Academy Award-winning short film ‘Piper,’ Oscar-nominated ‘Pear Cider and Cigarettes,’ Theodore Ushev’s ‘Blind Vaysha,’ and more to be spotlighted at FMX 2017.
STUTTGART, Germany -- The FMX 2017 program, taking place under the slogan “Beyond the Screen,” is boosted by one freshly minted Academy Award winner as well as five further Academy Award nominees. Their glamorous presence is topped off with the following program highlights below.
Academy Award winners and nominees at FMX
FMX is proud to showcase two presentations on the just-announced Academy Award winner Piper at FMX: Krzysztof Rost (Pixar) illuminates just how the sand in Piper was simulated and Eric Smitt elaborates on Lighting & Rendering. In addition, two of the filmmakers, who received Academy Award nominations in the same “Short Film: Animated” category, have announced their coming: Robert Valley, who is known for his music video work and scooped the Annie Award a few weeks back with his latest coup Pear Cider and Cigarettes, as well as Theodore Ushev, who vows animation audiences around the globe with Blind Vaysha. Also on the FMX red carpet: Moana, a nominee for best animated feature film as well as Kubo and the Two Strings, which was also nominated in the visual effects category. A case study on the Academy Award nominee Doctor Strange by Florian Gellinger (RiseFX) complements the ranks of festive contributions.
Animation
Robert Valley leads the prominent set of independent film creatives in the “Animation Wild & Strange” track curated by Prof. Andreas Hykade (Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg). Moreover, prolific BAFTA winnerJonathan Hodgson comes to FMX to share insights into his unique visual style. “Animation Wild & Strange” also continues to bring the people to the table that make independent animation accessible to the public: Igor Prassel, Animateka’s Festival Director for ten years, and Jeannette Bonds, who has launched the successful Glas Animation Festival for independent animation in San Francisco.
Art - Effects
Patrick Hanenberger (The Neuland) once again curates a series of talks on Concept Art. He assembles experts such as Christian Alzmann (Industrial Light & Magic), who has created art and characters for outstanding productions including Star Trek Into Darkness or Star Wars: The Force Awakens, or Oliver Scholl, who defined the visual look of comic adaptations such as the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming or science fiction classics, including A.I., Godzilla or Independence Day.
Effects
Mike Seymour curates the “Digital Humans Forum” with talks by Hao Li (Pinscreen Inc. Founder and Director of the Vision and Graphics Lab at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies) and Kiran Bhat. Bhat just won the Scientific and Technical Academy Award for his work at Industrial Light & Magic and now deals with the conversion of selfies into expressive 3D avatars at Loom.ai.
VR
Brent Strong curates the “Location-Based Entertainment” set of presentations. Dean Orion illuminates the program of SPACES Inc., an independent start-up founded by VR veterans. Steve Tatham (Universal Japan) whose work as Creative Director contributes to the record-breaking attendance at “Wizarding World of Harry Potter,” also joins the FMX ride. Moreover, Trevor Bryant explains how Virsix creates immersive spaces for arcades and entertainment centers.
Games
Brett Ineson (Animatrik) and Greg Mitchell (Epic Games) shed light on the cinematics of Gears of War 4, a multi-player third-person shooter, which achieves its convincing cinematics, among others, through the use of motion capture.
Technology
In addition to the before-mentioned insights into the realization of Piper, the track on “Water & Sand” simulation features Fabian Nowak (MPC), who worked on the science fiction film Passengers.
Source: FMX
