Complementing this year's artistic outlook on animation, the program series "Procedural Animation" looks at the technical aspects of animation when five European professionals elaborate on their work with JavaScript, Flash, WebGL and Real-Time Animation. Belgian Flash-Platform Developer and Consultant David Lenaerts (away 3D) and Creative Coder Frederik Vanhoutte, Finnish Designer and Developer Simo Santavirta (Aphex VJ), French Creative Developer Nicolas Barradeau and German Software Developer Felix Woitzel (S&N Datentechnik) have confirmed their attendance. The program series is curated by Frank Reitberger, Freelancer, Creative Developer and former Head of Flash Development at anyMotion Graphics.

VFX are at the heart of FMX. The tracks "Virtual Humans Forum", "VFX in Commercials" and "Simulation" discuss VFX along with two dedicated presentations on two current VFX highlights based on literary works. First there's Life of Pi: Bill Westenhofer, Visual Effects Supervisor at Rhythm & Hues, speaks about his team's work in Ang Lee's popular literary adaptation of Yann Martel's bestseller that is Oscar-nominated in the category "Best Visual Effects" as well as ten further categories. Furthermore, VFX Supervisor Guillaume Rocheron illustrates the film's impressive storm sequences that were created by the capable hands at MPC. What's more, FMX sheds light on the international co-production Cloud Atlas, the literary adaptation of David Mitchell's cult novel, directed by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowski siblings. Florian Gellinger, VFX Supervisor at rise fx, who contributed important shots of the spectacular car crash, aircraft explosion and other scenes, explains their role in the film's production.

In 2013, FMX and the Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) further continue their long-standing, successful partnership. The world's biggest festival for animated film, which celebrates its 20th edition this year, takes place parallel to FMX, from April 23-28. The popular festival invites directors, production companies and distributors to Stuttgart to present their animated features. ITFS offers all visitors including FMX attendees the opportunity to enjoy the latest and greatest animated films as part of their evening program. The renaissance of stop motion techniques is one of this year's core themes. Curated by Barry Purves, this program includes the presentation of several Oscar-nominated films. What's more, the host country India gives insights into the Indian animation community and introduces Reliance - the production company that took over Digital Domain last year; Anand Gurnani is the curator. Together FMX and ITFS host the Animation Production Day (APD), a business platform for the animation industry, on April 25 and 26. Once again, Stuttgart proves itself a central meeting point for professionals, companies, artists and attendees from all over the world and confirms Baden-Wuerttemberg's significance for the national and international film industry. 

Source: FMX 2013