SIGGRAPH 2002 plans revealed - Post News

Post, June, 2002 by Marc Loftus

SAN ANTONIO, TX -- This year's SIGGRAPH conference, taking place in San Antonio from July 21-26, offers animators and visual effects professionals an opportunity to see the latest breakthroughs in hardware and software, as well as a chance to take in developments in technology research.

The show will take place at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center and will serve as host to more than 250 exhibitors and a projected 20,000 attendees.

SIGGRAPH conference chair John McIntosh stopped by Post's Midtown office to update us on the latest plans for the show.

Esther Dyson, chairman of EDventure Holdings, which publishes the influential monthly newsletter "Release 1.0" will present the 2002 keynote address. Dyson is an active investor and commentator, focusing on emerging technologies and business models.

Additional show highlights will include the Electronic Theater and the Animation Theater, which collectively received 640 submissions, 101 of which were accepted. McIntosh says of the 338 submissions from students, 12 will be displayed. Additionally, 50 international submissions were accepted.

The Electronic Theater will showcase the top 35 animated projects submitted this year. Six screenings of the content collection will be held during the course of the show. The Animation Theater, also located just off the show floor, will present another 60 leading submissions, and will run from 9am to 6pm.

SIGGRAPH 2002 also offers 59 different courses that allow attendees to learn the newest CG techniques for games, films, the Web, interactive systems and wireless devices. Courses include MPEG-4, Dynamic Media on Demand, Motion Capture, Simulating Nature, OpenGL 2.0, Character Set Up, Building Interactive Spaces and Design of Interactive Multimodal Media Systems.

Full registration to the show provides attendees with access to all of SIGGRAPH 2002's papers and panels. Each paper is presented by its author and details significant findings in computer graphics and interactive techniques. The numerous panels are designed to spark discussion and insights from leading pros in the interactive and graphics worlds.

For a complete listing of this year's scheduled events, check out the SIGGRAPH Web site at www.siggraph.org.