FMX 2023 also combines a look at past achievements with brand-new developments: The THEN & NOW track highlights visual effects and stop motion animation, while the N.E.W.S. track focuses on future productions by deserving animated filmmakers, including animation producer Manuel Cristóbal (BUÑUEL – IM LABYRINTH DER SCHILDKRÖTEN) with the project THE GLASSWORKER, the first hand-drawn animated film from Pakistan. Series will not be neglected either: a talk on the Netflix show SANDMAN will focus on the VFX highlights of the adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s successful graphic novel. Other companies and universities have also confirmed their participation in the FMX Forum – and Foundry, Maxon and ASUS are new Silver Partners. Tickets for the entire conference and forum programme are still on sale online; however, the Early Bird discount is only valid until 13 March. As a long-standing event partner, the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) will be presenting an insight into the upcoming edition.
On location in Stuttgart: Georgina Hayns on puppet making for PINOCCHIO and other films Jeffrey Okun shares VFX insights
How can animation and visual effects be practically realised? Ian Failes (befores & afters) curates and moderates two THEN & NOW sessions on ground-breaking innovations in traditional film-making professions. Georgina Hayns, whose filmography includes Guillermo del Toro’s Oscar-nominated PINOCCHIO and several LAIKA films, will talk about her work as a puppet manufacturing supervisor. She will explain how puppets for stop-motion animation films are designed, built and operated using both traditional mechanical puppet mechanisms and 3D printing. Visual effects can also be created hands-on: Visual Effects Supervisor Jeffrey Okun (THE LAST STARFIGHTER, STARGATE or THE LAST SAMURAI) sits down with Ian Failes and Hugo Guerra from Hugo’s Desk for a special LIVE session of their VFX Notes podcast. Together they discuss the joys and sorrows of implementing VFX.
On location in Stuttgart: Matt Kavanagh & Natacha Pianeti from Untold Studios: VFX for the Netflix hit SANDMAN
VFX Lead Matt Kavanagh and VFX Artist Natacha Pianeti (both Untold Studios) take the audience on a sightseeing tour through the making of some of the most memorable sequences from the Netflix hit SANDMAN. Untold Studios worked on over 360 shots, utilising an incredibly wide range of VFX techniques. From the all-consuming hell portal scene to the transformation of Stephen Fry into a meadow to hundreds of photorealistic, painterly CGI cats in the Annie-nominated bonus episode “A Dream of a Thousand Cats”, Kavanagh and Pianeti will share a behind-the-scenes look at the tools and techniques used to bring the series to life. They will also talk about the creative process, challenges and experiences.
Forum News
Recruiting Hub
Animal Logic, Axis Studios, Blue Zoo Animation, Cinesite, El Ranchito, Electric Theatre Collective, Flying Bark, Framestore, Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Recom, RISE FX, Rising Sun Pictures, Skydance Animation, Studio Isar Animation, Trixter
Marketplace
Anchorpoint, ASUS, CG Wire, Escape Technology, Graswald, Lenovo, Move AI, Movella, Optitrack, Qualisys, RnDeep, The Captury, Vicon, Zeiss.
Workshops
El Ranchito, Esri, Foundry, Maxon, Prism Pipeline, SAE Institute, Vicon.
School Campus: Breda University of Applied Sciences, Escape Studios, Hochschule Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences, Hochschule Mainz – University of Applied Sciences, Hochschule Offenburg, ifs internationale filmschule köln, Mediadesign Hochschule, MOME Anim | Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design Budapest, Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria – School of Informatics, Communications and Media.
Three new Silver Partners: Foundry, Maxon and ASUS
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Further information can be found here: https://www.itfs.de.
FMX is funded by the Ministry of Science, Research and the Arts Baden-Württemberg and the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism Baden-Württemberg, MFG Filmförderung Baden-Württemberg and the City of Stuttgart and takes place in cooperation with ACM Siggraph. FMX is organised by the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and hosts the Animation Production Days (APD) together with the Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS).
Further information can be found at: www.fmx.de
