For those who don’t know the event: FMX is organised by the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg and focuses on animation, VFX, games and immersive media, combining talks, workshops, screenings and recruitment under one roof in Stuttgart.

FMX has opened its ticket shop for the upcoming on-site and online event in Stuttgart. Early bird tickets are available until March 20. The conference runs on site from May 5 to 7, followed by an online programme on May 8 and on-demand access from May 9 to June 9.

Available ticket categories include Conference, Business, Combi, Day, Experience, Online and Press passes. Reduced pricing is offered for students, trainees, pensioners and people with disabilities. Student groups can apply for additional discounts. Pricing details are listed directly in the FMX ticket shop.

FMX 2025 Ticket Prices (Early Bird / Regular)
Conference Pass: Professionals ~ 370 / 410 € · Students ~ 185 / 205 €
Business Pass: ~ 470 / 510 €
Combi Pass (includes ITFS): Professionals ~ 410 / 450 € · Students ~ 205 / 225 €
Day Pass: Professionals ~ 185 / 205 € · Students ~ 92.50 / 102.50 €
Experience Pass: Professionals ~ 60 € · Students ~ 30 €
Online Pass: Professionals ~ 90 € · Students ~ 45 €

Get an overview of what’s included in each one here at FMX Ticket Options

All on-site passes include access to the new On Campus programme on May 8, hosted at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. The sessions focus on talent development and education and are primarily curated by the Animationsinstitut.

Collaboration takes centre stage

The Power of Collaboration category remains a visible part of the programme, with sessions grouped under Managing Change and Community and Inclusion.

Kader Bagli from RISE | Visual Effects Studios has been confirmed to give a talk titled “Resilience as a Collective System.” The session addresses resilience as a structural and cultural issue rather than an individual responsibility, focusing on leadership, empathy and human-centred workflows in VFX production environments. This session is part of the Community and Inclusion track.

Kate Menz from Women in Animation will present a session on the organisation’s Global Mentorship Program. The talk discusses mentorship as a mechanism for skills transfer, confidence-building, and access to professional networks across animation, VFX, and games. The session sits within the Managing Change track and is curated by Imke Fehrmann.

Returning FMX regulars

FMX also confirms the return of long-standing contributors. Ed Hooks will once again teach Acting for Animators, a workshop based on his long-running training methodology for animation and game professionals. Hooks’ book Acting for Animators was published in a revised fourth edition by Routledge in 2025 and is widely used in animation education.

Shelley Page of Locksmith Animation returns with Shelley’s Eye Candy, a curated screening of recent short films and graduation projects discovered over the past year. The session traditionally focuses on character-driven animation and contemporary visual storytelling.

Industry research under the microscope

A new PANEURAMA survey is currently collecting data on the state of the creative industries, with a focus on animation, VFX, virtual production and games. The EU-wide survey is conducted by Breda University of Applied Sciences as part of the PANEURAMA Innovation Alliance.

The research examines technological trends, skills transfer between industries and how education aligns with professional requirements. Results will be presented and discussed at FMX 2026, including fishbowl discussions hosted during the conference. Silke Haßreiter from Breda University will present the findings publicly for the first time.

Participating institutions include The Animation Workshop at VIA University College, Université Paris 8 and Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, alongside industry partners such as Fortiche Production, Qvisten Animation, DIGIC Pictures and RISE FX.

Animation Production Days deadline

The Animation Production Days co-production market will close project submissions on February 4. The event focuses on animation projects in concept or development stages with international co-production potential. Selected projects are scheduled for one-to-one meetings with potential partners and financiers.

FMX
https://fmx.de

PANEURAMA Innovation Alliance and survey
https://paneurama.eu

Animation Production Days submission information
https://animationproductiondays.de

The post FMX opens ticket shop and confirms collaboration track talks first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

The legendary FMX conference will celebrate its 30th edition from May 5 to 8, 2026 in Stuttgart, Germany. Founded in 1994 by Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, FMX has evolved from a student event into one of (or even THE) the world’s leading gatherings for professionals in animation, visual effects, realtime graphics, and digital media.

The 2026 edition runs under the theme “The Road Ahead”, a nod to both the conference’s anniversary and the industry’s perpetual motion. According to FMX organisers, the event will explore transformation in creative production, from AI-driven workflows to new collaborative models, all while honouring three decades of digital artistry and technical ingenuity.

From “Jurassic Park” to Generative Pixels

The first FMX took place in the wake of Jurassic Park’s CG revolution and just before Toy Story hit theatres. Thirty years later, the creative toolbox has shifted from Silicon Graphics workstations to neural networks, but the mission remains: connect artists, engineers, and educators in a space where future workflows are debated and occasionally demystified.

FMX’s organisers call this anniversary “an opportunity to honour the past, survey the present, and discuss the future of digital media creation.” The quote of choice for 2026 comes from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry: “Our task is not to predict the future, but to make it possible.” In other words: no crystal balls—just solid pipeline design.

On Site, Online, and Still in Stuttgart

FMX 2026 continues the hybrid format introduced in recent years: three days on site in Stuttgart’s Haus der Wirtschaft, followed by one exclusive online day for remote sessions. The organisers promise “brand-new and first-hand tech and innovation” as well as discussions around AI, global production pipelines, and sustainability in digital media—though detailed programme announcements are still pending at press time.

If past editions are any indication, attendees can expect a mix of production breakdowns, realtime showcases, and a steady supply of caffeine-fuelled networking. Also, if you plan to attend: book your hotel early. By the time the keynote titles are announced, Stuttgart tends to run out of beds.

A History in Motion

From Jurassic Park to Avatar, from Toy Story to Fortnite, FMX has mirrored the evolution of film and interactive media. It has hosted artists and technologists from across the world, reflecting how postproduction and visual storytelling have adapted to every new wave of technology.

The 2026 key visual, titled “Bus Buddy”, comes from the FMX trailer produced by Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, another annual tradition that gives the event its visual identity. The trailer itself will be unveiled on FMX’s online channels soon.

Save the Date, Seriously

FMX is a calendar fixture for many in postproduction, VFX, and realtime graphics. Hitting its 30th anniversary is both a reason to celebrate and a reminder that, yes, we’ve all been rendering frames for quite a while now.

So: mark your calendars, Stuttgart, May 5–8, 2026, and prepare for another round of technical talks, production insights, and the occasional philosophical debate over whether Pixels can actually “have a soul”, and if “color is real” while standing atthe Schlesinger or Maritim Bar. Just random examples.

And if the last three decades of FMX have taught us anything, it’s this: the tools will keep changing, but the coffee machine will always be there.

