SIGGRAPH Spotlight

ABOUT THE EPISODE SIGGRAPH Spotlight welcomes SIGGRAPH 2019 Production Sessions Chair Derrick Nau (CG texture & look development artist, DreamWorks) as he leads our latest podcast discussion on VFX for streaming. Derrick is joined by Sean Santiago (director, Original Series VFX, Netflix), Chrysta Burton (manager, Original Series VFX, Netflix), Paul Graff (VFX Supervisor, Crazy Hours Effects – “Stranger Things”), and Chris White (VFX Supervisor, Weta Digital – “The Umbrella Academy”) for a chat about how and where VFX departments find inspiration, recent advancements in the field, the challenges of producing VFX for series – including workflows and pipelines, and budgets – and what they’re most looking forward to at the conference this July. || MUSIC Podcast theme, "SIGGRAPH," composed by Julius Dobos. || LINKS *Episode* https://www.wetafx.co.nz/ | https://www.netflix.com/title/80186863 | https://youtu.be/dFA_HE9xabE | http://www.chevfx.com/ | https://s2019.siggraph.org/conference/programs-events/computer-animation-festival/production-sessions/ *Social Media* http://blog.siggraph.org/ | https://www.facebook.com/SIGGRAPHConferences | https://twitter.com/siggraph | https://www.youtube.com/user/ACMSIGGRAPH | https://www.instagram.com/acmsiggraph/ | https://www.linkedin.com/company/acm-siggraph/ *Conference Website* http://s2019.siggraph.org/

ABOUT THE EPISODE In this episode of SIGGRAPH Spotlight, host and SIGGRAPH 2019 Technical Papers Chair Olga Sorkine-Hornung (professor, ETH Zurich) sits down with four of the leading minds in machine learning and artificial intelligence research: George Drettakis (senior researcher, Inria), Jaakko Lehtinen (professor, Aalto University), Adriana Schulz (professor, University of Washington), and Daniel Cohen-Or, Ph.D. (professor, Tel Aviv University). Together, they discuss the evolution, challenges, and potential of machine learning, as well as how the discipline has inspired their current projects. || MUSIC Podcast theme, "SIGGRAPH," composed by Julius Dobos. || LINKS *Episode* https://twitter.com/jaakkolehtinen | http://www-sop.inria.fr/members/George.Drettakis/ | https://users.aalto.fi/~lehtinj7/ | http://cs.aalto.fi | http://research.nvidia.com | https://homes.cs.washington.edu/~adriana/ | https://igl.ethz.ch/people/sorkine/ | https://s2019.siggraph.org/conference/programs-events/technical-papers/ *Social Media* http://blog.siggraph.org/ | https://www.facebook.com/SIGGRAPHConferences | https://twitter.com/siggraph | https://www.youtube.com/user/ACMSIGGRAPH | https://www.instagram.com/acmsiggraph/ | https://www.linkedin.com/company/acm-siggraph/ *Conference Website* http://s2019.siggraph.org/

ABOUT THE EPISODE SIGGRAPH Spotlight welcomes Kent Bye (Voices of VR) to the podcast as host of this timeless episode. Bye takes the mic to lead the discussion and share his expertise and insight alongside two augmented reality titans: Paul Reynolds (CEO and co-founder, Torch 3d Inc.) and Alexandria “Ali” Heston (UX and interaction designer, Magic Leap). The group chats about the past, present, and future of augmented reality, shedding light on new ways to utilize the technology, including accessibility, experiential design, and storytelling. || MUSIC Podcast theme, "SIGGRAPH," composed by Julius Dobos. || LINKS *Episode* https://twitter.com/MugOfPaul | https://www.torch.app/ | https://twitter.com/ali_heston | https://www.magicleap.com/ | https://twitter.com/kentbye | http://voicesofvr.com/ | *Social Media* http://blog.siggraph.org/ | https://www.facebook.com/SIGGRAPHConferences | https://twitter.com/siggraph | https://www.youtube.com/user/ACMSIGGRAPH | https://www.instagram.com/acmsiggraph/ | https://www.linkedin.com/company/acm-siggraph/ *Conference Website* http://s2019.siggraph.org/

