Join SIGGRAPH

News

Suggest a News Story

2016 VIEW Awards Announces Winners

Oct 30, 2016 |

Source: VIEW Press Release

The 2016 VIEW Award winners have been announced. Citing director Chen Chen’s ability to create an expressive story without dialog, a story with layers of meaning, and an animation style that is perfect for the design, the jury awarded “Vieil Ours” (Old Bear) the 2016 VIEW Award. Chen Chen will receive the first prize of 2000 Euros. The 11:32 minute film was produced in 2016 by Citron Bien and distributed by Yummy Films. Pierre Dron was the producer.

Honorable Mention went to the emotional short animated film “Drifting Away – A La Derive” directed by Fabian Driehorst and distributed by APEmanStudio in Barcelona. Jurors noted the unique style, the painterly environments,and the interesting use of transparency to show the impact of a father’s depression on his small family.

“Beer by Charles Bukowski,” created at NERDO Creative Studios received the award for Best Design.

“Fox and Whale” directed by Robin Joseph received the award for Best Environments.

The robot in the animated short “Green Light” received the award for Best Digital Character. Seongmin Kim directed the film produced at DF Lab. Haejung Suk was the producer.

Visit the AWN story for video and images of the award-winning films.

Jurors for the 2016 VIEW Awards included: Director Conrad Vernon (Sausage Party), Director David Feiss(Open Season: Scared Silly), Byron Howard (Zootopia), Disney Animation Studios, technical Director John Halstead (Pixar), Creative Director Adam Volker (MoonbotStudios), Professor Deborah Fowler (SCAD), Visual Effects Supervisor Lucia Modesto (TV Globo Productions), Visual Effects Supervisor Steve Emerson, Bit Films Founder Chris Perry, Daniele Volpe, Gnomon Workshop, Elisa Cantamessa, Student University of Turin, Agata Soccini, University of Turin, Prof. Maria Elena Gutierrez, President of the Jury, Director VIEW Conference & VIEWFest, and Journalist Barbara Robertson, Chair of the Jury.

ACM Awards: Call for Nominations

Oct 30, 2016 |

Source: Association for Computing Machinery

Each year, ACM recognizes technical and professional achievements within the computing and information technology community through its celebrated Awards Program. And annually, ACM's award committees evaluate the contributions of candidates for various awards that span a spectrum of professional and technological accomplishments. You and your colleagues are invited to nominate candidates for ACM awards, including:

  • A.M. Turing Award
  • ACM Prize in Computing (formerly AACM-Infosys Foundation Award in the Computing Sciences)
  • ACM/AAAI Allen Newell Award
  • Software System Award
  • Grace Murray Hopper Award
  • Paris Kanellakis Theory and Practice Award
  • Karl V. Karlstrom Outstanding Educator Award
  • Eugene L. Lawler Award for Humanitarian Contributions within Computer Science and Informatics
  • Distinguished Service Award
  • Outstanding Contribution to ACM Award
  • ACM Athena Lecturer Award

The deadline for nominations is November 30. Please take a moment to consider those individuals in your community who may be suitable for nomination. Refer to the ACM award nominations page for nomination guidelines and the complete listing of Award Subcommittee Chairs and Members.

Visual Effects Society Names Ken Ralston Recipient of VES Lifetime Achievement Award

Visual Effects Society Names Ken Ralston Recipient of VES Lifetime Achievement Award

Oct 21, 2016 |

Source: VES Press Release

On October 20, 2016, the Visual Effects Society (VES), the industry’s professional global honorary society, named multiple Academy Award®-winning visual effects pioneer Ken Ralston as the recipient of the VES Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of his enormous contributions to filmed entertainment. The award will be presented at the 15th Annual VES Awards on February 7, 2017 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

The VES Lifetime Achievement Award, bestowed by the VES Board of Directors, recognizes an outstanding body of work that has significantly contributed to the art and/or science of the visual effects industry. VES will honor Ralston for his intuitive vision and unparalleled mastery of visual effects. Ralston’s creative vision and fierce technical expertise have earned him an impressive five Academy Awards®. His groundbreaking work has built a rich legacy, one that has profoundly impacted future generations of artists and innovators.

Ken Ralston"Ken Ralston is an amazing force and a defining voice of the visual effects community,” said Mike Chambers, VES Board Chair. “His creativity, leadership, and ability to use technologies to enhance the art of storytelling have brought us some of the most memorable films of all time. His pioneering work has truly raised the bar and helped redefine entertainment and our industry on a global level. For this, and more, we are honored to award him with the prestigious Visual Effects Society Lifetime Achievement Award.”

