Archive notice: This article was originally published on November 16, 2006. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The Institute of Animation, Visual Effects and Digital Postproduction at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg has been honored by Minister of State for Culture Bernd Neumann with the 2006 BKM Film Funding Innovation Award. As part of the presentation of the German Screenplay Award and the Innovation Award, the head of the Animation Institute, Professor Thomas Haegele, accepted the prize worth 25,000 euros at the University of Film and Television (HFF) in Potsdam.
The Animation Institute of the Ludwigsburg Film Academy receives the award for the “Artificial Performers” research project, funded by the state of Baden-Württemberg’s Zukunftsoffensive III. A research group led by project manager Volker Helzle developed software for credible facial animation of virtual performers as well as innovative tools for the fields of animated film and computer games. The result is a toolset transferable to various faces that is available free of charge on the Internet and can thus be further refined directly by users. Since the software was published, more than 1,800 users have registered, according to the Animation Institute, including many international companies in the film and entertainment industry.
The research team led by project manager Volker Helzle consisted of artists and engineers. During the development of the first prototypes, the structure of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg proved particularly helpful: participants in the Technical Director postgraduate program, for example, were involved and were able to test the new animation software and tools directly for their practical suitability in their student and diploma films. The Animation Institute’s new research project has already started. Under the title “Dynamic Realtime- Animation,” everything revolves around interactive, instantly available animation as it is used in computer games.
Since 2002, the Innovation Award has honored promising ideas and new creative approaches that are suitable for strengthening the film industry and improving the performance and development of filmmaking. This recognizes works and projects that have not yet been considered in the BKM film funding award system, but nevertheless represent an important innovation for cultural filmmaking.
Further Links:
- Project “K
