Join SIGGRAPH in Los Angeles

Invitation From the SIGGRAPH 2008 Conference Chair

At the crossroads of science, art, and technology, SIGGRAPH has become the premier event for our profession. To maintain its well-respected status, the conference must remain dynamic and relevant to the industry. Professional education and networking needs are evolving beyond a traditional conference configuration and as our conference theme suggests, SIGGRAPH is poised to evolve with those changing industry needs. For a preview into what you can expect at SIGGRAPH 2008, click here.

The industry marketplace is dynamic. In response, SIGGRAPH has developed a new and enhanced experience for computer-graphics professionals that cannot be duplicated by any other event. Highlights and enhancements include:

• A more synergistic, multi-disciplinary event: You can now move through the conference by theme or interest and traditional barriers will disappear. You can navigate throughout the exhibits and conference elements that are most important to you without traveling back and forth across the Convention Center. The end goal is to maximize your time during a week that is packed with training, networking, education opportunities, and fun.
• A new Computer Animation Festival Format: SIGGRAPH 2008 will unveil a full-scale film festival format that will be open to the public and will include multiple days of competition, feature film and animated short screenings, as well as supporting talks, panel discussions, art displays, and award and prize presentations. We will bring you the best curated and juried content from around the globe and will present works that are not typically represented at film festivals.
• Featured speakers: Based on the positive feedback you provided after SIGGRAPH 2007, we will once again provide focused content by offering presentations from different prominent industry leaders and technology experts. Each featured speaker will provide key insights on the future of computer graphics and interactive techniques.
• FJORG!: In 2007, we introduced an innovative contest of skill, creativity, and endurance. Again in 2008, teams of iron animators will be challenged for 32 hours straight to create the most impressive character-driven animation amidst limited sleep and many distractions.

As a 18-year SIGGRAPH conference veteran who understands the challenges of conference travel, be assured that after SIGGRAPH 2008 you will return to your office with a rejuvenated creative spirit, knowledge of the most cutting-edge techniques for solving even the most complex issues facing our industry today, and an incredible network of industry peers.

Finally, I ask you to forward this newsletter onto your business colleagues and friends and invite them to join you at SIGGRAPH 2008. See you in LA this summer!

Jacquelyn Martino
Research Scientist, IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
SIGGRAPH 2008 Conference Chair

Ed Catmull Just Announced as Featured Speaker

President, Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios to Speak

The first SIGGRAPH 2008 Featured Speaker, Ed Catmull, PhD, President of Walt Disney and Pixar Animation Studios, has played a major role throughout the past 30 years in the invention of some of today's most fundamental computer graphics practices used widely across the motion picture industry. He is one of the original architects of the RenderMan rendering software system, which has been used to create blockbuster animated hits such as Toy Story and Finding Nemo, as well as 44 of the last 47 Visual Effects nominations to the Academy Awards^®.

"Dr. Catmull's innovations and leadership encompass his true passion for the computer graphics industry," stated Jacquelyn Martino, SIGGRAPH 2008 Conference Chair from IBM T.J. Watson Research Center. "A great deal of what is done today with animation and computer graphics in motion pictures would not be possible without his inventions and contributions. Given that SIGGRAPH is celebrating its 35th conference, we could think of no one individual that could represent the evolution of the industry better than Dr. Catmull."

New Registration Structure

Categories Have Changed

Plan ahead. SIGGRAPH 2008 is Monday - Friday, not Sunday - Thursday like it has been in the past. Make note of this change when you register for any of the following:

Full Conference Access

Includes admission to ALL conference programs and events, including the Exhibition, the Computer Animation Festival, and the Reception. Also includes the Full Conference DVD-ROM.

Full Conference One Day

Includes access to conference programs and events and the Computer Animation Festival for one day of the conference, plus the Exhibition Tuesday through Thursday. It does not include Full Conference DVD-ROM or a Reception ticket. These items can be purchased separately.

Basic Conference Access

Includes admission to Art and Design Galleries, New Tech Demos, Posters, FJORG!, The Studio, Fast Forward Technical Papers Session, Featured Speakers, Exhibitor Tech Talks, Birds of a Feather, International Resources, Job Fair, and the Exhibition. It does not include tickets for the Reception or the Computer Animation Festival, or the Full Conference DVD-ROM. These items can be purchased separately.

Basic Conference One Day

Includes admission to Art and Design Galleries, New Tech Demos, Posters, FJORG!, The Studio, Fast Forward Technical Papers Session, Featured Speakers, Exhibitor Tech Talks, Birds of a Feather, International Resources, and Job Fair for one day of the conference, plus the Exhibition Tuesday through Thursday. It does not include tickets for the Reception or the Computer Animation Festival, or the Full Conference DVD-ROM. These items can be purchased separately.

Computer Animation Festival Only

Includes admission to the Computer Animation Festival and the Exhibition.

Save up to $275 if you register by 4 July.

Register today.

Now Accepting Los Angeles Hotel Reservations

Reserve Your Hotel Room Now and Secure a Convenient Location

SIGGRAPH 2008 conference housing is now open to all attendees. If you register for SIGGRAPH 2008 and reserve your hotel room now, you will maximize your savings and you will guarantee yourself a spot in a convenient hotel.

