ARTIST DRIVEN
www.adaptconference.com
ADVANCED DIGITAL ART PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES
//ADAPT2008
DELL AND ADAPT: PARTNERS IN DESIGN
Dell PrecisionTM workstations are asked for by name by leading designers, artists and 3D animators and are designed to support everything from independent productions to huge, collaborative projects. And our workstations are tested and certiďŹ ed by leaders in the software industry like Autodesk and Softimage to help you skip the bottlenecks and focus on creativity. For more information on our new designs visit www.dell.com/nocompromise
//CONTENTS //adapt 2008 schedule
4-5
//what’s going on!
7
//adapt 2008 party
9
//keynote
10 - 13
//2d masters
15 - 20
//3d masters
23 - 28
//2d/3d+
31 - 41
//exploration
45 - 55
//special feature presentations
57 - 61
//sponsors
64 - 65
MONDAY // SEPTEMBER 22 TUESDAY // SEPTEMBER 23
//ADAPT2008 SCHEDULE
//MASTERS
7pm - 9pm
9am - 10:45am
11am - 12:45am
//EXPLORATION
//ART EXPO //THEATER //BCTQ Business Lounge
//EXPLORATION
//ART EXPO //THEATER //BCTQ Business Lounge
REGISTRATION
9am - 7pm
5pm - 7pm
//2D/3D+
//ADAPT 2008 Opening VIP Cocktail
//ADAPT 2008 Keynote Walt Disney Animation Studios ANDREAS DEJA
//MASTERS
//2D/3D+
//2D Jonathan Harb
McFarlane Toys / Adam Ross & Eric Schall
//3D Dan Stanton / Ji Ye
JellyFish Pictures / Phil Dobree
Renaud Armanet Electronic Arts / Francois Pelletier, Jaime Helman & Louis-Alexandre Lord
10am - 6pm DAILY
Lunch
1:45pm - 3:30pm
//2D Craig Mullins
Rainmaker / Rainmaker / Paul Gertz & William Lau
FX cartel / Peter Crosman
//ADAPT Special Feature Presentation 3:45pm - 5:30pm Walt Disney Animation Studios
BOLT Philippe Brochu / Clay Kaytis & Hidetaka Yosumi
//ADAPT Network Event - 4th Floor 6pm - 10pm
//Companies Recruiting //A2M //Beenox //Eidos //Hybride //Modus FX //Mokko Studio //Rodéo FX //Starz Animation
//Centre Nad //Lumière VFX //Penté Group //Vision Globale
//Digital Dimension //Meduzarts //Reel FX
Page 4
WEDNESDAY // SEPTEMBER 24
THURSDAY // SEPTEMBER 25
//2D/3D+
//EXPLORATION
//3D Taron
The Jim Henson Company / Kerry Shea & Nicole
Reel Fx / Kyle Clark
AUTODESK / Fathom Studios Warren Grubb
Digital Dimension / Benoit Girard
9am - 10:45am
//ART EXPO //THEATER //BCTQ Business Lounge
Goldman
11am - 12:45am
//2D Jason Manley
10am - 6pm DAILY
Lunch
//ADAPT ARENA //2D MASTERS
1:45pm - 3:30pm
//ADAPT Special Feature Presentation 3:45pm - 5:30pm Dreamworks Animation SKG.
KUNG-FU PANDA Alex Parkinson
//MASTERS
//2D/3D+
//EXPLORATION
9am - 10:45am
//2D Syd Mead
Framestore / Kevin Spruce
Pamela Thomson
11am - 12:45am
//3D Carlos Baena & Shawn Kelly
AUTODESK / Pictorion Das Werk - Jorg Brummer & Rolf Mutze
Nick Oroc
//ART EXPO //THEATER //BCTQ Business Lounge
10am - 6pm DAILY
Lunch
//ADAPT ARENA //3D MASTERS
1:45pm - 3:30pm
//ADAPT Special Feature Presentation 3:45pm - 5:30pm Pixar
WALL-E Michal Makarewicz
10pm - 3am
FRIDAY // SEPTEMBER 26
//MASTERS
GET Frisky Montreal! //ADAPT 2008 Official Party LA MOUCHE
//MASTERS
//2D/3D+
9am - 10:45am
//3D Aaron Sims
Halon / Dan Gregoire
11am - 12:45am
//2D Andrew Jones
AUTODESK / High Moon Studios - Mike Brown
//EXPLORATION Philippe Zerounian
Jason Dozois
10am - 6pm DAILY
Lunch
1:45pm - 3:30pm
//3D Steven Stahlberg
The Mill / Tom Bussel & Rob Petrie
//ADAPT Special Feature Presentation 3:45pm - 5:30pm Industrial Light & Magic
IRON MAN Marc Chu
Page 5
5:30pm - 6pm
//ART EXPO //THEATER //BCTQ Business Lounge
//ADAPT 2008 Closing Speech
Meduzarts / Jessy Veillieux
//ADAPT2008 NETWORK EVENT //Companies Recruiting //A2M //Centre NAD //Eidos //Lumière VFX //Modus FX //Penté Group //Rodéo FX //Vision Globale
//Beenox //Digital Dimension //Hybride //Meduzarts //Mokko Studio //Reel FX //Starz Animation
BCTQ Business Lounge
//WHAT’S GOING ON! //ADAPT 2008 NETWORK EVENTth rd
SEPTEMBER 23 7pm - 10pm - Pepsi Forum 4 Floor Open to all //ADAPT attendees
//ABOUT
The //ADAPT 2008 Network event will bring together recruiters and prospective hires in an ultra-hip atmosphere designed to encourage relaxed discussion. Promoted heavily by the //ADAPT 2008 organization, the //ADAPT 2008 Network Event will be open to all conference attendees. Get your dream job!
//BCTQ BUSINESS LOUNGE rd th
SEPTEMBER 23 - 26 10am - 6pm Daily Open to all attendees - Pepsi Forum 2nd Floor
//ABOUT
Discover the talent in the BCTQ Business Lounge. Meet and network with some of Quebec’s best VFX and animation production studios. //COME VISIT OUR COMPANIES
//Centre NAD //Digital Dimension //Hybride //Lumière VFX //Meduzarts //Modus FX //MOKKO Studio //Rodéo FX //Vision Globale
//COREL PRESENTING THE //ADAPT 2008 ART EXPO rd th SEPTEMBER 23 - 26 9am - 6pm Daily Open to all //ADAPT attendees and general public
//ABOUT
Admire, network, relax and enjoy some of the world’s most spectacular digital art created by masters who have worked on the lastest films and games of our time. Over 5000 sq feet of awe inspiring artwork you don’t want to miss!
//STASH PRESENTING THE //ADAPT 2008 THEATER rd th SEPTEMBER 23 - 26 10am - 6pm Daily Open to all //ADAPT attendees
//ABOUT
//ADAPT teams up with STASH to showcase the industry’s best in animation, VFX, motion graphics with innovative commercials, broadcast design, music videos, virals, branded content, game cinematics, short films and more... Get ready to view some of the greatest content created by some of the best the industry has to offer!
//WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS PORTFOLIO REVIEW SEPTEMBER 24th 11am - 1pm - Pepsi Forum 4th Floor Open to all //ADAPT attendees
//ABOUT
Walt Disney Animation Studios Portfolio & Reel reviews where individual critiques can offer insight and guidance. Students and pros alike, bring your reel and get comments by some of the leading artists in the industry!
