Keynote speaker will be MIT's Henry Jenkins, an influential film and media analyst.
Entertainment professionals and students will experience the impact of immersive design through six panels and six sponsored workshops, with such speakers as director Gore Verbinski; Mike Benson, executive vice president marketing, ABC Entertainment; John Tarnoff, DreamWorks Animation; and production designer Rick Carter, "Avatar."
5D Panels Conference co-founder, Alex McDowell, production designer of Watchman and Minority Report, will lead the panel "Design in Flux: Immersive Design and the New Visual Narrative." In addition to Rick Carter, this session will include Tino Schaedler, architect, art director (Harry Potter); Sebastian Sylwan, senior industry manager for film at Autodesk; and Habib Zargarpour, senior art director, Electronic Arts. This panel will explore the challenges of the designer's role in the process and the harnessing of technology to facilitate new levels of creative expression.
Lead by Anne White, VP programming creative, PRN by Thomson, "New Television: The Media Blender" will address the intersection of design and technology for the next generation of television -- the experience in front of the screen and the experience in the screen -- created by the blending of the media and the interaction of the consumer.
John Tarnoff, DreamWorks Animation, will guide the animation-focused panel, "Reality and Hyper Reality: Envisioning New Design Paradigms in Computer Generated Animation." Exploring the future of environment and character in design-based entertainment, this session raises questions about the "willing suspension of disbelief," and the opportunities for designers when the audience is prepared to accept any on-screen imagery.
"Narrating Space" will explore the interaction of the virtual environment with the real world of architecture. When architecture no longer has to be concerned with physical, financial, and geographic constraints, it looks to filmmaking, story telling, and other forms of media for its limitations and context. Moderated by Peter Frankfurt, co-founder/creative director, Imaginary Forces, this panel includes noted architect Greg Lynn of UCLA's School of Architecture Urban Design; Joseph Kosinski, commercial and feature film director now working on TR2N; and Dr. Jerry Schubel, CEO, Aquarium of the Pacific.
The boundaries between video and virtual worlds and the implications forstory telling and world building will be the starting point for "BuildingWorlds Designing for The New Frontier," to be conducted by Scott Fisher, professor and chair of the Interactive Media Division of the School of Cinematic Arts at USC. The translation of cinematic genres and stories to games and the extension of narrative experiences into real world playing fields are two questions for examination by Doug Church, EA; Qingyun Ma, dean, USC School of Architecture; Jordan Weisman, Smith and Tinker; and Tracy Fullerton, Electronic Arts Innovation Lab.
The interplay of science and design in narrative media will be the subject of "Bigger Bang: Colliding Science and Design," led by gestural interface pioneer and founder of Oblong Industries, John Underkoffler. The depiction of science and technology in films, novels, television, and games informs and affects the work of real-world scientists; while the authors of these narrative forms are driven to incorporate the ideas and artifacts of modernand projected technology.
Attendees at the 5D Conference will benefit from sponsored workshops custom designed by leading companies in the content and technology fields, including Autodesk, DreamWorks Animation, ILM, OTC Productions, and Walt Disney Imagineering.
In addition, a special double workshop sponsored by AWN (Animation World Network) will share the progress of the ASC-VES-ADG Previs Joint Subcommittee on developing widespread industry understanding forevolving previsualization practices. This extended session will also examine the explosion of previs as a central tool of in filmmaking's new virtual production space.
Autodesk: "The Evolution of Expression: An Exploration of the Impact of Technology on the Art and Science of Storytelling." In this interactive and energetic workshop, a panel of industry experts will strive to uncover many of the deep connections between technology and narrative by visualizing the vast history of design from its earliest roots to today's cutting-edge trends like the advent of virtual movie making.
DreamWorks Animation: "Computer Generated Character Creation Emergent Design Paradigms." Leading artists from Kung Fu Panda and Monsters vs.Aliens will deconstruct the process of designing and executing the principal and subsidiary characters for these two very different animated films.
OTC Productions: ³Trends in Digital Asset and Production ManagementSystems.² This workshop will present the future of digital asset managementand how web-based tools can reduce costs, increase quality and enhancemanagement of the production process.
Walt Disney Imagineering: ³Enter the Sandbox: Creating Immersive Worlds BothReal and Imagined.² The panel of Imagineers will discuss the principles,trends, tools and skill sets that they are using to turn the next generationof ³Disney Magic² into reality.
ILM: ³Design and Visualization for the Virtual Sound Stage.² Topics includevfx art direction, creature/character design, set extension, and how it isall influenced by ILM¹s photomodelling, mocap, previs and virtual camerasystems. Also, how to maintain aesthetic continuity in post-production.
5D Keynote: M.I.T.'s Henry Jenkins, one of the most influential film and media analystsin the world, will deliver the keynote address. His topic will be ³WhatDesigners Need to Know About Transmedia Entertainment.² This challengesdesigners to develop a better understanding of how fans and other consumersbuild upon, expand and enrich their fictional worlds. Jenkins is the authorand/or editor of nine books on various aspects of media and popular culture,most recently the highly acclaimed ³Convergence Culture: Where Old and NewMedia Collide,² which examines contemporary trends in the entertainmentindustry, online culture and audience participation.
Pricing has been established to encourage academic and professional participation through special rates with the current early bird pricing of $225 for a full professional pass available until September 19.