The post FMX Turns 30 in 2026 first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

With Task Force Querlitz, screenwriter Simon Thummet, director Arne Hain and producer Sebastian Simon have achieved something rare: a German adult animation series produced entirely for public broadcaster ZDF. Produced by the Offenbach-based animation and film studio PixelPEC, the show combines Moho and After Effects to deliver 60 minutes of animated anarchy. Despite its clean, colourful style, it refuses to look American. We spoke with the creative leads…

The Overview: We’re Talking to the Director

DP: Why adult animation, and why now, in Germany?
Arne Hain: As a person from the animation world I believe that animation is a medium to tell all kinds of stories, not only those aimed at kids. Animation can do anything and clearly that has long been recognized internationally. There is a big demand for adult animation and a lot of very successful shows out there.

Germany is still in the middle ages when it comes to adult animation. There have been close to no shows created directly out of Germany. But slowly the broadcasters are trying to change their approach. A big reason for this are the streamers and that the broadcasters see a need to build up their own streaming platforms now. They also want to broaden their target audience and make it younger. Adult animation has a very specific target audience that the public broadcasters have not reached yet. Thats a big reason why we got the chance to make this show now. The rest of course was funding situations and a bit of luck.

DP: When you pitched an adult animation sitcom, where did you meet the most resistance? Was it the format, the tone, the budget, or the schedule?
Arne Hain: I came into the project a little later and can only give an insight into this topic kind of second hand. The project was initialised by Sebastian Simon (the co-founder of PixelPEC) and written by Simon Thummet. The two of them where the people who really sold the idea initially. I came in shortly before the actual writing started.

“Task Force Querlitz” is a co-production between ZDF Quantum and Hessen Film und Medien funding. ZDF Quantum was super open to adult animation and our creative editor Jakob Zimmermann always pushed us to be bold. So I can really say that we had no backlash creatively. We did have to produce the whole show in one year, which was tricky. But since we agreed on realizing 3 Episodes, that was possible without sacrificing the quality of the show.

DP: How much did your Filmakademie network play a role in assembling the team?

Arne Hain: I was able to get a handful of people from my Filmakademie Network into the Lead positions, which was really helpful. It is always good to have people on board who you already know and trust. But I have to say that the whole team was very well picked and everyone (not only the Filmakademie people ;-)) did an amazing job. We also worked together with PIROS from Budapest and they were amazing.

Our team consisted mostly of very young talents directly from filmschool, which is a chance and a challenge at the same time. We had the chance to grow together, but of course we also had to create the complete workflow and pipeline from scratch. In the end I think the show benefited from this, because everyone could really add something personal to the project.

DP: From the pilot to the end of season one, how did your characters evolve visually?

Arne Hain: As mentioned the first season is 3 times 20min long. We really produced a lot of it parallel and the difference between the episodes is not really visible. Which I am of course happy about.

But in finding the initial visual style we did change a lot. Initially we were actually aiming to use a mixed media style with different animation techniques. But we quickly realized that would not work in the budget and also might not be the right fit for the narrative. In the end we decided for a much simpler and cleaner look, which also had to do with the workflow. Since we worked in Moho and the characters had to be rigged, we already had to think about this aspect in the design. We did have a lot of moments where we realized: Damn, this aspect of the design will not work in Moho, we need to adjust it.

The whole Design aspect was really held together by our art director Janis Frank (Instagram), he had a big influence on the final look and I am very happy with the quality we were able to achieve in the end.

Making it move!

DP: How did you refine the characters after the first internal test shots?

Dana Petrov: My job was testing the rigs, not building them, so I can talk only from this perspective. When making the test shots, I focused on three main things: the complexity of the rig (the rigs had to be relatively easy to use for animators without extensive moho experience), the range of motion, and the bugs.

We had a lot of communication with the riggers to find and fix all the glitches, but also to learn how each rig operates and how to fix some recurring bugs on the run. I’m not a rigging expert myself, so I relied on our rigging team for technical solutions and support – and they did an amazing job, never leaving an unanswered question.

DP: What does a fully rigged character look like under the hood in your current setup?

Dana Petrov: There are 2 kinds of characters in the show the simple rigs and the fancy rigs. Side characters that we only see for a few scenes got a simple rig: IK/FK controls for the limbs, a switch for the head turn, a blink switch, and a body turn switch that goes from front to ¾ view.
The fancy rig is for the main cast: they got a full turn around, with separate rigs for front, side, and back views. When a character had to turn around on screen, we would swap the rigs. These rigs have a big motion range, with controllers to do almost anything, including blushing and moving the character’s hair. In a rig like that, the head rig is placed on a different layer than the body, which makes it a bit more complicated to animate, but it’s worth it for the versatility it offers. My favorite rig is Goldie’s (built by our lead on the Hungarian team, Tina Orosz). It has a switch to give Goldie starry eyes!

DP: How did you keep Episode 3 consistent with Episode 1 in terms of character look and movement?

Dana Petrov: Before starting production, we had a little “animation bootcamp” for the leads – Oscar and me on the German team, and Tina and Domi on the Hungarian team. For two weeks, we worked on understanding the characters and developing the animation style. By the end of this time, we had an animation guide for each of the main characters. We also created a workflow guide to help the animators achieve the specific appeal we were going for in the animation: bouncy and fun, but not over-exaggerated.

During production, all shots went through 2 rounds of feedback, so any inconsistencies were fixed then. We had morning meetings every 2 days where we watched all the new shots and Arne gave us some pointers about the acting, so if one animator had a cool idea, the other ones could learn about it and use it too. There was also a lot of communication and information sharing between the teams.

Another thing that helped was the way we divided the shots: if an animator had a way with a specific character, we tried to assign them scenes where that character is in the spotlight.

DP: What was the reasoning behind choosing moho, and did you experience fit the expectations?

Dana Petrov: Working in Moho definitely helped :D Here’s why we chose Moho: We chose moho for this project because it’s accessible and intuitive. We needed a program that would allow us to create rigs that are at the same time versatile and easy to use, and Moho is a great choice for that, as an animator, you get a very streamlined experience working with this software.

Some of the animators on the project had zero previous experience with moho, and since we only had 3.5 months to create 60 minutes of animation, the learning curve had to be very steep. We created a detailed workflow for everyone to follow and a beginner Moho animation guide.  By the end of the first month, everyone was comfortable with the software and could focus on creating awesome animation.

Dana Petrov: Our goal was for each animator to achieve 6 seconds of animation a day, so most shots took a day to 2 days, but that’s just on average. The turnaround time depended on the complexity of the shots, the number of characters, and the interaction between them. A medium shot of a talking character would take about a day of work (or a bit more if it’s long). A shot with 4 main characters that interact physically, a bunch of extras, and some animals on top could take more than 5 days of work.

DP: Where did things bottleneck most often in animation?