Ralston is Senior Visual Effect Supervisor and Creative Head at the Academy Award® winning visual effects studio, Sony Pictures Imageworks. He has earned five Academy Awards® including a Special Achievement Oscar® for the visual effects in the 1984 phenomenon, Star Wars: Episode VI – The Return of the Jedi. In addition to this, he received Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects for his work as visual effects supervisor on Forrest Gump (which was also awarded the Oscar for Best Picture), Death Becomes Her, the revolutionary Who Framed Roger Rabbit andCocoon. Ralston followed his Academy Award-nominated work as senior visual effects supervisor on Disney’s Alice in Wonderland (3D), with Columbia Picture's Men in Black III and most recently Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass.

Many groundbreaking projects at Sony Pictures Imageworks have benefited from Ralston's artistic acumen including his many collaborations with Academy Award® winning director Robert Zemeckis on the epic Beowulf (3D), The Polar Express (3D) and Cast Away. Prior to joining Imageworks, Ralston placed his artistic and technical stamp on the films at Industrial Light & Magic. Breaking technological ground, Ralston played a pivotal role in advancing the company's renown.

Ralston's other notable film credits include visual effects supervisor on The Rocketeer, Jumanji, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Dragonslayer, for which he was also nominated for an Oscar, and all three films from the Back to the Future trilogy, earning an Academy Award® nomination for best visual effects onBack to the Future II.

Ralston's career began at the seminal commercial animation and visual effects company, Cascade Pictures in Hollywood, where he worked on more than 150 memorable advertising campaigns in the early 1970s. He built sets, sculpted models, animated puppets, created optical effects and stop motion animation for such iconic commercial characters as Poppin' Fresh, the Pillsbury Dough Boy, and The Jolly Green Giant.

Previous winners of the VES Lifetime Achievement Award have included James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Ray Harryhausen, George Lucas, Robert Zemeckis, John Dykstra, Frank Marshall & Kathleen Kennedy and Sir Ridley Scott.

Motion in Games: October 10-12 in San Francisco

Sep 20, 2016 |

The upcoming ACM SIGGRAPH conference Motion in Games 2016 will take place in San Francisco, California, from October 10-12. Motion in Games brings together researchers from a variety of fields to present their most recent results, initiate collaborations, and contribute to the establishment of new research areas. This year's MIG conference is co-located with the Twelfth Annual AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Interactive Digital Entertainment, providing further opportunities for networking.

Games have become a very important medium for education, therapy and entertainment – and motion plays a crucial role in computer games. Characters move around, objects are manipulated or move due to physical constraints, entities are animated, and the camera moves through the scene. Even the motion of the player nowadays is used as input to games.

Motion is currently studied in many different areas of research, including graphics and animation, game technology, robotics, simulation, computer vision, and also physics, psychology, and urban studies. Cross-fertilization between these communities can considerably advance the state-of-the-art in the area.

The Motion in Games conference consists of regular paper sessions, poster presentations and presentations by a selection of internationally renowned speakers in all areas related to games and simulation. The conference also includes entertaining cultural and social events that foster casual and friendly interactions among the participants.

MIG's keynote speakers are: Simon Clavet from Ubisoft, who will discuss game animation, Michiel van de Panne from the University of British Columbia, who will discuss physics-based animation, and Mark Walsh of Motional A.i. (and formerly from Pixar), who will discuss effective use of story and animation.

Click here to register now for MIG 2016.

MetroCAF 2016 in NYC Sept. 23

MetroCAF 2016 in NYC Sept. 23

Sep 11, 2016 |

MetroCAF is the annual NYC Metropolitan Area College Computer Animation Festival, organized by the New York City chapter of ACM SIGGRAPH. On Friday, September 23, at 7:00PM, MetroCAF 2016 will premiere in New York City.

Started in 2003, MetroCAF has grown into the most important local festival of its kind. It provides an exciting opportunity for all students in the NYC metropolitan area to show their work, not only to their fellow students, but also to industry professionals. This year's festival features 29 pieces from 6 metropolitan-area schools. A trailer can be found on the NYC ACM SIGGRAPH YouTube channel.

NYC ACM SIGGRAPH will also be presenting the annual Rick Barry Outstanding Service Award at this year's MetroCAF. Rick was known for his tremendous work on behalf of students everywhere. His work with Pratt, NYC ACM SIGGRAPH, and his service as the ACM SIGGRAPH Education Committee Chair had a widespread impact on students and educators. Rick was the second Chair of MetroCAF, and helped to establish it as the premier NYC-area college computer animation festival. This year's recipient of the award is Lucien Harriot, a long-time member and volunteer with NYC ACM SIGGRAPH.

MetroCAF 2016 will take place on Friday, September 23, at the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT) Auditorium On Broadway at 1871 Broadway. Admission is free to NYC ACM SIGGRAPH Members and faculty, students, and staff of NYIT. Tickets to MetroCAF 2016 may be purchased in advance, or as availability allows, at the door.

For complete details, visit the NYC ACM SIGGRAPH website at http://nyc.siggraph.org.