©Disney
www.friskyradio.com
FREE FOR //ADAPT ATTENDEES // MUST SHOW BRACELET
//KEYNOTE MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH
7pm - 9pm
//andreas deja
walt disney animation studios
Page 11
KEYNOTE // MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 22ND 7pm - 9pm
//ANDREAS DEJA walt disney animation studios www.disneyanimation.com
©Disney
//BIOGRAPHY
Andreas Deja first applied for a job as a Disney animator at the age of 10. Deja, who was born in Poland and raised in Germany, remembers writing to the studio immediately after seeing The Jungle Book. “I’d never seen a Disney feature before,” says the artist. “It was one of those key experiences because I just couldn’t believe what I’d seen. All those drawings moving, thinking and acting so real.” The studio wrote back to Deja, explaining that they were fully staffed but they were always on the lookout for new talent. This response offered him the encouragement he needed and motivated him to work hard toward his goal. At the age of 20, after completing his studies, he applied again and was accepted. Working with Eric Larson, one of Disney’s legendary “nine old men,” Deja completed several tests and went on to do early character design, costume research and animation for The Black Cauldron. His next assignment was The Great Mouse Detective, for which he animated the mouse queen and her robotic twin. Deja helped design many of the characters for Oliver & Company and did some animation before spending a year in London as a lead animator on Who Framed Roger Rabbit, under director Richard Williams. On The Little Mermaid, Deja oversaw the animation of Triton, a powerful figure requiring expert skills in draftsmanship and acting ability. For Disney’s Academy Award-winning animated musical Beauty and the Beast, he was the supervising animator for the first of his many Disney villains, the pompous and narrow-minded Gaston. Deja continued down his dark path by designing and animating the evil vizier Jafar for Disney’s hit animated musical Aladdin. He also supervised the animation for the power-hungry villain, Scar, in The Lion King, which has become The Walt Disney Studios’ most successful film, as well as one of the highest-grossing films of all time. Deja next worked on Runaway Brain, the first Mickey Mouse short since 1953. He supervised the animation on the famous mouse at the company’s Paris-based animation facility. Deja then served as the supervising animator for the title character in Disney’s epic animated comedy Hercules. He was the supervising animator for Lilo, the little Hawaiian girl in Lilo & Stitch, and animated Bambi’s father, the Great Prince, in Bambi II from DisneyToon Studios. In February of 2007 Andreas received the prestigious Winsor McKay – Lifetime Achievement Award. The International Animation Film Society – Hollywood awarded Andreas for his for outstanding and unique contributions in the field of Animation. Deja recently animated Goofy for the hit short film, How to Hook Up Your Home Theater, and has contributed his talents to the upcoming short film, The Ballad of Nessie, as well. He is currently working on the upcoming Walt Disney Feature Animated film The Princess and the Frog, which marks the company’s much-anticipated return to hand-drawn animation. Page 12
//ANDREAS DEJA Annie Award Winner Animation’s Highest Honor
//2D MASTERS
//IN ORDER OF DATE / TIME
//TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD 9am - 10:45am
//JONATHAN HARB //page 12
//TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD 1:45pm - 3:30pm
//CRAIG MULLINS //page 13
//WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH 11am - 12:45pm
//JASON MANLEY //page 14
//THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH 9am - 10:45pm
//SYD MEAD //page 15
//FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 11am - 12:45pm
//ANDREW JONES //page 16
Page 15
//TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD 9am - 10:45am
//JONATHAN HARB www.whiskytree.com //BIOGRAPHY
Jonathan Harb opened Whiskytree Inc in May of 2007. His film credits include Visual Effects Supervisor, Digital Matte Supervisor, Digital Matte Artist, Digital Artist, and Concept and Animatic Artist on films such as Eight Below, Star Wars I: The Phantom Menace, Star Wars II: Attack of the Clones, Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, The Perfect Storm, Artificial Intelligence and Sleepy Hollow. Harb has contributed to more than 30 feature films, and dozens of commercials for television. Harb won the first 2 Visual Effects Society (VES) Awards for ‘Best Matte Painting in a Motion Picture’ for his work on Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Star Wars: Episode II: Attack of the Clones; he received a nomination for a third VES award for his work on Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith. In addition to his time as a working artist and supervisor, Harb’s experience includes international location work, client relations, bidding and production strategy, all aspects of management, and business operation functions. He has also spoken at numerous computer graphics events around the world.
//COURSE OUTLINE Keep it Simple: Make complicated things with simple techniques Seamless visual effects work has become harder and harder to achieve. More often than not, successful shots are judged not by the great effects work you know is there, but by the subtleties of the work that you never realize you are observing. Harb discusses concise ways to achieve seamless results in feature film visual effects work. Get an in-depth look at accessible techniques used by Whiskytree artists in some of the biggest movies of the summer.
THE MUMMY ©Universal Studios - All Rights Reserved
Learn how painting with a mouse and using only one brush in Photoshop can be good ideas, why people on cards are everywhere, and where the fundamentals of art and design translate directly into successful visual effects work. And if you’re lucky, you may find out where Whiskytree got its name. Page 16
//TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD 1:45pm - 3:30pm
//CRAIG MULLINS www.goodbrush.com //BIOGRAPHY
Mullins was born in 1964 in California and moved to Ohio at the age of 3. At 18, he went back to California and lived in the LA area for many years. He went to Pitzer College in Claremont, California for two years and then went to Art Center College of Design to study Product Design. “Well, I was better at drawing cars, and that lead to 6 months at Ford in Detroit design- ing them. My design sense was a little weird to be of any value to anybody in that field, so I returned to Art Center to study illustration. There I was as conservative as I was off-the-wall in Industrial Design. I just wanted the academic skills of drawing and painting.” Mullins graduated in 1990. Mullins was doing a lot of concept painting for architects and theme parks which slowly lead to contacts within the film biz. He was introduced to the digital medium at Ford in 1987 in what was called a “Dubner PaintBox”, with similar qualities as Photoshop. For a short time, he worked at a big effects house and was introduced to Photoshop by one of its creators, none other than John Knoll. Mullins went all digital for commercial work in 1994. “I currently live in Hawaii and like to play on my tractor.”
//COURSE OUTLINE - History of digital art in context of art history in general. - How and why I started using digital tools. Strengths and weaknesses. - Resolution and closing the gap with traditional art. - Software as a creative endeavor that is equal to what is created with it. - Plasticity of digital medium compresses the process of illustration, from discrete steps (sketch, value, color, and final) into one piece. - What are the hidden problems of something that can be endlessly changed. Does this encourage sloppiness? Process: - Importance of drawing and the dangers of using the power of digital tools as shortcuts that weaken an artist’s development. - Problems of learning academic drawing and problems of expressive drawing. - How and why to be changing the process constantly. - Pressures of production work causing the process to narrow. - Importance of doing finished work and sketches: they support each other. - Painter and Photoshop combined. Page 17
CRAIG MULLINS © All Rights Reserved
//WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH 11am - 12:45pm
//JASON MANLEY www.conceptart.org / www.massiveblack.com //BIOGRAPHY
Jason Manley’s vision and business development sense is part of the equation behind Massive Black’s great success. Jason’s career began in 1999 at Black Isle Studios as a Concept Artist. He later worked as a Project Lead and Art Director, prior to starting Massive Black in 2003. Massive Black’s clients include Sony, Nintendo, Microsoft, id, Blizzard, NCsoft, Guerrilla, THQ, Capcom and 100 other top companies. Jason is a Founding Director of ConceptArt.Org, (which now sees 10,000,000 page views per month and 115,000 members worldwide). He is also part of the International Art and Design Workshops, and one of the proud founders the ConceptArt.Org Atelier, an educational program in San Francisco. His contact base has allowed him to build the largest client lists of any outsourcing studio in the industry and helps oversee Massive Black’s studios that are based internationally. Jason has been an invited guest speaker and instructor at GDC: San Francisco, GDC: Leipzig, AnimFX New Zealand, and D.I.C.E, while also sharing his knowledge at all International Art and Design Workshops,.
//COURSE OUTLINE Colored Moods and the Theory of LightColor Theory is one of the key foundations for concept art, illustration, texturing, lighting, graphic design, fine art, and even effects work. This presentation will be covering the history of Color Theory in the traditional arts and will show how these important ideas can be quickly and easily applied to the creation of digital art today. This is a lecture and demonstration course that when applied, will improve your artwork, your understanding of light and shadow, and your ability to communicate visual moods. With demonstrations by Andrew Jones.
MASSIVE BLACK © ©All AllRights RightsReserved Reserved
Page 18
//THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH 9am - 10:45pm
//SYD MEAD www.sydmead.com
//BIOGRAPHY A professional career that spans fifty-four years started just out of high school in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Creating characters and backgrounds for animated cinema intermission trailers, after three years in the Army Corps of Engineers, Syd graduated with great Distinction from the Art Center School in 1959 and was hired by Ford Motor Company’s Advanced Styling studio. Syd left Ford in 1961 and produced corporate promotional books for the Hansen Company in Chicago over the next nine years, founding his own company, Syd Mead, Incorporated in October of 1970. His imagination spans the fields of product design, corporate graphics and work in the motion picture, television and electronic game industry. His work continues to the present with numerous presentations world-wide to both corporate, professional, film festival and academic audiences. Syd considers his legacy to be the body of work for the many years of satisfied problem solutions for an international list of clients. But at end, providing inspiration to a world-wide audience of youngsters and professionals is the most satisfying of all. Syd considers the opportunity to be a guidepost for ambition in others as a priceless gift of fortunate circumstance.
