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Second day of SIGGRAPH in Denver, Colorado! The program was less varied today, and for good reason: two major topics occupied our agenda.
Rigging and Animation: What’s Next?
In the morning, the Birds of a Feather session on rigging and animation caught our attention. For reference, Birds of a Feather presentations are organized by accredited individuals and cover a range of topics: this year, for example, there are sessions on AI, the history of CG, textiles, the environmental impact of the CG community, soft skills development, OpenEXR, VFX unions, pipelines, and more. With such a vast and varied selection, it was hard to choose.
We ultimately chose “State of Animation and Rigging in the Industry,” organized by Valerie Bernard (Animal Logic) and Stuart Bryson (DreamWorks Animation). This roundtable allowed rigging and animation specialists to come together for two hours to discuss the challenges in advancing these fields. It was an important moment for the community and a valuable exchange.
Several hot topics were discussed. Animation and rigging specialists playfully joked at each other. While AI wasn’t a focus, the difficulties studios face in creating non-destructive rigs that can be transferred between different DCCs (Digital Content Creation tools) were highlighted. No magical solution seems to exist yet, but the discussions were lively. No studio appears to have found the perfect combination for using the same rig across different software, and USD (Universal Scene Description) currently doesn’t address this need, though exporting a USD file can yield a skin and skeleton.
Jensen Huang and Mark Zuckerberg Discuss AI at SIGGRAPH 2024
In the afternoon, the spotlight shifted to a discussion between two highly influential leaders: NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang, and Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg.
The duo discussed the importance of fundamental research on advancements in AI and presented a pro-generative AI perspective. They view open-source tools and generative AI as keys to the future for developers and creatives, particularly for virtual worlds. They also talked about the significance of virtual worlds in developing the AI and robots of the future, a field NVIDIA has long championed with Omniverse.
On a less technical note, Mark Zuckerberg… gifted a new jacket to Jensen Huang.
The video of the discussion is available for replay.
SIGGRAPH 2024, Day 3 Ahead!
For the upcoming program, we’re preparing some interviews. Also on the agenda are the booths: below you’ll find a preview of the exhibition floor and the French Pavilion headed by Cap Digital, showcased through Gaussian Splatting. We captured it during the stand setup phase, hence the presence of ladders and cardboard boxes nearby.
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