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The 6th Annual Visual Effects Society Summit was held on October 18 at the W Hotel in Hollywood. An event that hosted VFX professionals from a variety of disciplines, the summit provided a networking opportunity for many. This year's summit keynote was delivered by Victoria Alonso, Executive Vice President of Visual Effects and Post Production at Marvel Studios, who opted for a question and answer session rather than the usual prepared speech.

Alonso spoke at length about Marvel's story development process, which begins with the comics and evolves into fleshed-out stories more suited to the big screen. According to Alonso, during this process, many ideas are taken under consideration. The scripts for Marvel films are developed in visual form, using the comics as a foundation. The look and feel of the characters are defined by Marvel's visual development team, which includes Ryan Meinerding, Co-Visual Development Supervisor and concept artist Charles Wen. The team creates vivid illustrations that are used to guide, sometimes very accurately, the look of the final film. Alonso pointed out that the Marvel crew is constantly creating; even going so far as to shoot sequences during premieres, since that's when the cast is available together.

What's Alonso's favorite part of process? As you might guess, everything. She loves prepping, shooting, post, and putting the whole puzzle together. When asked how vendors take part in the creative process, she replied that vendors are creative partners, and she welcomes their ideas. In response to a question about what she looks for in VFX vendors, Alonso answered: "I strive for honesty." Alonso claims to have gotten lucky many times, such as when Luma Pictures came in late on "Guardians of the Galaxy," and delivered excellent work despite the time crunch.

Alonso also shed some light on how she was able to move from visual effects to production. According to Alonso, she "filled the gap" when her good friend Eileen Moran went to WETA as a producer (a job they were both up for). Moran asked Alonso to fill in on "Cats and Dogs," a production Moran was in the middle of, and Alonso gracefully obliged. Alonso explained that she has no problem making coffee for everyone, and doesn't let her own ego get in the way. She decided early on that she wanted to have a job, have a child and have a husband — and created her career with those goals in mind. When asked what she thinks of the $330 million in tax incentives in California, she replied "We would like to be here [in Los Angeles]." 

Alonso's keynote session was followed by a period of moderated roundtable discussions. "From the Ivory Tower to the Silver Screen," was a discussion moderated by Paul Debevec from the USC Institute for Creative Technologies. Debevec spoke about the Light Stage project, which shoots a subject and records the light from all directions. Sabrina Arnold, VFX producer on "Agents of Shield," used the light stage for an upcoming episode, and was very impressed with the results. 

The summit concluded with a lively panel entitled “What Constitutes Visual Imagery?” Visual Effects Supervisor Ben Grossmann, Production Designer Bo Welch and Cinematographer Dion Beebe, ASC led the panel, moderated by VFX legend Bill Taylor, ASC. According to Ben Grossmann, all aspects of visual effects have comparisons with live action, and crew members for live action shoots are using 3D programs more and more. Grossmann proposed the adoption of the animation production style for live action projects: clearly structuring the concept, pre-production, and post-production stages with enough time allotted to produce great results.

ACM SIGGRAPH's Digital Art Community is now accepting submissions to its upcoming art show: "Enhanced Vision – Digital Video." The show will be an online international survey of today's most exciting and innovative digitally-enhanced video art works.

The creators of the show describe it as follows:

"Enhanced Vision – Digital Video will focus on digital methodologies that enhance the moving image, and how these effects can reveal specific meaning and content. Each work selected will bring its own unique, artistic style to reveal socially significant issues.

"Video has experienced a long and celebrated history that has developed technically, as well as with critical, social, and culturally important development. Our belief is that video and computer/digital technology have merged seamlessly: what once was considered pure video art and what was once simply known as "computer graphics" now often intertwine.

"Digitally enhanced video, using open source, individually coded, or commercial software, has the capability to reveal what the camera alone cannot capture. The resulting enhanced video reveals inventive ways of expressing significant, socially relevant ideas that bring what otherwise would not be possible to online audiences."

The application to submit work for consideration is free of charge, and no royalty will be paid for the inclusion the work in the exhibition. For more information on the show and submission requirements, including a link to the online submission form, visit the Enhanced Vision – Digital Video call for submissions.

