News Archives - Page 56 of 75

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

Oct 21, 2016 | News

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 15^th 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 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 | News

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

Sep 11, 2016 | News

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.

VIEW Conference 2016 Announces Rich Slate

Sep 11, 2016 | News

Source: VIEW Conference, August 2016 Press Release

TURIN, Italy – VIEW Conference 2016, Italy’s largest computer graphics and digital media conference will swing into action October 24, showcasing the largest and most diverse cross-section of industry professionals in animation, visual effects, virtual reality and digital design in the conference’s 17-year history. The renowned Turin, Italy confab spans five days of talks, workshops, panel discussions, interactive sessions and awards presented to an expected audience of 6,000 students and professionals. This year, VIEW is headlined by three exciting Keynotes:

Byron Howard – Co-Director of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ blockbuster animated hit Zootopia, Howard will discuss the film’s five + year evolution.
Dr. Donald Greenberg – Director of the Program of Computer Graphics at Cornell University, with research supported by Pixar, DreamWorks, Microsoft, Intel, Oculus, Valve and Autodesk, and with government funding, Greenberg will address the question of what’s necessary to make VR real.
Brad Lewis – Producer of Warner Animation Groups’ second animated feature, Storks, will discuss creation of the highly anticipated release.

The VIEW Conference has also launched, and is now accepting submissions to, an exciting competition for animated short films or videogames created during 2015 and 2016. Competition entry information and continually updated information about the conferences’ growing list of speakers, sessions and workshops is available at http://www.viewconference.it.

“We are thrilled and honored to announce the largest and most diverse panel of industry leaders in the history of our show,” said conference director Dr. Maria Elena Gutierrez. “In 2016 we’re hosting a fantastic cross-section of industry leaders from animation and special effects, and showcasing the burgeoning world of virtual reality.”

VIEW Conference 2016 will also include a host of Talks and Workshops. The growing list includes:

WORKSHOP: ‘The DNA of Disney Character Design’ – Byron Howard. In addition to his keynote, Howard will present this workshop on creating appealing characters for animation, including for Tangled and Bolt, of which he directed.
WORKSHOP: ‘Visual Imaging in the Electronic Age’ – Dr. Donald Greenberg. In addition to his keynote, Greenberg’s workshop will discuss where technology is going, where it comes from, the future of graphic environments, and with much of the answers depending on how we see or how we interpret what we see, how the medium is dependent on recent research in perception psychology.
TALK: The Visual Design of ‘The Good Dinosaur’ – Sharon Calahan – Director of Photography, The Good Dinosaur, Pixar Animation Studios
WORKSHOP: ‘Storytelling with Light’ – Sharon Calahan
TALK: ‘Kubo and The Two Strings’ – Marc Haimes – Screenplay Writer, Kubo and The Two Strings, Laika
TALK: ‘Finding Hank’ – John Halstead – Supervising Technical Director, Finding Dory, Pixar Animation Studios
TALK: Virtual Reality – Jump Into The Story – Maureen Fan – CEO, Co-Founder, Baobab Studios
TALK: Google Spotlight Stories – ‘Rain or Shine’ – Luke Youngman,
Executive Producer / Deputy Head of Production and Felix Massie, Director, Nexus
TALK: The Making Of Open Season: Scared Silly – David Feiss, Director, Open Season: Scared Silly, Sony Pictures Animation
WORKSHOP: The Fundamentals of Storyboarding– David Feiss
TALK: The Power of Ambition as a Motivating Force in Creative Endeavors – Josh Holmes, Franchise Creative Director – 343 Industries
TALK: Neuroscience and Video Games: A New Class of Medicine, Adam Gazzaley, Co-Founder, Chief Science Advisor, Akili Interactive, Matt Omernick, Co-Founder, Chief Creative Officer, Akili Interactive
TALK: The Emotions of Game Development – Daryl Anselmo – Art & Creative Director, Zynga
TALK: ADR1FT and at Peace – Adam Orth – CEO, Creative Director, Three One Zero
TALK: Alice Through the Looking Glass – Troy Saliba – Animation Supervisor, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Sony Pictures Imageworks
WORKSHOP: Animation Posing and Composition – Troy Saliba
TALK: New Directions for Stylized CG – Chris Perry – Associate Professor of Media Arts and Sciences, Hampshire College
WORKSHOP: Directing the Visual Story- Chris Perry
WORKSHOP: Portfolio review with J.C. Cornwell – J.C. Cornwell – Director of Training and Artist Development, Sony Pictures Imageworks
WORKSHOP: 3D Animation Taster – Alex Williams – Head of Animation, Escape Studios

VIEW AWARDS

The VIEW conference is now accepting submissions in four categories for animated short films or videogames created during 2015 and 2016.
VIEW Award – 2000 Euro first prize will be awarded to the best short film with 2D or 3D animation or visual effects. The category is open to students and professionals. In addition, awards will be given for Best Short, Best Design, Best Character, and Best VFX.
VIEW Social Contest – A Wacom Intuos Pro Medium will be given for a short film, music clip, or commercial with 2D/3D animation and VFX that focuses on social issues.
VIEW Game Award – 500 Euros will be given to the game with the best story, design and mechanics.
VIEWTube Video Award – 500 Euros for the best YouTube video in 2016 about recycling.
Italianmix – Wacom Intuos Pro Medium Tablet for the best short film (30 minutes or less) focusing on Italian themes.

The deadline for submissions is September 15.

The VIEW 2016 Conference is made possible with the support of Compagnia Di San Paolo, Fondazione CRT, Piedmont Region, Turin's Chamber of Commerce and the City of Turin.

Please visit http://www.viewconference.it for more information.