SIGGRAPH Asia 2022 is currently going in Daegu, South Korea witnessed by delegates, speakers, exhibitors and attendees from across the world. With the interesting sessions, keynote speeches, disposition of art at the art gallery and experience hall, the conference has successfully concluded three days.
Here are the highlights of day three:
ART GALLERY: EXPERIENCE HALL TALKS
From creating ecological games to transforming traditional classical music experience through emerging media technology, contributors like Yunyoung Jang and Kyungho Lee and Yousang Kwon took turns to share their methods of art-making in an increasingly global, networked, and technologically mediated world. Contributors also highlighted theoretical issues concerning contemporary art in our global society.
KEYNOTE ADDRESS: CHANGES IN THE VISUAL ARTS MARKET BROUGHT ABOUT BY IMMERSIVE CONTENT TECHNOLOGY, SEAN LEE, D’STRICT
The word disruptive gets used liberally in the world of technology. The keynote speaker d’strict CEO Sean Lee is the embodiment of the word. A natural innovator and disrupter, Lee shared an honest account of d’strict’s journey and the challenges the award-winning, immersive technology company faced before finding success. From financial difficulties to constantly rethinking the world of immersive art to engage people, Lee’s talk on Changes in the Visual Arts Market Brought About by Immersive Content Technology was sincere, inspiring and riveting. Always ahead of the curve, Lee shared the concept and delivery of d’strict’s globally recognised projects such as Wave and Waterfall that have garnered multiple awards.
He said, “Artwork directs people’s memory. Good public artwork can be a force that makes us reconsider the value of a certain place. It is also vital for us to consider other important aspects of public art, which are empathy and connection. This is how we connect to people and make them love what we make.”
KEYNOTE ADDRESS: EMPOWERING CREATORS WITH TECHNOLOGY IN THE METAVERSE BY DAEWOOK KIM, NAVER Z CORPORATION
Each metaverse service is like a country, with its own culture. According to SIGGRAPH Asia keynote speaker Naver Z Corporation chief executive officer DaeWook Kim there is no reason why one metaverse platform shouldn’t be able to connect to another and create a global community with infinite possibilities. Delivering his talk on Empowering creators with technology in the Metaverse, Kim inspired delegates by sharing the colossal success of Zepeto, the K-pop and fashion-focused avatar platform with over 350 million registered users. Creators or users, according to Kim is the sole success of the app and with continuous R&D and technological advancements in computer vision and motion AI, Zepeto is reducing barriers to new technology and empowering the end user.
FEATURED SESSIONS
Presentation + Panel: Best of Korean VFX by Jaegal Seung, Dexter Studios, Koni Jung from Westworld, and moderated by Ian Failes of befores & afters.
Celebrated editor, Ian Failes of befores & afters, moderated a great session with Dexter Studios head of VFX Jaegal Seung and Westworld managing director Koni Jung.
Seung shared the advancement of technology and the need to create solutions and pivot during challenging pre-production planning and those faced during production. Using the hit Korean feature film, Alienoid, as his case-study, Seung shared the epic planning by his team of hundreds of VFX artists mapped out to create engaging shots and produce gripping and seamless sequences.
Jung from Westworld, one of Korea’s leading visual effects companies shared a comprehensive breakdown of the outstanding creature development process in Sweet Home, for Netflix Korea and the use of innovative techniques, including shooting with LED walls and Unreal Engine in The Silent Sea.
Identities in the Metaverse: Exploring Both Sides of the Uncanny Valley by Ronald Mallet, Meta Reality Labs
The metaverse presents us with an exciting opportunity to explore a new form of immersive communication which grants users the freedom to be expressive and creative beyond our real world capabilities. Mallet shed light on how we can make such possibilities available at scale, touching upon what technological innovations as well as intuitive content creation tools are needed for making it possible.
COURSES
Riemannian Geometry for scientific visualisation – Multiple Speakers
Markus Hadwiger, a professor of computer science at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST), Saudi Arabia, shared his research on the fundamentals of Riemannian geometry with a focus on applications in scientific visualisation. He said that he has two main goals. The first, to introduce Riemannian geometry to scientific visualisation researchers, followed by an introduction for practitioners, researchers working in differential geometry or mathematical physics for important applications in scientific visualisation.
EXHIBITOR TALKS
Exhibitor Talks: Light & Magic – From ILM and ILMxLAB, presented by ILM
Product innovation is an ever-growing field, with new developments constantly emerging. In this session, Industrial Light & Magic showcased their recent breakthroughs, presenting the software, hardware and systems used in their applications – all tailored to improve professional and technical performance.
During the session, attendees gained a deeper insight into these innovations, as well as had the opportunity to ask questions to the experts who are eager to provide their insights. Through these sessions, curious minds can stay up to date with the latest product innovations and make sure their knowledge is ready for whatever comes next. ILM also shared what it is like working at their various offices around the world and current vacancies.
OFFICIAL RECEPTION
Throwing a reception is a fun way to celebrate and commemorate the launch of the event. It’s a chance to get speakers, contributors, exhibitors, sponsors, media and attendees together and enjoy each other’s company while sharing some food and drinks. No matter how big or small the gathering is, receptions are wonderful opportunities to individuals to learn more about their work or business by bringing them all together in one place. Receptions have the power to leave lasting memories that no one will ever forget.
