SIGGRAPH 2018

Over the last week I've been in Vancouver as a student volunteer for SIGGRAPH 2018 - a large conference that takes place every year where different companies, studios and artists can exhibit advances in technology such as VFX/CGI, Virtual/Augmented reality, artificial intelligence, robotics, art, and so much more. I have tried to volunteer previously with little success...but third time's the charm! Vancouver was a beautiful city (despite the smoke from wildfires) and I'm glad I got to experience Canada for the first time on this trip.

I was admittedly very nervous about travelling on my own to a new place for the first time. I've travelled on my own before, but always to places that I was familiar with. This was a real shock to the system, but it was so incredibly worth it. I was among 400 other student volunteers from around the world with a large variety of different interests and backgrounds from game design to computer science. We were all nervous and out of our comfort zones...but it was easy to fall into a routine and become familiar with our surroundings despite the immense size of the Vancouver Convention Centre.

I knew this conference was large and important but I underestimated how many people, talks, companies, and exhibits would be there. Unfortunately I didn't get to experience many of the talks due to the shifts I had to work, but I was more focused on meeting people anyway. One of my favourite shifts was working in the Studio, where I helped people use Adobe Illustrator to design and create their own journals, hats, patches, and/or backpacks that would be printed for them to take home. The Production Gallery was amazing to work in too since the costumes and props on display were used in the actual films.

It was also fun working near E-Tech (emerging technologies) as I got to help show people new, innovative products. I worked at a booth where someone created an Augmented Reality application on the iPad that allows film directors to visualise how a green-screen set would look after post-production. This was meant to give the director a better idea of what the final shots would look like even if the whole set was green-screen. The user could also move around different props and create basic animations using the app which I thought was pretty fun and useful.

Real-Time Live!

The Computer Animation Festival was an event I got to experience while I was off shift. Some of my favourite projects featured include Geometry of Artificial Intelligence, Miazmat, and Adam: Episode 2. It was interesting to see the variety of submissions...some were cartoony, some abstract, there were some created using game engines, and feature film VFX breakdowns. It's really inspiring to see the range of entries and the different technologies used. After seeing these films I really want to learn how to use Houdini and Nuke. I also got to see a portion of Real-Time Live! since I was actually working at the event, but I missed a portion of it as I was checking badges.

Miazmat - Directed by Klaudiusz Wesolowski, Produced by Platige Image

 

Overall SIGGRAPH was an amazing experience and I'm still processing the last week due to how busy it was. I had the privilege to meet people from Laika, Weta Digital, Paramount Pictures, Framestore, Rodeo FX, DNEG, MPC and much more. I exchanged business cards with a range of different people from on-site FX creators, AI developers, recruiters, animation producers and so on. While it was costly in regards to money, time and energy I highly recommend students to apply to be a volunteer. It is an invaluable networking opportunity, is very inspiring, educational, and overall fun and exciting. I wish I had the chance to volunteer again, but perhaps I'll be going to the conference again in the future as an attendee instead!