Chicago - SIGGRAPH 2007 committee has announced record submissions for this year's Computer Animation Festival taking place at the 34th International Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, August 5 through 9 in San Diego.
The Computer Animation Festival jury selected from a record 905 submissions for exemplary use of computer-generated imagery and animation, and compelling storytelling. With show categories ranging from animation to research, this year's submissions originate from countries including France, Germany, Japan, Poland, South Korea, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and New Zealand.
Also, for the first time in the history of SIGGRAPH, two of the award-winning films are student entries. SIGGRAPH 2007 also marks the first time filmmakers were able to submit high-definition video to the selection jury, which increased the jury's ability to appreciate the intricacy of each film. A total of 134 submissions were accepted.
"I'm thrilled with the jury's selections. With the record number of submissions, our material truly represents the best of the best in all of the show categories," says Paul Debevec, SIGGRAPH 2007 Computer Animation Festival chair from the University of Southern California's Institute for Creative Technologies. "This year's show weaves together amazing visuals from numerous disciplines into a single mind-altering experience."
SIGGRAPH's location on the West Coast, closer to the large animation studios, makes 2007 a notable year for studio-produced shorts with Pixar's Lifted, Blue Sky's No Time for Nuts, and Blur Studio's A Gentlemen's Duel lending strength to the Electronic Theater show.
"The Electronic Theater also presents a watershed year for fluid simulation in feature films. Scanline's 300's Liquid Battlefield, Sony Pictures Animation's Surf's Up, and Digital Domain and Industrial Light and Magic's Pirates of the Caribbean all feature uniquely executed but beautifully believable digital oceans and waves," adds Debevec. The Electronic Theater will also provide an early peek at Sony Pictures Imageworks' much-anticipated photoreal computer graphics feature Beowulf.