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Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 14, 2014. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
This year, FMX offers numerous insights into films that have not yet been shown in German cinemas. In addition to the previously announced presentations of the next “Avatar” film and “Planet of the Apes: Revolution”, Dreamworks’ “Dragon Taming Made Easy 2” is now also coming to Stuttgart. The focus on the paradigm shift under the headline “Disruption” also brings “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, the latest work by director Wes Anderson, to the programme. In the games area, there will be presentations on the Crytek game “Ryse: Son of Rome”.
More information about the programme in detail:
The next big leap in VFX: “Dragon Taming Made Easy 2”
In this behind-the-scenes panel on the animated film “Dragon Taming Made Easy 2”, which will be released in German cinemas on 31 July, Scott Peterson, Co-Head of Effects at DreamWorks Animation, shows footage and also discusses the visual effects that will be seen in the sequel. A variety of tools and work processes were used to accommodate the high level of complexity of the world of dragons and Vikings. Four years after the release of the first film, a more mature and grown-up Hiccup returns to the big screen. In his luggage: a new gadget that is able to utilise dragon fire for other purposes. in “Dragon Taming Made Easy 2”, Hiccup encounters unknown dragons that use fire in an unusual way – a dragon doesn’t even breathe fire, it breathes ice. Scott Peterson will discuss the tools and techniques used to create these and other effects.
Disruption: “The Grand Budapest Hotel”, “I: Simply Incorrigible 2”, “Cloudy with a View of Meatballs 2”
Disruption, i.e. the massive upheaval caused by new technologies and work processes, is the focus of FMX. Look Effects address this topic with detailed reports on the independent success “The Grand Budapest Hotel”. Henrik Fett, Gabriel Sanchez (both LOOK Effects) and producer Jeremy Dawson complement Nico Hofmann’s insights into the production of the successful film “The Medicus” with their reports on the shooting and creation of visual effects in Germany (see also DP issues 01/14 and 02/14).
Jacques Bled (Illumination Mac Guff), on the other hand, explains the production conditions in neighbouring France. He reveals his company’s recipe that makes it possible to bring animation successes of the calibre of “I: Simply Incorrigible 2” to international screens. A VES Special also addresses the changes in the industry: Eric Roth (VES Society) and Lilian Klages (Parka Pictures) invite renowned personalities to the big stage for an interview. There, the panellists will discuss the hurdles that producers of international film productions in Europe have to overcome. In addition, directors Kris Pearn (Sony Pictures Animation, “Cloudy with a View of Meatballs 2”) and Sarah Smith (Locksmith Animation, “Aardman’s Arthur Christmas”) will discuss the role of the director in an increasingly complicated production environment.
Entrepreneurship: Flexibility, changeability and business models in China
Innovative business models often serve as role models – this is especially true in times of paradigm shifts that require new orientations. Volker Engel (Uncharted Territory) presents the unusual orientation of his company Uncharted Territory, which is characterised above all by a high degree of changeability. Uncharted Territory is currently developing various projects of its own and will begin pre-production on the sequel to the alien blockbuster “Independence Day” in May, among other things. The games industry is also changing. Game developer Tore Blystad has founded his own game studio in Shanghai and shares his experiences with the public. Carl Rosendahl (Carnegie Mellon) sets his sights on the future: he considers how entrepreneurship must be approached today and in the future so that it can stand the test of time in the face of constant change.
Games: Ryse: Son of Rome and independent productions
Two presentations on the latest Crytek release “Ryse: Son of Rome” (see also DP issue 02/14) are on the programme. On the one hand, Cevat Yerli (Crytek) will demonstrate in the Virtual Production Track how it was possible to reconcile the demand for a visually appealing and emotionally moving game experience at film level with the technical requirements of a real-time production. And secondly, Habib Zargarpour (Microsoft Studios) and Franco Bresciani (Crytek) will demonstrate the technologies used in Ryse.
Curated by Michel Vust (Pro Helvetia), a whole series of presentations will also explore new trends in the field of mobile games. Arash Keshmirian (Limbic) will describe the game development process for popular games such as Zombie Gunship and TowerMadness 2, while David Fullick (Monster and Monster) will talk about the successes and setbacks he has experienced with his own independent company. Yann Seznec (Lucky Frame) also delves into the world of mobile games – his developer approach is primarily focused on thematic diversity, which allows colourful ideas such as musically gifted mushrooms, interactive art and arcade games to find their way into his games. Out of this world: Ladislav Hrabcak (Outerra) presents the Outerra Realtime World Engine, which is capable of rendering a planet down to the smallest detail.
Transmedia Experiences I: Visual Communication and Innovative Practices
Don Levy (Smith Brook Farm) focuses on the relevance of visual communication. The three lectures that take up this topic deal, for example, with the visualisation of story worlds since the invention of the book (How We See), the story itself and the quality of storytelling (What We See) and the transfer of data into images or other visual formats (A New Way of Seeing).
