RECAP – Siggraph Asia Tokyo 2018
Hey guys, I thought of sharing my latest SIGGRAPH ASIA experience at Tokyo since it was the highlight of my experiences so far. In case you don’t know what SIGGRAPH is…
"SIGGRAPH is the world’s largest conference on computer graphics. It takes place once a year in a city somewhere in the U.S. or Canada, and is attended by tens of thousands of computer graphics professionals. SIGGRAPH is one of the most highly respected venues for the presentation of new computer graphics technology and research."
Since 2008, ACM SIGGRAPH has also convened an annual conference in Asia, called SIGGRAPH Asia, which is attended by thousands of computer graphics professionals from all over the world.
Link: https://www.siggraph.org/
I have attended SIGGRAPH two times before, in Anaheim as a Student Volunteer (2016) and Vancouver as an attendee (2018). This time, I had the opportunity to volunteer for Tokyo again, partially because I wanted to experience what the Asia conference was like, and partially to explore what Tokyo was all about.
I attended the first orientation; it was fun and memorable. I made a lot of friends; most of them came from China, Thailand, France, US, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Canada, and India. Everyone was friendly and supportive. I met old and new faces. It was nice to catch up with them. I even met with some people whom I didn’t have a chance to meet back in Anaheim (2016).
Besides volunteering for roughly 23 hours, I had the opportunity to present an IRC Showcase. I briefly introduced myself and Pixomondo since I wanted to give them credits for providing me the environment to learn and grow.
CLICK HERE for a full video of my presentation
In addition, I had the opportunity to talk to Erik Smitt, who was the Director of Photography at Pixar Animation Studios. He provided me with one of the most useful advice – to analyze Old Master paintings.
“Artistic value is a quality in a painting that reflects not what is shown but refers to how it is painted. It is the skill of the artist that determines whether the depiction of the subject is a mere representation or a work of art.” What makes this so exciting is that every artist has a different vision and way of painting, even those profoundly influenced by a particular artistic movement. Erik took a lot of inspiration from Old Masters for Incredibles 2, where he incorporated a lot of elements like composition, rendering of texture, lighting and emotional aims.
Here’s a recap of what I discovered the differences from SIGGRAPH North America and SIGGRAPH Asia.
1) I noticed SIGGRAPH Asia was much smaller than the NA one, which means the capacity of attendees were less. The size of rooms for sessions and lectures were smaller too, except the auditoriums. The atmosphere was a lot different as well.
"SIGGRAPH is the world’s largest conference on computer graphics. It takes place once a year in a city somewhere in the U.S. or Canada, and is attended by tens of thousands of computer graphics professionals. SIGGRAPH is one of the most highly respected venues for the presentation of new computer graphics technology and research."
Since 2008, ACM SIGGRAPH has also convened an annual conference in Asia, called SIGGRAPH Asia, which is attended by thousands of computer graphics professionals from all over the world.
Link: https://www.siggraph.org/
I have attended SIGGRAPH two times before, in Anaheim as a Student Volunteer (2016) and Vancouver as an attendee (2018). This time, I had the opportunity to volunteer for Tokyo again, partially because I wanted to experience what the Asia conference was like, and partially to explore what Tokyo was all about.
I attended the first orientation; it was fun and memorable. I made a lot of friends; most of them came from China, Thailand, France, US, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Canada, and India. Everyone was friendly and supportive. I met old and new faces. It was nice to catch up with them. I even met with some people whom I didn’t have a chance to meet back in Anaheim (2016).
Besides volunteering for roughly 23 hours, I had the opportunity to present an IRC Showcase. I briefly introduced myself and Pixomondo since I wanted to give them credits for providing me the environment to learn and grow.
CLICK HERE for a full video of my presentation
In addition, I had the opportunity to talk to Erik Smitt, who was the Director of Photography at Pixar Animation Studios. He provided me with one of the most useful advice – to analyze Old Master paintings.
“Artistic value is a quality in a painting that reflects not what is shown but refers to how it is painted. It is the skill of the artist that determines whether the depiction of the subject is a mere representation or a work of art.” What makes this so exciting is that every artist has a different vision and way of painting, even those profoundly influenced by a particular artistic movement. Erik took a lot of inspiration from Old Masters for Incredibles 2, where he incorporated a lot of elements like composition, rendering of texture, lighting and emotional aims.
Here’s a recap of what I discovered the differences from SIGGRAPH North America and SIGGRAPH Asia.
1) I noticed SIGGRAPH Asia was much smaller than the NA one, which means the capacity of attendees were less. The size of rooms for sessions and lectures were smaller too, except the auditoriums. The atmosphere was a lot different as well.
2) I noticed the VR Theatre tickets sold out really fast, which is something to be anticipated in the future. I never got the chance to volunteer for VR Theatre, but I hope to experience it in the future!
3) Since there were not many student volunteers for SIGGRAPH Asia, I felt it was easier to make closer connections with the ones participating, instead of trying to get to know 100+ people. I remember I had a hard time trying to bond with student volunteers in Anaheim two years ago. It was easy to forget their names!
4) I noticed some people were hard to communicate, particularly Japanese people. Their culture is different from the western culture since they seem to be more reserved and polite. However, I learned to change my communication style. They turned out to be super nice and cheerful.
Despite of what I mentioned above, the best part of this trip were the connections I made. Being an SV gave me the opportunity to network and learn from those within ACM SIGGRAPH, which in turn, grew relationships and opened doors for further opportunities within the organization. I encourage everyone to apply for SV.
Despite of what I mentioned above, the best part of this trip were the connections I made. Being an SV gave me the opportunity to network and learn from those within ACM SIGGRAPH, which in turn, grew relationships and opened doors for further opportunities within the organization. I encourage everyone to apply for SV.
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