Like blockbuster movies featuring the latest in computer graphics technology?
Or high-tech gadgets like the most advanced 3-D and interactive displays ever invented?
Interested in exploring the role of digital media in shaping the perceptions of the world?
If the answer to any of these questions is “yes,” then don’t miss SIGGRAPH 2007 at the San Diego Convention Center, August 5-9.
As the most elite computer graphics conference in the world, SIGGRAPH brings together roughly 25,000 researchers, movie producers, digital artists and curious on-lookers from across the globe.
The scope of SIGGRAPH 2007 encompasses everything that has any connection to computer graphics and animation, including Hollywood movies, short animated films, digital art, display technologies and virtual reality devices.
Events range from basic research and development to finished products ready for the public to test.
Moviegoers who enjoy special effects masterpieces such as “Spider-Man 3,” “Shrek 3” or “Transformers” will be particularly interested in this year’s event.
“This is the conference where the people who developed that technology first showed off their work,” said Joe Marks, vice president of technology at Disney Animation Studios and conference chair of SIGGRAPH 2007.
One of the numerous special session events is titled “Transformers: Giant Frickin’ Robots,” and it features speakers from Industrial Light & Magic.
The group will describe how creating the movie pushed computer graphics technology to new limits.
For an overview of the best computer animation produced this past year, be sure to see the Electronic Theater, which airs twice a day, and the animation screening room, which runs continually.
In addition to commercial movies, the two animation venues also present artistic animation and computer generated scientific visualizations.
Another highlight of this year’s conference is the art gallery, based on the theme “Global Eyes.”
SIGGRAPH 2007 showcases “a genuine art show, not just ‘oh looky-here what I can do with a computer,'” said Marks.
The artworks are intended to expand our awareness of different cultures by exploring how people throughout the world use digital media in different ways.
“Even for someone who would rather go to an art museum than a technological show, there’s something for them at SIGGRAPH,” Mark said.
“They will find the art gallery very engaging.”
Year after year, the emerging technologies section of SIGGRAPH consistently draws a large crowd.
Here, visitors can try out new products that will become commercially available in the next two to 10 years.
This year’s show is heavily laden with new display technologies.
“The home theater system has evolved over the years, and if you’re curious about what’s coming next, you’re going to see a dozen or so different technological pieces that could be part of what’s going to be in your home, car or office in the next few years,” said Marks.
One example is the Microsoft Surface, an interactive tabletop making its first West Coast public appearance at SIGGRAPH 2007.
Other intriguing devices include a transparent cockpit that allows a driver to see through car doors; digital paper that allows a reader to view information on a flexible screen the size of a piece of paper; and a host of gadgets that make virtual reality environments more realistic.
The inventors are on hand both to demonstrate how these technologies work, and to receive feedback for improvements. By attending SIGGRAPH, visitors not only get to experience these new advancements, they might also contribute to making them better.
One complaint that SIGGRAPH conference organizers often hear is that there’s simply too much information for one person to absorb, and this year’s edition is no exception.
In addition to everything mentioned above, three featured speakers have been invited to give presentations at SIGGRAPH 2007, including Glenn Entis, chief visual and technological officer at Electronic Arts; Scott McCloud, a graphic novelist; and V.S. Ramachandran, a neuroscientist at UCSD.
But that not all, there’s much, much more, such as the Guerilla Studio, where people can register to try their hand at creating art using the latest in digital media; FJORG!, an Iron Chef-inspired animation competition; an Educator’s program focused on local K-12 students and teachers; and a huge exhibition promoting products from thousands of vendors. For a complete listing of events and to buy tickets, visit www.siggraph.org/s2007.
To read more about how science impacts society, visit Matthew Busse’s blog at www.science-translator.com