SIGGRAPH 2014 has announced the 41st annual Computer Animation Festival award recipients for Best in Show, Jury Award, Best Student Project, Best Animated Short, and Best Visual Effects, among others. More than 100 pieces will be shown during the Computer Animation Festival at the Vancouver Convention Centre, August 10-14. The 2014 nominees were chosen by an expert panel of jury members from more than 450 submissions.
“Each piece that is in the Festival is truly something special on its own merit,” said Jerome Solomon, SIGGRAPH 2014 Computer Animation Festival Director from Cogswell College. “There’s no other stage in the world comparable to SIGGRAPH’s Computer Animation Festival and this year we have added more categories which only enriches the diversity and richness of the show.”
The Computer Animation Festival is recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences as a qualifying festival. Since 1999, several works originally presented in the Computer Animation Festival have been nominated for or have received a “Best Animated Short” Academy Award. This year’s selections will be featured during the Computer Animation Festival through a series of Daytime Selects and the iconic Electronic Theater, allowing attendees to glimpse behind the magic of computer-generated effects, visualizations, and animations.
BEST IN SHOW
Box (United States)
Directed by Tarik Abdel-Gawad, Bot & Dolly
Box explores the synthesis of real and digital space through projection mapping on moving surfaces. The short film documents a first-ever live synchronized performance using 3D projection mapping, robots, and actors.
JURY AWARD
Paper World (Hungary)
Directed by Dávid Ringeisen, László Ruska, Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design
Paper World is an image film for the World Wildlife Fund Hungary where the values that WWF stands for become visible metaphorically on the level of a micro-world.
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Home Sweet Home (France)
Directed by Pierre Clenet, Alejandro Diaz, Romain Mazenet, Stéphane Paccolat, Supinfocom Arles
A house uproots herself and goes on an adventure.
BEST STUDENT PROJECT
Wrapped (Germany)
Directed by Roman Kälin, Falko Paeper, Florian Wittmann, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
The deterioration of one is the foundation of another one’s life. The world, with its never-ending interplay of eating and being eaten, takes on new dimensions when the unexpected forces of nature clash with the existing structures of our society. The only constant is change.
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Gravity (United Kingdom)
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, Esperanto Filmoj
VFX work submitted by Framestore, United Kingdom
Gravity, this year’s VFX BAFTA and Oscar winner, turns filmmaking on its head. Rather than adding visual effects to a live-action plate, the film is around 80% computer generated, with the live-action elements (Sandra Bullock and George Clooney’s faces), integrated seamlessly with their CG spacesuits and surroundings.
BEST VISUALIZATION & SIMULATION
Kinematics (United States)
Directed by Jessica Rosenkrantz, Jesse Louis-Rosenberg, Nervous System
This video visualizes Kinematics, a system for designing and simulating flexible structures for 3D printing. Kinematics generates customized designs composed of 10s to thousands of hinged, interlocking modules. The designs are computationally folded using rigid-body physics into a smaller form for fabrication by 3D printing.
BEST GAME
The Crew (France)
Directed by Maxime Luère, Dominique Boidin, Rémi Kozyra, Unit Image
The concept of this full-CGI trailer consists of juxtaposing the two worlds valued highly by car lovers: aesthetically pleasing advertisements and action scenes. The features of the game, such as the novelty of the multiplayer aspect and the feeling of freedom in an open world, are highlighted through this concept.
BEST IN REAL-TIME GRAPHICS
RYSE: Son of Rome (Germany)
Directed by Chris Evans, Peter Gornstein, Martin L’Heureux, Crytek
With Ryse, Crytek decided to focus on characters and emotion to serve the game and story. Ryse is an eight-hour game with an additional 110-minutes of linear storytelling content. The submission shows gameplay and cutscenes, both utilize the same assets and can be rendered in real-time.
BEST COMMERCIAL ADVERTISEMENT
Three, "The Pony" (United Kingdom)
Directed by Dougal Wilson, Blink Productions
VFX work submitted by MPC
The pony’s bouncy moves were created using a photo-real CG digital double and extensive R&D to translate human movement to a horse. The film cuts seamlessly between CG and real-life footage. Fur was created using MPC’s Furtility tool, and environments were altered using compositing and matte painting.
