Pixar Animation Studios will reveal the next stage in RenderMan development at the SIGGRAPH 2006 conference in Boston, where the studio will demonstrate the latest upcoming RenderMan products, including version 2.0 of its popular RenderMan for Maya plug-in, the latest RenderMan Artist Tools 7.0 and the debut of its next generation successor RenderMan Studio.
BOXX Technologies Inc. announced that it will be offering SIGGRAPH 2006 attendees an opportunity to win the core building blocks of a vfx studio, Studio in a BOXX, during the show in Boston on Aug. 1-3. The set is comprised of two 3DBOXX 7500 Performance Series workstations, two high-quality 20 displays from Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd., three RenderBOXX 8200 Series render nodes and a Wacom Cintiq 21 Tablet.
Its that busy time again between Comic-Con and SIGGRAPH, but VFXWORLD doesnt miss a beat. Alain Bielik reports on ILMs 3D creature animation in M Night Shyamalans LADY IN THE WATER. Orlando Luna stirs up Shake 4.1, Apples Universal Binary version of its famous compositing tool. Mary Ann Skweres gives a sneak peek of SIGGRAPH Art Gallery 2006: INTERSECTIONS. And J. Paul Peszko looks at the collaboration between concept artists and vfx pros, as we turn our attention this month to the digital artist.
Bill DesowitzEditor
On the heels of the successful worldwide launch of its latest 3D-animated feature, OVER THE HEDGE, DreamWorks Animation will assert a major presence at SIGGRAPH 2006 in Boston at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center (July 30-Aug. 3).
DreamWorks Animation, which will fly more than 80 artists and executives from California for the event, will deliver six sketch presentations, have a major recruiting suite in the Convention Center (Room 252A) and host the SIGGRAPH Educators' Luncheon Symposium for the third year in a row.
Stop by Digital-Tutors at SIGGRAPH 2006 in Boston (booth #2616) from Aug. 1-3, to learn more about training products and services, show promotions and giveaways and the opportunities available at Digital-Tutors.
* Digital-Tutors Presents: The Softimage Training Center
GenArts Inc., a leading provider of digital visual effects plug-ins for the film, broadcast and video industries, will be showcasing Sapphire Plug-ins at SIGGRAPH 2006, being held Aug. 1-3 at the Boston Exhibition & Convention Center. Visitors to GenArts booth #1700 will see demonstrations on a wide range of platforms, including: Adobe After Effects and Premiere Pro, eyeon Fusion, Apple Shake and Final Cut Pro, Avid Xpress Pro and Autodesk Combustion. GenArts will be presenting new versions of Sapphire Plug-ins for Apple Shake 4.1, Final Cut Pro 5.1 and Autodesk Combustion 4.
Sharon Tettegah, a professor of curriculum and instruction at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has been studying the use of animation as an outlet for victimized children and for a new research method that tests the empathy of teachers who may deal with them.
Tettegah believes so strongly in the value of animation specifically "animated narrative vignette simulations" that she sought out a computer science professor at Illinois, Brian Bailey, to help develop her concept for a child-friendly program for producing them.
D2 Software Inc. a subsidiary of Digital Domain Inc., will unveil new features for its award-winning NUKE compositing software planned for release in December at SIGGRAPH 2006 in Boston. The company will also give attendees a look at how top VFX companies are handling compositing on major projects through guest presentations and companion product demos in booth #1231 (co-located with Digital Domain), and offer attendees the opportunity to get a hands-on experience with NUKE at the Guerilla Studio.
Side Effects Software, developer of the award-winning Houdini family of 3D software, released Houdini 8.1. This new version features an animator-friendly Auto Rig, Muscle System, Character Picker and Pose Library. Enhancements to the Rigid Body and Wire dynamic solvers and support for the importing of Collada files are also included in this latest release.
e-on software announced the forthcoming release of the sixth generation of Vue, its award-winning solution for natural 3D environments. Vue 6 Infinite will be previewed at SIGGRAPH 2006 in Boston, Aug. 1-3 (booth #1828).
Vue 6 is based on an entirely redesigned architecture to provide users with more power, improved workflow and increased productivity.
Here are a couple of examples of the more than150 new features included in Vue 6 Infinite:
1 Beyond Inc., a leading provider of digital video editing, compositing and storage systems, announced that Hatchling Studios, a growing full service digital animation company based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, has chosen 1 Beyond systems to completely revamp its armory of graphics workstations.
With the opening of SUPERMAN RETURNS, VFXWORLD focuses on the crucial flying animation provided by Sony Pictures Imageworks. Next week, we cover the rest of the cutting edge work turned in by Rhythm & Hues, Framestore CFC, Frantic Films, The Orphanage, Rising Sun Pictures and Pixel Liberation Front. Meanwhile, in this months Digital Eye, Peter Plantec interviews Terrence Masson, chair of the upcoming SIGGRAPH 2006 Computer Animation Festival in Boston, to find out how one goes about selecting a great animated short.
Bill DesowitzEditor
The 2006 Festival of Visual Effects will feature a lineup of revolving showcases highlighting the creativity of digital visual effects artists from the earliest pioneers to the latest innovators. These four different programs will complement the previously announced schedule of panels and presentations being held at this year's Festival, July 6-8, at the famed Egyptian Theatre in Hollywood, California. Each program will be scheduled at least once per day and will be shown at the Steven Spielberg Theatre at the Egyptian Theatre complex.
eyeon Software gears up for the fall trade show season with the pre-announcement of its SIGGRAPH 2006 release of Fusion 5.1.
eyeon will soon unveil Fusion version 5.1, introducing more than 25 new technologies to their industry-leading compositing application. eyeon spent more than two years redeveloping the core architecture of Fusion 5. The 5.1 release will add a host of new features and functionality to this highly-adaptable visual effects system.
