siggraph at a glance
DESCRIPTION
This is a review of what ACM SIGGRAPH has to offer, as an organization, and through its annual conferences in America and Asia. SIGGRAPH is a SIG, special-interest group, that is part of ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery. It focuses on GRAPHics, which basically means "computer graphics and interactive techniques".TRANSCRIPT
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SIGGRAPH at a Glance Written by Sandro Alberti; [email protected] Sandro is a Web designer/developer who enjoys educating others about design, both in theory and practice.
INTRODUCTION This is a review of what ACM SIGGRAPH has to offer, as an organization, and through its annual conferences in America and Asia. SIGGRAPH is a SIG, special-interest group, that is part of ACM, the Association for Computing Machinery. It focuses on GRAPHics, which basically means "computer graphics and interactive techniques". You can find its Web site here: www.siggraph.org CONFERENCES The term 'SIGGRAPH' is most commonly associated with the annual conference that has been hosted in America for 38 years, around the month of July. While ACM SIGGRAPH is an association that provides services year-round, its annual conference is so popular and focused on its own, that it stands as its own almost-autonomous organization, coordinated by Program Chairs that change every year, and held together over the years by 3 contracted firms: Talley Management in New Jersey (which takes care of the general management and logistics), SmithBucklin in Chicago (which takes care of all publicity and print collateral), and Q Ltd in San Francisco (the designers/developers for the conference Web sites). Apart from the annual conference in America, a smaller 'SIGGRAPH Asia' conference has also been held for a couple of years in Asia. Here is an organizational chart of the conference that takes place in America:
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Every year the conference is in a different place; recently in New Orleans 2009, LA 2010, and Vancouver 2011. It's a BIG conference; hosting over 30 thousand people. And so there are many different areas to keep everyone busy: Exhibition Hall:
The exhibition hall is the largest conference space at the convention center. This is where you find thousands of vendors, from interesting new startups to the likes of Autodesk, Google, Intel, and schools. Over 300 thousand square feet of booths takes a whole day just to walk through. And at each booth you find special tech presentations, product releases, and discounts and giveaways!
Emerging Technologies:
Emerging technologies: one of the jewels of the conference, where you can find some of the most far-out technology. It's almost like walking into a science fiction movie, but it's live! This is where, 5 years ago, we already saw some of the technology that is just coming out today, and technology that's still just in the world of movies and fantasy. One famous work was shown in 2004, and its images continue to appear all over the Internet: Swimming Across the Pacific, a virtual reality system in which users hang from straps and harnesses
while 'floating' through the virtual space. Art:
Art: We're talking about 'technology art' here. At the conference we have museum-quality galleries, showcasing 'technology' works like Hylozoic Soil (an immersive 'forest' of components that interact with users through motors, sensors, and artificial intelligence), and the latest in fabricated products from the industrial design world. There are also high-quality papers on topics of art technology, that are presented as informal talks at the conference. All of this is published on the Leonardo Journal.
Courses:
There are hundreds of courses where you can learn from experts in the field. They range from introductions to computer graphics, to advanced instruction on the most current techniques and topics. Apart from courses, there are many other presentations, including panels, technical sessions, and keynotes.
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The Studio: Not only can you learn information about technology, you can also play with high tech and make creative stuff. The Studio is a sort of high-tech classroom where you can just walk in and print out designs on super-sized plotters, and 3d prototyping, and electronics,... robotics... And you can do things on your own or join a class.
Job Fair:
One of the great things at the conference is that it's a great place to network, whether you're a technologist, or a student, or just interested in technology. And if you're looking for employment or an internship opportunity, we also have a job fair, where you can talk one-on-one with staff from companies like Apple, Intel, Lucas Film, Nvidia, Sony, and so on.
International Center:
This is the area I supervise. SIGGRAPH is an INTERNATIONAL conference. Our attendees come from everywhere: The Americas, Europe, Australia, Europe, Africa, and the Near and Far East. We also have about 80 SIGGRAPH Chapters all over the world. In order to maintain the communication between all these people, and to make conference materials accessible to other languages and cultures, and to make people feel at home away from home, we have this area, called the International Center, with a meeting lounge and a
presentation theatre. We also continue our international efforts throughout the year, after the conference is over. Computer Animation Festival:
Last but not least, the crown jewel of the conference, and the reason we're here tonight. This is the full spectrum of animation and visual effects on video. Since we have their Executive Producer here tonight, I'll let her talk about this area of the conference in a minute.
We also have contests and challenges that everyone can participate in, and even a program called 'Birds of a Feather', where you can set up your own presentation and we'll give you a room and presentation equipment.