//COURSE OUTLINE Why? How? Where? To elucidate: WHY? …Fantasy? Why do we, as intelligent humans, need fantasy as an extension of our imaginations? HOW? …Do we get there? Transport as the signature clue to story, placement in time, etc. WHERE? ... Are we going? Worlds, that’s where.
Page 19
SYD MEAD © All Rights Reserved
//FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 11am - 12:45pm
//ANDREW JONES www.conceptart.org / www.massiveblack.com //BIOGRAPHY Andrew Jones has been heralded as “the apocalyptic art shaman”. His work is a hybrid of academic training, emerging technology and the mystical experience, beginning his career working with George Lucas at ILM. In 2002, Andrew created a non-profit online art community called Conceptart.org. Andrew has used this Internet portal to launch a series of highly acclaimed art workshops, and has traveled the world teaching art to students. With work featured on the box cover of Corel Painter X, he is a leader in the digital fine art community, and works closely with the developers of emerging digital technology to create software that gives artists new tools to create their dreams. Most recently, Andrew began performing live on-stage as a digital painter, touring with underground DJs and bands. Andrew continues to push the limits of what is possible with the manipulation of light and energy and is on the front line of innovation. In Andrew’s live painting, he searches to capture the invisible energetic elements of life that no photo or video camera is capable of reflecting.
//COURSE OUTLINE Shaping Sound Android has traveled the world creating live digital art on stage and working with underground and mainstream musicians to document their exploits and create album cover art. Android has discovered his own personal relationship between shapes and sounds. Join Android as he debuts new technology alongside new software that enables the user to draw with sound. The intention of this lecture is to enhance the quality of your creativity and open your mind to new digital possibilities.
ANDREW JONES ©All Rights Reserved
Page 20
//3D MASTERS
//IN ORDER OF DATE / TIME
//TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD 11am - 12:45am
//DAN STANTON & JI YE //page 20 //WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH 9am - 10:45am
//TARON //page 21
//THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH 11am - 12:45pm
//CARLOS BAENA & SHAWN KELLY //page 22
//FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 9am - 10:45pm
//AARON SIMS //page 23
//FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 1:45pm - 3:30pm
//STEVEN STAHLBERG //page 24
Page 23
//TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD 11am - 12:45pm
//DAN STANTON & JI YE www.massiveblack.com //BIOGRAPHY Dan Stanton is the 3D Studio Director for Massive Black Inc. Dan’s main charge is Massive Black’s Shanghai operations. Dan’s helps generate, build 3D pipelines and art direction with Massive Black’s clients, all the while training his successful 3D teams. He has contributed to numerous next-generation video game titles such as Killzone 2, God of War 3, Starcraft 2, Bioshock 2 and other AAA titles, and was able to be part of films such as Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Hellboy, and The Day After Tomorrow. Ye Ji is a Senior 3D modeler for Massive Black Inc. He has previously showcased his demonstration skills at the Massive Black and ConceptArt.Org International Art and Design Workshop in Seattle.
//COURSE OUTLINE Next-gen art production pipeline and best practices: Making great art under tight deadlines: Dan will be showcasing a wide aspect of techniques and artwork used for the creation of next-generation video games today, including work from Massive Black’s own internal projects. This presentation will teach attendees many tricks of the trade that were either learned or developed by Massive Black’s collaborative efforts within one of 175+ major projects created at their studios. Working with Dan, will be Ji Ye of Shanghai, a senior Artist at Massive Black’s China Operations.
MASSIVE BLACK ©All Rights Reserved
Page 24
//WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH 9am - 10:45pm
//TARON www.taron.de
//BIOGRAPHY Born in Germany in 1972, this gentleman landed his first professional gig in the industry at 15 years old in 1987. He officially started freelancing in 1993 after finishing the Gutenberg Schule for Design in Frankfurt. After several successful years in Germany, he moved to the United States in 1997 to join Station X Studios, followed by 2000 to 2004 at Computercafe (CafeFX), and eventually pmG Worldwide to help develop messiah:Studio, the animation and rendering tool, which is currently in progress.
//COURSE OUTLINE Taron will be presenting his latest workflow to produce digital content, involving three different applications, namely: NewTek’s Lightwave 3D (Modeling), Pixologic’s Zbrush and pmG’s messiah:Studio. He will demonstrate the entire process of creating a digital set including the initial design and creation of the desired geometries within Lightwave’s modeler, detailing and texturing them within Zbrush, and lighting, shading and rendering them within messiah:Studio. He will also be sharing recent experiences with this method as well as the benefits on a wide variety of projects during the process.
Page 25
TARON ©All Rights Reserved
//THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH 11am - 12:45pm
//CARLOS BAENA & SHAWN KELLY www.animationmentor.com
//BIOGRAPHY Carlos Baena and Shawn Kelly co-founded AnimationMentor.com along with Bobby Beck in 2005. Both are professional animators, and have a combined experience animating on over 20 feature films. Nominated for an Annie Award for his work on Cars, Carlos is currently working on Toy Story 3 at Pixar, where he previously worked on such films as Wall-E, Incredibles, Ratatouille and Finding Nemo. Shawn most recently finished Indiana Jones 4 for ILM and was a Lead animator on Transformers, for which he won the VES Award for Best Single Visual Effect of the Year.
//COURSE OUTLINE “Eyes & Blinks: The Keys to an Emotional Performance” They say the eyes are the window to the soul. For an animator, no statement could be more true. Our eyes betray our hidden emotions, they betray our thoughts, and they betray our truths. For animators, a serious study of the eyes is essential to our ability to imbue our characters with a true sense of life, and nothing is more important in the creation of a memorable and appealing character performance. Animation Mentor co-founders Shawn Kelly (ILM) and Carlos Baena (Pixar) will show you how to use your character’s eyes to communicate emotion and inner thought.
Page 26
//FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 9am - 10:45pm
//AARON SIMS www.aaron-sims.com
//BIOGRAPHY Aaron Sims began his career while a teenager in Arlington, Texas, working for renowned illustrator Don Ivan Punchatz. After moving to Los Angeles, Sims’ work attracted the attention of legendary Academy Award® winner Rick Baker, for whom he served as a leading special effects artist on Gremlins 2, Batman Forever, Mighty Joe Young, Nutty Professor, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, and Men in Black. Working with Academy Award® winner Stan Winston, Aaron Sims introduced his visionary process to Steven Spielberg as lead character designer for Artificial Intelligence: A.I. As co-founder of Stan Winston Digital, Sims led the studio as art director and head concept artist on Constantine, Fantastic Four, Terminator 3, Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, and Tim Burton’s Big Fish.As an independent concept artist, Sims contributed to 30 Days of Night, The Golden Compass, I Am Legend, The Day the Earth Stood Still, The Chronicles Narnia: Prince Caspian, The Incredible Hulk and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor. In 2007, he co-founded White Rock Lake Productions with business partner and long-time friend John Norris while opening his own fully-capable design studio, The Aaron Sims Company.
//COURSE OUTLINE Kicking off with a screening of his dynamic and varied reel, Aaron Sims will discuss the work he does for a living, how he got to where he is today and how his background—in everything from illustration to sculpture to digital design—has contributed to it all. In addition, Aaron will talk about the constantly evolving industry and what the future holds for those in his profession. On a technical level, Aaron will provide an overview of his 3D process and basic techniques, after which he will be open to answering questions from the audience.
Page 27
AARON SIMS ©All Rights Reserved
//FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 1:45pm - 3:30pm
//STEVEN STAHLBERG www.androidblues.com //BIOGRAPHY Born in Australia, raised in Sweden, Stahlberg is currently 48. Having spent 3 years in art school, he worked for 10 years as a freelance illustrator, most of which in Hong Kong, after which he shifted his interests to computer graphics and has been doing that for the past 12 years. Stahlberg is self taught on the computer, had his first 3d artworks published online in 1996, and has been an extremely prominent figure in the online community ever since. He also lived in Austin, Texas, and in Kuala Lumpur, where he was a partner in a small 3d studio. He sometimes becomes a traveling teacher, lecturing in Denmark, Taiwan, Germany and Singapore amongst other places. Proud husband and father of 2 teenage boys, he is currently working in Gainesville, Florida, on a new next-gen FPS game project as a senior 3d artist.