Dana Petrov: They mostly didn’t. I’m actually a bit surprised about how smoothly things went. It was partly thanks to our pipeline, all rigs were ready and tested before the animation production started, and we used Flow for tracking the animation progress and the feedback rounds, so we knew when we could chill and when it’s time to push. The other part is the team, everyone was hyped and dedicated and willing to help, so if someone was struggling with a difficult scene, we usually had someone who had already finished their scenes and was free to help out. 

DP: If you had to do a second season, would you still rely on this approach or would you aim for a different setup?

Dana Petrov: Generally, I would keep the same animation pipeline; it worked pretty well for us. The only thing I would change is the way we approached the hand replacements on the rigs. We had a replacement library with about 50 hands for the main cast, and it was sometimes clunky to work with. If we get a second season, maybe we can try rigging the hands too, so we can have fewer hands and get more positions out of each one

DP: What are three tips you would give a small team starting animation in Moho tomorrow?

Dana Petrov: Having a clear idea of what I want the animation to look like before even opening Moho helped me a lot when animating. For some shots, I first sketched the main poses on paper. The interpolation can make choices that you wouldn’t make, so it’s good to have a guide. Keeping it simple is also important! Don’t make a fancy rig for a character that doesn’t need it, even if we see it on the screen a lot.

Let’s talk about Comp…

DP: Why did you build the show around Moho and After Effects instead of a dedicated pipeline like Toon Boom, Blender, Harmony, or Unreal?

Paul Mayer: After Effects simply integrates very well in the Adobe Cloud. Since the Illustration Department worked with Illustrator and Photoshop, AE came very handy in having all layers separated in AE already. The animators worked with Moho and could give me their animations as Image Sequences. That sped up the pipeline, as there was no need to animate in AE, but only to comp.

Simultaneously AE gave us the possibility to create more complex animations, like the Intro Sequence, Day-to-Night Transitions or a swirling Portal-effect right in the Comp. Another benefit was that most of the Team knew (at least a little) of After effects and could help out, setting up the composition to speed up the pipeline, while I could concentrate on the finishing touches. The finished AE shots were then brought into Premiere Pro, were they replaced the animatic shots (with identical timings) in the timeline and were color coded to keep an overview of what’s still missing.

DP: Where did After Effects shine, and where did it fight you the hardest?

Paul Mayer: After Effects really made it easy to comp all the different backgrounds and characters together, and integrate everything to one coherent image, using the Color Correction tools, Light wraps, Masks, Tracking, Glows, etc. and also allowed us to fix some smaller render issues (from Moho) or create custom shadow edges in dark environments.

For the most parts AE worked really great (It didn’t crash once!), but with huge Photoshop files it struggled and the render took an eternity. Luckily the Illustration department had an eye out for that and merged layers wherever possible.

DP: How did you structure AE projects across episodes?
Paul Mayer: Everything was divided into Preproduction, Production, Post and subdivided into their corresponding departments on the server drive which made it easy for us to find all relevant files. To avoid having too big After Effect projects, every Episode had its own AE file with the same naming structure in the projects as well as for the renders like this: “(Episode)_(shot)_(version)”.

In After Effects, the shot compositions were filed away in the classic AE folder hierarchy: “Footage, Comp, Precomp, Solids” And we also made a habit of moving old versions to an “_Old” folder, partly to keep the main folder neat, and partly so we didn’t spend 20 minutes trying to guess which file was actually the latest.

The rendered shots were then stored in the corresponding scene folders on the server drive. Additionally we could always cross-reference those namings with the master Shotlist in Flow (Shotgrid). With over 600 shots, keeping the habit of naming and storing everything correctly was essential. So, fortunately, no more “finalFinalV03FINAL” naming disasters this time. I’ve learned from my past mistakes…

DP: Which plugins or methods became essential during production?
Paul Mayer: Since we only comped in AE, we didn’t use any rigging and animation Plugin like DUIK or Limber. All the animation magic happened in Moho, which honestly wouldn’t have been possible in AE. But one of my favorite third-party plugins (besides Particular and Shine) is “Crates Lightwrap”, it makes adding lightwraps to characters ridiculously easy.

DP: How did you handle reviews and approvals?
Paul Mayer: We used Flow (Shotgrid) for reviews and approval, which works great to keep an overview (also on which background or animation is finished and ready for comping) and quickly get the shots approved.

DP: What was your render strategy?
Paul Mayer: Adobe Media Encoder was our render of choice, simply because you can queue the finished shots and keep working in AE while its rendering.

This needs some more environment…

DP: This might be the Bavarian in me speaking, but it looks far too colorful to be set in Eastern Germany. Why not make everything in muted concrete grays?

Tobias Pinegger: Oh, you caught me, I’m actually from Bavaria too. But we did not want to go too far into the cliche that east Germany is all gray because of course that is not true. My personal style is certainly one of the reasons why the backgrounds are on the saturated and colorful side. My first impulse, however, was also a more dirty and punk look, to match the anarchistic tone of the story. However, the director and production team decided to establish a friendly, cartoon look to create a contrast to the crude humor of the stories.

The look is, as mentioned, deliberately colorful, but we still tried to create a sense of sadness and boringness in the office spaces to provide a visual counterpoint to the Anomali madness.

DP: Which design elements changed when moving from style bible to production-ready assets?

Tobias Pinegger: In order to complete all the backgrounds for the three episodes in a short time with a team of an average of three to five artists, it was important to me to limit the number of backgrounds. We wanted to create only a few large master backgrounds for each location so that we could reuse each background often in sections. At the beginning, we racked our brains over how best to create the backgrounds using our approach, with the numerous crop-ins. Finding the right level of detail for our approach with the master backgrounds wasn’t easy. We actually had quite a long testing phase.

In a previous project, I was able to conceal many imperfections in the crop-in’s using depth of field. However, since TFQ’s backgrounds have a very graphic look, too much depth of field would look odd here. In preproduction, we decided not to use outlines in the backgrounds so that the characters with outlines always stand out clearly from the backgrounds. I had noted that the transition from a drawn layout to a colored background with outlines is much faster, because without outlines, you have to create all the objects in the backgrounds every time from scratch.

However, we later realized that our no-outline look is generally very beneficial when upscaling, as the outline of a background is the most revealing part that tells you it’s an enlarged background. The human eye quickly recognizes when the line thickness changes. So we were lucky that we chose the more complex route of creating the backgrounds without outlines. While we still had to put a lot of work into overpainting the crop-ins, with Outlines we would have had to create all the crop-in Backgrounds from scratch.

DP: What rules kept your backgrounds and environments consistent across episodes?

Tobias Pinegger: As already mentioned, we had to conduct extended testing during the production phase to see how the background look would affect scaling and crop-ins. So, we made quite some changes to the background look quite late in the process. Another important factor in finding the look was the small team of Artists. Especially in such a small team it can’t be ignored that each artist brings their own style.

