SIGGRAPH 2007: Day 5
“Drat, More Rats!”
Another fine group of sketches by the “Ratatouille” group. New developments included an interactive character collision system that allowed animators to apply primitive deformers that would squish the character as if it were a soft body. The squishiness was controlled by weight maps. This allowed the rats’ bellies to lie realistically on the floor or have their hands press into their own flesh. Water was also improved by staying away from clumpy metaball calculations, and instead generating solid mesh surfaces from particle positions. Brad Bird requested more realistic water, and he got it. In addition, Massive was tweaked to create hoards of rat crowds, yet allow animators to refine animation after the simulations had been run. It’s great to see 3rd party software built upon. It gives 3d newcomers a chance to at least be familiar with the basic way the software functions.
Animation Theater Wrap
I managed to see around 75% of all the Animation Theater films. Of them, “Tournis” was by far the most annoying. It wasn’t so much the 360 degree camera lens they used or the inventive compositing; rather, it was the soundtrack that gave me a headache. What was that, the yelping of an ill dog? Of the games and Fx entries, “Lost Odyssey Opening Cinematics” was astounding on all levels of design and execution. Of course, the storm / sinking ship sequence of “300″ makes my jaw drop every time. “Arthur and the Invisibles” was very lush and had some fine-looking skin.
It’s impossible to see everything at Siggraph. Too much is overlapping. Here are a few things I wished I could’ve squeezed in:
“Transformers: Giant Frickin’ Robots” (the title says it all) Siggraph Suggestions
Dreamworks Party (Had a phone invite but didn’t know the location)
Pixar Renderman poster handout (well, I had one, but manged to lose it)
I attend to Siggraph every 2 to 3 years. This trip has been the most thorough of all my visits. Based on that, here are a few tips of advice for future attendees:
1) Book your hotel early. They fill up fast. 2) Register for parties early. Software venders will usually post registration forms on their websites. 3) Wear the most comfortable shoes known to mankind. You will walk miles and miles around the convention hall. If you shoes suck, bring bandaids and corn pads. 4) Bring handouts. Business cards are a must. Examples of work on DVD can’t hurt. I gave away around 80 DVDs that had a few of my short films. That said, there isn’t really any place to set out postcards, fliers, or other home-grown swag (unless your company bought booth space). Compared to your average film festival, self-promotion is not encouraged. If Siggraph ran like Sundance, the walls would be slathered with thousands of posters. 5) Bring a notepad. If you want to the remember details of a course, write it down. Video cameras are a no-no. 6) Bring your own bottled water. No sense buying $3 convention water. (I wish I owned all the mini-Starbucks at the San Diego Convention Center.) 7) Bring earplugs. Some party are still too loud. The Road Home
Siggraph pass, beat to hell and stuffed full of business cards
That’s That. Back to Las Vegas and my other pursuits. I’ll post every few days with my latest animation, film festival, or painting news.
Baker, CA and the World’s Tallest Thermometer