The SIGGRAPH 2006 Art Gallery: Intersections is estimated to be the world's largest and one of the most unique international digital art exhibitions featuring an extensive collection of works that merge innovative computer graphics and interactive techniques with artistic practice.
Continuing our special event specific Flash Newsletters, we will be publishing a special edition for SIGGRAPH. The market is fast approaching and our editorial and advertising staff is gearing up for the SIGGRAPH-specific Flash Newsletters. Here are the dates for the publications. Please send your news two weeks prior to the publication date.
SIGGRAPH NewsletterJuly 18July 25
All your news can be sent to editor@awn.com. For sales opportunities, contact Dan Sarto at dan@awn.com or call (323) 606-4200.
Joe Rohde, exec designer and vp, creative for Walt Disney Imagineering, will present the SIGGRAPH 2006 keynote address "From Myth to Mountain: Insights Into Virtual Placemaking" on July 31 during the 33rd International SIGGRAPH Conference in Boston.
Rohde is the lead designer of Disney's Animal Kingdom at Disney World in Orlando, Florida, and is responsible for driving the vision for the theme park. He was the principal creative force behind the just-opened Expedition Everest attraction, which made its debut this year.
With THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT, opening Friday from Universal Pictures, the vfx bar has been raised in that franchise to 768 shots, divided among 10 houses, with Rhythm & Hues handling the most complex sequence. Alain Bielik reports how placing the action in Tokyo necessitated creating the environment digitally for the car racing. Meanwhile, Renee Dunlop delves into Foxs GARFIELD: A TALE OF TWO KITTIES, which also opens Friday, featuring the animation/vfx of Rhythm & Hues and Rainmaker.
Bill DesowitzEditor
The SIGGRAPH 2006 Papers Program features the latest achievements in the worlds most prestigious presentation of the years best research innovations in computer graphics and interactive techniques. Of 474 international submissions, 86 Papers were accepted for SIGGRAPH 2006 taking place July 30-Aug. 3 in Boston. The SIGGRAPH 2006 Papers Program opens July 31 at 8:30 am and closes Aug. 3 at 5:30 pm.
Emmy award-winning Toon Boom Animation Inc. announced the release of Toon Boom Storyboard, the leading storyboarding system for visual storytelling. Developed in conjunction with expert storyboard artists, Toon Boom Storyboard speeds up production planning and enables studios to increase production integration.
Toon Boom Storyboard provides:* Flexible layer-based panel display with motion camera capabilities * Complete set of drawing tools, including pressure-sensitive brush tool when using a digital graphic tablet and pen
Foxs remake of THE OMEN opened auspiciously well with $12.5M on 6/6. Alain Bielik recounts how Cinesite digitally recreated those legendary death scenes we remember so well. Meanwhile, Fred Galpern reviews modo 201, the latest version of Luxologys 3D modeling, painting and rendering software. According to early reports, 201 makes it easier to model and render all in application without worrying about the mechanics. Theres also the latest excerpt from LEARNING MAYA 7 FOUNDATION, which continues the series on rendering.
Bill DesowitzEditor
VFXWORLD concludes May with Karen Raugusts fascinating look at The Value of Shorts for studios, including a sneak peek at the new program at Disney following the Pixar purchase. J. Paul Peszko analyzes the summer of CG water in depth, focusing on the latest fluid sim advances in both POSEIDON and PIRATES THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MANS CHEST. Meanwhile, Tara DiLullo breaks down some of the intriguing vfx work in X-MEN: THE LAST STAND, which just broke the Memorial Day holiday box office record.
MetroCAF 2006New York, New York, USASeptember 26, 2006
NYC ACM SIGGRAPH hosts MetroCAF 2006, the fourth Annual NYC Metropolitan Area College Computer Animation Festival. It gives local students an opportunity to gain international exposure for their computer-generated imagery and make contacts in the computer-graphics community. Students producing computer animation, visualization or visual effects in the course of their studies that attends a school within a 75-mile radius of Times Square in Manhattan is eligible.
Registration for summer term 2006 at Gnomon School of Visual Effects (June 26-Sept. 10) began May 22. There are two new classes for summer: Visual Math for Artists, taught by Saty Raghavachary, is visual intro to mathematical topics that are useful in CG production, and is meant for a non-programmer/non-technical audience. In Vehicles and Hardware Design for Film and Games, students learn the basic design principles necessary to work as conceptual artists in the science fiction genre. This five-week class is taught by Hugo Martin.
Last weeks NAB, as always, provided a good opportunity to see some of the latest hardware and software innovations in action, and a precursor to more goodies on the horizon at SIGGRAPH in Boston later this summer. You can read the highlights in VFXWORLDS overview at the end of this week. Meanwhile, managing editor Rick DeMott reviews the latest version of FrameForge 3D previs software. And, with Fridays opening of M:I III, Alain Bielik uncovers ILMs challenging CG work on the Tom Cruise action/adventure directed by ALIAS J.J. Abrams.