The 7th International ACM SIGGRAPH Conference on Motion in Games (MIG 2014) will take place in Los Angeles, California, from November 6 to 8. 2014 marks the first year Motion in Games will be held in the United States.

The Motion in Games conference aims to bring together researchers from the large variety of fields that study the use of motion in games, and facilitate cross-fertilization between the communities. Console and computer games have become very important mediums for education, therapy and entertainment — and motion plays a crucial role in these games. As a result, motion in games is a subject of study in numerous areas of research, including graphics and animation, game technology, robotics, simulation, computer vision, physics, psychology and urban studies.

Motion in Games 2014 will consist of regular paper sessions, poster presentations and talks from a selection of internationally renowned speakers in various areas related to games and simulation. MIG 2014 will also include entertaining cultural and social events to foster casual and friendly interactions among the participants.

Online registration for the conference is now open; ACM SIGGRAPH members receive $75 off the non-member rate (professional membership to ACM SIGGRAPH is $42 a year).

Today, the Visual Effects Society named renowned director J.J. Abrams as the next recipient of the VES Visionary Award. The award, which has been bestowed upon such luminaries as Christopher Nolan, Ang Lee and Alfonso Cuarón, serves to recognize individuals who have "uniquely and consistently employed the art and science of visual effects to foster imagination and ignite future discoveries." The award will be presented at the 13th Annual VES Awards on February 4, 2015 at the iconic Beverly Hilton Hotel.

According to the VES, this year's Visionary Award has been earmarked for Abrams in recognition of his significant, unique contributions to filmed entertainment over the course of his career. "A fiercely inventive storyteller, [Abrams has a] distinctive ability to harness craft and technology in creating mysterious new worlds that transport and transfix audiences," the society declared in its press release announcing the award.

"J.J. and his team have evolved visual effects," said Jeff Okun, VES Board Chair. "He has redefined the relationship between the viewer and the story."

A two-time Emmy Award winner, Abrams is the Founder and President of Bad Robot Productions. In partnership with Paramount Picture and Warner Bros. Studios, Bad Robot has produced numerous iconic films and television series, including "Cloverfield," "Star Trek," "Super 8," "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol," "Star Trek Into Darkness," "Alias," "Lost," "Fringe" and "Person of Interest." He is currently working on the next installment in the Star Wars saga: "Star Wars: Episode VII," serving as director, writer and producer.

"I am very touched to be receiving the Visionary Award this year,” said Abrams. “As a lifelong fan of visual effects in film and TV, I feel so lucky to get to work with such remarkable VFX artists, and look forward to celebrating their incredible work at the VES event."

Submissions for the 13th Annual VES Awards will open on October 6, 2014.

The brand-new Munich ACM SIGGRAPH chapter will be celebrating its launch in style on Sunday, 21 September, with a talk from computer graphics veteran Paul Debevec. Debevec is the Former Vice President of ACM SIGGRAPH, and is widely recognized as a leader in the field for his impactful research in photorealistic image capture and rendering. 

A research professor at the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technology, Debevec has led the development of several Light Stage systems that capture and simulate the appearance of people and objects under real-world illumination. In 2010, Debevec and his co-developers received an Academy Award for their work with the Light Stage project. Light Stage processes have been used to create photoreal digital actors for a long list of films that include "King Kong," "Superman Returns," "Avatar," "The Avengers," "Oblivion," "Ender's Game," "Gravity" and "Maleficent."

The Munich ACM SIGGRAPH inaugural event will open with Alain Chesnais, former President of the Association for Computing Machinery, who will speak about new developments in 3D content for the Web. ACM SIGGRAPH Chapters Committee Chair Mashhuda Glencross will also be present and participate in the event.

Attendance to the Munich ACM SIGGRAPH launch event is free and open to all, but attendees are asked to register in advance on the Munich ACM SIGGRAPH website. The event will take place in the main auditorium of the University of Television and Film (HFF) at Bernd Eichinger-Platz 1, Munich. Doors will open at 14:15 hours.

Want to join the Munich ACM SIGGRAPH chapter? Visit the Munich ACM SIGGRAPH membership page.