Presentations on Pixar’s ‘Incredibles 2,’ Weta’s history of digital characters and latest advances in virtual humans part of four packed days of computer graphics-related events running December 4-7 in Tokyo.
TOKYO -- The 11th annual edition of SIGGRAPH Asia aims to take computer graphics and interactive techniques into space and beyond this year. With an eye towards its theme, ‘Crossover,’ SIGGRAPH Asia 2018 has announced the full lineup of its conference program, which will take place December 4-7 at the Tokyo International Forum.
According to Dr. Ken Anjyo, SIGGRAPH Asia 2018 Conference Chair, “In a few short decades, the computer graphics and interactive techniques community has been exploring new frontiers of digital media and industries. The international teams at SIGGRAPH Asia 2018 will share their knowledge, crossover experiences and achievements to further inspire the next generation of the computer graphics community. This year, we've also sought out keynote speakers, who are pioneers in their own fields beyond computer graphics, bringing interesting topics that are reflective of our conference theme, ‘Crossover.’ We believe that the delegates will be very much excited to attend the future-minded conference.”
10,000 attendees from more than 60 countries are expected to attend. Close to 750 speakers will be presenting at the four-day conference. Notable panel and production sessions include:
The boundaries of Space, Origami and Robots will be explored through the Keynotes:
- Exploring Red Planets and Metal Worlds: How JPL turns Dreams into Reality by Dr. David Oh, Senior Systems Engineer and Engineering Technical Authority for “Psyche: Journey to a Metal World”
- Computational Origami: From Science to Sculpture by Dr. Erik Demaine, Professor in Computer Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
- New Generation Household Robot’s Concept by Kaname Hayashi, Founder and CEO, GROOVE X (Inventor of the Robot “Pepper”)
Invited Sessions from the Featured Sessions and Computer Animation Festival – Panel and Production Talks, which spotlights major breakthroughs in the field of computer graphics and interactive techniques, include:
- Featured Sessions – Beyond the Uncanny Valley: Creating Realistic Virtual Humans in the 21st Century with Christophe Hery, Senior Scientist, Pixar Animation Studios; Matt Aitken, Visual Effects Supervisor, Weta Digital Ltd; Prasert “Sun” Prasertvithyakarn, Senior Game Designer, Luminous Production; Erik Smitt, Director of Photography, Pixar Animation Studios and David Hanson, CEO and Founder of Hanson Robotics
- Computer Animation Festival – Panel & Production Talks – The Making of Pixar’s Bao: A Production Panel with Domee Shi, Story Artist, Pixar Animation Studios; Ian Megibben, Director of Photography, Lighting, Pixar Animation Studios; Rona Liu, Artist, Pixar Animation Studios; Patrick Lin, Director of Photography – Camera, Pixar Animation Studios; Mara MacMahon, Character Technical Director, Pixar Animation Studios
- Computer Animation Festival – Panel & Production Talks – Cinematography of Incredibles 2 - Function and Style with Erik Smitt, Director of Photography, Pixar Animation Studios
- Featured Sessions – From Gollum to Thanos: Characters at Weta Digital by Matt Aitken, Visual Effects Supervisor, Weta Digital Ltd.
- Computer Animation Festival – Panel & Production Talks – Behind the scenes of Solo - A Star Wars Story with Nigel Sumner, Creative Director, ILM Singapore Atsushi Kojima, Lead Animator, ILM Singapore
Cutting-Edge Technologies on the Exhibition Show-floor
A total of 93 exhibitors from 14 countries and regions will showcase the latest developments in hardware and software applications in Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques on the exhibition show-floor.
Some of the key exhibiting companies and brands include: ASTRODESIGN, Inc., AWS Thinkbox, BANDAI NAMCO Studios Inc., BinaryVR, Inc., CLO Virtual Fashion Inc, CyberAgent, Inc., Dell Japan Inc., Digital Hollywood University, Dwango Media Village, EEZ Production Studios Co., Ltd., FORUM8 Co., Ltd., HUAWEI TECHNOLOGIES JAPAN K.K., IMAGICA GROUP, InstaLOD GmbH, NOITOM, teamLab, Too Corporation, Tsinghua University-Tencent Joint Laboratory, Unity Technologies Japan G.K., VFX-Japan Association, Visual Computing Center at KAUST, Xsens Technologies B.V., YGGDRAZIL Group Co., Ltd, Zero C Seven, Inc. and more.
Delegates who are looking for career opportunities can head to the Job Fair, held by Imagica Digitalscape and Kurihaku Navi, where job offers from leading companies in computer graphics, film and game studios will be presented.
Key Exhibits at the Art Gallery
The Art Gallery program is a specially curated exhibition that aims to engage, challenge and entertain the conference attendees via media works. Art pieces under the ‘Crossover’ theme include, Candle TV (1975) by Nam June Paik, which is designed to represent two interrelated organisms in a communication system, and Mannbi (1981), a mask used in classical Japanese musical drama Noh, by Ayako Iwai.
Academic Sessions and Research Papers
For academia and industry professionals, the Technical Papers program will feature the results of state-of-the-art research on topics ranging from modeling and design to fabrication, from HDR imaging to novel displays, and physically based animation to capturing faces, bodies and hands and more. The Posters program is an interactive forum for innovative ideas that are not yet fully polished, it also showcases high-impact practical contributions, behind-the-scenes views of new commercial and artistic work and solutions that help solve challenging problems. The Doctoral Consortium is a forum for Ph.D. students to meet and discuss their work with one another and with a panel of experienced SIGGRAPH Asia researchers in an informal and interactive setting.
First-time Programs at SIGGRAPH Asia
Three sessions make their debut at SIGGRAPH Asia 2018. Real-Time Live!, deconstructs the most innovative interactive techniques on stage, while VR Theater, a part of the Computer Animation Festival program, will feature virtual reality narrative films in the newly established VR Theater. Production Gallery (Artists Behind The Scenes Exhibition), also a part of the Computer Animation Festival, is one-of-a-kind exhibit that recognizes the art, processes, and physical materials used to create major studio projects. This gallery features artwork, props, special makeups and more from recent films, TVCM or game productions. This program will be jointly operated with Born Digital of Japan.
To register for SIGGRAPH Asia, and for more details, visit https://sa2018.siggraph.org/registration/. Attendees can select from full week, single-day, and exhibition-only options. Find us on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube with the official event hashtag, #SIGGRAPHAsia.
Source: SIGGRAPH Asia