//COURSE OUTLINE Accurate and evocative depiction of female form has challenged artists since mankind began drawing - from Botticelli to Rembrandt, Matisse to Cezanne, Brom to Vallejo. In more recent years the rise of the Cybergirls, Cyberbabes and Cyberchicks has added a new genre. However the challenges remain the same, how to best depict alluring and beautiful women. In this class, Stahlberg will cover the basic elements required to model, texture and accessorize the female form in 3D. The course will cover referencing, anatomy, polygonal framing, topology, modeling, texturing, workflow, accessorizing and joint deformation.
STEVEN STAHLBERG ŠAll Rights Reserved
Page 28
www.cgsociety.org
//2D/3D+
//IN ORDER OF DATE / TIME
//TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD 9am - 10:45am
//MCFARLANE TOYS //ADAM ROSS & ERIC SCHALL //page 28 //TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD 11am - 12:45pm
//JELLYFISH PICTURES //PHIL DOBREE //page 29 //TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD 1:45PM - 3:30pm
//RAINMAKER //PAUL GERTZ & WILLIAM LAU //page 30 //WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH 9am - 10:45am
//THE JIM HENSON COMPANY //KERRY SHEA //page 31 //WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH 11am - 12:45pm
//AUTODESK PRESENTS
//FATHOM STUDIOS / WARREN GRUBB //page 32
//THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH 9am - 10:45am
//FRAMESTORE //KEVIN SPRUCE //page 33
//THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH 11am - 12:45pm
//AUTODESK PRESENTS
//PICTORION DAS WERK / JORG BRUMMER & ROLF MUTZE //page 34
//FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 9am - 10:45am
//HALON ENTERTAINMENT //DAN GREGOIRE //page 35 //FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 11am - 12:45pm
//AUTODESK PRESENTS //HIGH MOON STUDIOS / MIKE BROWN //page 36 //FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 1:45pm - 3:30pm
//THE MILL //TOM BUSSELL & ROB PETRIE //page 37 Page 31
//TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD 9am - 10:45am
//MCFARLANE TOYS //ADAM ROSS & ERIC SCHALL www.spawn.com
//BIOGRAPHY Adam Ross (founder/ Grand Poobah) and Eric Schall (Senior Modeler Emeritus) of the McFarlane Toys Digital Department are responsible for executing a complete overhaul of how McFarlane makes toys. Prior to working for McFarlane, Adam applied his skills to Harry Potter 4, The Chronicles of Narnia, and Kong in addition to moonlighting for a D.o.D contractor where he designed battlefield equipment for the U.S. Special Forces. Eric worked in animation as a 3D artist and modeler on television shows, commercials, and music videos for clients such as Reeses, Disney, and MTV. Now encompassing many areas of high technology, the McFarlane digital department brings together some of the most advanced equipment in various fields, including cutting edge 3D printers and scanners along with all staple modeling software in the film and gaming industries.
//COURSE OUTLINE Sometimes they throw you a rough sketch with basic silhouette and proportions from one angle and they say “go for it.” Sometimes you’re given a low poly game model that needs to be taken to the next level. Occasionally you don’t get the assets you need for a license property until it’s behind schedule. Working in the entertainment industry can be a lesson in troubleshooting, and working on action figures is no exception. There are many similarities in modeling for rapid prototyping when compared to modeling for animation that transfer well and help people in the action figure industry get the job done. Topics to be discussed are the different workflow possibilities with modeling for 3D output in a rapid prototyping pipeline and overcoming the hurdles in integrating 3D into a formerly traditional sculpting environment. A portion of the presentation will focus on the recent video game license action figure lines the McFarlane companies have announced and the unique processes used to realize those lines.
McFARLANE TOYS ©All Rights Reserved
Page 32
//TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD 11am - 12:45pm
//JELLYFISH PICTURES //PHIL DOBREE www.jellyfishpictures.co.uk
//BIOGRAPHY Having completed a post graduate design course at the London Institute, Philip started out his working life producing, designing and publishing artists books and selling them to many of the leading museums and collections around the world such as MOMA, The Tate, New York Public library, the British Museum and Biblioteque Nationale in Paris. Philip moved on from still images to moving images when he completed a computer animation course (the second course to be run) at Epsom college of art in 1991. He started his CGI career in games working on a Time Warner project “Drowned God” before moving back to London in 1995 to work on a Douglas Adams venture “Starship Titanic” at Digital Village, where he worked as lead 3D artist. He then worked at many facilities around London before eventually becoming head of 3D at Aldis animation/The Refinery. This led to the creation of Jellyfish Pictures in 2001 with William Rockall. As a director and VFX supervisor at Jellyfish Phil has overseen many substantial and award winning projects including most recently the BBC series “Fight For Life” which has attracted much critical acclaim, taking human body CGI to a new level.
//COURSE OUTLINE Visualizing the unseen – making micro detail appear real. Taking examples from some of his multi-award winning work at Jellyfish Pictures, Phil Dobree will talk about imagery created for ‘Fight for Life’ and ‘Carbon Footprint’. With detailed breakdowns and behind the scenes examples, Phil will give us a perspective on supervising a demanding project, with some revealing insights into the politics of a landmark series, from winning the pitch through to final delivery of 80 minutes of high end VFX. With a clean sweep of awards for TV Visual Effects in 2008, ‘Fight for Life’ has crossed many new boundaries. The rich and detailed imagery of these examples have left many assuming the shots were achieved on camera. In this session we’ll take a close up look at these acclaimed projects and see how Jellyfish manages to achieve this detailed realism using CGI.
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JELLYFISH PICTURES ©All Rights Reserved
//TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD 1:45PM - 3:30pm
//RAINMAKER //PAUL GERTZ & WILLIAM LAU www.rainmaker.com
//BIOGRAPHY Rainmaker Entertainment’s Executive Vice President Paul Gertz and Director William Lau are industry veterans whose combined experience covers all aspects of the animation business. Paul Gertz has spent 25 years working at Lucasfilm, Hanna-Barbera, Turner Feature Animation and the Vancouver Film School. He was executive producer of the highly acclaimed animated feature Titan A.E., and produced The Pagemaster and Annie Award-winner Cats Don’t Dance. He is currently overseeing Rainmaker’s revitalized ReBoot, Escape From Planet Earth, The Nutty Professor and with Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment, Gertz will executive produce Legion of 5. William Lau worked on the groundbreaking 1994 original series ReBoot, and is an award-winning director of the animated musical Barbie as the Princess and the Pauper, the series of films for Mattel’s Barbie Fairytopia and Max Steel, and the television series Hot Wheels, Heavy Gear, Transformers: Beast Machines and the award-winning Action Man.
//COURSE OUTLINE ReBoot: ReBooted It was groundbreaking fifteen years ago, but now it’s more of a cult favorite. So how do you inject a once cutting-edge property with new edge? As the first ever CG animated series, ReBoot made history – it earned Mainframe a place on the map and a special place in fans’ hearts. And now, ReBoot is back. But a lot has changed. So how do you stay true to its groundbreaking reputation, satisfy existing fans, and engage new ones? Simple. Do something not done before. In 2007, Rainmaker (formerly Mainframe) utilized Web 2.0 technology to present five different versions of ReBoot to the fan community who in turn gave feedback and picked a winner. A new ReBoot webcomic was born. And now, Rainmaker is producing a trilogy of feature length films. The films’ producer, Rainmaker EVP Paul Gertz, and director, William Lau, will talk about working with the fans to revitalize the project – and where 2010 will take ReBoot. Page 36
//WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH 9am - 10:45am
//THE JIM HENSON COMPANY //KERRY SHEA www.henson.com
//BIOGRAPHY Kerry Shea joined The Jim Henson Company in 2006 after 16 years in film production management in live-action, visual effects, motion capture and both CG and traditional animation. With the animatronics and visual effects teams of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop, Shea develops solutions to production challenges that best serve each project creatively. Shea has been instrumental in streamlining the Henson Digital Puppetry Studio, a proprietary technology where performers puppeteer and voice multiple digital characters on a three-camera virtual set with real time pre-visualization. Shea currently oversees digital production for Sid the Science Kid, a new digital puppetry series for PBS.
