Getting Geared Up for Siggraph Asia 2010

SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Fact Sheet

SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 will be held from December 15 to 18 at the Coex Convention and Exhibition Center in Seoul Korea.

This is the third edition of SIGGRAPH Asia, following its debut in Singapore in 2008 and a successful show in Japan in 2009. Having staged SIGGRAPH in North America for 37 years, the Association of Computing Machinery (ACM) presented SIGGRAPH Asia to bring digital innovations from around the globe to the region, while tapping into its vibrant and emerging digital media landscape.

Over four days, the computer graphics and interactive techniques communities in Korea and the world over will be able to discuss and view the best innovation, ideas and inventions. These are brought to audiences through much-anticipated programs such as:

Computer Animation Festival

The Computer Animation Festival, a traditional highlight at SIGGRAPH Asia, will feature exceptional works in visual effects and computer animation from around the world. The

Computer Animation Festival is presented through two screenings:

-Electronic Theater presents carefully selected pieces of the latest innovations in digital animation. The pieces presented represent the best that animation and visual effects have to offer, having been selected by an international jury made up of renowned digital animation experts, leading visual effects producers and top professionals in the industry.

-Animation Theater presents viewers with a digital feast of short stories that capture the flavor of the world of animation and visual effects. Works in the animation theatre is also hand-picked by the Computer Animation Festival’s international jury. A respected benchmark in the industry, the Computer Animation Festival will name the Best of Show and Jury Awards from among the selected pieces. Notable works will also be specially invited to be included in Computer Animation Festival. Panel discussions and talks on selected pieces will also be conducted, to further enhance the insights gained from the screenings.

Courses

Another highly sought-after program at SIGGRAPH Asia, the Courses program aims to support and enhance the development of skills and knowledge among the computer graphics and interactive techniques talent pool. Through the high quality and carefully selected sessions, participants can keep updated on the latest technology and techniques in animation, computer-human interaction, entertainment, mobile computing, robotics and scientific visualization. SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 also will also include an enhanced line-up of courses on games and stereoscopic 3D, as well as topics that cater to the digital graphics community in Asia. Aimed at both young talents and experienced industry professionals, the comprehensive array of

topics will be presented by instructors comprising academics and professionals from universities, production houses, research institutes and other notable organizations. Selected sessions will also be presented in Korean, to allow for a more focused discussion among the local community.

Technical Papers

The Technical Papers program is where cutting-edge, peer reviewed research will be presented and discussed. Carefully selected from hundreds of submissions worldwide, the Technical Papers presented at SIGGRAPH Asia are among the most respected and innovative ideas and breakthrough concepts in the industry. Topics discussed will span the entire spectrum of computer graphics and interactive techniques from animation, GPU algorithms, imaging, image and video processing, modeling, physical simulation, real-time and photo-realistic rendering, texturing, and more. Technical Papers presented in SIGGRAPH Asia will be collated in a special issue of Transaction on Graphics, the prestigious, industry-defining publication of the ACM.

Technical Sketches and Posters

The Technical Sketches and Posters program offers a unique interactive platform for presenting thought-provoking and emerging ideas in the industry. In the Sketches program, concepts behind breakthrough techniques in art, cinema, digital design

and engineering are presented and discussed. These sessions expand the application of new inventions, and pave the way for enhancing the application of new techniques and technologies in the future.

Preliminary and incremental works are also displayed throughout the conference through the Posters program to inspire and challenge professionals towards new tangents. Scheduled sessions, where authors can share their innovative ideas with like-minded enthusiasts, will complement the display.

Trade Exhibition

Visitors to the Trade Exhibition will be delighted by the leading-edge hardware, software, robotics, interactive techniques and other tools and services in a display of the latest in computer graphics and interactive techniques. SIGGRAPH Asia is also a networking and recruiting platform for students, fresh graduates and professionals and the trade exhibition will attract decision makers from around the world and from every aspect in the computer graphics and interactive techniques

industry.

