Animation Artist

Welcome to Animation Artist Magazine's SIGGRAPH Live updates. We will be updating this section live from the SIGGRAPH show floor from July 25 - July 27. The updates are taking place from the Digital Media Net SIGGRAPH booth (# 2545). The most current updates will always appear first.

In the right hand column we have placed links to the latest news and multimedia files relating to SIGGRAPH 2000. Enjoy the updates and be sure to hit the refresh button on your browser for the latest updates!

New Chicken Run Images Added
(Updated 5:15PM)

New Chicken Run images from the DPS booth have been added to the SIGGRAPH Chicken Run gallery. The new images show Merlin Crossingham (key animator on the movie Chicken Run) demonstrating how Aardman animated mouth movements on Mrs. Tweedy. Click Here .

PCS Brings Animals to Life Through Motion Capture
Updated 1:45 PM

A real Siberian Lynx at SIGGRAPH Performance Capture Studio is showing off its technology in a different way at SIGGRAPH 2000. While many booths are showing how motion capture works with humans, PCS is showing how it works with animals. PCS has a Siberian Lynx (named Romeo) at its booth and is showing pictures of Romeo hooked to their wireless motion capture system. PCS also showed footage of an elephant they had hooked to its motion capture system. Many of these animals are then transformed to other type of animals, like certain dinosaur species that are now extinct.

The highlight for PCS was this morning's SIGGRAPH where in conjunction with Jim Henson's Creature Shop, presented Kermit the Frog as the Keynote speaker. The audience only saw Kermit at the beginning of the keynote until live footage of the actor was later cut in. The audience was amazed at seeing Kermit do all sorts of tricks like summer-saults.

"We recognized the benefits the Henson Digital Performance Studio has to offer with its real-time digital performance capabilities, said Gary Roberts, President of PCS. "We've worked hard to make the real time optical motion capture technology transparent to the performers, and now we are there. PCS is all about breathing life into characters, whether its real time or not. We believe in giving them a soul."

With motion capture becoming an important element of many animated films, PCS told Animation Artist Magazine that it was currently involved in an animated motion capture feature film, but couldn't release any additional details.

New Professional 2D Cel Animation Program Introduced
Updated 1:30 PM

While many booths like Softimage have huge booths, some of the smaller booths are exhibiting new animation products. One such product is called AniMaster which is a professional 2D cel animation program from a company in Taiwan. The product was developed by Junior Land Co., Ltd. According to Junior Land, "the AniMaster simulates the traditional animation methodology with modular system. Flexibility, efficiency, and an easy-to-use interface are the basic design concepts of each module..."

AniMaster runs on Windows 95 and Windows NT. The nine modules of AniMaster include ShowManager (for managing production data), ColorModel, ScanSetup, ColorScan, ADFScan, Combine, Ink&Paint, ImageManager, EseRender, and Special Effects. For more information on AniMaster, you can visit their Website by clicking here .

Foundation Imaging Unveils Institute at SIGGRAPH
Updated 1:20 PM

Foundation Imaging, the visual effects company that first brought feature quality CGI to television announce at SIGGRAPH the opening of the Foundation Institute, a training center designed to educate aspiring animation and visual effects professionals. Using LightWave 3D since 1993, Foundation Imaging is the two-time winner of the Television Academy's Emmy Award for Special Effects. Current projects include "Max Steel," "Star Trek: Voyager," and "Roughnecks: The Starship Troopers Chronicles."

Foundation Institute, a full service educational center utilizing NewTek's LightWave software package, is currently offering a multi-level animation program including beginner through expert classes, running from one week to a comprehensive two-year certification program.

Located within Foundation Imaging's 20,000 square foot Valencia, CA studio, the Foundation Institute's courseware will focus on the general aspects of CGI effects, such as character and hardware modeling, photo-realistic surfacing, lighting, integration of CGI elements into live action, and using motion capture data.

Specialized workshops will also focus on character setsups and facial animation, pyrotechnic and other effects, managing large scene files, multi-pass rendering techniques and compositing, and various methods of streamlining workflow to insure on-time delivery and client satisfaction.

Enter: messiah
By Denise Harrison

Give an animator a wish list and the outcome just might be project:messiah. Project:messiah Group, exhibiting at SIGGRAPH for the first time, entered to a noticeable buzz with its announcement of messiah:studio 3.0, which will include messiah:animate 3.0, messiah:render and enhanced surfacing tools.

Click here to read the entire article.

SIGGRAPH 2000 Day 1 - July 25, 2000

SIGGRAPH NEWS
Animo Inkworks	Disney Feature Animation Industrial Light & Magic PDI LucasArts Entertainment	Graphics Chicken Run (DPS) Pulse 3D Booth