SIGGRAPH 2001
Special Sessions Fact Sheet

Conference 12-17 August 2001
Exhibition 14-16 August 2001

Los Angeles Convention Center
Los Angeles, California USA
www.siggraph.org/s2001


Virtual Stars
Monday, 13 August
6:30 - 8:30 pm
Visual effects supervisors at Sony Pictures Imageworks and Rhythm & Hues Studios discuss creation of photo-realistic digital characters for leading roles in films. This session provides a rare look at the evolving technical and artistic capability that has dramatically expanded filmmakers' boundaries: creation of digital characters with dynamic personalities and an unparalleled level of realism, seamlessly integrated into a live-action environment. Individual presentations will be followed by a roundtable discussion.

Moderator
Ken Ralston, Sony Pictures Imageworks Inc.

Panelists
Jerome Chen, Sony Pictures Imageworks Inc.
John Dykstra, Columbia Pictures
Bill Kroyer, Rob Legato, and Doug Smith, Rhythm & Hues
Bill Westenhofer, Warner Bros.


Masters of the Game
Wednesday, 15 August
12:30 - 2 pm
Winners of Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences Interactive Achievement Awards offer a behind-the-scenes look at some of the worldıs leading games and the people who created them. The award winners speak about the games, their sources of inspiration, their multi-disclipinary teams, and how they created the magic that earned them awards for excellence in art direction, animation, game-play engineering, visual engineering, sound design, musical composition, and character and story development.

Host
J.C. Herz, Joystick Nation Inc.

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Design and Musical Composition
Medal of Honor: Underground (PlayStation)
DreamWorks Interactive/Electronic Arts
Erik Kraber and Jack Grillo, DreamWorks Interactive

Outstanding Achievement in Visual Engineering and Game-Play Engineering
SSX: Snowboarding Super Cross (PlayStation 2)
Electronic Arts/Electronic Arts
Ralph Guggenheim, Electronic Arts

Outstanding Achievement in Game Design
Zelda Majoraıs Mask (Nintendo 64)
Nintendo Co. Ltd./Nintendo of America
Ken Lobb, Nintendo of America Inc.

Outstanding Achievement in Character or Story Development
Baldurıs Gate II (PC)
Interplay Entertainment
BioWare Corp.
David Hibbeln, BioWare Corp.


Web3D RoundUP
Wednesday, 15 August
7:30 - 9 pm
The interactive event for interactive content. Web3D content developers and toolmakers demonstrate the latest technology and applications in a fast-paced shootout. The audience selects the best of the best from over 25 pre-selected presenters.

Organizer
Timothy Childs, RoundUP Productions and Eyematic


Sensapolooza: Guided Tour of the New Silicon Senses
Thursday, 16 August
6 - 8 pm
Sensory explorers describe a future where computing strategies and digital devices enhance, heighten, and repair the human sensorium. This special session is a combination of talk show and television cooking program, with a Greek chorus attached. Six guests (one for each of the five senses and one for the sixth sense, mind) demonstrate leading-edge technologies that show how the human sensorium is being augmented with sophisticated computer chips. During and after the demos, members of the Greek chorus contribute their own observations and comments.

Organizers
Kathryn Saunders,ThinkTech
James Geary, TIMEeurope.com

Host
James Geary, TIMEeurope.com

Participants
Ferdinando (sandro) Mussa-Ivaldi, Northwestern University
Henri Lustiger-Thaler, Aerome USA
Thomas A. Furness III, University of Washington
Hiroshi Ishii, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Ellwood Ivey, Trisenx, Inc.
Alex Waibel, Carnegie Mellon University

Commentators
Andrew Glassner, Writer and Consultant
Monika Fleischmann, GMD-Forschungszentrum Informationstechnik GmbH
Rosalind W. Picard, Massachusetts Institute of Technology


2001 in 2001: How a Film Inspired Our Future
Friday, 17 August
12:30 - 2 pm
In 1968, Stanley Kubrick created a motion picture that did much more than tell a story. "2001" defined the future and our place in it, inspired a generation of artists and filmmakers, and created a new perspective of the world. In this very special session, industry veterans, historians, and visionaries explore Kubrickıs "2001: A Space Odyssey" and how its influence will extend far into the 21st century.

Moderator
Jacquelyn Ford Morie, USC Institute for Creative Technologies

Panelists
Robert Abel, Robert Abel and Associates
Peter Hyams, Peter Hyams Productions
Syd Mead, Syd Mead Incorporated
Dennis Muren, Industrial Light + Magic