//COURSE OUTLINE The Art and Evolution of Crafting Perfect Character Performances Within the Jim Henson Company. How do you create a believable character performance? How do you breathe life into an inanimate object? The Jim Henson Company is recognized worldwide as an award-winning innovator in puppetry, digital puppetry and animatronics. A leader in family and fantasy entertainment, the Company has been creating iconic characters for over 50 years including the Muppets, Fraggle Rock and Dinosaurs to name a few. Kerry Shea, Head of Digital Production, works with the animatronics staff of Jim Henson’s Creature Shop to develop creative solutions to production challenges (such as combining digital and animatronic technologies to create hybrid characters). She will delve into the process of the Henson Digital Puppetry Studio – the groundbreaking technology that allows three-camera, multi-character, real-time animated projects to be produced on site. Join us as we chronicle the evolution of the Company and its creation of characters. Learn how innovative technology applies the Company’s legacy for exceptional character performance to the digital age. Page 37
THE JIM HENSON COMPANY©All Rights Reserved
//WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH 11am - 12:45pm
//AUTODESK PRESENTS
//FATHOM STUDIOS / WARREN GRUBB www.delgo.com
//BIOGRAPHY Warren was born on a U.S.A.F. base in North Dakota in 1974. “I have always felt compelled to create art. I still don’t know exactly what this means, but it continues to drive me.” states Warren. While in high school, he delved into his first rudimentary 3D programs on the Amiga computer system in the late 1980s, early 1990s. At college, he fell in love with moving art and received a BFA in Computer Graphics with extra focus on direction, lighting and production classes from the Video Department 1996. After college, he worked with Alias | Power Animator and switched to Maya 1.0 in 1998 when he helped found Fathom Studios. At Fathom, he was involved in the development of the animated feature Delgo from script to screen and acted as VFX Supervisor and Animation Director, though his duties covered most areas of 3D production. Since the completion of the movie, he has been directing an animated short film that will be featured before Delgo in theaters. This film has acted as a testing ground for new techniques and technologies for future films.
//COURSE OUTLINE
FATHOM STUDIOS ©All Rights Reserved
In his presentation, Warren will give an entertaining and informative overview of the production of Delgo. Since Delgo was produced independently, he will be focusing on the processes Fathom used to manage the huge workload all while having limited resources. He will also be premiering some scenes from the film to discuss how Autodesk’s Maya was used, how a group of incredible artists worked hard to overcome all the challenges of making this feature film. Delgo has been an official selection at all the top animated film festivals and recently won ‘Best Animated Feature of 2008’ at Anima Mundi, one of the largest animation festivals in the world. The all-star voice cast includes Freddie Prinze, Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, Anne Bancroft, Val Kilmer, Chris Kattan, Malcolm McDowell, Lou Gossett, Jr., Kelly Ripa, Michael Clarke Duncan, Eric Idle, Sally Kellerman and Burt Reynolds. Join us as we chronicle the evolution of the Company and its creation of characters. Learn how innovative technology applies the company’s legacy for exceptional character performance to the digital age.
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//THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH 9am - 10:45am
//FRAMESTORE //KEVIN SPRUCE www.framestore.com
//BIOGRAPHY Kevin has been working in the animation filed for twenty years. He started in 1988, assisting and animating in 2D traditional animation at Amblimation, in London, on such classics as Fievel Goes West, We’re Back and Balto. He learned much from a host of talented animators including the likes of Uli Meyer, Rob Stevenhagen, Bibo Bergeron, Danielle Jeannette, Rudolphe Guenoden and Jeff Varab. After leaving Amblimation, Kevin went on to work as a freelance 2D animator, where he widened experience working on a variation of styles in commercials and TV projects for many different companies. With blockbusters such as Toy Story, the CG industry started playing an ever increasing role in animation and this is when he started to be seriously interested in this new medium. In 2000, he started at Framestore as a senior animator. While facing the challenge of having a great deal to learn quickly, he realized the enormous potential of working in CG, and it has changed his perspective on animation ever since. Spruce worked on some amazing projects such as Dinotopia, Harry Potter: The Prisoner of Azkaban, eventually taking the role of leading and supervising animation for Prehistoric Park, Doom, Underdog and The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.
//COURSE OUTLINE Kevin will be talking about the approach to animating realistic but performance lead characters and the journey animators undertake to make them as believable as possible to the audience. Kevin will be specifically talking about Aslan and Trufflehunter (the badger) in The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and how each had their own individual challenges relating to how convincing they would be on film. Kevin will offer a lot of visual material for both characters while demonstrating Framestore’s specific approach. He will also share with attendees where they encountered problems, how they were dealt with, and this right from developing the concepts and designs through to the building of the rigs, body and facial. Kevin will be touching on some technical issues but primarily talking from an animation perspective.
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FRAMESTORE ©All Rights Reserved
//THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH 11am - 12:45pm
//AUTODESK PRESENTS
//PICTORION DAS WERK / JORG BRUMMER & ROLF MUTZE
www.daswerk.de
//BIOGRAPHY PICTORION das werk GmbH is Germany’s leading network in the field of digital image processing. Well-known clients from the worlds of advertising, music, film and TV productions profit from the services of their 150 highly qualified employees. PICTORION das werk offers assistance in all areas of digital post-production. Offices and studios are located in Hamburg, Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Cologne and Munich. In order to encourage innovation, specialization and creativity, each branch keeps a certain degree of independence. PICTORION das werk stands for innovative technology, quality, flexibility and great service.
//COURSE OUTLINE The digital intermediate and visual effects departments of PICTORION das werk are working in a database driven production environment. They will give some insight on how their feature film pipeline works. This presentation explains some facts and rules in such an environment like versioning, data handling and transfer points to other departments. Implemented in this workflow are Maya and Toxik. They will describe the close relationship between Toxik and Maya and how this simplifies many pipeline aspects with main focus on technical passes and 3D compositing. This will be shown on the basis of shot work from 2 Feature Films “Children of Huang Shi” and “Palermo Shooting” as well as an Image film “Imagination”.
PICTORION DAS WERK ©All Rights Reserved
Page 40
//FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 9am - 10:45am
//HALON ENTERTAINMENT //DAN GREGOIRE www.halon.com
//BIOGRAPHY As the Owner and CEO of HALON Entertainment, a Previsualization (Previz) and VFX company, Daniel Gregoire has been the Previz Supervisor of some of the most exciting projects in the last five years culminating in this summers blockbuster Indiana Jones 4. Spending four (4) years working for George Lucas and Rick McCallum at JAK Films on Star Wars: Episode II, III and THX1138 – The George Lucas Directors Cut, Gregoire moved from Previz Artist to Previz Supervisor by 2001 and VFX Supervisor / Producer on THX1138 in 2003. Around 2004, he was introduced to Steven Spielberg, whom he worked with on several sequences for Episode III. This began a relationship with Spielberg as Gregoire went on to be the Previs Supervisor for War of the Worlds. HALON has worked on films such as Transformers (pre Michael Bay), X-Men 3, Ghostrider, Eight Below, Evan Almighty, Rush Hour 3, The Kingdom, Spiderman 3, The Spiderwick Chronicles, Avatar and Indiana Jones 4.
//COURSE OUTLINE Daniel Gregoire will be giving a live previsualization demo to audience members, talking about the state of the previz industry and discussing the ins and outs of the last two productions he has completed. Durning his demo Gregoire will ask the audience to “Direct “ him while he comes up with shots live on stage allowing them to feel the speed and flexibility of the process of previz. Gregoire will also talk about his experience on Indy 4 and Kung Fu Panda which will include information about the exploration of creativity in the animated film making process and how previz is finding a home in that process.
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LUCASFILM LTD. ©All Rights Reserved
//FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 11am - 12:45pm
//AUTODESK PRESENTS //HIGH MOON STUDIOS / MIKE BROWN www.highmoonstudios.com
//BIOGRAPHY Mike Brown has been working in the Games Industry for more than a decade and is currently the Principal Artist at Highmoon Studios. He has worked for several companies including Presto Studios, Point of View, Reflexive Entertainment and Sammy Studios as well as many freelance clients. Titles he has worked on include the best selling adventure game of the year Myst 3: Exile, Star Trek: Hidden Evil, Steven King’s F13, Whacked, Spawn: Armageddon, Darkwatch and the recently released Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy.
