FMX 2012: Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Transmedia

Press release from FMX:

Preparations for this year‘s FMX are in full swing. The new subtitle "Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Transmedia" sums up the essence of the 17th edition of Europe’s largest conference on the creation, production and distribution of Digital Entertainment. In 2012, FMX focuses on new Animated Features, Visual Effects and Games as well as specific topics such as Virtual Production, Previs, Digital Worldbuilding, Lighting und Rendering, Cloud Computing, Industrial CG and Transmedia. While a majority of this year’s program is still being planned, FMX is delighted to announce that Transmedia pioneer Henry Jenkins has already confirmed. What’s more, FMX will offer four exciting days filled with world-class keynotes, presentations and workshops as well as excellent networking possibilities at the FMX Marketplace, School Campus and Recruiting Hub.

Jean-Michel Blottière, FMX 2012 Program Chair, knows from long-standing experience that successful events are the sum of individual efforts that cannot be esteemed highly enough:

"It’s my great honor to thank all wonderful curators who help us shaping the FMX 2012 Program. On behalf of the whole FMX team, we would like to express our deepest gratitude. Without the curators' kind help and wonderful support, we couldn’t build such an amazing program."

Discovering Transmedia
FMX 2012 places a special emphasis on the growing field of Transmedia. Transmedia focuses on the convergence of film, TV, computers, consoles and mobile devices and reflects their relationship and contextualization. Curated by Inga von Staden, this year’s track features renowned speakers such as Prof. Henry Jenkins who ranks among the most important of Transmedia scholars or Nuno Bernardo, the award-winning writer, producer and founder of beActive. At FMX, Henry Jenkins will give an overview of this expansive topic including some of his own research topics. In contrast, Nuno Bernardo will provide the FMX audience with insights on Transmedia production pipelines such as his very own interactive on-line series Sofia’s Diary - the first international series of its kind.

Cloud Computing
Cloud Computing promises huge benefits by enabling shared remote computing resources and lowering the barrier of entry to high-performance computing. But what does this mean for animation and visual effects production? FMX will feature a series of sessions on this very timely topic. Curated by Ludwig von Reiche, Senior Director for Business Development of NVIDIA, this track will explore current offerings of Cloud Computing and their relevance to animation, games and visual effects production. Users and vendors will discuss advantages and challenges for different application areas as well as upcoming trends in Cloud Computing technologies and business models.

FMX meets Industrial CG
This new track - curated by Ludwig Fuchs (RTT) addresses the use of Computer Graphics (CG) for industrial purposes, from design and development right up to marketing and sales. CG enables product designers and marketers to tell their stories in an innovative and distinguished manner. Speakers from companies such as Audi, Porsche and PSA Peugeot Citroën will provide insight into how they apply CG inside their organizations. The track will consider the importance of using real-time and offline CG, and how the use of CG across the industry can fundamentally influence the way people work.

Focus on Canada, Poland and the Baltics
Each year FMX spots the unique successes and achievements that have taken place in particular regions. In 2012 FMX looks, amongst others, to Canada: the regional animation and VFX industry is flourishing and many US companies have opened subsidiaries. At FMX the Focus on Montreal and Focus on Vancouver will pursue this trend in-depth. Moreover, these tracks will consider complex issues from local and international perspectives. Two further, separate tracks will focus on Poland and the Baltics; both explore current developments and trends in Eastern Europe. Focus on Poland will feature a presentation on the post production of Marek Koterski’s film Baby sa jakies inne executed by the post production house The Chimney Pot. FMX, ITFS and APD

In 2012, FMX and the Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) will further continue their long-standing, successful partnership. For the 19th time in a row, ITFS invites directors, production companies, distributors and international sales companies to present their animated films. In addition to the auspicious ITFS Screenings shown at FMX, ITFS offers the FMX audience the possibility of concluding their day in one of the nearby cinemas - the parallel event takes place from May 8 to 13. Furthermore, FMX 2012 and ITFS mutually host the Animation Production Day (APD) 2012, a business platform for the international animation industry, thereby transforming Stuttgart into the "Animated Capital of Europe." The APD takes place from May 8 to 9.

About FMX
FMX is an event by Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg [1], organized by the Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction [2], hosting the Animation Production Day 2012 (APD [3]), a joint venture with the Festival of Animated Film Stuttgart (ITFS [4]). It is an event in cooperation with Visual Effects Society (VES [5]), Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences (AIAS [6]), ACM SIGGRAPH [7] and 5D Institute [8], supported by Autodesk [9]. FMX is funded by the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts [10] and the Ministry for Finance and Economic Affairs [11] of the State of Baden-Wuerttemberg, the MFG [12] Film Funding and the FFA [13] German Federal Film Board.