Gregory Butler from Weta, a CG supervisor on THE LORD OF THE RINGS films, has been added as a morning keynote speaker to The Pipeline 2003, the U.K. event devoted to digital artists and animators, sponsored by Techimage, to be held at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London on Nov. 20, 2003. The Pipeline 2003 will comprise keynote speaker sessions, technical product presentations, information on training courses, a job fair and exhibits from leading software vendors, including Pixar, Side Effects, alienbrain and Science D Visions.
In addition to his keynote address, which still has spaces available, Butler will explore the development of several key sequences from the first two RINGS films.
Seamus Morley, director, Techimage, commented: "The U.K. is now a major center for the production of high quality CG. This growing success is increasing demand for more highly skilled CG animators and artists. Bringing together speakers from the world`s top CG houses, plus application experts from the leading software developers, will enthuse those in the business, inspire those who already have some experience to take their skills to the next level and entertain the rest of us."
Other keynote speakers include:Mark Walsh, Pixar Animation Studios, directing animator on FINDING NEMO, who will provide an overview of the production pipeline used at Pixar covering some of the challenges in lighting and coloring that contributed to the believable look of water in more than 1,400 shots.
Darin Grant, Digital Domain, manager, technical directors and software. Grant will discuss Houdini`s role in Digital Domain's production process.
Technical presentations include:Creation - Jeff Wagner, Side Effects Software, Toronto. An examination of the unique technology provided by Houdini and motivations for employing a procedural paradigm and architecture at the start and throughout a production pipeline.
Integration - Rolf Schneider, Science D Visions, Dortmund. Techniques for integration of live action and CG elements are demonstrated using Academy Award-winning 3DEqualizer`s automatic and manual features.
Asset Management - Steve Tyson, NXN Software, Munich. Tyson will show how NXN alienbrain studio can help free up the time needed for the highest quality results.
Rendering - Dylan Sisson, Pixar. An illustration of some of the features that make RenderMan the industry standard renderer for film and television. These include motion blur, optimized Ray Tracing and Global Illumination.
Training information:Information on training for Houdini and RenderMan, including two- and three-day courses from the NCCA at Bournemouth University, the U.K.'s premier University for CG.
Job fair:Houdini and RenderMan skills are in demand as never before. A number of companies currently recruiting will be available, including Vanguard Animation and FramestoreCFC.
To register for the event or to seek additional info, log onto: www.techimage.co.uk/pipeline.
Techimage Ltd (www.techimage.co.uk) was formed in 1995 to provide high-end software solutions for 2D and 3D artists and animators in the U.K. and northern Europe.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