Original approaches take centre stage with the “Innovative Practices”: Jan Pinkava (Google ATAP) demonstrates that a smartphone can tell visual and interactive stories, and Pascal Langdale (Digital BlackBox) discusses the use of interactive real-time technologies for the theatre stage. Furthermore, Eric Viennot (Lexis Numérique) will share his experiences as an author, designer and director of alternate reality games in which the audience becomes an active part of a real-time story for several weeks, which they themselves live through and significantly define. In addition, Max Zeitler talks about his life as a story architect and director and describes what it’s like to wake up from an immersive dream.
Transmedia Experiences II: The immersive worlds of the Oculus Rift and hybrid cinema
In comparison, the “Immersion” track deals with the immersive worlds of experience in cinema and the entertainment industry. An extreme example is provided by the virtual reality headset Oculus Rift, which was acquired by Facebook a few weeks ago for more than two billion dollars. Alex Grau (Total Cinema 360) shows the advantages and challenges that need to be taken into account when producing live-action 360° films for the Oculus Rift.
Toni Dove is more interested in the creative exhibit. The artist, who has been making hybrid films since the 90s and even embodies them as performances herself, shares her personal vocabulary that she uses for interactive cinema.
Ken Perlin (NYU) shifts the focus of the track to theory by getting to the heart of the question of the boundary between virtual reality and the haptic world: Will reality one day be nothing more than an interactive cinema experience? Focus on: Best of SIGGRAPH Asia and Europe: Rush, Thor and more The regional focus on “Ibero-America” will be juxtaposed with the “Focus on Europe”. Nathan Oritz (Double Negative) describes how the fast-paced Formula 1 world – complete with cars, crashes and cheering crowds – was created for Ron Howard’s biopic Rush.
His colleague Alex Wuttke, on the other hand, delves deeper into the fantasy world of “Thor: The Dark Kingdom” and provides detailed insights into the realisation of the film from the sketch to the final shot. The medium of animation rounds off this region-specific stopover.
Pierre-Marie Fenech and Thomas Monti (Futurikon) report on the idea and realisation of the successful French project “Miniscule: Valley of the Lost Ants” for TV and cinema. Their German neighbours Andrea Block and Christian Haas (both LUXX Studios) will talk about the character design and pre-production of the 3D animated family film Manou the Swift. The “Focus on Best of SIGGRAPH Asia” presents the winners of the coveted Computer Animation Festival awards, which are presented each year at SIGGRAPH Asia in the categories “Best of Show”, “Jury” and “Student”.
Tech Talks: Tarzan 3D, Simulation and further Lighting & Rendering growth
Tech Talks capture the remarkable technical diversity that new developments and trends bring. Clemens Kinder (Ambient Entertainment) talks about the real 3D CGI animation film “Tarzan 3D”, which was shot using the elaborate motion capture process, and also addresses the “stereoscopic naturalism” that dominates the style of the film.
In the area of simulation, Simon Green (NVIDIA) explores the future of visual effects in games in relation to GPUs and their application for fluid simulation and volume rendering. Prof Dr Matthias Teschner will demonstrate the current state of the art in particle-based fluid simulation, while Prof Dr Daniel Weiskopf (University of Stuttgart) will explain the methods of physically-based material simulation.
Lighting & Rendering will be covered by the following lectures: Prof. Dr. Carsten Dachsbacher and Dr. Johannes Hanika (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) have realised that the public has already become so accustomed to technological progress that they will soon need even more elaborate lighting techniques to convince them of the benefits of virtual reality.
And Jan Walter (The Mill) invites his presentation visitors to join him in comparing and discussing the enormous range of global illumination renderers.
Forum highlights round off the conference programme
The Forum is characterised by diversity and thus also defines the broad thematic framework of FMX. The Marketplace is no longer just an exhibitor area – it also invites numerous R&D projects and emerging technologies. The robotics company Bot & Dolly, which recently provided camera work for “Gravity”, is coming to the Marketplace with its own robots, while the start-up Altergaze is presenting a completely 3D-printed virtual reality interface for smartphones. Motion capture company Vicon will be presenting its technologies both at its stand and in a special performance capture presentation. Other workshops will be organised by industry giants such as Adobe, Chaos Group and Maxon as well as companies such as Solid Angle and start-ups such as Cinector. The Recruiting Hub shows the best side of increasing globalisation: it brings together 23 local and international companies that are looking for creative talent worldwide. Taking part for the first time: Sky Deutschland, Illumination Mac Guff and Image Engine.
The School Campus underlines the trend towards internationalisation with 21 schools presenting their best projects. Non-FMX visitors can visit the School Campus free of charge on 24 and 25 April. The “Meet the Speakers” sessions are located in the centre of the School Campus and offer speakers and FMX visitors the opportunity to exchange ideas in an informal atmosphere.
All further information can be found at: www.fmx.de
