SIGGRAPH Sunday/Monday

Ok, so its lunch on Monday and I didn't post anything last night but now I have a little bit more to write about.

Yesterday I started with the first half day course, The Art of Open Season. Sony Pictures spoke how the put Open Season together from development to final render in a great course. This feature is looking extremely promising with some nice design and animation going for it. Too bad about the voice cast - not my favourite bunch.



Lecturers (from right) Doug Ikeler, Sean Mullen, Darren Lurie and Max Bruce.

Sean spoke about the rig and Character Setup, including key panels similar to the synoptic in XSI and Slicers which enabled the animators to refine and sculpt the silhouette of the character.

After a quick lunch, I was back in the extremely cold hall, these guys love their air conditioning and I fear I am getting sick from the hot-cold conditions here.

The second course yesterday was all about Narnia and how Rhythm & Hues developed Aslan and the other creatures involved in the battle.



Lectures included (from left) Ivan Neulander, Tae-Yong Kim, Wil Telford, Hans Rijpkema, Brad Hiebert and Jubin Dave.

Vastly more informative than the DVD, this course went into more detail and showed some early work on Aslan and how the Griphon got his walk on part. Not overly technical this course was great for the beginner, with a small bit of "what was that?" when Ivan spoke about rendering hair...



In the main lobby there is an exhibition on the teapot containing some interesting interpretations on the original Teapot render. From sculpture to paintings and even glass blown teapots.

This morning I was between a course on Sketch Based interfaces and emerging technologies sketches. Nothing as good as yesterday but the preperation on the main exhibition is underway and visible from the catwalk through the centre. Looking like fun tomorrow.

Now it's off to a course on defining Character Dev Techniques, the Electronic theatre and then the Chapters party. Looking forward to it but I will post some more later this week. They are being strict about photos here so hopefully I can get some more.