ABOUT THE EPISODE Just in time for Women’s History Month, SIGGRAPH 2019 Conference Chair Mikki Rose (senior fur technical director, Blue Sky Studios) is joined by Jinko Gotoh (a producer and consultant in animation, and vice president of Women in Animation), Danielle Feinberg (director of photography, Pixar Animation Studios, and advocate of Girls Who Code), and Erin Summers (senior software engineer – AR/VR, Facebook, and co-founder of wogrammer) in a special episode that discusses the state of women in computer graphics and the ways each guest is helping to bring about positive change. In addition to conversations on diversity, the group shares stories from their careers and challenges they have faced and overcome. What does the future hold for women in computer graphics? Listen to hear what they have to say on that, too. Enjoy the show, and Happy International Women’s Day! || MUSIC Podcast theme, "SIGGRAPH," composed by Julius Dobos. || LINKS *Episode* http://womeninanimation.org | https://girlswhocode.com/ | https://wogrammer.org/ | https://womenshistorymonth.gov/ | https://www.internationalwomensday.com/ *Social Media* http://blog.siggraph.org/ | https://www.facebook.com/SIGGRAPHConferences | https://twitter.com/siggraph | https://www.youtube.com/user/ACMSIGGRAPH | https://www.instagram.com/acmsiggraph/ | https://www.linkedin.com/company/acm-siggraph/ *Conference Website* http://s2019.siggraph.org/

ABOUT THE EPISODE Welcome back to SIGGRAPH Spotlight! In this episode, ACM SIGGRAPH International Resources Committee member Santiago Echeverry (professor, University of Tampa) sits down with Hernando Bahamon (animation director, Globizco Inc.; and, director, Bogota ACM SIGGRAPH Chapter) and Cristián Freire (academic coordinator of digital animation, Universidad de las Américas; and, president, Santiago ACM SIGGRAPH Chapter). Our guests reflect on their involvement with ACM SIGGRAPH and how that has helped shape the CG and animation industry in Latin America. As a bonus, tune in to hear about the differences in approach and education style between Columbia and Chile. || MUSIC Podcast theme, "SIGGRAPH," composed by Julius Dobos. || LINKS *Episode* https://www.siggraph.org/connect/international-resources | http://bogota.siggraph.org/ | https://globizco.wordpress.com/ | http://santiago.siggraph.org/ | https://www.udla.cl/ *Social Media* http://blog.siggraph.org/ | https://www.facebook.com/SIGGRAPHConferences | https://twitter.com/siggraph | https://www.youtube.com/user/ACMSIGGRAPH | https://www.instagram.com/acmsiggraph/ | https://www.linkedin.com/company/acm-siggraph/ *Conference Website* https://s2019.siggraph.org/

SIGGRAPH Spotlight is back with an all-new episode! Join International Resources Committee member Bektur Ryskeldiev and SIGGRAPH Asia 2018 Student Volunteer (SV) Lead Rianti Hidayat, as they discuss working on the SV committee and working internationally. || MUSIC Podcast theme, "SIGGRAPH," composed by Julius Dobos. || LINKS *Episode* www.siggraph.org/connect/international-resources | www.latelieranimation.com/ | www.rooftopanimation.com/ | montreal.ubisoft.com/en/ | carolinebeyne.com/ | www.siggraph.org/discover/inspira…/myriam-beauvais | *Social Media* blog.siggraph.org/ | www.facebook.com/SIGGRAPHConferences | twitter.com/siggraph | www.youtube.com/user/ACMSIGGRAPH | www.instagram.com/acmsiggraph/ | www.linkedin.com/company/acm-siggraph/ | "siggraph" on Snapchat *Conference Website* http://sa2018.siggraph.org/

ABOUT THE EPISODE In this episode of SIGGRAPH Spotlight, ACM SIGGRAPH International Resources Committee member Afsaneh Rafighi is joined by Hasan Karimi (president, Iran Computer and Video Games Foundation). The two discuss the international games community, SIGGRAPH’s role in worldwide, collaborative game development, and how Hasan is working to transform Iran into an industry leader. || MUSIC Podcast theme, "SIGGRAPH," composed by Julius Dobos. || LINKS *Episode* https://www.siggraph.org/connect/international-resources | http://www.tehrangamecon.com/en/news-post/three-basic-strategies-for-the-success-of-iranian-games-in-domestic-as-well-as-global-markets-1 | https://www.simba.com/ *Social Media* http://blog.siggraph.org/ | https://www.facebook.com/SIGGRAPHConferences | https://twitter.com/siggraph | https://www.youtube.com/user/ACMSIGGRAPH | https://www.instagram.com/acmsiggraph/ | https://www.linkedin.com/company/acm-siggraph/ | "siggraph" on Snapchat *Conference Website* http://s2018.siggraph.org/