In our case, it was essential to find a look that the team could pick up fast. You could say that each artist’s personality shaped the look. It took us some time because there was a lot to clarify at the beginning, but once the team had settled on the look, it was no longer a problem to complete the backgrounds towards the end of production.

DP: How did you set up parallax and background layering to keep episodes visually rich but still manageable?

Wrap-Up

DP: When you had to deliver to ZDF, what exactly did they require?
Paul Mayer: We delivered an MXF OP1a with 25fps in HD (even though we produced in 4K) with stereo sound.

DP: Did you need separate masters for Mediathek and broadcast, or could you deliver one version?
Paul Mayer: Fortunately we only had to deliver one Master file per Episode for the ZDF.  However it is also necessary to upload all episodes as additional MXF (of course with a different codec, why make it easy?) in a BagIt-Format for the mandatory deposit in the Federal Archives (Bundesarchiv). That was a first time uploading something to the Federal Archives for me as well. Now Task Force Querlitz is a piece of history :D

DP: What feedback did ZDF most often send back during QC, and how did you fix it for later episodes?
Arne Hain: The Quality Control happened only once in the end for all three episodes and was super smooth. We actually did not get any remarks. But internally we actually had a lot of bug fixing before we even sent it for QC. I personally still see some bugs that we did not have time to remove ;-) but as long as the viewers don’t see them it’s all good.

DP: Which tools would you recommend other teams learn early, and which tools should they skip unless absolutely necessary?
Dana: For the animation team, knowledge of rigging in Moho can be a great asset. So even if you have a separate rigging team like we did, it’s great when the animators can tweak the rigs by themselves for specific scenes.

Paul Mayer: A production tracking software like Flow, daily meetings on progress and good communication in the team are key. From my side as a heavy After Effects user, I would recommend learning AE since it is a very versatile tool to use for MotionDesign, Animation, VFX, Comping, etc. But also the whole Creative Cloud is a good skill to have. 

DP: Beyond season one, what is next?
Sebastian Simon: ZDF Quantum was a fantastic and unique opportunity to produce these first three episodes as a proof of concept. The project was overseen by funding officer Niklas Nissen (HessenFilm), with editorial supervision by Jakob Zimmermann (ZDF/Quantum). We are grateful that Quantum provides a format laboratory that makes such new formats possible in the first place.

Now that we have laid the groundwork and defined the setting for the world, scaling up would be the next big step for us. Adult animation has a good standing internationally, and the German market could seek to join forces here. ‘Task Force Querlitz’ is a great project for this, and we hope to be able to take the next step together with ZDF.

The post “Task Force Querlitz” Brings Adult Animation to ZDF first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

Extended reality is taking over more and more areas of our lives and revolutionising the way we will work, play and interact with each other in the future – and not just in the animation and gaming industry, which has always been tech-savvy. New possibilities are constantly opening up – including some that we cannot even imagine today. The Film Academy is researching the new generation of XR applications as part of the Europe-wide EMIL cooperation. Its students also benefit from the combined expertise.

by Marius Neuberger and Matthias Jacoby

Ever since the pandemic and its far-reaching consequences for the economy and society, the discourse on the future of the cultural and creative industries has centred around XR content and services. After all, immersive experiences can also be placed in museums, art galleries and at festivals. And the healthcare industry has been undergoing a comprehensive digital revolution for years and is benefiting from new XR applications, which are already being used successfully in the treatment of social phobias, for example.

To further drive this change, open up new fields of application and promote XR innovations, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg joined forces with three universities across Europe in September 2022 to form the European Media and Immersion Lab (EMIL). Together, we are building a physical and virtual network to advance developments for the next generation of XR content and to intensify the exchange between science and industry
and industry. The European Union and the public innovation agency “Innovate UK”(ukri.org/councils/innovate-uk/) are funding EMIL with a total of eight million euros to support projects in the fields of virtual, augmented and mixed reality.

This will result in new applications in a wide range of contexts – from narrative media production, animation and VFX to embodied interaction, motion capture analysis, political and historical education, digital health and smart clothing. “The aim is to exploit the combined European potential in order to develop very specific XR services, applications and content,” says Prof Volker Helzle, Head of Research and Development at the Animation Institute of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg.

The Europe-wide network will pool technological expertise and creative potential from Finland, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom over the course of the 30-month project. The illustrious consortium is coordinated by Aalto University in Helsinki and includes the Animation Institute in Ludwigsburg, the University Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona and the British University of Bath. The participating partners are not only realising their own flagship projects as part of EMIL, but are also supporting third-party projects (FSTP projects) of external participants with the help of a total of 5.6 million euros. These collaborations are intended to help expand networking and communication with and within industry and promote the transfer of research into practice. Interested parties are therefore invited to submit proposals for their own projects as part of two open calls.

Actors and organisations from design and art, media production and game development, engineering and programming as well as other interested parties who are already working on XR projects can apply. The selected external partners will then receive a non-repayable grant of between 250,000 and 500,000 euros over a period of fifteen months. (More details at emil-xr.eu/open-calls) “Within EMIL, we focus less on basic research and more on marketable solutions,” explains Dr Alexander Kreische, the EMIL project manager responsible at Animationsinstitut.

The technology readiness level therefore serves as a decisive criterion when selecting projects. This term, which originates from the aerospace industry, describes the level of development of a technology and has become established in the European research context as the basis for evaluating projects and future technologies. To be accepted into the network, projects should start at a TRL of at least four and a test setup in a laboratory environment should already be realisable. The projects are then developed within the project duration of fifteen months and reach a level of eight, so that at the end of the funding period a functional and ready-to-use system is available.

To ensure effective collaboration, the projects will be able to draw on the findings and developments of the consortium partners involved as required. The first round of applications closed at the end of January 2023 and the projects are currently being evaluated and selected by a panel of experts. A second round for the submission of proposals will follow in summer 2023.

In addition to funding, EMIL participants also benefit from the infrastructure and technical equipment as well as the expertise and various services of the participating universities. Over the entire duration of the project, a large number of events are planned in the EU region in which the laboratory as a whole will present itself and offer opportunities for personal exchange. In addition, the lighthouse projects of the four partners will be presented in a series of conferences and workshops, including at FMX on 25 April 2023. Participation is free of charge and no ticket is required. Even beyond the planned duration, EMIL is intended to grow into a long-term networking platform for collaborations in the field of immersive media productions.

Lighthouse projects show where the journey can take us

In addition to the funded projects of external partners, the lighthouse projects of the four participating universities play a central role. They can each look back on many years of expertise in the field of extended reality and enrich the lab with their very individual core competences. The projects serve as a point of reference for the funded third-party projects and are intended to show what XR technology can achieve today and where the journey can take us. The universities do not realise their projects completely separately from each other. The aim is to strengthen the EMIL network concept by closely interlinking the projects – a major challenge in view of the enormous diversity of the projects.

