So, not much for the small film shops then?
We, the microfilmmakers of the world, are not really SIGGRAPH’s target market. Beyond the two items already highlighted and a handful of ancillary hardware and boutique-y software, no. But its nice knowing that there is a hardware, software trickle-down effect for the microfilmmakers occurring sooner rather then later (Ooops, time to mention the Poison clause again).
The special presentations that occurred all week were especially worthy. Videographer? Filmmaker? Animator? Mathematician concerned about accurately representing thermal variation in airborne dust particles? There were knowledgeable presenters completely enthused about their topics and eager to share.
More swankness - multiple demo areas plus HD projection in the booth. The show employees said the booth took two days and 10 people to erect because of its size. This is only part of it. Autodesk is pretty proud of their product and reflect that in their pricing. Can’t charge a million bucks unless you look like a million bucks. Ok, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, sort of.
SIGGRAPH is a mad collection of people that have the same dysfunctional need to tell stories visually - it doesn’t get much better than that. The folks circulating the show have a serious passion for what they do and you could strike up a conversation with anyone and learn something new. Like the Governor (or is that, “Guv-inator”) said, “I’ll be back.”
Mark Bremmer has operated his own commercial studio for 15 years. He’s been fortunate enough to work for clients like Caterpillar, Amana, Hormel Foods, Universal Studios Florida, and The History Channel; producing stills, digital mattes and animations. Mark contracts regularly as an art mercenary with production houses that shall remain nameless by written agreements. His production pipeline is Mac-based, with the FCP Studio2 workflow. He loves Shake and Motion. And his family.