The SIGGRAPH 2008 shuttle service is available to all attendees who register at official conference hotels through the SIGGRAPH 2008 hotel reservation system. Those attendees will receive a wristband upon check-in that allows them to board the shuttle buses. Attendees who are not registered at official conference hotels will be allowed to purchase wristbands. Attendees without wristbands will not be allowed to use the shuttle service.

Don't wait to reserve your room, the most conveniently located hotels fill up fast.

FJORG!: Submit Your Application by 7 May 2008

All Animators Are Welcome

FJORG! (pronounced FORGE), the International Animation Contest, will return at SIGGRAPH 2008. After its resounding success last year, this event will again feature a maximum of 16 competing teams from around the world who will have 32 hours to create an impressive character-driven animation of at least 15 seconds in length adhering to at least one of two themes.

Animation reels are now being accepted for judging. Judges will select the most qualified teams of 3D and 2D animators from a pool of team animation reels submitted from around the globe. New for 2008, a pot-luck category will be added to the competition. If you are a solo animator without a team, but you have great character animation material, you can apply as a single entrant by submitting a demo reel (60 seconds or shorter). If you are selected, you will be grouped with two other single entrants to form a team of three.

In 2007, Team Mocap, which included Jim Levasseur, Tomas Jech, and W. Jacob Gardner from Bowling Green State University, was selected as the first place winner for their animation "Switch." To view their winning animation, click here.

FJORG! submissions are now being accepted. Applications will be accepted through 7 May 2008.

Prove your CG animation skills.

SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival Evolves

New in 2008

SIGGRAPH's Computer Animation Festival is evolving into a full-scale film festival featuring curated and competition screenings; discussion panels with filmmakers, artists, and producers; a full day of 3D panels, presentations, and screenings; and an awards evening celebrating the artists’ accomplishments. Events will be held at both the brand new Nokia Theater and at the Los Angeles Convention Center with the rest of the conference.

"The expansion of the Computer Animation Festival into a full-scale, multi-day festival is a direct reflection of the increased prominence computer-generated animation enjoys in the entertainment field and on the world stage," says Jill Smolin, SIGGRAPH 2008 Conference Entertainment Director. "The Festival gives SIGGRAPH the opportunity to offer attendees a rich, varied, and full experience of computer-generated animation."

Moving beyond the traditional ongoing animation theater and ticketed Electronic Theater screenings of the past, the SIGGRAPH 2008 Computer Animation Festival will run for several days. Full Conference Access attendees can come and go throughout the week. Basic Conference Access attendees can add Computer Animation Festival Access to their registration for only $50 per day, or $200 for the full five-day Festival. SIGGRAPH is also opening the Festival to the public by offering a Festival-only registration package, introducing a whole new audience to this exciting medium.

Get details about the Production Sessions at the new Computer Animation Festival.

Explore Innovative Technologies

Introducing New Tech Demos

To broaden the scope and increase the quality of your interactive experiences at SIGGRAPH, a combination of curated demonstrations and juried interactive installations will build on what you knew in the past as Emerging Technologies. These New Tech Demos will expose you to important and exciting technologies that have to be experienced to be understood.

A Demo could be a new technology or a new application of an existing technology like displays, computational cameras, CAD/CAM, and data visualization. For example, "Origami Optics" for Ultra-Thin Imagers may make long-focal-length camera lenses practical and potentially less expensive in applications where space is at a premium and bulky refractive lenses are unsuitable, such as a slim telephoto camera for cell phones.

"New Tech Demos will be distributed and displayed throughout the show to enhance the attendee experience as they navigate through the different elements of SIGGRAPH 2008," said Joe Marks, SIGGRAPH 2008 Conference New Technologies Director from Walt Disney Imagineering & Disney Animation Studios. "As attendees move through the themes in the Convention Center, they will notice how New Tech Demos combine previously hot areas of CG and HCI such as CAD/CAM and data visualization, with new application areas like cultural heritage."

Experience several of the New Tech Demos.

Curated Art

Presenting the First SIGGRAPH Exhibit on Design and Computation

SIGGRAPH 2008 will present the first SIGGRAPH art exhibit on the topic of design and computation. It will provide multiple layers of engagement, from representational to speculative and philosophical, and will address several different facets of the SIGGRAPH community.

This curated exhibit will combine two main themes:

Analytical and generative methods for design, connecting the past and future, and bridging vernacular with contemporary examples. For instance: Tensor Shades, by architects Sawako Kaijima and Panagiotis Michalatos from Adams Kara Taylor in London, are light shades generated by the interrogation of structural information and desired lighting information. The project explores a process that preconditions the design space by combining these two types of spatial information to create a design that maintains structural integrity and formal consistency. The complex information is accessed through a custom software interface that represents the information in various forms and allows interactive extraction of geometry and design decision-making.

