Siggraph Spotlight

ABOUT THE EPISODE In this episode of SIGGRAPH Spotlight, SIGGRAPH 2020 Real-Time Live! Chair Marc Olano sits down with four incredible creators who are pushing the boundaries of innovation in real-time graphics. Arisa Scott of Unity Technologies, Eric Haines of NVIDIA, Mike Hardison of Blizzard Entertainment, and Mohen Leo of Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) discuss the evolution of real-time technology as well as techniques in ray tracing, games, VFX, artificial intelligence (AI), and everything in-between. || MUSIC Podcast theme, "SIGGRAPH," composed by Julius Dobos. || LINKS *Episode* Links: https://unity.com/ray-tracing | https://www.reddit.com/r/minecraftRTX/ | https://www.nvidia.com/en-us/research/ai-playground/ | https://www.ilm.com/ | https://www.blizzard.com/en-us/ | https://s2020.siggraph.org/conference/program-events/real-time-live/ | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPam5CHFQMQ *Social Media* blog.siggraph.org | www.facebook.com/SIGGRAPHConferences | www.twitter.com/siggraph | www.youtube

ABOUT THE EPISODE Have you ever wondered what it’s like to participate in a SIGGRAPH conference jury? In this all-new episode of SIGGRAPH Spotlight, SIGGRAPH 2020 Computer Animation Festival Electronic Theater Director Munkhtsetseg Nandigjav (associate chair of digital communications, Savannah College of Art & Design) sits down with five of her six 2020 jurors to discuss the state of computer animation today and hear their reactions to the incredible breadth of content they reviewed from the computer graphics community. Tune in to hear insight on modern CG from Renato dos Anjos (head of animation, Walt Disney Animation Studios), Sidney Clifton (executive producer, Deluxe Animation Studios), Janet Iwasa (assistant professor, University of Utah), Mark SubbaRao (director of visualization, Adler Planetarium), and Natalya Tatarchuk (vice president of graphics, Unity Technologies). || MUSIC Podcast theme, "SIGGRAPH," composed by Julius Dobos. || LINKS *Episode* https://s2020.siggraph.org/conference/program-

SIGGRAPH Spotlight Show Notes: Episode 33 Title: 33 – Interactive and Immersive Art ABOUT THE EPISODE Thanks for joining us for another SIGGRAPH Spotlight! In this episode, SIGGRAPH 2020 Art Papers Chair Andres Burbano (associate professor, Universidad de los Andes) catches up with Rachel Dickey (assistant professor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte), Sandro Kereselidze (co-founder and art director, ARTECHOUSE), and Marc Petz (instructor, Kent Career Tech Center) to discuss their recent work, the evolution of interactive and immersive art, the digital art scene in SIGGRAPH 2020 host city Washington, D.C., and more. || MUSIC Podcast theme, "SIGGRAPH," composed by Julius Dobos. || LINKS *Episode* https://www.dc.artechouse.com/ | http://racheldickey.com/air-hugs | https://www.siggraph.org/leonardo/ | https://www.thetechcenter.org/programs/3d-animation--game-design/autism-xr---student-project/ *Social Media* http://blog.siggraph.org/ | https://www.facebook.com/SIGGRAPHConferences | https:/

ABOUT THE EPISODE In this episode of SIGGRAPH Spotlight, ACM SIGGRAPH Diversity and Inclusion Chair Tony Baylis sits down with three incredible storytellers and creators — Everett Downing Jr., Sidney Clifton, and Roger Ross Williams — to discuss their powerful work on projects like the Academy Award®-winning animated short “Hair Love,” BET and Marvel’s “Black Panther,” and VR immersive documentary “Traveling While Black.” The group also speaks to diversity and the African American perspective in computer graphics and interactive techniques, and the importance of celebrating Black History Month. || MUSIC Podcast theme, "SIGGRAPH," composed by Julius Dobos. || LINKS *Episode* Links: https://www.edowning.com/ | https://onestoryproductions.com/ | http://www.matthewacherry.com/hair-love | https://youtu.be/kNw8V_Fkw28 | https://rogerrosswilliams.com/ | https://www.felixandpaul.com/?projects/twb | https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2093299/ | https://blackwomenanimate.com/ *Social Media* blog.siggraph.org/ | www.face

In this episode of SIGGRAPH Spotlight, ACM SIGGRAPH International Resources Committee member Jide Ajide sits down with Trevor Romain, a successful author, artist, filmmaker, and all-around storyteller whose works have been featured on PBS. Romain's DVDs are used in schools across the United States, and he has worked with former child soldiers in Africa and spoken to kids on military bases.

