A look back at SIGGRAPH 2024!
Earlier this month, our DNEG & DNEG Animation teams came together in Denver, California for SIGGRAPH 2024, the world’s largest conference for Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, hosted by ACM SIGGRAPH.
In case you missed it, here’s a run-down of how the whirlwind week unfolded!
DNEG Animation kicked off our presentations at this year’s conference with an exciting talk about The Garfield Movie! Kristin Farrensteiner (Groom Supervisor), Freddy Chaleur (VFX Supervisor), Christopher Kilshaw (CG Supervisor), Gunjan Kathale (Technical Supervisor), Francesca Galluzi (Pipeline Supervisor) and Francesco Del Fuoco (Surfacing Lead Artist) shared more about the film’s animation style, diving into the technical challenges of adapting a beloved comic book character for the big screen – including detachable limbs and animated stripes!
A WORD ABOUT SIGGRAPH 2024 | Kristin Farrensteiner
“Attending SIGGRAPH 2024 was an exhilarating journey into the future of cutting-edge animation technology, with USD and Machine Learning taking the centre stage. Our team at DNEG ANIMATION was thrilled to showcase our solutions to the complex fur challenges we’ve tackled on The Garfield Movie, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. It was incredibly inspiring to connect with peers who share our passion for innovation and exchange insights that will undoubtedly shape the future of our industry which made this experience truly unforgettable.”
A WORD ABOUT SIGGRAPH 2024 | Christopher Kilshaw
“SIGGRAPH 2024 was truly inspiring, with insightful talks on USD and ML, offering a glimpse into the incredible approaches other studios have taken. Presenting our approach to solving the fur challenges for The Garfield Movie alongside Kristin Farrensteiner was an absolute thrill!”
On Wednesday, Stephen James (VFX Supervisor) and Marc Austin (CG Supervisor) took the main stage for a Production Session on Dune: Part Two! The presentation marked the first time our team has spoken publicly about the ground-breaking VFX work behind Denis Villeneuve’s incredible sequel.
Sharing an in-depth and comprehensive look at the near 1,000 VFX shots our DNEG team delivered to help bring the film to life, Stephen and Marc shared behind the scenes details on creating the locations, simulations, and creatures that made this instalment bigger, bolder, and more beautiful than ever before.
A WORD ABOUT SIGGRAPH 2024 | Stephen James
“Marc Austin and I had the opportunity to do the very first Dune: Part Two VFX presentation at SIGGRAPH to a packed house. We had a great response from the attendees with ‘ooh’s and ‘ahhh’s throughout. We also held a meet and greet and it was great to speak to so many people inspired by our work. I look forward to the team being able to continue to show off our amazing work in the months to come!”
Then, at the Open Source Days 2024 Virtual Town Hall, Ted Waine (Expert Software Developer) and Chas Jarrett (Creative Director) talked about xSTUDIO, our DNEG-developed playback and review application, sharing recent milestones, future plans and answering questions from the community. And, we were thrilled to spot some of our team’s amazing work on The Last of Us at the SIGGRAPH Electronic Theater!
A WORD ABOUT SIGGRAPH 2024 | Jeffrey Higgins
“It was amazing to attend SIGGRAPH 2024 in Denver with the DNEG team this year to see how the industry is adopting USD and Open Source technologies, as well as evaluating how to best adopt AI/ML responsibly into workflows.”
A WORD ABOUT SIGGRAPH 2024 | Markus Kurtz
“SIGGRAPH 2024 in Denver, Colorado was a great success. While the conference was smaller than usual, the content at SIGGRAPH, DigiPro and OpenSource Days was extremely valuable and inspiring. DNEG had a strong showing across all divisions, presenting amazing innovations for The Garfield Movie, Under the Boardwalk, Dune: Part Two, and our open-sourced review tool xSTUDIO.”
The next day, DNEG Animation presented on their work bringing the animated musical Under the Boardwalk to life! During their talk ‘Large Scale Sand Simulations on Under the Boardwalk’, Jonathan Davies (CG Supervisor), Cheten Sharma (Surfacing Supervisor) and Nicholas New (DFX Supervisor) provided the audience with a closer look at the process behind animating the film’s complex sand shots, from super close-up macro shots to wide beach vistas.
A WORD ABOUT SIGGRAPH 2024 | Jonathan Davis
“It was a great opportunity to submit a paper to SIGGRAPH to showcase the work of the team in creating sand on Under the Boardwalk; and my first time doing so. Getting enough detail on the production challenges and technical solutions into the initial two page paper submission, to do the work justice and to catch the attention of the reviewing panel, was definitely the hardest part.”
A WORD ABOUT SIGGRAPH 2024 | Mathieu Leclaire
SIGGRAPH is always a fantastic experience! Connecting in person with our colleagues and friends from across the industry is truly special. It’s a time to share our successes and challenges, to find relief in common frustrations, and to feel the excitement of learning new techniques. The inspiration drawn from the brilliant minds throughout our industry is unmatched! For me, the highlights are always centered around the latest advancements in AI and machine learning. From exploring fVDB, to Autodesk research projects, to understanding ML adoption techniques at various studios, delving into the newest generative AI tools and witnessing the latest developments in NeRFs and Gaussian Splatting papers, it’s an exhilarating experience!
Thanks, SIGGRAPH team!
We had an amazing time at SIGGRAPH 2024! We’d like to extend a heartfelt thank you to all the event organizers and our crew who helped make the conference an inspiring success. See you next year!
