The Digital Eye: fmx/06 and You

Image courtesy of Deron Yamada. © 2004 DYA367.

fmx is Europes biggest and best animation and vfx shindig. Held annually in Stuttgart, Germany, this years 11th international conference takes place May 3-6, and most of the show is held in English! Go figure. German presentations usually have simultaneous translation via earphone, and its all very nicely done.

Something else you should know: for the first time, the ITFS, or Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film, one of the largest animation film festivals in Europe, takes place directly before fmx. In fact, the ITFS award ceremony is held on May 2, corresponding with the grand opening of fmx. The ITFS showcases independent short film animation. So, going a few days early might make sense.

Stuttgart in the spring can be intoxicating. I find myself occasionally sneaking off to the nearby Schlossgarten park to join numerous Germans basking in the sun and to watch huge swans paddle about with the ducks. Its a sophisticated city with wonderful hotels, restaurants and, of course, the Porsche plant you really should go.

Being a wine lover, on the way in from the airport, I noticed terraced hillsides green with the budding grapes that make their local dry Riesling world famous. If youre lucky (or smart), youll also experience some of the tastiest gourmet dinners ever, in trendy restaurants within walking distance of the conference.

Above all else, fmx is a class operation. One thing that helps make it so successful is the strong financial support from the German state of Baden-Württemberg. Organized by Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and the Filmakademies Animation Institute, fmx is not a commercial event at all. It is a community event organized by people passionate about animation, effects and games; and it is done well.

There is certainly a commercial presence, as big studios as well as companies from the hardware and software sector participate in fmx. American studios send presenters and the latter use it as a basis for making new contacts, but they do not set the agenda.

fmx is Europes best animation and vfx shindig. Held annually in Stuttgart, Germany, this is a class event with good financial support and topnotch organization from the European DCC community.

Opportunity Abounds

Youll be impressed by the variety and quality of the speakers and presentations from all over the world. And from my personal perspective, fmx has somehow always made me feel very much at home. Youll feel very welcome and find ample opportunity to network here: talking with the people that interest you, in quiet casual circumstances.

Times are changing rapidly in our business, so there are solid business and even survival reasons to know whats going on in the rest of the world. This is one of the best ways to get tuned in, turned on and plugged in its all about connections and knowing whats available. If youre a producer, it certainly helps to fully understand your new global options.

fmx is truly a worldwide event. I for one will be there talking about global employment opportunities in vfx and animation. Every year exciting presenters and workshop leaders fly over from top studios in America and elsewhere. You might even catch some advice over coffee from Ed Hooks (author of Acting for Animators), whos taught animators at Pixar, DreamWorks and Disney how to make their characters come alive.

Its About the People

This year youll find giants of our industry like Paul Debevec, legendary pioneer in 3D lighting and all sorts of things that can be done with it. Jeff Kleiser and Diana Walczak of Kleiser-Walczak, pioneers in virtual human character animation, will be presenting as well. Oscar winner Chris Landreth will be screening his remarkable Ryan too.

American Scott Coulter will be there from Nuimage/Worldwide FX in Sophia, Bulgaria, talking about how Hollywood and Eastern Europe can work more effectively together to cut production costs. Scott lives part-time in L.A., but spends most of his time in Sophia, where he runs a fine vfx/animation studio.

Heres the rest of my short list of old friends and folks Id like to chat with at fmx this year: Paul Ekman, Doug Cooper, Mark Sagar, Fan Ling, Kyle Odermatt, Shelley Page, Vicky Jensen, Terrence Masson, Matt Aitken, Eric Armstrong, Bill Westenhofer, Manuel Christobal, Ryan Tudhope, George Borshukov, Jason Wen and Ian Gooding. If you dont know who these people are, perhaps you should come and find out.

Ive made a lot of new friends that I never would have met, from all over the place. fmx is much about broadening your contact base with international contacts. For example, last year I got to chat with a marvelous raconteur, David Sproxton, co- founder of Aardman Animations with Peter Lord and Nick Park. Obviously their recent Best Animated Feature Oscar for Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit shines the spotlight again on Bristol, England, but in a much bigger way.

