SIGGRAPH 2007 announced record submissions for this year's Computer Animation Festival taking place at the 34th International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, Aug. 5-9, 2007 in San Diego, California.
The Computer Animation Festival jury selected from a record 905 submissions for exemplary use of computer-generated imagery and animation, and compelling storytelling. With show categories ranging from animation to research, this year's submissions originate from countries across the globe, including the France, Germany, Japan, Poland, South Korea, Switzerland, the U.K. and New Zealand. Also, for the first time in the history of SIGGRAPH, two of the award-winning films are student entries. SIGGRAPH 2007 also marks the first time filmmakers were able to submit high-definition video to the selection jury, which greatly increased the jury's ability to appreciate the intricacy of each film -- especially the award winners. A total of 134 submissions were accepted.
"I'm thrilled with the jury's selections. With the record number of submissions, our material truly represents the best of the best in all of the show categories," stated Paul Debevec, SIGGRAPH 2007 Computer Animation Festival chair from the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies. "This year's show weaves together amazing visuals from numerous disciplines into a single mind-altering experience."
SIGGRAPH's location on the West Coast, closer to the large animation studios, makes 2007 a notable year for studio-produced shorts with Pixar's LIFTED, Blue Sky's NO TIME FOR NUTS and Blur Studio's A GENTLEMEN'S DUEL lending heavy-hitting strength to the Electronic Theater show.
"The Electronic Theater also presents a watershed year for fluid simulation in feature films. Scanline's 300'S LIQUID BATTLEFIELD, Sony Pictures Animation's SURF'S UP and Digital Domain and Industrial Light & Magic's PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN all feature uniquely executed but beautifully believable digital oceans and waves," added Debevec. The Electronic Theater will also provide an early peek at Sony Pictures Imageworks' much anticipated photoreal computer graphics feature BEOWULF.
SIGGRAPH 2007 Computer Animation Festival highlights as selected by Paul Debevec include:
ARK (Best of Show)Grzegorz Jonkajtys and Marcin Kobylecki, www.thearkfilm.com, PolandAn unknown virus has destroyed almost the entire human population. Oblivious to the true nature of the disease, the only remaining survivors escape to the sea. In great ships, they set off in search of uninhabited land untouched by the deadly virus. So begins the exodus, led by one man...
DREAMMAKER (Jury Honors)Leszek Plichta, Institute of Animation, Visual Effects, and Digital Post Production, Filmakademie Baden-Wurttemberg, GermanyIn the past, this talented dreammaker created the most beautiful dreams for people. Now, he lives in solitude focused on only one purpose - the creation of a special dream - his dream...
EN TUS BRAZOS (Award of Excellence)Francois-Xavier Goby, Edouard Jouret, Matthieu Landour, Supinfocom Valenciennes, FranceA remarkable tale of the greatest tango dancer of the 1920's who finds himself confined to a wheelchair after an unfortunate accident. Thanks to his loving wife, he recovers the use of his legs just in time for the most magical dance of his life.
LIFTEDGary Rydstrom, Director, Pixar Animation StudiosA bumbling young alien student from a distant world tests the patience of an increasingly weary instructor as he attempts a first-time abduction of an innocently slumbering farmer in LIFTED, the comical latest short film from Pixar Animation Studios.
A GENTLEMEN'S DUELFrancisco Ruiz & Sean McNally, Directors, Blur StudioIn A GENTLEMEN'S DUEL, a new short film presented by Oscar-Nominated Blur Studio, this time-honored tradition is re-imagined with a fantastic blend of boisterous characters and over-the-top comedic action. A seemingly innocent tea party takes a turn for the dramatic when two imperious aristocrats suddenly find themselves competing for the affections of the same fair lady.
TRAVELERS: SNOWBALLDan Lemmon, Weta Digital Ltd., New ZealandTRAVELERS: SNOWBALL begins with a man walking down a steep street in San Francisco. He crashes through a yard sale, before tumbling head-over-heels down the hill. As the man continues to roll he creates a "snowball effect," accumulating objects from the street to create an enormous ball of urban debris.
