With just days to go before GAFX 2017 kicks-off in Bengaluru, here’s a quick list of all the Workshops and Masterclasses to help you plan your schedule.
Day 1:
Unity for Artists by Arvind Neelakantan
This workshop will demonstrate the use of Unity’s new artist and animation tools that will be integrated directly into Unity’s editor without writing even one line of code. This workshop will primarily concentrate on three aspects of these tools. They will be using assets from an existing app to recreate the functionalities as seen in Adam demo.
Mathematics in Entertainment by Golam Ashraf
This six hour workshop gives a solid foundation for solving computational problems faced during CG asset creation or shot production. Aspects explored will be the fundamental application of vectors, matrices, noise and fractals in computer graphics. Codes will be written to solve problems and build tools for transforms, collisions and deformation. The speaker will share some real case studies from his research and production wrangling days, where these techniques have helped him immensely. After going through this workshop, participants will be able to take on any visual problem and solve it efficiently. MEL and Python in Maya, and one example in Unity C# will be used. The concepts covered translate easily to any graphics software or API.
Audience: Technical Directors, Technical Artists, Engineering students
Prerequisite: Programming knowledge in any language
An Organic Approach to Visual Effects by Joseph Gilland
In this inspirational workshop with master special effects animator and Disney Veteran, Joseph Gilland, and based on his ground-breaking book Elemental Magic: The Classical Art of Hand-Drawn Special Effects Animation, the author brings a fresh perspective to understanding the underlying energy behind elemental special effects such as fire, water, smoke, explosions and magic.
Drawing on a life-long mission to capture the essential energy of the elements, Gilland urges his workshop participants to explore the natural world around them and inside them, to tap into the true nature of the elements and thus bring fresh, dynamic energy to the visual effects that they create. Traditional and digital artists, technical directors and computer programmers alike will discover fresh new ways to approach visual effects animation.
Physics of Animation by Alejandro Garcia
An understanding of physics is essential for creating believable animated motion. The workshop covers essential topics from physical mechanics to basic bio-mechanics that apply specifically to character animation. A must attend for all character animators.
High-end Character Creation for Games by Steve Walker
It’s the new era in 3D character creation for Games and VR, where the advent in technology constantly pushes the envelope of realism and immersive quality of games. This workshop by Dhruva Interactive, character art director, Steve Walker, in a broader sense is a dialogue to address THAT very shift in the gaming paradigm. With emphasis on the ever-increasing importance of art fundamentals, technology improvements and changes in the production pipeline, it will walk you through the full process of how characters are made for games, along with insights on how to achieve the highest quality for the biggest blockbuster games.
3D Character Animation by Anand Baid
Jam-packed with animation goodness and professional knowledge, Baid will talk on various topics listed below in a highly energetic and interactive session.
The session will conclude with Baid moderating a Q&A and panel-discussion that includes accomplished personalities from the world of Animation – Philippe Gluckman (creative director at DreamWorks Animation for over 20 years, now Mikros), Viren Patil (creative director at Xentrix Animation Studios), PC Vikram (art director, animation film-maker, formerly with Zynga Games).
Storytelling with Light by Sharon Calahan
A look at how to create beautiful and memorable images to enhance storytelling.
Unity for Films, Cinematics and Cinematic VR
Cinematics with Unity (1hr) – Live demo on how to tell a story in Unity covering scene layout, lighting, camera sequencing, animation, audio, VFX, compositing/post processing.
Cinematic VR in Unity (1hr) – Live demo in Unity on covering how to play 360 video, simple VR interactions, spatialised audio, sequencing animation, compositing/post processing.
Masterclass on Story by Craig Caldwell
More and more story development is taking place at the pre-visualisation and post-visualisation phases. It is not exclusively a writer’s domain any longer. This session is designed specifically for non-writers, designed for technical directors, artists, animators, modellers, designers etc. who’s work is essential in making the “story” come to life.
This session focuses on how story development stimulates emotion in the audience. To be covered backstory, character profiles, generating ideas, iteration, brainstorming, What-if etc. Plot covers the outer journey; story development is about the character’s inner journey (how conflict reveals who the characters are under pressure which is really why a viewer watches).
It covers basics such as unity of opposites, creating identification, making difficult choices, transformation, and that it is not enough to just understand your characters… you have to care about them, even the villains. Story essentials include the five fundamental goals in a story (to win, to escape, to stop, to deliver, or to retrieve something) as well as what is at stake (i.e. survival, safety, love, esteem, etc.) that motivates the main character to move from their ordinary world to a different world, where the story really starts. Tip: All stories start better with a crisis.
Day 2:
Organic Approach to Visual Effects by Joseph Gilland
Technical Workshop – Scripting in Animation by Dr. Golam Ashraf