//COURSE OUTLINE The Making of Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy: An in-depth discussion of how Highmoon studios created the recently released Action game, Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Conspiracy. Various topics will include Character creation, Environment Art, Creating a Cinematic experience and how to create a mixed pipeline using 3D Studio Max, Maya and Motion Builder.
HIGHMOON STUDIOS ©All Rights Reserved
Page 42
//FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 1:45pm - 3:30pm
//THE MILL //TOM BUSSELL & ROB PETRIE www.themill.com
//BIOGRAPHY Tom has worked on hugely successful campaigns like Pepsi “Glue Boy’ in 2005, following up with the visually stunning “Hakko” spot from Motorola. His vast library of works also include Adidas, Ford and Guinness. In 2006, Tom had established the look and feel of deep-sea creatures and microscopic organisms to capture movement and texture in deep sea creatures. Moving in to 2008 Tom worked on demanding projects like “Until Then”, a commercial for the Puma V1 08 Speedboat. Tom is currently finishing a Johnny Walker’s spot “Crossroads” directed by award winning Walter Stern and about to begin work on a Mitsubishi campaign. Rob Petrie joined The Mill London in 2002 and recently moved to the NY office in April 2008, while Tom Bussell joined the Mill in 2003, and became a junior 3D artist. After graduating from St. Martins School of Art and Design where Rob studied Graphic Design and Illustration, he joined The Mill as a Runner and quickly moved up the ranks. Today he is Senior CG Artist and has worked on top projects such as Coke “It’s Mine”¬ where it received an award at the 2008 AICP Show honoring excellence in visual effects, and has been nominated for an Emmy in 2008. Petrie has also worked with other top tier directors such as Dante Ariola on Wrigley’s “Cobalt,” “Rain” and “Flare” and worked with Tom and Alex Rutterford on a Radiohead music video titled “Go to Sleep.” Rob is currently finishing an Acura commercial with award winning Nicolai Fuglsig and about to begin an Xbox campaign.
//COURSE OUTLINE Rob Petrie will present a making of Coke “It’s Mine” which debuted on Super Bowl 2008. He will outline the techniques used to recreate the Macy’s day parade where two balloons duel over a bottle of their favorite drink. Tom Bussell will present the making of Guinness “Music Factory” showing how Softimage is used in the London facility outlining the techniques employed by his team in the UK.
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THE MILL ©All Rights Reserved
Venez découvrir une abondance de talent à notre Salon d’affaires québécois des effets visuels Discover plenty of talent at our Quebec BCTQ Business Lounge
centrenad.com digitaldimension.com lumierevfx.com meduzarts.com mokkostudio.com obliquefx.com rodeofx.com visionglobale.ca bctq.ca
//EXPLORATION //IN ORDER OF DATE / TIME
//TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD 9am - 10:45am
//RENAUD ARMANET //page 42
//TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD 11am - 12:45pm
//ELECTRONIC ARTS
//FRANCOIS PELLETIER / JAMIE HELMAN & LOUIS-ALEXANDRE LORD
//page 43
//TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD 1:45PM - 3:30pm
//FX CARTEL //PETER CROSMAN //page 44
//WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH 9am - 10:45am
//REEL FX //KYLE CLARK //page 45
//WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH 11am - 12:45pm
//DIGITAL DIMENSION //BENOIT GIRARD //page 46
//THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH 9am - 10:45am
//PAMELA THOMPSON //page 47
//THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH 11am - 12:45pm
//NICK OROC //page 48
//FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 9am - 10:45am
//PHILIPPE ZEROUNIAN //page 49 //FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 11am - 12:45pm
//JASON DOZOIS //page 50
//FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 1:45am - 3:30pm
//MEDUZARTS
//JESSY VEILLEUX //page 51
Page 45
//TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD 9am - 10:45am
//RENAUD ARMANET //BIOGRAPHY Born in Marseilles, France, Renaud is a Director, storyboard artist, composer, musician and well rounded artist in visual development. He has lectured in multiple schools in Paris, notably the famous Gobelins. As an independent artist, he develops his own animation projects including features, short films and TV series. To further his multiple talents, he also creates documentaries across the world such as “A Chaque Probleme, Sa Solution” (To every problem, its solution) where we find children from the four corners of the earth talking about their problems and imagining solutions in cartoon form. He used the same system to create “New York, Instincts”, a documentary on the 9/11 incident. All of these aspects feed Renaud’s creativity for his biggest work yet, the feature length film currently in development “Symhio”. His abilities have allowed him to create all the music while collaborating with Manu Katché and Fink, two well known European musicians.
//COURSE OUTLINE The artist: Renaud will start by presenting some of his past projects. As special premier at //ADAPT2008, attendees will have the chance to see a glimpse of the Symhio universe, his 3D animated film currently in development. This presentation will show the birth of Symhio (visual development, 3D sequence and music). Finally, Renaud will show us how he sees art and it id transformed onto the screen. Sharing art: “I believe strongly in the human and artistic exchange. These are the aspects that drive my projects. My projects permit me to provoke exchange with others, because a film is an adventure before anything. I like working freely, and put my confidence in the talents of the artists I work with” No borders: This session will close with a word from Renaud on tigoboANIMATION, the studio “with no borders” and the team of passionate artists that work with him on his projects from all four corners of the world. RENAUD ARMANET ©All Rights Reserved
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//TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD 11am - 12:45pm
//ELECTRONIC ARTS
//FRANCOIS PELLETIER / JAMIE HELMAN & LOUIS-ALEXANDRE LORD
www.ea.com
//BIOGRAPHY Since Francois’s arrival at EA Montreal, he successfully established a solid production structure and an extremely efficient team containing some of the most talented artists in the industry. Directing and managing projects, schedules, artists and producers are just a few of the many tasks Francois handles each day at EA. Jamie R Helman is Lead Cinematics Animator for EA Montreal. He joined EA Montreal in 2005 and has done cinematic and promotional animation for Army of Two, Boogie, and several internal projects. Louis-Alexandre Lord 3D generalist background and 6 year experience of teaching at Centre NAD has enabled him to contribute to just about every single aspect of a production. His proficiency fields include compositing, character rigging and VFX development. He’s also the group’s XSI human database.
//COURSE OUTLINE EA Montreal Cinematic Group will show how they produced over 22 minutes of high end content for AO2. From animatics to final compositing, attendees will get a complete inside look at their working pipeline. In just a little over a year, this small group of around 15 talented artists, established themselves as a highly respected team within EA Montreal and worldwide.
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ELECTRONIC ARTS ©All Rights Reserved
//TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD 1:45pm - 3:30pm
//FX CARTEL //PETER CROSMAN www.fxcartel.com
//BIOGRAPHY Peter Crosman is a veteran independent visual effects designer and second unit director whose feature film credits include a diverse range of films including The Beatles scored Across The Universe, fantasy comedies MonkeyBone, Scooby Doo 1 & 2, Flubber, as well as action thrillers Broken Arrow and Independence Day. He has worked with acclaimed directors Robert Redford, Lawrence Kasden, Roland Emmerich and John Woo. Crosman began his career in visual effects as an animator at Industrial Light and Magic working on the Back to the Future and Star Trek feature series. He also worked with director Henry Selick on numerous projects including a Clio award-winning series of IDs for MTV. He is a graduate of Antioch College, with degrees in Communications and Fine Arts, and also attended the School of Visual Arts in New York.
//COURSE OUTLINE Crosman will detail his work with director Julie Taymor on Across The Universe, including a blow-by-blow description of his role as visual effects supervisor from concept to final realization of the completed film. Special emphasis will be on the previsualization process, which Crosman uses extensively in pre-production. He will be showing behind-the-scenes videos and tests for sequences that never made the cut, in an effort to explain the often circuitous path necessary for achieving a director’s creative vision.