A VFX JOURNEY THROUGH PAN'S LABYRINTH WITH CAFEFXCafeFXWhen the harsh world of the Spanish Civil War becomes too horrific to bear in director Guillermo del Toro's visually rich and complex PAN'S LABYRINTH, young Ofelia escapes inward, finding in her imagination the power to heal her real-world wounds. Challenged to create the mythical creatures and landscapes of Ofelia's fantasy, CafeFX embarked on an artistic and technical journey spanning four months of location shooting and five months of post-production.
The Electronic Theater lineup consists of:
* 300'S LIQUID BATTLEFIELDGermanyStephan Trojansky, Danielle PlantecScanline VFX
* ARKBEST OF SHOWPolandMarcin Kobylecki, Grzegorz Jonkajtys, Producers
* BEOWULFU.S.Jerome Chen, Jacqui Lopez, Sean Phillips, Kenn McDonald, Skye LyonsSony Pictures Imageworks
* BURNING SAFARIFranceEric RiewerGobelins, l'ecole de l'image
* CAPTURING AND ANIMATING SKIN DEFORMATIONU.S.Jessica K. HodginsCarnegie Mellon University
* CHILDREN OF MENU.K.Tim Webber, VFX SupervisorFramestore CFC
* DREAMMAKERJURY HONORSGermanyLeszek PlichtaFilmakademie Baden-Wurttemberg
* EN TUS BRAZOSAWARD OF EXCELLENCEFranceFrancois-Xavier Goby, Edouard Jouret, Matthieu Landour, DirectorsSupinfocom Valenciennes
* EquilibrioU.S.Tomas Salles, DirectorNew York University
* FORMATION OF A SPIRAL GALAXYJapanThe Four-Dimensional Digital Universe ProjectNational Astronomical Observatory of JapanGame Technology 2007
* A GENTLEMEN'S DUELU.S.Blur Studio
* HAPPINESS FACTORYU.S.Todd Mueller & Kylie Matulick, DirectorsPSYOP Inc.
* HIGH FASHION IN EQUATIONSSwitzerlandNadia Magnenat-ThalmannMIRALab, University of Geneva
* HP HANDS "PAULO COELHO"U.S.Rich Silverstein & Steve Simpson, Creative DirectorsMotion Theory
* INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC 2007U.S.Miles Perkins, Brent Bowers, Greg GrusbyIndustrial Light & Magic
* THE ITCHU.K.Anargyros SarafopoulosBournemouth University
* LIFTEDU.S.Gary Rydstrom, DirectorPixar Animation Studios
* NO TIME FOR NUTSU.S.Chris Renaud & Michael Thurmeier, DirectorsBlue Sky Studios
* NVIDIA REAL-TIME GRAPHICS RESEARCH: THE GEFORCE 8 DEMO SUITEU.S.NVIDIA DemoTeamNVIDIA Corp.
* OPENING AND TITLE ANIMATIONSU.S.Florian Witzelflorianwitzel.com
* PORTALU.S.Doug LombardiValve Corp.
* RAYMONDU.K.Fabrice le Nezet, Jules Janaud, Francois RoisinThe Mill
* THE RECENT FUTURE ROBOT: HELPER ZJapanKatsuyuki Suzuki
* SEARS TOOLS "ABORETUM"U.S.Sabrina ElizondoMethod Studios
* SIGGRAPH 2007 PAPERS REVIEWU.S.Jim Blinn, Michael Cohen, David Thiel, ProducersMicrosoft Research
* SPIDER-MAN 3: VFX HIGHLIGHTSU.S.Sony Pictures Imageworks
* STORMU.S.Erik Nash & Bryan Grill, Visual Effects SupervisorsDigital Domain Inc.
* SURF'S UP: A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO MAKING WAVESU.S.Rob BredowSony Pictures Imageworks
* SWIRLU.K.Lee Griggs
* TRAVELERS: SNOWBALLNew ZealandDan Lemmon, Visual FX SupervisorWeta Digital Ltd.