Helsinki!

The laboratory is coordinated and managed centrally by Aalto Studios(studios.aalto.fi) at Aalto University in Helsinki. In their Wearable Systems Lab, they work together with industry partners on future-orientated AI, XR and sensor technologies and drive the development of intelligent textiles. As part of the lighthouse project, the research group working there is developing a “traditional Finnish VR sauna”. The aim is to enable thermal sensations in XR environments with the help of smart garments. To achieve this, the multimodality of human perception is being researched, i.e. the simultaneous processing of information with several senses. Based on these findings, clothing is then developed that simulates physical sensations via wearable actuators. Vibration, electrotactile and chemical stimulation are used to add the missing physical and haptic dimension to VR experiences and make the virtual world even more immersive.

Bath/UK

A similarly “physical” approach is being pursued at the University of Bath, where research is being conducted in the field of digital health as part of the EMIL programme. The team responsible at the Centre for the Analysis of Motion, Entertainment Research and Applications (CAMERA – www.camera.ac.uk), which is affiliated with the university, encompasses the fields of computer science, health and psychology. It conducts interdisciplinary research aimed at combining visual computing, immersive technologies and human-computer interactions with healthcare, rehabilitation and biomechanics.

As part of the lighthouse project, the research group is focussing on the principles of exergaming – virtual fitness games that encourage physical movements and reactions. However, the project aims to extend these principles by combining physical activities with the recording of sensations and emotions. The aim is to be able to adapt the virtual worlds to the emotional state of the user. The aim is to create a digital health application for stroke rehabilitation that reacts to patients’ emotions and affects in real time. Gamified physical exercises are designed to help patients regain their mobility in a physically effective and emotionally motivating way.

Barcelona!

At the Institute of Information and Communication Technologies at Pompeu Fabra University in Barcelona(www.upf.edu/web/etic), an interdisciplinary team is developing the so-called “AR Magic Lantern”, a portable projector that can project digital content onto any surface in the physical environment. The technology is set to usher in a lasting paradigm shift in the XR sector. While XR applications have so far generally recorded real environments and integrated virtual content as a second layer in the existing image (window-on-the-world), this new approach is intended to enable virtual reality to be projected into the physical environment in real time (world-as-support). This enables a higher degree of immersion in group-orientated and location-independent AR experiences.

One of the aims of the lighthouse project is to build a robust hardware prototype using state-of-the-art image processing and projector components. In addition, a computer vision system is to be developed that adapts to large, dynamic environments and does not require any special mapping hardware. Various application scenarios for this new generation of AR technologies have already been developed in several research projects in Barcelona in the past, for example a group educational programme to promote social skills in children with an autism spectrum disorder. Virtual learning environments for teaching political and historical education have also been successfully realised in the past.

Lighthouse project at the Animation Institute

A team of developers and animation artists is working on a narrative and interactive location-based experience (LBX) at the Animation Institute of the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. The team can look back on many years of experience with extended reality projects and has already repeatedly demonstrated its status as a driving force for Baden-Württemberg as a creative location with various student projects. “We have quite an extensive history of successful projects that have been created in recent years, particularly in the field of VR installations,” emphasises Prof. Volker Helzle.
LBX are XR formats that are tied to a specific physical and mostly public space and enable participants to enjoy a highly immersive and interactive experience. These location-based entertainment experiences are already being used in theme parks and escape rooms as well as in retail installations. The market for LBX is growing exponentially.

The Ludwigsburg project with the working title “MinoXR” will create a virtual single- and multiplayer game in which users immerse themselves in the world of Greek mythology. They will be taken into the labyrinth of the Minotaur and confronted with moral questions from the mythical tale. The project digs deep into European cultural heritage to explore the possibilities of narrative XR formats of the future. It is not yet clear where the journey of location-based experience formats will take us in the future, as the expectations and wishes of the audience have not yet been sufficiently analysed.

“MinoXR” will close this gap and break new ground in order to address both experienced users and those who have no experience with XR. The aim is to explore and further develop interactive narrative strategies in virtual reality productions that have not yet been established, particularly in LBX. “Above all, we want to find out how to offer a sufficiently structured narrative on the dramaturgical level, but at the same time leave enough room for interaction so that the users are equally challenged on both levels,” says Andreas Dahn, lead VR director for the lighthouse project at Animationsinstitut. After studying scenic directing at the Film Academy, he has already realised various VR projects with the Zurich University of the Arts and the Europark in Rust.

Another challenge for the project is the still widespread fear of VR technologies among many users, which is mainly due to experiences with motion sickness when using the older generation of devices and applications. However, location-based experiences offer particular advantages and opportunities here, because the movements of the users are synchronised with those of their virtual avatars and the movements in physical space also correspond to those in virtual space. In this way, the lighthouse project at Animationsinstitut can make an important contribution to taking the immersion of XR experiences to a new level.

This will also be realised by developing the location-based experience in a scalable way and making it playable as both a single-player and multi-player game. Dahn, who has already gained some experience with free-roaming VR, is convinced that virtual group experiences in free space are much more immersive than conventional VR experiences that are experienced alone in a confined space.

In addition to these challenges with narrative LBX, the project also aims to break down the technological barriers that still exist. Virtual experiences are to be made available for mobile devices, which are easily accessible and already established on the market, but naturally do not offer computing power comparable to more complex PC setups. “Our ideal is to run the experience on mobile hardware, as this is much more affordable and easier to set up and maintain than comparable PC VR games.

This helps us to reach a wide audience in as many places as possible,” says Andreas Dahn about the project’s vision. This is also made possible by artwork optimised for this purpose by the responsible art director Leszek Plichta. The game’s graphics therefore rely on a cel-shading style that is strongly inspired by ancient Greek art, rather than building on a much more technologically sophisticated photorealistic aesthetic. Authentic immersive experiences can also be created with artificial artwork and do not require photorealism, Dahn is convinced. Making location-based experiences more accessible can not only help to shape the future of VR gaming, but also open up new opportunities in the fields of education, culture and entertainment. For example, installations in museums, galleries or festivals are conceivable.

EMIL and training opportunities at Animationsinstitut

Students at the Film Academy and Animationsinstitut will also benefit from the developments of the European Media and Immersion Lab (EMIL) in the coming years, as they will gain insights into the innovations of the laboratory. Teaching in Ludwigsburg will benefit significantly from the research. “There is hardly any other place in Europe where you can study more in tune with the times than here,” Prof Volker Helzle is convinced.