ABOUT THE EPISODE For the first time, SIGGRAPH Spotlight presents a live, in-session recording from the annual conference in North America. Tune in to hear Tim Sweeney (founder and CEO, Epic Games) during his SIGGRAPH 2019 Talk, “THRIVE: Foundational Principles & Technologies for the Metaverse.” You’ll hear Sweeney posit the state of the games industry, the rise of creator-centric and social gaming, what the “metaverse” really is, and what it will take to build the medium on a larger scale. Bonus: Listen until the end for a special question-and-answer session between Sweeney and members of the live audience. || MUSIC Podcast theme, "SIGGRAPH," composed by Julius Dobos. || LINKS *Episode* https://s2019.siggraph.org/conference/programs-events/talks/ | https://dlnext.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3306307#heading11 | https://www.epicgames.com | https://twitter.com/timsweeneyepic *Social Media* http://blog.siggraph.org/ | https://www.facebook.com/SIGGRAPHConferences | https://twitter.com/siggraph | https://www.you

ABOUT THE EPISODE Thanks for joining us for another SIGGRAPH Spotlight! In this episode, the ACM SIGGRAPH International Resources Committee’s Asiya Asha (OMSCS, Georgia Tech) catches up with Chris Bedrosian (senior CG supervisor, Blur Studio) to discuss international collaboration for VFX, working on Netflix’s “Love, Death & Robots,” and more. || MUSIC Podcast theme, "SIGGRAPH," composed by Julius Dobos. || LINKS *Episode* http://www.blur.com/ | https://www.siggraph.org/connect/international-resources/ *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://s2020.siggraph.org/

ABOUT THE EPISODE Thanks for joining us for another SIGGRAPH Spotlight! In this episode, you’re hearing from the ACM SIGGRAPH International Resources Committee’s Bektur Ryskeldiev (postdoc, University of Tsukuba) as he interviews a member of the team behind the SIGGRAPH 2019 Emerging Technologies Best in Show winner. Jonghyun Kim (research scientist, NVIDIA) shares insight into the team’s AR display research as well reflects on the future of foveated rendering and prescription AR glasses. || MUSIC Podcast theme, "SIGGRAPH," composed by Julius Dobos. || LINKS *Episode* https://s2019.siggraph.org/conference/programs-events/emerging-technologies/ | https://research.nvidia.com/person/jonghyun-kim | https://research.nvidia.com/publication/2019-07_Matching-Prescription-%26 | siggraph.org/connect/international-resources/ *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

ABOUT THE EPISODE In the latest episode of SIGGRAPH Spotlight, the team brings you live to a discussion from SIGGRAPH 2019 that features a group of brilliant scientific data visualizers. Tune in to our satellite feed for the chance hear from SIGGRAPH 2020 Conference Chair Kristy Pron (media arts and pipeline developer, Walt Disney Imagineering) as she chats with four representatives from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center about the department’s cinematic scientific visualization efforts: Greg Shirah (data analysis, NASA/GSFC), Cindy Starr (sr. sys. engineer, NASA/GSFC), Ernie Wright (media specialist, NASA/GSFC), and Kel Elkins (science visualizer, NASA/GSFC). || MUSIC Podcast theme, "SIGGRAPH," composed by Julius Dobos. || LINKS *Episode* https://www.nasa.gov/goddard | https://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/ *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/ |

ABOUT THE EPISODE SIGGRAPH Spotlight welcomes SIGGRAPH 2019 Emerging Technologies Chair Courtney Starrett (associate professor, Texas A&M University, Department of Visualization) to lead a discussion on adaptive technology, including new research and practical applications, as well as participants’ inspiration and personal connections to this focus area. Courtney is joined by SIGGRAPH 2019 Adaptive Technology Co-Chair Natalie Rountree, Konrad Tollmar (associate professor, KTH Royal Institute of Technology), Pietro Lungaro (researcher, KTH Royal Institute of Technology), Marc Petz (3D animation and game design instructor, Kent Career Tech Center), and Rachel Dickey (assistant professor of architecture, University of North Carolina – Charlotte). || MUSIC Podcast theme, "SIGGRAPH," composed by Julius Dobos. || LINKS *Episode* http://racheldickey.com/ | https://www.thetechcenter.org/programs/3d-animation--game-design/meet-our-instructor/ | https://www.kth.se/profile/pietro?l=en | https://www.kth.se/profi

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/com

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/

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

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://girlswh

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/SIGGRAPHConf

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.o

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 ma

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/ | http

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 Websit