* U2 AND GREEN DAY "THE SAINTS ARE COMING"U.S.Benjamin LooramSway Studio
* A VFX JOURNEY THROUGH PAN'S LABYRINTH WITH CAFEFXU.S.Everett Burrell, Visual Effects SupervisorCafeFX Inc.
* VIGORSOL: THE LEGENDU.K.Ben Dawkins, DirectorThe Moving Picture Co.
* WORLD TRADE CENTERU.K.Michael Ellis, VFX SupervisorDouble Negative
The Animation Theaters lineup consists of:
* 13 WAYS TO DIE AT HOMEU.S.Lee LanierBeezleBug Bit Llc.
* 27 STORMS: ARLENE TO ZETAU.S.Gregory W. ShirahScientific Visualization Studio, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
* 300AustraliaKirsty Millar, Visual Effects SupervisorAnimal Logic
* 49JapanIchiro Iwano, DirectorIwano Design
* 8848FranceMaelys Faget, Kevin Franczuk, Gregory Jennings, DirectorsSupinfocom Valenciennes
* 90°FranceJules Janaud, Raphel Martinez-Bachel, Francois Roisin, DirectorsSupinfocom Valenciennes
* ADIDAS - ADISTARFranceVincent Wauters, VFX Supervisor (and Compositing)Mac Guff
* ADITYA BIRLA GROUP INDIA - "TAKING INDIA TO THE WORLD"IsraelDoron FitermanGravity Visual Effects & Design
* THE ADVENTURES OF BAXTER & MCGUIRE: THE SOCCER GAMEU.S.Mike Blum
* ALTER EGOPolandKuba GryglickiStudio Mansarda
* THE ANIMATOR AND THE SEATU.S.Eric DrobileRingling School of Art and Design
* ARTHUR AND THE INVISIBLES (MAKING OF)FrancePierre Buffin, CG DirectorBUF Compaigne
* ARTIFICIAL STUPIDITYU.S.Jonathan Lyons, Producer and Director
* BEACH BALLU.S.Sam Bayer, DirectorPSYOP Inc.
* BECK "GIRL"U.S.Mathew Cullen & Grady Hall, DirectorsMotion Theory
* BEGINNINGJapanTakehisa Igarashi, DirectorTohoku University of Art & Design
* BUDWISER "KING CRAB"U.K.Brian Smego, ProducerThe Mill
* BUILDING BLOCKSU.S.Chris Staves & Marco Spier, DirectorsPSYOP Inc.
* CAFARDFranceAnne Brotot, ProducerSupinfocom Valenciennes
* Capturing and Animating Occluded ClothU.S.Keenan CraneUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
* CHAOS THEORYHungaryBarna Buza, Zoltan Szabo, Gergely SzeleiConspiracy
* CHARLOTTE'S WEB - CHARLOTTE'S WORLDAustraliaJohn Berton, Jr., VFX SupervisorRising Sun Pictures
* CHEVROLET "BUILDINGS"CanadaSimon van de Lagemaat, VFX SupervisorThe Embassy Visual Effects
* CHOCOLATE PILLOWS - "LOOK WHAT'S INSIDE"IsraelDoron FitermanGravity Visual Effects & Design
* CLIK CLAKFranceAurelie Frechinos, Victor-Emmanuel Moulin, Thomas Wagner, DirectorsSupinfocom Valenciennes
* COAL FIRE RESEARCH: A SINO-GERMAN INITIATIVEGermanyNils Sparwasser, DirectorGerman Remote Sensing Data Center
* CODEHUNTERSU.K.Dana DorianAxis Animation
* CONTRAST MINIMUM EDITIONJapanTomoko NagaiCAD CENTER Corp.
* CROWU.S.Marie Hyon & Marco Spier, DirectorsPSYOP Inc.