UNCLE SAM - GABLE PRODUCTIONS ŠAll Rights Reserved
Page 48
//WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH 9am - 10:45am
//REEL FX //KYLE CLARK & BRYAN ENGRAM www.reelfx.com
//BIOGRAPHY As Chief Operating Officer of Entertainment for Reel FX Creative Studios in Dallas, Santa Monica and San Francisco, Kyle Clark has overseen projects for top studio clients such as DreamWorks, BlueSky/Fox Animation, Disney, Warner Brothers and Sony Pictures Animation. In this role, Kyle is responsible for the management of the entire entertainment division, including 75 artists and all of the digital, audio and editorial content for the studio’s feature films, commercials and game cinematics. Bryan is currently serving as Animation Director in Reel FX Creative Studios’ entertainment division in Dallas. In this role, Bryan is responsible for the oversight of all Modeling, Rigging, and Animation for the studio. Bryan came to Reel FX in 2003, and has previously served as layout supervisor and animation supervisor with the studio. His credits include the feature films The Wild, Everyone’s Hero, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Open Season 2, Blue Sky’s animated Robots short Aunt Fanny’s Tour of Booty, game cinematics for Halo 2 and Transformers :The Game, as well as commercial work for Dreamworks’ Shrek the Third, Bee Movie, Kung Fu Panda, and Madagascar 2. Bryan received his B.F.A from the University of Texas at Arlington with an emphasis in Film.
//COURSE OUTLINE In the emerging industry of computer generated imagery, technology and creativity routinely collide. Often, artists are forced to rethink their approach in generating content due to pre-existing technologies that are developed by technicians unfamiliar with the creative process. It’s the belief of Reel FX Creative Studios’ Kyle Clark and Bryan Engram that these processes can be redefined to work on behalf of the creative. They will discuss the benefits of a robust production pipeline and how it can be a support, rather than a hindrance to artists and the artistic process.
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//WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH 11am - 12:45pm
//DIGITAL DIMENSION //BENOIT GIRARD www.digitaldimension.com
//BIOGRAPHY Following a five year stint as a Canadian Army Officer, Ben Girard founded Digital Dimension in Los Angeles in 1997. With over 82 motion picture titles, 41 broadcast projects and a full length animated feature to his credit, Ben is widely regarded as an accomplished Computer Generated Imagery expert. Under his leadership, Digital Dimension grew from a handful of people working in a small apartment to a six-time Emmy Award Winning and four-time Visual Effects Society (VES) Award Winning company employing over 80 talented artists in the company’s 2 studios located in Los Angeles and Montreal. Digital Dimension’s clients include all major film and television studios such as Warner Brothers, HBO, 20th Century FOX, ABC, DreamWorks and Disney. Some of his credits include The Spirit, Get Smart, Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee, Live Free or Die Hard, The Legend of Secret Pass, LOST, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Alias, The Last Samurai and FOX Super Bowl.
//COURSE OUTLINE Challenges of Producing a Full Length Animated Feature Between 2006 and 2007, Digital Dimension was faced with the challenge of producing an 85 minutes full CG feature with a very limited budget and team. The film needed to have its own distinct 2D painterly look, while retaining a cutting edge 3D feel. Additionally, with Producers in LA, Director in Australia and the production team in Montreal, highly efficient communication solutions had to be implemented. Find out first hand from Ben Girard, founder of Digital Dimension, what the challenges were and how their technical and creative team of artists overcame this incredible balancing act.
DIGITAL DIMENSION ©All Rights Reserved
Page 50
//THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH 9am - 10:45am
//PAMELA THOMPSON //BIOGRAPHY Pamela Kleibrink Thompson is a recruiter/hiring strategist for such clients as Lucas Animation, Technicolor, Laika, Blue Sky Studios, Toybox, Framestore CFC, Digital Domain and Walt Disney Feature Animation. She is a career coach and consults with colleges and universities to design animation training programs. Her animation production background includes features such as Bebe’s Kids, the Fox television series The Simpsons, and the original Amazing Stories episode of Family Dog. She writes a monthly column on Animation World Network (www.mag.awn.com) called The Career Coach and also writes for Working World Magazine. Earlier this year she presented in Singapore, Pittsburgh, PA, and Los Angeles. Pamela has also presented in Stuttgart, Germany, Boston, MA: and San Diego, CA.
//COURSE OUTLINE Course Description: What does it take to get a job in the computer graphics field? A top career coach and recruiter reveals the secrets of how to create an irresistible resume and showcase your talent in a demo reel to get the job you want. Sample resumes and demo reels are included. Guidelines for cover letters, portfolios and career tips and advice will also be included. Prerequisites: No prior course is required. This talk is designed for those seeking a career in computer graphics or for those who train others in computer graphics such as teachers. The content is also appropriate for a veteran in the industry who is searching for his next position.
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FOX ŠAll Rights Reserved
//THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH 11:00am - 12:45pm
//NICK OROC www.nickorocart.com
//BIOGRAPHY Nicolas Oroc currently works at A2M as a senior illustrator and concept artist. His 11 year career began as an in-house illustrator in publishing, specializing in hyper realistic illustrations. He then freelanced for two years in advertising which led him into the gaming industry. Nick as worked on Ubisoft’s “Prince of Persia: Warrior Within”, “Rainbow Six: Lockdown”, “Rainbow Six: Vegas”, and “Splinter Cell 5”.
//COURSE OUTLINE In this presentation, Nicolas Oroc will showcase a variety of images in his portfolio ranging from traditional media to CG. He will then follow up with a live demo working in Photoshop. Emphasis will be placed on brush customization to increase work flow. His demo will also take you through the steps of creating and image from concept to finished art and the relation of his traditional media techniques translated into to cg.
NICK OROC UBISOFT ©All ©All Rights Rights Reserved Reserved
Page 52
//FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 9am - 10:45am
//PHILIPPE ZEROUNIAN //BIOGRAPHY Philippe has been working as a character animator in Canada for the last 10 years. His work has varied from productions in the television, game, and film industry. He’s had the opportunity to work on such television series as “Sitting Ducks”, and a local cult classic “Le Journul”. In the last few years, he has been able to expand his knowledge of the creative process by taking part of acting productions; participated in creative collaboration making short films and being a member of an improve group. All which he hopes to relate to animation. Some of his last projects include the feature film “Legend of Secret Pass” and the next-gen title “Halo 3”. Philippe is currently supervising as Assistant Animation Director for the cinematic animation of Bungie’s next release, and continues to passionately learn and expand his knowledge of animation and film.
//COURSE OUTLINE Philippe will have an in depth look at all the resources an animator needs before even thinking about animating anything, which include planning, brainstorming, reference, pen and paper, and an open mind. He will share the techniques he’s developed over the years enabling you to structure your animation workflow. Philippe will demonstrate with examples, how these techniques have helped him produce quality animation throughout the years, while maintaining a clean and healthy workflow.
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BUNGIE ©All Rights Reserved
//FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 11am - 12:45pm
//JASON DOZOIS //BIOGRAPHY
Jason Dozois has worked in professional Multi Media for over 10 years. He has worked as a Sound Designer and Engineer and in recent years as a Game and Level Designer having released several games for Ubisoft and Artificial Mind and Movement including Surf’s Up, Star Wars Episode III: DS and many more. In addition to his videogame work, Jason has contributed to lectures on multimedia at Concordia University and Panel Discussion at the Montreal International Game Summit. Jason is currently working as a Lead Level Designer on an undisclosed project.
//COURSE OUTLINE Story Driven Design: TV vs. Film This presentation will be a discussion on Story Design in Games and how it is highly influenced by Film industry. TV, which is sometimes neglected, is perhaps a better reference with its use to templates and reuse of assets. Jason will compare several types of media, how they tell stories and give recommendation on how designers for video games can adapt the best of these ideas to their production pipelines.
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//FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 1:45pm - 3:30pm
//MEDUZARTS
//JESSY VEILLEUX & DANIEL KVASZNICZA www.meduazarts.com
//BIOGRAPHY Jessy Veilleux is the Cofounder and Creative Director of Meduzarts. Expert in the digital environment field, Jessy has worked on influential productions such as 300, Sin City and Assassin’s Creed. He is also a Matte Painting Teacher at the NAD Center in Montreal. Daniel Kvasznicza is a Lead Matte Painter and Technical Artist at Meduzarts. He is also the developer of CyGen, an in-house tool that procedurally generates Cityscapes.
//COURSE OUTLINE The presentation will showcase an example of the process where an efficient pairing of art with technique takes place. It will start with an idea, move to concept art, and end with matte painting that will be ready for compositing. Throughout these steps, the most important aspects of production are going to be covered; composition, design, colors, values, tools and technologies. They will be looked at in an artistic versus technical assessment. Process automatization and how it can improve productivity by replacing repetitive and time consuming tasks will also be explored. In conclusion, the advantages and disadvantages of the use of advanced technology in a production environment where resources, budget and timing play a crucial role will also be examined.
