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.
“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
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.
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;