Since it was founded in 1991, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg has developed into one of the world’s leading film schools. The students are taught by a team of over 300 highly qualified experts from the film and media industry and realise around 250 film projects from various genres every year. The Animation Institute, which has been affiliated since 2002, also trains talented people at the highest level in the fields of animation, visual effects, technical directing, animation/effects producing and interactive media. The high quality of the teaching, which is largely based on the expertise of the Research & Development department, is evidenced not least by the fact that students’ projects regularly win national and international awards.

Technical Directing

The Animation Institute at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg offers a postgraduate programme in Technical Directing. Students focus in particular on new tech trends for the film and games industry and are enabled to manage all technical aspects of film, games or immersive media projects and to form the interface between art and technology.

During their studies, they realise animation and VFX projects, research software solutions and are given the freedom to experiment in a variety of ways together with other Film Academy students. For example, they programme software applications, automate animation and VFX processes or define workflows. An important part of the programme is also research work at Animationsinstitut.

• Entry type: Postgraduate degree programme (2 ½ years, full-time, application always by 15 February)
• Language of instruction: English
• Previous knowledge: Bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related subject; enthusiasm for animation and VFX projects

Links

EMIL Website emil-xr.eu
Animationsinstitut – Research & Development Department animationsinstitut.de/en/research
Animationsinstitut – Specialisation in Technical Directing is.gd/animationsinstitut_td

360° VR experience “Longing for Wilderness” (2016) is.gd/vr_wilderness
360° VR experience “Conscious Existence – A Journey Within” (2019) is.gd/vr_concious
360° VR experience “Strands of Mind” (2021) is.gd/vr_strands
Nature inspired VR journey “Beeing” (2021) is.gd/vr_beeing
VR experience “Mindpalace” (2022) is.gd/vr_worte

Nonfictional interactive VR installation “Sherpa – the helping hands of the Himalaya” (2018) www.sherpaproject.net

The post EMIL first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg.

We made an exception for FMX 2023 because “The Beauty“, a somewhat older project from the Animationsinstitut, simply fitted in perfectly with this year’s FMX motto EVOLVING, which deals with sustainability and the environment.

DP: And if we take a look at your FMX time: What was your favourite trailer?
Mario Müller: The great thing about the FMX trailers over the years is the wide range of techniques used. I particularly remember “Globosome” from FMX 2012(is.gd/globosome_fmx – the pictures at the top of the page), “Wrapped” from 2015(is.gd/wrapped_fmx – the pictures at the bottom of the page), and “The Beauty” this year, which is perhaps my overall favourite because of its message and storytelling. If you already like the trailers, the short films they are based on are real revelations
Revelations.

DP: At your first FMX, what were the important themes back then?
Mario Müller: That would be FMX 2012. The topic of the hour was the beginnings of virtual production, which entered the industry with the workflow that had been established for the first Avatar film. Previs, tech-vis, performance capture and virtual camera setups, some with real time feedback, were being used in more and more Tentpole productions, which led to a focal topic with which we tried to bring all aspects and important players to the stage.

DP: And, when FMX takes place, what is the part that you enjoy the most?
Mario Müller: The thing that fascinates me most personally is that the technical, creative and logistical feats that it takes to realise a film with the complexity of today’s blockbusters are performed by completely normal, approachable people that we bring to the stage in the Haus der Wirtschaft in Stuttgart.

The fact that these people are usually pleasant contemporaries in conversation before or after their presentation and are happy to talk to us is the greatest gift for me and for many national and international visitors to FMX.

DP: FMX evolves every year – what are you doing differently this time?
Mario Müller: FMX has evolved every year in small steps to pick up the fans of the established as well as those curious about the changes in the industry in the present and take them into the future.

Since we’ve largely left most of the technical hurdles of photorealism of virtual people, creatures and fantastical scenarios behind us, the question is what the industry’s creatives are – and should be – concerned with. In this respect, more “soft” topics have found their way into FMX in recent years, such as working conditions, diversity and equality, and more general media production topics such as storytelling.

On this basis, it was possible – and important – to make the topic of sustainability in film and media production the main focus of FMX this year. There is a lot to do here, and a lot is already being done. Bringing this together for the FMX audience is the big task for FMX 2023.

And while we’re on the subject of sustainability, we’ve also taken the opportunity to transform FMX into a climate-neutral event. A long road, but one that has already led to certification as a climate-friendly event by the Baden-Württemberg Climate Protection Foundation this year.

DP: Since corona, there has been a hybrid version – how has it been received and will you continue with it in the long term?
Mario Müller: As things stand today, the topic of hybrid and online presence is here to stay as long as there is interest and demand for it. As nice and important as the personal meeting on site in Stuttgart is, the online addition to FMX still enables people in other countries to participate in the content of FMX. This expands the circle of participants and reduces the overall number of journeys to and from FMX, which unfortunately cannot be made without CO2 emissions.

In this respect, the offer of an on-site and an online visit to FMX allows both approaches depending on the personal (also financial) possibilities and the ecological awareness of the participants. In particular, we see the offer of being able to access a large part of the FMX offerings as video on demand for several weeks as a great benefit for all visitor groups, because they can watch many presentations, discussions, masterclasses and more as recordings, which they would otherwise miss due to the large number of lectures taking place at the same time during FMX.

DP: If we look at the “focus topics” of FMX, which ones do you think have been particularly interesting in recent years and which topics were just hypes that have already gone away?
Mario Müller: We don’t look at it from that perspective. Some of the topics and trends that have been discussed at FMX over the years have not, or not yet, become established in the industry and the mainstream. However, the discussion about them, especially within the industry and community, are and remain important opportunities to discuss the pros and cons of the respective buzzwords. Some of the topics that have not yet achieved market penetration are nevertheless relevant because they may lead to other important milestones at a later date.

“THE” buzzword of recent years, metaverse, will sooner or later penetrate not only the market but society as a whole, even if a precise definition is still being discussed and work is still being done on standardisation. Nevertheless, the long-promoted immersion of large sections of society in spatially presented content will take shape, for which some previously discussed and supposedly failed XR topics will find application. In this respect, it was and is important for FMX to address most of these trends and topics.

DP: Let’s unpack the crystal ball: What kind of theme will FMX 2030 have?
Mario Müller: I don’t think we can actually imagine it. Many of the topics that the industry and community are currently researching and working on – not least metaverse and artificial intelligence – will lead to changed platforms, marketing channels and working models that are currently still the subject of visionary or dystopian discussions. For me, it remains exciting that we will be able to discuss this more in terms of content and creativity in the future than purely technical challenges and achievements.

DP: Do you already have plans for the next FMX?
Mario Müller: As I said above, FMX 2024 will focus on developments that are constantly changing work in the media & entertainment industry. Increasingly, these changes must also be viewed critically. It has not yet been decided which of these topics, which are already being discussed today, will be the focus of FMX 2024 (a shortlist already exists). First and foremost, however, we – the organisers, speakers and visitors – want to get involved with FMX 2023, which will take place from 25 April on site in Stuttgart, on 28 April online and until the end of May on demand!