Exhibitors include leading names in computer graphics animation, international production houses, game developers, as well as hardware and software vendors. SIGGRAPH Asia is a one stop business platform that draws exhibitors and attendees from multiple disciplines; from animators to engineers, from software and game developers to IT experts, from leading executives to students, from manufacturers to distributors. Potential exhibitors or sponsors may obtain more information at http://www.siggraph.org/asia2010/content/exhibitors-sponsors

Computer Animation Festival Fact Sheet

Chair: Jinny HyeJin Choo, ONCOMM & Korea National University of Arts (K’ARTS)

Conference: Wednesday 15 December – Saturday 18 December

Exhibition: Thursday 16 December – Saturday 18 December

Fast Facts:

• The SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Computer Animation Festival displays the cutting edge of innovation and transition in computer graphics and interactive techniques and features a wide spectrum of creative and innovative computer-generated animation and visual effects.

• The SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Computer Animation Festival program received a total of 761 works from 47 countries. Over 40 percent of the submissions come from Asia.

• Submissions have increased by 34 percent as compared to SIGGRAPH Asia 2009.

• A total of 26 clips from 10 countries have been selected for screening at the Electronic Theater to date, representing an acceptance rate of just 3.4 and reflecting the highly competitive selection criteria.

• 82 clips will be screened at the Animation Theater. Seven of these are from host country, Korea.

A Quote from the SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Computer Animation Festival Chair:

“The SIGGRAPH Asia Computer Animation Festival celebrates its third edition this year and I am looking forward to another exciting display of cutting edge innovation and the latest techniques in computer graphics and interactive techniques. The quality of work selected for this year’s festival represents the most creative sparks and freshest ideas from around the world that is set to inspire the artists, designers, researchers and scientists attending the Festival. SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Computer Animation Festival has received more entries this year, allowing us to broaden the scope of programs and include stronger content. In addition, more local Computer Graphics companies and individual creators have been involved in the submission process. I am positive attendees will be pleased with the abundant variety of excellent pieces at both the Electronic Theater and the Animation Theater screenings. There will also be talks on selected pieces.”

SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Computer Animation Festival Award Winners

• Best of Show: Poppy

James Cunningham

Supercollider (New Zealand)

Based on true events, Poppy is a short story about two soldiers who found a baby in a muddy ditch, under his dead parents. One of the men wants to save the baby but the other does not. James Cunningham and Leslie Chan spent a year in a spare bedroom making this independent film. The pair explored the emotional potential of computer-generated imagery (CGI), which is a technique commonly used in animations for kids.

• Best Technical Prize: Civilization V.

Istvan Zorkoczy

Digic Pictures (Hungary)

In Civilization V, players strive to become Ruler of the World by establishing and leading a civilization from the dawn of man into the space age, waging war, conducting diplomacy, discovering new technologies, going head-to-head with some of history's greatest leaders and building the most powerful empire the world has ever known. Civilization V will come to life in a beautifully detailed, living world that will elevate the game play experience with new tools to manage and expand the player’s civilization, extensive modeling capabilities, and intensely competitive multiplayer options.

• Best Student Prize: Loom

Ilija Brunck, Jan Bitzer and Csaba Letay

Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg (Germany)

In this interesting piece, a moth, caught in a spider’s web, faces its predator bravely. After being digested, the moth becomes an integral part of its own trap, that is, the spider’s web.

SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Computer Animation Festival Program Highlights: Participation from Korea

• Memories of the Song (Animation Theater)

Jin Sung Choi

Brian’s Film

This 3D cartoon music video is about the unforgettable memories of love and dreams. This is the second consecutive time that Jin Sung Choi’s work has been accepted to the Animation Theater – a pioneering achievement for this highly competitive platform. The music video describes memories from a boy’s dream and features cartoons in every scene, making the piece highly pictorial while capturing individual expressions excellently.

• Mom (Animation Theater)

Wooksang Chang

Chung-Ang University/GSAIM, Fxgear

This short animation is about a woman’s life. In Korea, a wedding has the meaning of "Leaving one’s home to live in one’s husband’s home". The animation chronicles a woman’s life, when she was a baby, a daughter, a lady, a wife, and now a mother. These memories flash before her as she goes back to her old home to visit her own mother.

