Some 25,000 attendees from six continents are expected for the 27th International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Technologies (SIGGRAPH 2000) at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans from July 23-28. The confab includes a three-day (July 25-27) exhibition of products and services for the computer graphics and interactive marketplace.
Members of the commercialmaking community will be on hand to discover and recruit new CGI and multimedia talent, as well as to hopefully gain further insights into such topics as the implications of DTV on visual effects, the integration of 2-D and 3-D imagery, and inroads being made in the creation of realistic "synthespians" or CGI actors who appear human.
The latter so-called holy grail of CGI gained momentum with the recent debut of Funk Blast, an 18-minute, 65mm film that’s the centerpiece of a multimedia attraction at the Experience Music Project, a museum which opened June 30 in Seattle. For the film, which has generated quite a buzz in industry circles, Venice, Calif.-based effects/ computer animation studio Digital Domain captured legendary soul, funk and rock music superstar James Brown at the age of 30, circa the 1960s (SHOOT, 6/30). Though Funk Blast was completed too late to make SIGGRAPH’s Electronic Theater, the film will be the subject of a panel discussion slated for July 28. Among those on the panel will be Digital Domain’s visual effects supervisor Andre Bustanoby, animation supervisor Mark David Brown, animation technical director Caleb Owens, CG supervisor Joshua Kolden and compositing supervisor David Stern.
The earlier alluded to Electronic Theater remains a perennial SIGGRAPH draw. This time around, several artisans from shops well versed in commercials will be showcasing noted work. Often these projects have generated applications for spot production, or conversely may have deployed technical tools and/or creative approaches spawned by commercialmaking.
Meanwhile, the SIGGRAPH 2000 Animation Theater will feature computer animation fare from such notable houses as Digital Domain; Industrial Light+Magic Commercial Productions (ILMCP), San Rafael and Los Angeles; Richmond, Calif.-based Pixar Animation Studios; bicoastal Curious Pictures; Will Vinton Studios, Portland, Ore.; Blue Sky Studios, Harrison, N.Y.; Buf Compagnie, Paris; Sony Pictures Imageworks, Culver City, Calif.; and Rhythm & Hues Studios, Los Angeles.
Several of these entries are spots, including Levi’s "Socks"-a.k.a. "Invisible Man"-directed by Michael Bay of bicoastal/ international Propaganda Films, with effects by Digital Domain for TBWA/Chiat/Day, Los Angeles and San Francisco; Mazda’s "Cool World" directed by Charlie Watson of Rhythm & Hues for Doner, Southfield, Mich.; Gatorade’s "Raptor vs. Raptor" directed by ILMCP’s Steve Beck for FCB Chicago; and Citibank’s "Bunnies" directed by Skeets McGrew of Will Vinton Studios, for Young & Rubicam, New York. Another notable entry in the Animation Theater is the Chemical Brothers’ music video "Let Forever Be," directed by Michel Gondry of bicoastal/international Partizan, with visual effects by Buf.
And there are creative links between projects in the Electronic Theater and the Animation Theater. For instance, San Rafael-based Industrial Light+ Magic’s work on The Perfect Storm, part of the Electronic Theater, influenced the aforementioned Gatorade spot entitled "Raptor vs. Raptor." Fluid dynamic software used on the theatrical feature was instrumental in creating the beads of sweat on Toronto Raptors’ pro basketball forward Vince Carter’s face, and the drops of Gatorade that come out of the bottle in "Raptor vs. Raptor."
The spot industry will also be eyeing the field of some 325 SIGGRAPH exhibitors. While SIGGRAPH is traditionally not a hotbed of new product introductions on the scale of this past April’s National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention in Las Vegas, there are usually some key unveilings and announcements.
The SIGGRAPH conference will also feature a comprehensive technical program and special events that focus on research, art, animation and interactive technologies. The Association of Computing Machinery launched and continues as the founding sponsor of SIGGRAPH.
