Chainsmoker takes a stylized approach to photorealism. © Lost Liner Productions.

If there is an exception to this, it may be in the eyes. Several festival selections by large and small teams demonstrated increasing facility depicting the "spark of life" in the eyes of their digital characters. Examples of work in this area include: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Gollum), Exigo (Crow), Eternal Gaze (Giacometti) and Chainsmoker (Old Woman).

Water, Water Everywhere
Fluid simulation methods continue to capture the attention of digital filmmakers. Several festival selections featured results of water and fluid simulation in macro and micro scales. The ILM team even presented a paper on using 2D fluid simulations to create realistic 3D explosions. Examples of convincing photoreal water work in the festival included Gaz De France’s Dolce Vita, Bjork’s Nature is Ancient and Johnnie Walker’s Fish. Non-photoreal selections featuring water included Early Bloomer and Plumber. Glassworks’ Bjork music video presented a visually arresting digital portrayal of translucent creatures interacting in an ethereal watery environment. The work had the look and feel of Oxford Scientific microcinematography and shows the industry getting increasingly adept at digitally recreating organic forms.

The music video for Bjork’s Nature is Ancient boasts photoreal water that rivals Finding Nemo. © Glassworks.

Out of the Mouths of Babes
Several festival selections came from schools of media and design. The festival committee judged these submissions against the same criteria as work the larger studios. The Ringling School of Art and Design, Vancouver Film School, Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg, Savannah College of Art and Design were among the schools represented in the festival. Examples of student work included After You, Mickey's Buddy, Eat Your Peas, Poor Bogo and a twist on the dragons-and-knights clichés, Ritterschlag. The strong current of top-notch digital storytelling coming from schools suggests that these institutions will continue to provide fresh ways to tell stories in the future.

Ritterschlag has been a favorite at festivals around the globe. © Institut of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction at Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg.