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| 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 HaynsHead 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 4th, because this is our hard deadline!
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| 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.
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| 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. :)
All aboard for an Alaskan cruise: Summer is cruise season in Vancouver. More than a dozen
major lines embark here, offering cruises through Canada's stunning Inside
Passage, packed with whales and marine life, and onto the Alaskan
glaciers. 
Explore the old growth forests of Stanley Park: Larger than Manhattan's Central
Park, 1,000-acre Stanley Park is an easy stroll from
downtown Vancouver. A network of biking and walking paths winds
along ocean-side cliffs, past secluded beaches and deep into old growth
forests. 
Vancouver has an easily walkable core, in fact, it's been named "Canada's most walkable city" by Up Magazine. Click here to view the Vancouver downtown map featuring the Convention Centre and Tourism Vancouver's Visitor Centre.
