At one of the large receptions, networking and cross-fertilization are lubricated with fine food and drink. Front and center clapping are Dr. Thomas Haegele, program coordinator of fmx, and his wife Renata.”

What are We Doing About It?
OK, the really important thread at fmx was what U.S. and western European studios are doing about it. In order to stay on top and command the high prices that Hollywood can and should afford, the big focus is on pipeline and new tools… technically part of the pipeline. The idea is to use technology and efficient asset and talent management to reduce costs. The new pipeline/talent systems are able to produce better vfx and animation, quicker and with far fewer people. What does this mean for you?

It means if you’re really good, you’re likely to keep your job and still be paid well. If you’re mediocre, then you either have to polish up your skills or start thinking career change.

If you’re like me, you like the challenge offered by boutique shops that let you do everything: modeling, texturing and animation. I think we’re going to see less of this as the role of TD expands. It seems that the highly focused, compartmentalized animation setups at the large studios, such as Pixar, ILM and PDI, are the most efficient and cost effective. The idea is that each artist does one thing and does it exceptionally well. Tools are custom created to streamline each animation process. Some houses are going with packages like Maya or 3ds Max often supplemented by the awesomely powerful Houdini. But in every case they are building plug-ins that perform tasks better and faster than the original packages could. For example, fluid dynamics (FD) is very hot and will remain so for some time. Commercially available FD tools in general cannot produce the cutting edge fluid interactions needed by some of the most advanced feature films produced today.

By the way, a one of the hottest rumors out of fmx rumor was that Sony Pictures Imageworks recently hijacked an entire team of fluid jockeys from Rhythm & Hues, at enormous expense, to develop a proprietary, advanced FD tool set. Smart of them, but after seeing the extremely advanced FD work in previews of Der Sturmflood and Megaladon from Scanline, I’d say they have a lot of catching up to do.

At Disney, they actually build custom, individualized animation tools for their most talented animators. The idea is to make the technology so transparent that their artists can work intuitively. More often than not, these tools reflect Disney’s traditional methods passed down through generations of brilliant animators. On top of that, Disney is constantly creating general tools that simplify the animation process for all their animators.

My favorite is Sketch-A-Pose, which allows artists to perform complex animation tasks with a single swoosh of their Wacom stylus. I watched Arthur Shek animate an octopus-like Robot in seconds, and he’s a techno-geek, not an animator!

Sitting next to Aardman’s David Sproxton, DreamWorks’ Shelley Page and PDI co-founder Richard Chuang made for lively conversation.

fmx — An Opportunity Breeding Ground
I had the opportunity to chat over dinner with Chuang, Sproxton and Shelley Page, a European recruiter for DreamWorks. They were all impressed with fmx: “The synergy between the real-word of animation and the academic here is truly amazing,” Chuang offered. “It’s a joy to see such an important real-world conference like this rooted in an educational institution like the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy. This conference seems to give students great opportunities to mingle and network with the pros. I went on a tour of the Academy and was totally impressed with both the student work and the facilities… heck, I wish I could have experienced that when I was coming up.”

Page, whose spectacular “Eye Candy” presentation is always a hit of the conference, added: “fmx is really such a wonderful resource and it’s definitely a hotbed of networking, you know. I never cease to be impressed.”

Sproxton, a gifted raconteur as well as a great producer, echoed: “fmx is truly inspiring on top of being quite interesting, isn’t it? And let’s face it: I’ve met a great bunch of people here as well…”

A Rich Experience
I too have been impressed both with fmx and the Film Academy in nearby Ludwigsburg, which organizes fmx. One fascinating thing I discovered is that the school — one of the finest film schools in Europe — is completely free for exceptional students. If you qualify and are accepted, they will teach you at their expense. Even more interesting… you don’t even have to be German. Yes, if an American student qualifies, she too can attend. It certainly would help if you speak German, but what a deal.

All in all, I found fmx to be a deeply rich experience both personally and privately. I recommend it for anyone looking to get a broader view of our field, to find opportunities for living and working abroad and to experience a more intimate kind of conference.

Peter Plantec is a best-selling author, animator and virtual human designer. He wrote The Caligari trueSpace2 Bible, the first 3D animation book specifically written for artists. He lives in the high country near Aspen, Colorado. Peter’s latest book, Virtual Humans is a five star selection at Amazon after many reviews. Your can visit his personal website.