Newsletter #7 – March 2018: The Shape of Water, Lighting & Rendering and VR at the Planetarium
40 days till FMX 2018! As we are counting down the days, you can start putting together your „must see“ list for your trip to FMX. Luckily, there are plenty of program highlights to choose from: Oscar-winning The Shape of Water will be in the VFX spotlight as well as Thor: Ragnarok and IT. If you fancy some tech-talk, you definitely shouldn’t miss the Lighting & Rendering track. Moreover, we are excited that the Planetarium will turn into Stuttgart’s VR hot spot again, inviting you to enjoy virtual reality under the dome.
That being said, today (March 15, UTC+1) is your last chance to purchase your early bird ticket. So don’t hesitate and get it now!
Effects – Oscar-winning The Shape of Water and more!
Being part of the new Creatures & Characters track, Trey Harrell (Mr. X) will explore the techniques used to bring the Amphibian Man in The Shape of Water to life. Raphael de Almeida Pimentel (Luma) will get on stage to illuminate how the studio created rock giant Korg for Marvel’s Thor: Ragnarok. Pennywise, the creepy clown featured in IT, will be the center of a presentation given by Mikael Damant-Sirois and Dominic Piché (both Rodeo FX).
Virtual Reality at the Planetarium
After last year’s successful premiere, the Planetarium Stuttgart will host some fascinating VR content once again, giving you the opportunity to experience virtual reality under its dome. Join Scot Stafford (Google Spotlight Stories) as he walks you through Sonaria, a sound-driven journey of light and music. Alex Henning (Magnopus) will take you on a journey into the world of Coco VR, the corresponding virtual reality experience of the Disney Pixar movie success. Kim Baumann Larsen (The Future Group) discusses the challenge of creating a rich, compelling music VR experience that balances user action and direction. Last but definitely not least, Buzz Hays, Head of Production at Lytro, and Saschka Unseld, Producer and Director at Tomorrow Never Knows (TNK), will be part of the line-up at the Planetarium.
Technology – Lighting & Rendering
As in past years, Christophe Hery, Senior Scientist at Pixar Animation Studios, curates the Lighting & Rendering track again for the 2018 edition of FMX. Aside from that, he will present Flow, Pixar’s in-house shading tool. André Mazzone (Industrial Light & Magic) will describe the current material modelling paradigm in use at ILM, the history behind it, and some glimpses into the future. Sam Assadian (Isotropix) will explain Clarisse iFX, a new 3D lookdev, lighting and rendering software. Prof. Tamy Boubekeur and Davide Pesare (both Allegorithmic) will elaborate on the challenges one has to face when creating digital materials and substances. Prof. Wenzel Jakob (École Polytechnique Féderale de Lausanne) will talk about modelling, measuring and rendering the appearance of layered materials. Jan Jordan and Dr. Lutz Kettner (both NVIDIA) will discuss the basics of NVIDIA’s Material Definition Language. The track will be rounded off by a presentation given by Andrea Weidlich, Senior Researcher Rendering at Weta Digital.
Forum – Backstage and latest confirmations
Our long-term friends at Backstage will join us once again as a Main Partner. Thank you for your ongoing support!
Meanwhile, confirmations for the Marketplace keep coming in, with the latest of them being Autodesk, Avid, NEC Displays and Unit Image / Scan Engine. INRIA and SolidAnim will welcome you at their joint Marketplace booth. Furthermore, Foundry, MAXON and Sohonet will invite you to participate in their Workshops. Double Negative, Goodbye Kansas and Mikros Image will be looking for new talents at the Recruiting Hub. Moreover, you can get to know faculty staff, alumni and students of Hochschule der Medien, Staffordshire University and Victoria University School of Design at the School Campus.