The post Behind the FMX.. first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

In nuce: In a study worth reading, the Animation Institute of the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg reports on virtual production – and how it can be used to realise sustainable film projects. The title of the paper is “Green Screens, Green Pixels and Green Shooting”, outlining in four informative pages how modern film productions can focus on sustainability.

Research question of the study: Can VFXs be produced more sustainably thanks to new technologies? To answer this question, the authors of the study contrasted two comparable productions: A traditional offline post-production and a virtual production with an LED wall.

The initial situation: According to the study, several recent reports show how conventional film productions affect the environment. The average CO₂ requirement of current feature film productions is estimated at 2840 tonnes. However, according to the study, visual effects and their impact were not taken into account. The Animationsinstitut study is primarily based on the Screen New Deal.

Comparing two approaches: As knowledge about the sustainability of virtual productions is currently thin on the ground, the authors of the study decided to compare two different approaches to film production: A production with commercially available offline rendering and industry-standard post-production, contrasted with a production with LED walls and in-camera visual effects (ICVFX).

Object of the comparison: In order to investigate the environmental impact of a film production, two Filmakademie productions were compared with each other: the offline production “Sprout” (2019) and the virtual production “Awakening” (2021). “Awakening” was part of a set extension workshop for Film Academy students, in which students get to know the different film departments.

Turning the focus – and the wheel of time? Will blue and green screen soon be a thing of the past in terms of production technology?

Production No. 1 – offline production “Sprout”: In this production, most of the energy consumption was used for offline rendering and post-production. Here, the traditional green screen was used in post-production. The study states: “The studio shots were realised in two days. The production comprised eight shots with a total of 3233 frames, including VFX.” It goes on to say: “The average render time was between 40 minutes and up to two hours.”

How much (wo)manpower was required for “Sprout”? The study says that the pre-production of “Sprout” took 100 man-days (eight hours per day), while the subsequent post-production was completed within 300 man-days. A person-day is made up of eight person-hours. The so-called person-hour measures the average performance of a person within one hour. A total of five students were involved in pre- and post-production.

How much electricity was consumed during offline production? All in all, “Sprout” consumed a total of 5073 kilowatt hours of electricity, 4% of which came from pre-production, 13% from post-production, 79% from offline rendering and 4% from the electricity required for the displays.

Sprout (2020) | VFX Breakdown

Production No. 2 – LED wall production “Awakening”: Instead of the frequently encountered green screens, “Awakening” used curved LED walls as part of a virtual production. The authors of the study measured “Awakening” with eight shots, which totalled 8898 individual images. In terms of workload, seven students were involved in the pre-production for five weeks, and six students were responsible for the post-production for a period of five weeks.

How big was the (wo)manpower of “Awakening”? Six people were involved in post-production for five weeks, resulting in a consumption of 504 kWh. The authors point out that one might have expected a lower figure for ICVFX, as it is generally understood that in-camera visual effects are those that are recorded on set and do not subsequently require post-production.

How high was the power consumption of the LED wall production? The authors of the study estimate the total power consumption for the LED wall production at 1594 kilowatt hours, of which 37 % was used for pre-production, 31 % for post-production, 10 % for the displays, 19 % for the LED wall, 1 % for LED wall rendering and 2 % for offline rendering.

In their conclusion, the authors of the study came to the conclusion that a virtual production can consume around three times less energy than an offline rendered production. The authors therefore consider virtual production to be a sustainable and environmentally conscious production technique. However, the authors emphasise that they are not giving a clear vote in favour of virtual production, as it is “not a solution for all aspects of film production”. At the same time, however, it should be seen as a valuable option that presents environmentally friendly and sustainable solutions.

Click further: You can read the entire study in either German or English. Click on the links to find out more about the Film Academy, its animation institute and its research activities. Prospective students can find out everything they need to know about the Ludwigsburg university’s training programme in our article “Filmakademie: Auf zum Studenten-Oscar?”, printed in the print edition DP 03 : 2021.

The post The Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg researches sustainable filmmaking first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Patrick Poti.

Student Academy Award

From the Animago Awards 2019, to the VES Awards 2020 – and now to the Student Academy Award? Causality or just correlation? In any case, the success story of the diploma film The Beauty is pornographic. Created at the Animation Institute of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, The Beauty has now won the Student Academy Award 2020 in the international competition in the animation category. The winners will be honoured in a virtual ceremony on 21 October in Los Angeles.

The Beauty

Topic of the diploma film: The pollution of the world’s oceans by plastic waste. The short film dives into an underwater world in which plastic and nature come together. For a breath, worries and feelings of guilt dissolve between coral reefs and the deep sea. Then the viewer is fished out of escapist images – and man’s ecological responsibility forces its way to the surface…

Baden-Württemberg Film Academy

The Beauty is the sixth time that the Student Academy Award has gone to a production from the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. The previous winning years: 1998 (Rochade), 2007 (NimmerMeer), 2012 (Von Hunden und Pferden), 2015 (Erledigung einer Sache) and 2017 (Galamsey – Für eine Handvoll Gold) – and now 2021 (The Beauty). In total, seventeen student projects have made it to the final round of the young talent competition since the Film Academy was founded.

Teaser trailer and making-of below:

The post The Beauty | Student Academy Award first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg.

For this special occasion, the FMX team is preparing a birthday present for the audience – packed with talks, presentations, workshops and forum partners presenting the latest projects from the fields of animation, effects, games and immersive media. Volker Engel (CEO Uncharted Territory), Regina Pessoa (animation filmmaker) and Steven Appleby (artist and author) can be announced for FMX 2020. The FMX ticket shop at www.fmx.de will also open on 10 January 2020.

FMX 2020 theme Imagine Tomorrow

For its 25th anniversary, FMX has adopted the theme Imagine Tomorrow. Based on this, it will present innovative workflows and tools and invite speakers to share their visions for the future of the media and entertainment industry – from abstract concepts to clearly defined strategies – with the audience.

How can ideas develop into intellectual properties? How can the Uncanny Valley be overcome so that digital characters can no longer be distinguished from real people? The merging of artistic and artificial intelligence will also become a relevant topic for the future. Technical challenges such as the linking of physical and virtual production as well as business-relevant topics such as the development of new distribution channels will also be discussed.

In all its presentations, FMX will take a look at the entertainment experiences of the future – both in front of and behind the scenes. There are no longer any limits to presentation possibilities in the media sector. How can media professionals utilise this freedom for a better future?

