in the 19th and 20th centuries. A physics engine is used to build a visual mood that conveys the tone of the empires' decline.Credit: Visualizing Empires Decline © 2010 Pedro M. Cruz, Centre for Informatics and Systems of the University of Coimbra

"Cours Toujours"
(France)
Directed by Olivier Barrй and Elise Garcette, La Station Animation
An intrepid creature throws himself into a wild pursuit of a bird, which gets him into comically frantic situations. Credit: Cours Toujours ©2010 Olivier Barré, La Station Animation

"Making Love"
(Sweden, Live Real-Time Demo)
Quel Solaar
This game exploration demo is an exploration of the world of the procedural one-man indie "MMO LOVE". The demo also showcases the tools used to create assets, like sketch-based modeling, 100 percent automatic UV mapping, shader and asset management tools, and the layer-based procedural texturing tool.

God of War III
(USA, Live Real-Time Demo)
Sony Computer Entertainment of America
God of War III is the latest entry in the successful God of War commercial video game series and the first on PlayStation 3. It combines epic set pieces with exquisite fine detail, and its visuals display both technical and creative virtuosity.