Started off my first SIGGRAPH conference a bit late on this Monday afternoon. After meeting up with my friend Mai, we took a look at the emerging technologies section. Man there were a lot of cool new devices. 3d scanners that scan sculptures into the computer. Scanners that take 3d images and create real life plastic sculptures. So cool. Real 3d TVs that work without glasses. So old school.
Then at 2pm we went to a talk by a panel from Marvel. They talked about the visual effects of Thor and Captain America. They had so many cool things to talk about. The work on skinny Stevie alone was amazing. Everyone thinks they CGI'd the buff version of Steve Rogers but Chris is actually built like that. It was making him skinny that posed a huge problem. They modeled Chris Evans and shrunk his features down. Also using a stand in actor to mimick the actions. They said some of the hardest parts were the shoulders and collar. Changing from a hard straight curve to a sloping decline and bulbous shoulder. Another problem area was the chin. They struggled to make it less masculine without going to far feminine.
One cool thing about the research they did for Thor was not just the original comic but images from the Hubble telescope. They used a lot of stellar photos to construct Asgard. While on the subject of Thor, the rigging on the titanium monster was so complex. Incorporating aspects a organic deformation and metal movement. Each slot needed a fluid movement while still maintaining a metallic stiff feel. Quite a challenge for them.
After that presentation, we went down to check out the animated shorts. (After getting lost twice, lol). Some really cool ideas in shorts out there. Mr. Choco in Love was quite hilarious. This chef day dreams about making a meal and sharing tender moments with a beautiful customer. But in reality, she takes one bite of each dish and sends it back requesting something else. Hilarious film from the academy of art university Czech rep. One short I found a little disturbing. The animation was great but the character design was poor. So ugly and not in an appealing way. It was called Animalz by Moshe Mahler. About an ugly guy in a hamster suit. Just didn't do it for me.
Which brings me to the electric theater reels later after 6. There was one disturbing reel that really stood out. Artistically, a great film. Well e executed designs and Animation. But the content and theme I felt to be pushing the offensive envelope a bit. It was called Chernokids, a film from France. It was about these kids living in Chernobyl after the nuclear accident. Each with different deformities. The character interaction was graphic and violent at times. I mean it might have been less offensive if they called it something other than chernokids. They didn't need to allude directly to Chernobyl.
Connecting back to Hubble, there was this great clip about the 3d work being done to provide visual tours of galaxy using images from the Hubble telescope. The film gave us a virtual tour of Orion's nebula and stellar nursery. Giving scientists a better understanding of how solar systems like ours were formed. There were plenty more awesome reels. But I think I'll skip to the end of day 1.
With Pixar's new short: "La Luna." I can always count on Pixar to come up with something original. The character contrast alone is something I could babble endlessly about. But I'll save that for another day. It was such a simple idea and a very unique approach to solving the core conflict. Without going into specifics (as I don't want to ruin it too much) the story involves three characters a grandfather, father, and son. On a boat outing to teach the son the family trade of cleaning the moon to make a new moon shape. So refreshing to see something original and not a remake of a previous work. Pixar rocks! Well that about sums up my first day at SIGGRAPH 2011 here in Vancouver! Can't wait to go again tomorrow!
Then at 2pm we went to a talk by a panel from Marvel. They talked about the visual effects of Thor and Captain America. They had so many cool things to talk about. The work on skinny Stevie alone was amazing. Everyone thinks they CGI'd the buff version of Steve Rogers but Chris is actually built like that. It was making him skinny that posed a huge problem. They modeled Chris Evans and shrunk his features down. Also using a stand in actor to mimick the actions. They said some of the hardest parts were the shoulders and collar. Changing from a hard straight curve to a sloping decline and bulbous shoulder. Another problem area was the chin. They struggled to make it less masculine without going to far feminine.
One cool thing about the research they did for Thor was not just the original comic but images from the Hubble telescope. They used a lot of stellar photos to construct Asgard. While on the subject of Thor, the rigging on the titanium monster was so complex. Incorporating aspects a organic deformation and metal movement. Each slot needed a fluid movement while still maintaining a metallic stiff feel. Quite a challenge for them.
After that presentation, we went down to check out the animated shorts. (After getting lost twice, lol). Some really cool ideas in shorts out there. Mr. Choco in Love was quite hilarious. This chef day dreams about making a meal and sharing tender moments with a beautiful customer. But in reality, she takes one bite of each dish and sends it back requesting something else. Hilarious film from the academy of art university Czech rep. One short I found a little disturbing. The animation was great but the character design was poor. So ugly and not in an appealing way. It was called Animalz by Moshe Mahler. About an ugly guy in a hamster suit. Just didn't do it for me.
Which brings me to the electric theater reels later after 6. There was one disturbing reel that really stood out. Artistically, a great film. Well e executed designs and Animation. But the content and theme I felt to be pushing the offensive envelope a bit. It was called Chernokids, a film from France. It was about these kids living in Chernobyl after the nuclear accident. Each with different deformities. The character interaction was graphic and violent at times. I mean it might have been less offensive if they called it something other than chernokids. They didn't need to allude directly to Chernobyl.
Connecting back to Hubble, there was this great clip about the 3d work being done to provide visual tours of galaxy using images from the Hubble telescope. The film gave us a virtual tour of Orion's nebula and stellar nursery. Giving scientists a better understanding of how solar systems like ours were formed. There were plenty more awesome reels. But I think I'll skip to the end of day 1.
With Pixar's new short: "La Luna." I can always count on Pixar to come up with something original. The character contrast alone is something I could babble endlessly about. But I'll save that for another day. It was such a simple idea and a very unique approach to solving the core conflict. Without going into specifics (as I don't want to ruin it too much) the story involves three characters a grandfather, father, and son. On a boat outing to teach the son the family trade of cleaning the moon to make a new moon shape. So refreshing to see something original and not a remake of a previous work. Pixar rocks! Well that about sums up my first day at SIGGRAPH 2011 here in Vancouver! Can't wait to go again tomorrow!
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