Sony Pictures Imageworks will showcase its diverse range of CG work and digital effects at SIGGRAPH 2007 in San Diego, Aug. 6-9.
The company will show its noteworthy work from SPIDER-MAN 3 and SURF'S UP, each with a distinct look and opportunity for breaking boundaries into new realms of visual effects and CG animation, and preview its upcoming work on BEOWULF.
"Imageworks has a 15-year history of providing technological ingenuity and creative solutions to the movie industry, enabling filmmakers and performers to fully explore their creative vision," said company president Tim Sarnoff. "SIGGRAPH is always a highlight for Imageworks and this year is no exception. We are proud to present our work on SPIDER-MAN 3, SURF'S UP and BEOWULF, three projects that we know the SIGGRAPH audience will appreciate for their creativity and groundbreaking visuals."
In addition to these critically acclaimed films, Imageworks executives also will be on hand to discuss its current slate of announced projects which include I AM LEGEND, HANCOCK, CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS from Sony Pictures Animation and three recently announced Imagemotionperformance capture films: MAXIMUM RIDE, NEANDERTHALS and an untitled thriller from Jerome Chen, the Academy Award-nominated visual effects supervisor on THE POLAR EXPRESS and BEOWULF.
Imageworks is participating in every aspect of the conference including the prestigious Electronic Theater program, Animation Theater, panels, courses and special sessions.
In its tenth consecutive year, Imageworks will present its popular life drawing class "Master Life Drawing and the Art of the Dynamic Pose" with Master Instructor Karl Gnass, author of SPIRIT OF THE POSE: SKETCHBOOK 1 in the Imageworks booth #1414. Gnass has been teaching drawing for more than 35 years and has worked with Imageworks for the past 10 years instructing artists at the facility each week in his life drawing class. Topics will include:* Figure Drawing* Musculature* Dynamic Pose* Spirit of the Pose* Path of Action* Action and Rhythm
This year, Imageworks has been honored with three pieces for screening in the jury-selected Electronic Theater: "SPIDER-MAN 3: VFX Highlights" (visual effects supervisor Scott Stokdyk), "SURF'S UP: A Practical Guide to Making Waves" (visual effects supervisor Rob Bredow) and "BEOWULF" (visual effects supervisor Jerome Chen).
"The Birth of Sandman" sequence from SPIDER-MAN 3 will be a featured presentation in this year's Animation Theater program.Special Session"SPIDER-MAN 3 - Triple Play"Aug. 81:45 pm-3:30 pm (Room 6DE)
Digital Effects Supervisors Peter Nofz and Ken Hahn and Animation Supervisor Spencer Cook will participate in a special session panel that will discuss how for the first time Imageworks produced fully articulated, performing CG characters entirely from dynamically generated particles and fluids for SPIDER-MAN 3. These digital characters, which embodied key-framed performance animation, interacted with each other and with live-action characters in real and synthetic environments throughout the film.Courses"SURF'S UP: The Making of an Animated Documentary"Aug. 68:30 am-12:15 pm (Room 1AB)
Presented by vfx supervisor Rob Bredow, animation director David Schaub, CG supervisors Daniel Kramer and Danny Dimian and effects animation supervisor Matt Hausman, this session will offer a detailed look at the making of the animated documentary SURF'S UP and the live-action camera implementation, character animation, wave effects, and rendering techniques that contributed to the film's unique look and style.Sketches"The Oasis"Aug. 88:30 am-10:15 am (Room 6DE)
"Levelsets in Production: SPIDER-MAN 3"Daniel P. FerreiraJonathan M. CohenDoug BloomChris AllenSho HasegawaCory McMahon
"Effects for the Birth of Sandman"Christoph AmmannDoug BloomJonathan M. CohenJohn CourteLucio FloresSho HasegawaTerrance TornbergLaurence TreweekBob WinterChris Yang
"Rendering Tons of Sand"Chris AllenDoug BloomJonathan M. CohenLaurence Treweek
"How to Build a Sixty-Foot Man of Moving Sand"Jamie PilgrimTerrance Tornberg
"Let's Get Physical"Aug. 83:45 pm - 5:30 pm (Room 3)
"Dynamic Execution of Tracing of Physical Simulations"Jonathan M. Cohen
"Bend and Stretch"Aug. 98:30 am - 10:15 am (Room 1AB)
"Musculo-Skeletal Shape Skinning"Erick MillerJoe Harkins
"Go With The Flow"Aug. 93:45 pm - 6:00 pm (Room 6DE)"Wave Displacement Effects for SURF'S UP"Deborah Carlson
"SURF'S UP Beach Break"Tom Kluyskens
"Making Waves for SURF'S UP"Erick MillerRob BredowDaniel KramerMatt HausmanDeborah CarlsonPeter ShinnersJohn Clark
Additional AppearancesImageworks artists will also be participating in educational panels and presentations in various booths including:
Autodesk Booth # 703Aug. 7, 8 - 2:00 pmAug. 9 - 10:30 amCharacter Pipeline Supervisor Chuck McIlvain will present material from SPIDER-MAN 3 and discuss how Maya was used in the making of the film.
Maxon Booth # 617Aug. 7, 812:00 pm and 3:00 pmDave Bleich, matte painting supervisor on SURF'S UP, will discuss how Cinema 4D was used during the making of the film.
Side Effects Booth # 127Aug. 7, 8 and 911:30 am and 1:00 pmJonathan Cohen, FX R&D lead on SPIDER-MAN 3, will discuss how Houdini was used for the film.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
