SIGGRAPH Asia 2022 has kicked off in Daegu, Korea. Celebrating the theme – Colourful World, the first day of the Conference welcomed some of the most influential technology leaders in the world. Hundreds of visitors flocked to the conference sessions to learn about inspiring advancement in animation and technology. The event started with a press conference conducted by conference chair professor Soon Ki Jung.
Press Conference
Soon Ki Jung welcomed international and local press to give them an overview of what they can expect to see and experience over the next few days. He was supported by a team of stellar experts chairing disciplines across art gallery, business and innovation symposium, computer animation, courses, emerging technologies, featured sessions, games, posters, technical communications, technical papers, real time live! and XR.
Jung said, “SIGGRAPH Asia 2022 is about celebrating our ability to interact, collaborate for the first time with our peers after two years of travel disruptions. While we saw unprecedented technological acceleration during the pandemic, nothing replaces the power of a physical event to foster the spirit of innovation. We are proud to be hosting SIGGRAPH Asia in Daegu and showcasing the future of technologies in the field of entertainment and its impact on our daily interactions.”
The press session ended with SIGGRAPH Asia 2023 conference chair June Kim announcing next year’s edition which will be hosted in Sydney, Australia from 12-15 December 2023.
Here are the highlights from the day one of SIGGRAPH Asia 2022:
TECHNICAL PAPERS FAST FORWARD
SIGGRAPH Asia is one of the prestigious platforms for authors to share their most innovative concepts and demonstrate the highest technical achievements. A thrilling two-hour session during Technical Papers Fast Forward saw authors of 97 papers with less than a minute each to wow the attendees with a brief overview of their work!
TECHNICAL PAPERS / TECHNICAL COMMUNICATIONS
The Technical Papers and its affiliated Programs enable international authors to share how their ideas can be translated into real-world applications. New to this year’s session, attendees can engage in continued interactive discussions with both the presenters and peers.
FEATURED SESSIONS + GAMES
The Gaming landscape is highly sophisticated and evolves at a staggering pace. Ready Player Me chief technology officer Rainer Selvet kicked off the Games program with a Featured Session, on one of the most popular and dynamic cross game avatar platforms, he took his audience through the interoperability of avatars, their wearables, NFTs and identities. Not all smooth sailing, Rainer shared unexpected challenges faced and processes implemented to stay ahead of the curve.
COMPUTER ANIMATION FESTIVAL
SIGGRAPH Asia is perhaps the only platform in the world that gives animators and designers a rare chance to showcase their technical and highly collaborative work needed to realise an animation feature. Day one of Computer Animation Festival (CAF) started on a high note with analysis of some of the most outstanding works from around the world selected by the CAF juries.
EXHIBITOR TALKS
Renderman 25 | Featuring AI denosing and stylized rendering
A captivating session by iconic and award-winning Pixar Animation Studios kicked off SIGGRAPH Asia’s series of exhibitor talks. Dylan Sisson gave attendees an insight into the pioneering RenderMan 25, new hybrid CPU + GPU rendering technology, Pixar’s next-generation rendering engine.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY & INCLUSIONS TALKS
Mental Health Matters
This wholesome session by director, producer, writer and Dancing Atoms Studios founder Saraswati Vani Balgam was truly inspiring. The VFX, animation and virtual production enthusiast opened up the conversation on the need to talk about mental health wellbeing and creating a safe, inclusive and accessible challenge for the creative community.
Appreciative Inquiry for Representation in Workplace
Maggie Oh from a technology giant, Google, shed light on the fast-evolving nature of how corporations manage teams, how workers tackle daily tasks and best practices that should be considered to create a safe, inspiring and collaborative environment for workers. The session explored the framework of the appreciative inquiry, a meaningful tool to empower and drive important conversations.