* DONKEY XOTE TrailerJose Pozo, DirectorFilmax Ent.Spain, Italy
* DREAMMAKERGermanyLeszek PlichtaFilmakademie Baden-Württemberg
* DYNAMOFranceFabrice le Nezet, Mathieu Goutte, Benjamin Mousquet, DirectorsSupinfocom Valenciennes
* EGOFranceMarie Anne Fontenier, ProducerSupinfocom Valenciennes
* THE ENDFranceMarie Anne Fontenier, ProducerSupinfocom Valenciennes
* ESCCanadaJustin Henton, Director
* THE FALLEN OAKU.K.Chris RowlandUniversity of Dundee
* FAT CHANCEU.K.Ben JonesBournemouth University
* FEDEX "MOON OFFICE"U.K.The Mill
* FETCHU.K.Dana Dorian, Director, WriterAxis Animation
* FIGHT NIGHT ROUND 3 - PS3CanadaChristopher Sjoholm, Kat Kelly Hayduk, Mike Blank, Celia Jepson, Rob Hilson, Andrew Ellem, Vicki Ferguson, Pawel SiarkiewiczElectronic Arts
* FLIGHT TO THE CENTER OF THE MILKY WAYU.S.Donna Cox, ProducerThe National Center for Supercomputing Applications
* GEARS OF WAR - MAD WORLDU.S.Ed Ulbrich, Exec ProducerDigital Domain Inc.
* GMC "THE ENCOUNTER"CanadaSimon van de Lagemaat, VFX SupervisorThe Embassy Visual EffectsRandell* GORILLAZ "EL MANANA"U.K.Pete Candeland & Jamie Hewlett, DirectorsPassion Pictures
* THE GRANDFATHER OF SOULU.S.Jaime Maestro, DirectorKeytoon Animation Studio
* HALF-LIFE 2: EPISODE TWOU.S.Doug LombardiValve Corp.
* HAPPY FEETAustraliaGeorge Miller, DirectorAnimal Logic
* HERBSTLAUBGermanyOliver Vogel, Director and AnimatorFilmakademie Baden-Württemberg
* HP HANDS "JAY-Z"U.S.Rich Silverstein & Steve Simpson, Creative DirectorsMotion Theory
* IT'S JERRYTIME!: THE BIG TIMEU.S.Jerry Zucker & Orrin ZuckerOzone
* JET PRODUCTION FROM A ROTATING BLACK HOLEU.S.Donna CoxThe National Center for Supercomputing Applications
* JOHNNIE WALKER "HUMAN"U.K.Dante Ariola, DirectorThe Mill
* KINSKI REVISITEDGermanyVolker HelzleFilmakademie Baden-Württemberg
* LA MARCHE DES SANS NOMFranceNicolas Laverdure, Lucas Vigroux, Jean Constantial, DirectorsSupinfocom Valenciennes
* LENOVO "VIRUS"CanadaSimon van de Lagemaat, VFX SupervisorThe Embassy Visual Effects
* LIQUID SIMULATION ON LATTICE-BASED TETRAHEDRAL MESHESU.S.Nuttapong Chentanez, Bryan E. Feldman, Francois Labelle, James F. O'Brien, Jonathan R. ShewchukUniversity of California, Berkeley
* L'ODYSEE DE LA VIEFranceNiels Tavernier, DirectorMac Guff
* LOST ODYSSEY OPENING CINEMATICSJapanIkuo NishiiROBOT Communications Inc.
* L'UOMO UCCELLOFranceRenaud JungmannL'Institut Superieur des Arts Appliques
* MAGIC FLUID CONTROLSwitzerlandNils ThuereyETH Zürich
* ManakaiJapanMakoto Yabuki, Director, Producer, DesignerTANGRAM Co. Ltd.
* MARVEL ULTIMATE ALLIANCE - INTROU.S.Debbie YuBlur Studio
* MICROSOFT ZUNE "TWO LITTLE BIRDS"U.S.Glenn Cole, ECD/ADMotion Theory
* MOUTONSFranceSimon Blanc, Vivien Cabrol, Arnaud Valette, DirectorsSupinfocom Valenciennes
* NBA STREET HOMECOURTCanadaMike Young, Ryan Cleven, Simon Sherr, Ryan Santos, John Cruz, Malcolm Andrieshyn, Hafid Roserie, Alan Jarvie, Sinisa Karolic, Stu McKenna, Derek Sibelle, Trevor DelahayeElectronic Arts
* NISSAN 4X4 (2)FranceLieven van Baelen, DirectorMikros Image
* OLI'S CHANCEGermanyJohannes Weiland, Saschka Unseld, DirectorsStudio Sol
* ORVILLE REDENBACHERU.S.Ed Ulbrich & Karen Anderson, Executive ProducersDigital Domain Inc.