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MEDUZARTS ŠAll Rights Reserved
Gnomon School of Visual Effects specializes in training for careers in high-end computer graphics for the entertainment industries.
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Gnomon Online offers hours of web based training in high-end computer graphics to help artists become more productive, regardless of their physical location.
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www.gnomonschool.com
www.gnomononline.com
For more information about GNOMON, email us at info@gnomonschool.com or call 323-466-6663. 1015 N Cahuenga Blvd - Hollywood, CA 90038
Image by student Tobias White
//SPECIAL FEATURE PRESENTATIONS
//IN ORDER OF DATE / TIME
//TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD 3:45pm - 5:30pm
//WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS
BOLT
//CLAY KAYTIS / PHILIPPE BROCHU & HIDETAKA YOSUMI ©Disney
//page 54
//WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH 3:45pm - 5:30pm
//DREAMWORKS ANIMATION SKG.
KUNG-FU PANDA //ALEX PARKINSON //page 55
//THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH 3:45pm - 5:30pm
//PIXAR
WALL-E //MICHAL MAKAREWICZ //page 54
//FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 3:45pm - 5:30pm
//INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC
IRON MAN //MARC CHU //page 55
Page 57
//TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23RD 3:45pm - 5:30pm
//WALT DISNEY ANIMATION STUDIOS - BOLT //PHILIPPE BROCHU / CLAY KAYTIS & HIDETAKA YOSUMI
www.disneyanimation.com
//BIOGRAPHY Since 1923, The Walt Disney Company has remained faithful in creating unparalleled entertainment experiences based on our rich legacy of quality creative content and exceptional storytelling from Mickey Mouse and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs to Chicken Little and Walt Disney Pictures release of Meet the Robinsons. Walt Disney Animation Studios combines the very best in artistry and storytelling with cutting-edge technology to bring wonderful new characters to the big screen for audiences around the world. Constantly challenged to create innovative new technologies for animated features, theme park productions and special projects for the Walt Disney Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios is home to some of the most talented artists working in the film industry today.
//COURSE OUTLINE History on Disney Animation
Bolt - Who are our characters and what is a Rhino - Requirements for Rhino in animation - First rig: 1 rig / 1 skin, what worked and what didn’t Rhino-palooza - What are the paloozas - Old way of working between departments, why it caused problems - The new idea - Required new way of working between departments The process Step 1 - Redesigning the biped skin and rig: 1 rig / 3 skins, biped/quad hybrid rig Step 2 - New PSDs: What is a PSD (Corrective blend Shapes) - Disney Style of animating and why it can cause problems for PSDs - The Problem: driving corrective shapes - The solution: mesh based distance locators.
WALT DISNEY ©All Rights Reserved
Steps of our process The non-linear work flow Showing Rhino’s animation Q &A Page 58
//WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 24TH 3:45pm - 5:30pm
//DREAMWORKS ANIMATION SKG - KUNG FU PANDA //ALEX PARKINSON
www.dreamworksanimation.com //BIOGRAPHY
From the age of seven, Alex Parkinson decided his ambition was to make movies using computers, since these were at the time, and remain, his two favorite things. He studied Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence at Edinburgh University, and a Masters in CG at Teesside University. He stayed at Teesside as a Research Student and Part Time Lecturer. In 1997 Alex joined Framestore in London as their first dedicated software developer. Over the next seven years he rose to Head of 3D R&D working on numerous projects ranging from commercials such as ‘Levis Odyssey’, TV such as ‘Walking with Dinosaurs’, and movies such as ‘Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban’. In 2004 Alex moved to DreamWorks animation to head up the development on ‘Kung Fu Panda’. He eventually took the triple role of Head of FX, Character FX and Crowds on the movie. Alex is now working on pre-production for ‘Kung Fu Panda 2’ as VFX Supervisor.
//COURSE OUTLINE The Making of Kung Fu Panda The appetite for complexity of animated CG movies is ever increasing. Faced with the problem of raising the bar for a release in 2008, but beginning production in 2004, the team of ‘Kung Fu Panda’ had to make constant choices. This talk will examine how they approached realizing the complex designs for their characters and environments in 3D, and how the various departments such as Layout, Animation, FX, Character FX, Crowds, Lighting and Matte Painting worked together to put as much of the Directors’ vision on screen as possible; while managing an ever increasing appetite on a fixed budget. Examples such as our fur, feather and clothing problems, our FX breakage, and rope bridge sequence will be used to show how every decision must be made with a view to serve the story while putting as much on screen as possible for the least money spent. With Q&A it is hoped that the audience will get a full insight into the ‘How’s’ and ‘Why’s’ of how we achieved what we feel is a movie with a unique look and feel. Page 59
DREAMWORKS ANIMATION SKG. ©All Rights Reserved
//THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH 3:45pm - 5:30pm
//PIXAR - WALL-E //MICHAL MAKAREWICZ
www.pixar.com
//BIOGRAPHY Michal Makarewicz joined Pixar Animation Studios in 2003, where he has been an animator on such features as The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, WALL•E and most recently the upcoming Disney•Pixar feature, Up. He was awarded an Annie in 2008 for Outstanding Character Animation in a Feature Production by ASIFA Hollywood for his work in Ratatouille. In addition to his work at Pixar, Michal has been teaching animation since 2005. He has contributed lectures, as well as taught classes for the online school, Animation Mentor. He is currently teaching classes at his alma mater, Academy of Art University. He is also a contributing animator to Spline Doctors, a blog/podcast dedicated to animation education.
//COURSE OUTLINE I’ll be presenting how Pixar makes movies. Specifically, how Pixar made Wall-E, Out first venture into the Sci-Fi genre. It’s a long road that takes up to 5 years, with hundreds of artists working together. Getting into specifics, I will be touching upon the pipeline process as a whole, as well as all the individual components that make the pipeline up such as story, development, animation etc. When finished, I hope the audience will have a better understanding of the magnitude of work that goes into making these films. With the remaining time I hope to answer any questions that may stem from the Presentation.
DISNEY/PIXAR ©All Rights Reserved
Page 60
//FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 26TH 3:45pm - 5:30pm
//INDUSTRIAL LIGHT & MAGIC - IRON MAN //MARC CHU
www.ilm.com //BIOGRAPHY
Since 1975, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) has been providing post-production visual effects services to the entertainment industry. Motion pictures, commercials, trailers, music videos and special venue projects have utilized ILM’s unequaled artistry in techniques such as model making, matte painting, computer-generated imagery, digital animation and a variety of related processes required in the production of visual effects. Groundbreaking software required for digital image production has been developed and shared with the industry at large and adopted by other companies and software manufacturers. ILM regularly consults with some of the industry’s most highly regarded filmmakers on proof of concept tests. ILM has been associated with fourteen movies which have earned the Oscar for Best Visual Effects and has been awarded seventeen technical achievement awards from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
//COURSE OUTLINE Join Industrial Light & Magic’s Marc Chu for a behind the scenes look at the visual effects of Iron Man In bringing Marvel’s latest big-screen superhero to life Industrial Light & Magic leveraged recent advances in computer graphics technology to create CG armor, synthetic environments and completely CG characters that blended seamlessly with the live action elements. ILM’s advancements in rendering technology led to materials whose look and behavior are indistinguishable from the real thing.
Page 61
IRON MAN ©Paramount Pictures - All Rights Reserved
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www.awn.com
www.vfxworld.com
//ADAPT2008
government partnership//
presented by//
in collaboration with//
technology partner//
official radio stations// sponsors & participating companies//
ŠDisney
www.adaptconference.com
//ADAPT2009 //ADAPT (Advanced Digital Art Production Techniques) Created for artists by artists, the //ADAPT Conference is designed to teach the most advanced practices in digital art. This conference will touch every facet of digital art creation, from film to video game development. This third edition of the //ADAPT Conference reunites computer graphic professionals and enthusiasts from all four corners of the globe and brings you multiple high-end classes taught by some of the most exciting names, from the most impressive companies around the world. We believe the prolific interaction between the creative and cultural worlds in Montreal were key to the birth of this industry. With its vibrant communities, both the industry as well as its everyday people, Montreal is the perfect location for the //ADAPT Conference, a unique event designed to teach and inspire digital artists.
www.adaptconference.com
GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIP //
PRESENTED BY //
IN COLLABORATION WITH //
TECHNOLOGY PARTNER //
OFFICIAL RADIO STATIONS //