ABOUT THE EPISODE SIGGRAPH 2018 Virtual, Augmented & Mixed Reality Chair Pol Jeremias-Vila (Pixar Animation Studios) sits down with Niantic, Inc.’s Diana Hu (lead, augmented reality engineering) and Niniane Wang (senior director, engineering) to discuss their Immersive Pavilion project — which will be showcased in Vancouver — and the Niantic development process, spanning everything from Pokémon GO to Codename: Neon. The two also share the respective career journeys that led them to where they are today and sparked their interest in augmented reality. A bit of a preview: Diana was previously the co-founder and CTO of Escher Reality, a startup that was acquired by Niantic and builds the backend for augmented reality applications. She holds eight patents in AR, computer vision, and machine learning. As for Niniane, in addition to the project discussed, she is responsible for the Harry Potter augmented reality game, Ingress, and more. She, too, came to Niantic via acquisition, of Evertoon, and has worked for many other cutting-edge companies, including Minted, Google, and Microsoft, since graduating with her bachelor’s degree at just 18! As a past conference presenter in 2003 and 2004, Niniane feels grateful to SIGGRAPH for showing her the breadth of what can be achieved with computer graphics. We hope you enjoy their stories! || MUSIC Podcast theme, "SIGGRAPH," composed by Julius Dobos. || LINKS *Episode* https://s2018.siggraph.org/conference/conference-overview/virtual-augmented-mixed-reality/ | https://www.nianticlabs.com/ | https://youtu.be/dO1NpT2SSX4 | *Social Media* http://blog.siggraph.org/ | https://www.facebook.com/SIGGRAPHConferences | https://twitter.com/siggraph | https://www.youtube.com/user/ACMSIGGRAPH | https://www.instagram.com/acmsiggraph/ | https://www.linkedin.com/company/acm-siggraph/ | "siggraph" on Snapchat *Conference Website* http://s2018.siggraph.org/

ABOUT THE EPISODE SIGGRAPH 2018 Production Sessions Chair Emily Hsu (associate producer, Blizzard Entertainment) sits down with a panel of independent creators in production and animation to chat about what led them to go “independent.” The group discusses the challenges — and joys — of financing and producing projects as well as what keeps them motivated to push the limits of storytelling, and offers advice for the next generation of creators. The amazing group of guest innovators includes Rex Grignon (CEO and co-founder, Nimble Collective), Larry Cutler (CTO and co-founder, Baobab Studios), Daisuke “Dice” Tsutsumi (founder, Tonko House), Bobby Pontillas (art director, TAIKO Studios), Andrew Chesworth (head of development, TAIKO Studios), and Keika Lee (founder, greyscale animation). || MUSIC Podcast theme, "SIGGRAPH Theme," composed by Julius Dobos. || LINKS *Episode* https://s2018.siggraph.org/conference/production-and-animation/ | https://nimblecollective.com/ | http://www.tonkohouse.com/ | https://www.baobabstudios.com/ | http://www.taikostudios.com/ | http://greyscaleanimation.com/ | http://bit.ly/OddDogIndieGoGo | https://s2018.siggraph.org/conference/conference-overview/production-sessions/ | *Social Media* http://blog.siggraph.org/ | https://www.facebook.com/SIGGRAPHConferences | https://twitter.com/siggraph | https://www.youtube.com/user/ACMSIGGRAPH | https://www.instagram.com/acmsiggraph/ | https://www.linkedin.com/company/acm-siggraph/ | "siggraph" on Snapchat *Conference Website* http://s2018.siggraph.org/

ABOUT THE EPISODE ACM SIGGRAPH International Resources Committee member Rebecca Ko (co-founder, Rooftop Animation) sits down with 3D artist and Vancouver native Natalia Freitas (independent animator) to discuss Freitas’s experience with renowned studios, her geographical and cross-cultural work – which spans projects from Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Moana” to Sony Pictures Imageworks’ “Hotel Transylvania 3” – and how SIGGRAPH has contributed to her career and life. || MUSIC Podcast theme, "SIGGRAPH," composed by Julius Dobos. || LINKS *Episode* https://www.siggraph.org/connect/international-resources | https://www.natfreitas.com | https://www.rooftopanimation.com/ | https://www.behance.net/nopawdy6b05 | *Social Media* http://blog.siggraph.org/ | https://www.facebook.com/SIGGRAPHConferences | https://twitter.com/siggraph | https://www.youtube.com/user/ACMSIGGRAPH | https://www.instagram.com/acmsiggraph/ | https://www.linkedin.com/company/acm-siggraph/ | "siggraph" on Snapchat *Conference Website* http://s2018.siggraph.org/