I also enjoyed meeting and chatting with folks like Kevin Geiger from Disney Feature Animation (Chicken Little), Katja Hofmann from the Hohschule Der Medien, Larry Bafia, head of 3D animation and vfx at Vancouver Film School and Takashi Fukumoto, exec director/producer at Links Digiworks in Tokyo, pioneers in advanced MoCap animation. One of my very favorites was Jean-Michel Blottiere, ceo of NX Publishing in Paris. An fmx organizer, he was informative and entertaining to boot. There is much to discover about what Europe and Asia have on tap for you here.

Solid Presentations

fmx always has great talks well presented with simultaneous translation where needed. As I indicated before, most of the talks are presented in English. The list is very long and every year I have to make hard choices about which ones to attend. This year well hear about European productions from German, French, Irish, Danish, Spanish and Hungarian producers.

There will be presentations on the latest in animation and vfx technology.

Do not miss the TV Buyers panel, with two German, one Chinese, as well as other European and international TV broadcasters discussing the kinds of animated films, animated series and animated programs theyre looking to buy. Opportunity abounds at this one.

Dont miss the talks on Digital Cinema in Europe by the Filmförderanstalt (known as the FFA), from Berlin. Ill be there. They intend to unveil some exceptional European films, which have been digitally recorded and post produced. Also look for presentations on the current state of electronic cinema and digital projection. There will be a full day of seminars on the technical side of digital cinema, with representatives from key companies talking about the workflow from digital film acquisition camera right on through to cinema projection.

Europeans are very big on cell phones, so expect a comprehensive report on the latest European innovations in mobile entertainment films and games for cell phones. There is also the Real-Time Film Festival with the latest European and international films.

Apart from all that, this is a very lively show. This year fmx has made a special effort to bring in film, animation and vfx students from European schools, particularly those from Eastern European countries. Youll find this an excellent opportunity to network with them. Make new contacts and meet new talent. Who knows what might ensue?

Lets Not Forget Asia

Check out the latest Asia action at: Bollywood & Beyond, with presentations and screenings of Indian animation and vfx companies. Then check out Hualong Digital Cinema from China and dont miss their presentation on the state of animation in Southeast Asia. Meet a few Asian studio representatives over coffee and learn about options they represent. Sure they can be competition for U.S. vfx studios, but in many ways they offer services to supplement the U.S. houses. When you think about it, most traditional American animation is already put to cel in Asia. Vfx is a natural leap.

Animago

The annual Animago awards for the best in Digital Content Creation (DCC) are also a part of fmx. Sponsored by Digital Production Magazine, the competition includes four categories: still, animation, compositing and interactive.

• Stills are created predominantly using 3D software. However, a mixture with real elements is allowed as well as Photoshop type manipulation.

• Animation includes TV spots and commercials that have also been created predominantly using 3D software.

• Compositing one of my favorite areas contains films and TV spots or commercials where any number of layers of video, computer animation, drawings, paintings and stills are combined to create complete works.

• Interactive includes submissions where the user has control over how the media is presented to him. Submissions may contain 3D, 2D, video and still picture elements. However, the majority of all elements used must be 3D.

This is a big event. Last year, more than 1,000 digital content designers submitted more than 1,300 entries. This year, the audience will honor the overall best production and its creator from the entries screened at the event.

Peter Plantec.

My Personal View

I personally enjoy fmx on many levels. I particularly like that continued intimacy in spite of massive growth each year. Ive met a lot of people there who have made my life richer and some that have proven to be excellent business resources. In fact, Id have to say some very interesting things have happened to me at fmx.

I also find the people that run fmx and Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg are genuinely helpful, friendly and downright warm folks. They may not understand American politics, but they seem to like us very much anyway.

For more information, check out fmxs website at www.fmx.de.

Peter Plantec is a best-selling author, animator and virtual human designer. He wrote The Caligari trueSpace2 Bible, the first 3D animation book specifically written for artists. He lives in the high country near Aspen, Colorado. Peters latest book, Virtual Humans, is a five star selection at Amazon after many reviews.