 

Digital fabrication technologies, from jewelry design, textiles, and furniture to large-scale sculptures and architectural spaces. For example: Omi.MGX is a polyamide lamp designed by Assa Ashuach and produced and manufactured by Materialise MGX. This lamp is 3D printed using Selective Laser Sintering. Its form, together with the natural flexibility of the polyamide, creates the impression of a biological mechanism. The shape can be transformed, personalized, and manipulated to create different sculptural sensations, spaces, and moods.

"I am thrilled that for the first time at SIGGRAPH, attendees can explore how architects and designers apply generative design methods and digital fabrication technologies as means for expression. This exhibit will showcase how digital information has provided new means for expression as well as material that can be molded and reshaped in a radically different way," said Lira Nikolovska, SIGGRAPH 2008 Curated Art Chair and Senior User Interaction Designer at the Revit Emerging Products and Technologies Group at Autodesk, Inc.

Discover design and computation.

SIGGRAPH Classes

Experience the Spectrum of Education

Participate in classroom-style presentations covering a broad range of technical and professional topics including how to master the latest digital theories and important practices in computer graphics and interactive techniques. Choose the subject matter that interests you most in a setting where you can interact with the presenters that are experts in their fields. All classes are available to attendees on a first-come, first-served basis.

A sampling of the classes include:

• High-Dynamic-Range Imaging & Image-Based Lighting
• Beyond Programmable Shading: Fundamentals
• Know Your Rights: A Legal Primer for Software Developers, Artists, and Content Creators
• Introduction to Modeling, Rendering, and Animation
• Sorting in Space: Multidimensional, Spatial, and Metric Data Structures for Computer Graphics Applications
• OpenGL: What's Coming Down the Graphics Pipeline

Find out about more classes.

SIGGRAPH Exhibition

Exhibit Space Outpacing Recent Years

The SIGGRAPH 2008 Exhibition is on pace to exceed vendor participation as compared to SIGGRAPH 2006 and 2007.

"Over the last two years, we have seen a 22 percent increase in quantity of exhibitors. The industry is responding to the extraordinary opportunities that are available for showcasing their products and services in front of the leading minds in the computer graphics world," said Mike Weil, SIGGRAPH 2008 Exhibition Director. "We expect even greater excitement and announcements as we approach SIGGRAPH 2008."

In post-conference surveys, the SIGGRAPH Exhibition is continually ranked as one of the top two leading benefits to SIGGRAPH attendees. Exhibitors participate in SIGGRAPH to make major product announcements, form dynamic partnerships, recruit new employees, and launch products.

In addition to exhibit space, 2008 exhibitors have a choice when it comes to sponsorship packages. For more details on exhibiting or sponsorship, e-mail Mike Weil, SIGGRAPH 2008 Exhibition Director.

Explore the SIGGRAPH 2008 Exhibition.

Job Fair

Attention Job Seekers

Once again, ACM SIGGRAPH is partnering with CreativeHeads.net to offer SIGGRAPH 2008 attendees access to a jam-packed Job Fair. A number of enhancements are new in 2008. Whether actively or passively looking for a job, you will have access to a comprehensive career expo experience.

This year's enhancements include:

• A central lounge area that offers refreshments and opportunities to network, mingle, and mix
• Classes on career development
• Sessions on computer graphics and interactive techniques
• Demo reel reviews and tips for improvements from industry veterans
• Speaker presentations

The Job Fair begins Tuesday, 12 August, and runs through Thursday, 14 August.

To increase your visibility to companies recruiting at SIGGRAPH 2008 and increase your chances of securing a job, complete a simple, confidential CreativeHeads.net profile prior to the Job Fair. If you already have a CreativeHeads.net profile, login to your account and indicate you will be attending SIGGRAPH 2008 from your Dashboard.

Participate in the SIGGRAPH 2008 Job Fair.

The Evolution of SIGGRAPH

Did You Know?

To go along with the SIGGRAPH 2008 Conference theme, each issue of SIGGRAPHITTI will offer you a different fact about the way SIGGRAPH has changed over the years, how it has evolved.

Life at SIGGRAPH: Then and Now

The first SIGGRAPH, officially called the 1st Annual Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, drew more than 600 attendees to Boulder, Colorado for three days in 1974. Attendees slept in college dormitories with assigned roommates. The conference featured zero exhibiting companies and zero exhibit space.

In 2008, an expected 30,000 attendees will spend five days in Los Angeles for the 35th SIGGRAPH conference. Attendees can choose to stay in 16 different luxury hotels spanning across downtown Los Angeles. The conference activities will fill the entire Los Angeles Convention Center, and the Computer Animation Festival screenings will be shown at LA's state-of-the-art Nokia Theater. A projected 250 companies from five continents are expected to exhibit, covering more than 70,000 net square feet of space.

The SIGGRAPHITTI distribution list may contain more than one e-mail address for a single contact. If you receive SIGGRAPHITTI through more than one e-mail account, please unsubscribe from those addresses you wish to have removed from the distribution list. You are currently subscribed to %%list.name%% as %%emailaddr%%. To unsubscribe, send a blank email to %%email.unsub%%.

SIGGRAPH 2008
Conference Management
SmithBucklin Corporation
401 North Michigan Avenue, #2200
Chicago, Illinois 60611 USA