August 2, 2019

SIGGRAPH REVIEW 2019

NVIDA-RTX-Studio-Laptops-1-1280x720

Kevin Clark/Dakar Media Academy

8/2/2019

The Dakar Media Academy has just wrapped its capture of the  2019 SIGGRAPH at the LA Convention Center  delivered a host of new and emerging game-changers for the creative-tech industry, chief among them were;  real-time live and games programming during the conference, which shined a light on topics including but not limited to facial animation, AI, ethics, and the future of real-time production.

In addition, we met ACM stakeholders; Academy Award Winner Alain Chesnais, Disney Imagineer, MK Haley, Ex Department Of Treasury Director David Rixter , student from SCI-ART-UCLA Program and  Director Of  Of Diversity & Inclusion at ACM, Tony Bayliss.

Some of the features highlighted at this years Siggraph were : Il Divino: Michelangelo’s Sistine Ceiling in VR debut at the show, powered by Unreal Engine.  Big thanks for Dakar Media  Acadeny members, Eric Elder, Taylor Acthinson, Shoni Doe, Gloria, Betty, Kay, and Erin.

One of the top features of the live events showcased 5G, and  how essential real-time technology is and continues to be in revolutionizing the way we interact in an increasingly connected society. Following a theme of thriving on live, the innovations that teams demonstrated  way to enhance future technological such as: applications for robotics, ray tracing, AI, XR, games, film, and 5G impact.

This years conference was more focused on conversation, Panels, the Computer Animation Festival, the Immersive Pavilion, and more. In collaboration with one another.  Siggraph 2017 was mind-bending, but this year I thought spotlighted creators, visionaries, and pioneers within the games industry from the world’s leading studios past and present and future. Content was presented through sessions and demos that spotlighted the latest rendering techniques, real-time tricks, asset pipelines, facial animation, advances in hardware and software, production challenges and accomplishments, virtual and augmented reality and 5G enabled capacity.


Noted SIGGRAPH 2019 Games Co-chair Christopher Evans, “At SIGGRAPH 2019, attendees can expect to immerse themselves in the most engaging new gaming technologies and techniques. In addition to being a key place to learn about the latest research in games, the speakers and experiences lined up this year shine a light on the ways the industry is thriving.”

Alongside a handful of Courses, Production Sessions, and Technical Papers, highlights for games and real-time production content include:

REAL-TIME LIVE!
Real-Time, Single Camera, Digital Human Development
Contributors: Doug Roble, Darren Hendler, Jeremy Buttell, Lonnie Iannazzo, Melissa Cell, Deer Li, Jason Briggs, Chad Reddick, Mark Williams, Lucio Moser, Cydney Wong, Dimitry Kachkovski, Jason Huang, Kai Zhang, David McLean, Rickey Cloudsdale, Dan Milling, Ron Miller, JT Lawrence, and Chinyu Chien, Digital Domain . Digital Domain Virtual Human will demonstrate our state-of-the-art, real-time, live-drive, digital human technology. We will show how photo-real digital humans with realistic facial animation can change the VR/AR experience.

“Reality vs. Illusion” Real-Time Ray Tracing
Contributors: Natalie Burke, Arisa Scott, Natalya Tatarchuk, and Sebastien Lagarde, Unity Technologies . They have seamlessly transitioned from the filmed real-world car to the car ray traced in real-time powered by Unity, demonstrating advanced effects of real-time ray tracing technology in a live demo – dynamic global reflections and GI, multi-layer transparency with refraction, area lights, shadows, ambient occlusion, and more.

IMMERSIVE PAVILION 
Il Divino: Michelangelo’s Sistine Ceiling in VR
Contributors: Christopher Evans, Epic Games 
Experience Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling in virtual reality. Move around the space or take a guided tour. Users can also suspend on a virtual scaffold to see the work up close as few have seen it before. The experience will use the all-new Valve INDEX headset.

PANELS


FACS at 40
Panelists: Mike Seymour, University of Sydney and fxguide (moderator); Erika Rosenberg, Stanford University and Erika Rosenberg Consulting; Vladimir Mastilovic, 3Lateral; Mark Sagar, Soul Machines; and, John Peter Lewis, Google AI .

The Ethical and Privacy Implications of Mixed Reality
Panelists: Kent Bye, Voices of VR Podcast (moderator); Diane Hosfelt, Mozilla; Matt Miesnieks, 6D.AI; Samantha Mathews Chase, Venn.Agency; and, Taylor Beck, Magic Leap 

TALKS 
THRIVE – Foundational Principles & Technologies for the Metaverse
Speaker: Tim Sweeney, Epic Games
Science-fiction notions of “the metaverse” are slowly becoming a reality as products such as Fortnite, Minecraft, and Robloxbring immersive social experiences to hundreds of millions of people and blur the boundaries between games and social networks. This talk explores the foundational technologies, economies, and freedoms required to build this future medium as a force for good.