• Captain Banana (Animation Theater)

Hoopyung Shin

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology

This animation depicts the story of Captain Banana. In a deserted world, Captain Banana flies to the Banana swinging boat to operate it. The impatient passengers of the attraction, the so-called "Littles" force him to drive the boat faster and faster! Eventually, as the system overloads, the banana boat crashes and the “Littles” bounce out of the ball and fall into the nearby oasis. Captain Banana tries to avoid it but he ultimately fails to stop one of the “Littles” from falling into the oasis, starting a process with no way back and that was not meant to happen.

Other highlights:

• Animated History of Poland (Electronic Theater)

Tomek Bagiński

Platige Image (Poland)

This production chronicles about 1000 years of Polish history in a formula of a music-visual poem. The story starts with the beginning of the Polish nation in the ninth century, showcasing the most important events and processes that took place until the 21^st century. It is an educational project produced for the EXPO 2010 in Shanghai.

• Harmonix ‘The Beatles: Rock Band’ Intro Cinematic (Electronic Theater)

Pete Candeland

Passion Pictures (UK)

Developed by Harmonix and MTV and launched in September last year, The Beatles: Rock Band game offers players the opportunity to perform 45 classic songs from the band’s catalogue. Pete Candeland directed a spectacular two-minute animated intro cinematic in which we accompany The Beatles from their earliest gigs at The Cavern Club in Liverpool along the pathway to international fame. Using some of The Beatles’ best known songs director Candeland shows the band’s extraordinary creative development culminating in the psychedelic late sixties. The crew at Passion Pictures numbered over 50 people and the animation took nearly five months to complete.

• Flap Flap (Animation Theater)

Tom Weber

Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg (Germany)

Flap Flap depicts a desert somewhere, where two birds with digestive disorders are fooling around with an old sun-bleached skull. What they do not foresee, is that even a skull has its limits.

• Logorama (Animation Theater)

H5 (François Alaux, Hervé de Crécy, Ludovic Houplain)

Autour de Minuit Productions (France)

This short animation involves spectacular car chases, an intense hostage crisis and wild animals rampaging through the city. About 3,000 brands, logos and characters, which are very familiar to attendees, will show up in the movie. The experimental play with logos appeals to the public with its hyper-realism humor.

• Planzet (Electronic Theater)

Jun Awazu

CoMix Wave Films (Japan)

In 2053, aliens have invaded Earth, and most of the population is lost. Akishima, a young robot pilot helps her sister evacuate to Mars, while Mankind's operation Planzet is called to defeat the aliens once and for all.

• The Cinematics of StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty (Electronic Theater)

Jeff Chamberlain

Blizzard Entertainment (USA)

Three distinct and powerful races clash once again in the fast-paced, real-time strategy sequel to the legendary original, StarCraft. Legions of upgraded veterans and brand-new unit types will do battle across the galaxy, as each faction struggles for survival.

• Behind-the-Scenes of VFX on Feature Films (Talks)

Andy Kang

Sung Jin Jung,

Wook Kim

DIGITAL IDEA Corporation (Korea)

In this presentation, VFX supervisors from DIGITAL IDEA talk about creating VFX shots: how pre-visualization is used to design and simulate difficult shots; how digital matte painting is used to create virtual backgrounds; how crowd simulation, set extension, and digital environments are created; and how they all come together to bring the director's vision to reality.

• “The Clone Wars” – Setting the Bar for TV Animation (Talks)

Jass Mun

Lucasfilm Animation Singapore (Singapore)

In this session, Jass Mun, Senior FX Artist for Lucasfilm Animation Singapore, talks about the production pipeline and how the production teams, from layout to final compositing, work together to deliver high-quality episodes of “The Clone Wars” on deadline.

Full information for the Computer Animation Festival can be found on: http://www.siggraph.org/asia2010/content/attendees/computer-animation-festival.

For more information on SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 program updates, please visit www.siggraph.org/asia2010.