* PARAWORLDU.S.Michael McCormick, Director, 3D Lead, Shading & Lighting Artist
* PEPSI "DANCE TRON"U.S.Sabrina ElizondoMethod Studios
* PERCEPTIVE PIXEL MULTI-TOUCH DEMO REELU.S.Jefferson HanPerceptive Pixel
* PERPETUUM MOBILESpainEnrique Garcia, Raquel Ajofrin, Ruben SalazarSILVERSPACE ANIMATION STUDIOS
* PHYSICS ON GPUSJapanTakahiro HaradaThe University of Tokyo
* PRESENTATION OF CULTURAL HERITAGE USING 4K REAL TIME RENDERING SystemJapanTakanori ItoTOPPAN PRINTING CO. LTD
* THE RAT RULES!U.S.Blair Clark, Joel Friesch, Visual Effects SupervisorsTippett Studio
* RESPIRE, MON AMI: BREATHE, MY FRIENDU.S.Chris Nabholz, DirectorRingling School of Art and Design
* SILENT HILL (MAKING OF)FrancePatricia BoulogneBUF Compaigne
* SKY HD "FEEL EVERYTHING"U.K.Jo Sheppard & Stefanie Boose, ProducersThe Mill
* SOLAR-TERRESTRIAL INTERACTION FROM COSMIC COLLISIONSUSACarter EmmartAmerican Museum of Natural History
* SONY BRAVIA PAINT TECHNICAL BREAKDOWNU.K.Jonathan Glazer, DirectorThe Moving Picture Co.
* SPACESouth KoreaSang yeong Jeong, DirectorNCsoft
* SPACE SHOWER HOT PROGRAM TITLEJapanSynichi Yamamoto & Yasuo Koga, DirectorsOMNIBUS JAPAN
* SPIDER-MAN 3: BIRTH OF SANDMANU.S.Sony Pictures Imageworks
* SUPERMANU.K.Jon Thum, Visual Effects SupervisorFramestore CFC
* TedU.S.Serge Patzak1st Ave Machine
* TOURNISFranceFrancois Vogel, Claude LetessierParanoid Projects
* TOYSHOPU.S.Natalya Tatarchuk, David Gosselin, Dan Roeger, DirectorsAMD/ATI Research
* VENUS VENUSJapanTomoko NagaiCAD CENTER Corp.
* VERSUSFranceMarie Anne Fontenier, ProducerSupinfocom Valenciennes
* VIDEO 3000GermanyJorg EdelmannStuttgart Media University
* VOLKSWAGEN TOURANFranceAppert AurelieMikros Image
* WARHAMMER ONLINE - THE AGE OF RECKONING (INTRO)U.S.Jeff Chamberlain, Scott AbeytaBlizzard Ent. Cinematics
* WAVE PARTICLESU.S.Cem YukselTexas A&M University
* WORLD OF WARCRAFT: THE BURNING CRUSADEU.S.Janet GarciaBlizzard Ent.
For more information on the SIGGRAPH 2007 Computer Animation Festival, visit www.siggraph.org/s2007/attendees/caf/.
SIGGRAPH 2007 (www.siggraph.org/s2007) will bring an estimated 25,000 computer graphics and interactive technology professionals from six continents to San Diego for the industry's most respected technical and creative programs focusing on research, science, art, animation, gaming, interactivity, education and the web from Aug. 5-9 at the San Diego Convention Center. SIGGRAPH 2007 includes a three-day exhibition of products and services from the computer graphics and interactive marketplace from Aug. 7-9. More than 250 international exhibiting companies are expected. Registration for the conference and exhibition is open to the public.
ACM SIGGRAPH, the leading professional society for computer graphics and interactive techniques, sponsors SIGGRAPH 2007.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