VFX pioneers and animated filmmakers

Volker Engel (President Uncharted Territory, VFX Supervisor, Film Producer) has been involved since the first edition of FMX in 1994. After studying animation at the Film Academy, he was supervisor for the groundbreaking visual effects in the blockbuster Independence Day, for which he received an Academy Award. More recently, he worked as co-producer and visual effects supervisor on the sequel Independence Day: Resurgence. For FMX 2020, he will curate the track The Evolution of SFX:

“In the mid-90s, I attended the very first FMX and had a showreel that started with the bold sentence “If you think you can’t do Visual Effects in Germany… think again!”. A quarter of a century later, I am pleased and proud to say that this sentence has long been completely outdated. In Germany, some of the world’s best artists create visual effects to the highest standards in the industry – and at FMX they present their achievements together with their colleagues from all over the world. And true to the motto of the 25th FMX, “Imagine Tomorrow”, they will not only imagine this future, but contributeto a better futurewith their skills and inventiveness .”

Animated filmmaker Regina Pessoa (Ciclope Filmes) will give an insight into her latest film Uncle Thomas: Accounting for the Days, one of the most popular animated short films of 2019. She has received numerous awards for her films, including Kali the Little Vampire and Tragic Story with Happy End, the most awarded Portuguese film of all time. In all her films, Regina Pessoa uses various engraving techniques, from plaster to computer animation, or as she herself likes to say: “from stone to pixel”. When asked about her view of the future, Regina Pessoa replies: “Analogue art is considered obsolete today, but in combination with the technology of tomorrow, it can become invaluable in the future.”

FMX Forum – First confirmations

FMX is delighted to have SideFX as a main partner. The company will offer a workshop and present itself with a company suite. The SAE Institute will offer two workshops. Maxon has booked a company suite. InstaLOD and NuBoyana FX will have stands at the FMX Marketplace. BigHugFX, Boulder Media, Realtime UK, Pixomondo, Scanline VFX and Trixter will be taking part in the Recruiting Hub. The FH Upper Austria Faculty Hagenberg and the ifs international film school Cologne can be announced for the School Campus.

Tickets

Tickets can be purchased in the FMX ticket shop at www.fmx.de from 10 January 2020.

Further information: To the official website of FMX 2020

The post FMX 2020 Imagines Tomorrow first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Bela Beier.

this year, “Shine” was also nominated for an animago AWARD in the “Best Character” category. The Filmakademie team had already reported on the film with the funny furry creatures in DP 06 : 15.

Part 1 sheds light on the concept, storyboard and general planning phase:

Part 2 shows the modelling and rigging of the monkeys:

In this one, the team reveals more about the shading as well as the fur and hair work:

In the video you can see the animation, the acting and the sound recordings:

Part 5 presents the lighting, rendering and compositing:

The post Making-of videos from the Film Academy: “Shine” first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Mirja Fürst.

Until now, “Sonar” could only be viewed on the Oculus GearVR, but now Philipp Maas, director and developer of the project, has also brought the 360-degree film to the Google headset (costs €1.99). Because with every new VR headset, the number of users who have not yet seen “Sonar” grows.

In addition to this second platform, the film has also been given a spatial audio update. The VR audio specialists DELTA Soundworks from Heidelberg have given “Sonar” a new, spatial sound experience. in 2014, this was not yet feasible for the students at the Film Academy, nor was the visual impression of depth through omni-directional stereo 3D.

The dearVR Spatial Connect tool from Dear Reality was used, allowing the film to be mixed while you are in virtual reality. There is even a mix available in the 3rd Order Ambisonic format, which the team will implement as soon as the platforms support it. Now the viewer is drawn into the eerie atmosphere of the space scenario even more than before.

DP: Many people want to make full CG 360-degree films, but very few know exactly how. How did you approach your first VR project?
Philipp Maas: “Sonar” began as a classic CG animation film in Cinemascope format. In order to be able to produce as independently as possible, I set up a 4TB network storage and two of my own workstations in our project room so that we had a self-sufficient LAN and enough rendering power available. I also decided early on to work with the GPU renderer Redshift. Autodesk Maya and ZBrush, as well as two additional workstations, were provided by the Film Academy. By chance, however, we got our hands on the Oculus Development Kit 1 via my brother Alexander Maas, who also wrote the music for “Sonar”. After the decision in favour of 360 degrees was made, we spent a week researching on the internet to answer questions such as: What is possible, what software should we use, and much more. We were very apprehensive about familiarising ourselves with a game engine like Unity in the short time we had left for the project, as none of us had any experience with interactivity. On the other hand, our goal was to create a passive, very cinematic experience anyway. Unfortunately, we had to do without some features in the process that would have been available to us in a game engine, such as stereoscopy and spatial audio. Fortunately, we were able to add these things later. It is also advantageous to only distribute a video, i.e. a pre-rendered VR experience, as the distribution of software with constantly new drivers, operating systems and headsets would have been much more time-consuming for us.

DP: As you have the difficulty of not being able to actively direct the viewer’s gaze in 360 degrees, how did you conceptualise the storytelling?
Philipp Maas: We gave this a lot of thought and the decision to move the camera was made very early on. A moving camera automatically indicates a direction of movement (nobody wants to sit in the passenger seat with their back to the direction of travel for a long time…). Even very clear points of interest, such as a moving spaceship with bright lights, naturally attract the viewer’s attention. In the design, we also made sure to use classic compositional elements such as converging lines and frames. The most important thing in every shot is to define a focus and give the viewer time to find it.

DP: How did you go about avoiding motion sickness for the viewer? How were you able to test it before the release?
Philipp Maas: We tried to show our animation colleagues animatics on the Oculus as early as possible to observe their behaviour and reactions. This gave us incredibly valuable feedback. We knew from the beginning that we couldn’t do without camera movement altogether. Slow movements are fine and we always have static shots in the film that give the viewer time to orientate and recover. However, the ability to rotate the head should not be taken away from the viewer, so only “rolling” the camera and thus tilting the horizon is acceptable because we are not constantly making this movement with our heads ourselves. Motion sickness can also be used intentionally as a stylistic device – namely when it makes sense dramaturgically and the film is supposed to be really physical.

DP: How long did you work on “Sonar” in total? With how many people?
Philipp Maas: The core production time was between April 2014 and July 2014. The team only consisted of three people: Dominik and I were responsible for the visuals and split the 3D and 2D work. My brother Alexander realised the music and sound design. in 2015, we then spent another three months working on the technical update between June and September. The app was developed in December 2015. We are currently mixing a new soundtrack in Ambisonic format in cooperation with Delta SoundWorks. The project always gives us the opportunity to find out new things. The basic concept of the film works, and it’s always worthwhile to take the film further technically.

“Sonar” was created as a student project at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. More about the university here.

The post Filmakademie VR film “Sonar” now on Google Daydream first appeared on DIGITAL PRODUCTION and was written by Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg.