San Diego - Visual effects professionals are invited to submit their visual effects to SIGGRAPH. For 30 years, the SIGGRAPH Computer Animation Festival has been the world’s premiere event for the most innovative and groundbreaking animation made using the computer. The SIGGRAPH 2007 Computer Animation Festival (CAF) is now open for submissions, and entries in the visual effects category are especially encouraged.
Pieces chosen for the festival will be shown at the Electronic Theater at the San Diego Civic Theater or in the Animation Theater screening rooms at the San Diego Convention Center August 5 through 9, 2007. The submission deadline is March 14, 2007.
Digital movie files can be uploaded electronically for the selection process at resolution of up to 1280x720 pixels, and pieces accepted to the Electronic Theater portion of the show may be screened at resolutions of up to 4096x2160 pixels.
Electronic Submission Deadline: March 14, 2007, 5pm U.S. Pacific Time (GMT-8)
Paul Debevec is the SIGGRAPH 2007 Computer Animation Festival chair
Tips for completing your visual effects submission:
• The jury will pay special attention to pieces that are groundbreaking through either their art or technology. Pieces that develop or apply new computer graphics techniques to the realm of visual effects production will receive particular consideration. As with other categories, character design, animation, lighting, editing, and music are also important factors considered by the jury.
• Show how things were done. Many of the best visual effects pieces in the festival use innovative ways to visualize or explain the process that created the effects. Shot breakdowns often help accomplish this, as do technology tests that evolved to become the final shots. Make it clear what is real and what was CG – these days, it can be impossible to tell the difference!
• Length is an important factor considered by the jury. A three-minute film with great visuals and an engaging progression will be more attractive to the jury than the same material presented in six minutes. This is particularly true for the Electronic Theater, which strives to present an overview of the state of the art in computer graphics in just a two-hour show. A breathtaking, never-before-seen visual experience that’s even just sixty seconds will be hard for the jury to pass up.
• The jury version of your piece does not need to be in final form, but it should be at least 80% complete. Final versions of accepted pieces are due on April 25th.
• Submit and render with as high resolution as possible. Since 2005, the majority of the Electronic Theater show has been in high definition resolution (1920x1080 pixels, 24fps or 30fps). This year, the CAF is working with Sony’s SXRD group to provide native 4K playback of 4096x2160 pixels for 24fps pieces as well – if you can render at that resolution, imagine seeing it in motion! Standard definition material (640x480) is acceptable, but it will look soft by comparison. For the jury submission, movie file uploads of up to 500MB can be up to 1280x720 pixels.
• Figure out music licensing as early as possible. It’s terrible to make important creative decisions using a temporary music track and then have to re-conceptualize the piece if the necessary performance rights cannot be obtained. Using original music composed just for your piece is encouraged. More information on music licensing is available on the CAF Web site.