Here at fxphd, we’ve been longtime fans of the FMX conference and we’re psyched about attending once again. If you’re an artist based in Europe, this is a must attend conference and you’re missing out if you don’t make the trip to Stuttgart. We always also enjoy catching up with members at fxphd pub night and are looking forward to that as well — there’s always a great contingent of members from the continent.
You can save around 15% on attendance by purchasing your tickets online before March 31st. The conference runs from May 2nd through May 5th.
What follows are just a few of the many highlights we’re looking forward to at the 2106 edition of FMX.
Fantastic Beasts and How to Create Them
Christian Manz (Framestore) – Wednesday, May 03
Framestore’s Creative Director Christian Manz was the overall VFX Supervisor on Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, bring to life the magical creatures taking centre stage in J.K.Rowling’s latest creation.
Cinematography of Kubo
Terrance Tornberg (LAIKA) – Wednesday, May 03
LAIKA won the VES Award for Outstanding Visual Effects in an Animated Feature, breaking a string of 19 awards won in a row by Disney. Terrance Tornberg, CG Lighting Lead, will discuss the artistic challenges that were present in Kubo, in particular how lighting was used as a literal character in the film, as well as the technical challenges of making a small world feel epic.
Piper: Animating and Simulating Sand
Krzysztof Rost (Pixar) – Tuesday, May 02
Technical Director Krzysztof Rost will cover the creative and technical challenges for animating and simulating sand in Pixar’s Academy Award® winning animated short film Piper. The talk will cover numerous solutions for sand interaction with characters, innovative techniques for artistic control and development process. (Be sure to check out our in-depth article over at fxguide).
Exploring ‘LOGAN’: Game Engines and VR’s expanding role in Previsualization
Clint Reagan (HALON) – Thursday, May 04
Clint Reagan, who has taught here at fxphd, will discuss his use of several tools including game engines and VR for Deepwater Horizon, and the box office hit Logan. Additionally, Regan will detail the creative process from previs through UE4 rendered finals for the 4D Holographic Journey Mass Effect: New Earth, and share some intel on HALON’s upcoming summer blockbuster slate.
Digital Human Teleportation
Prof. Dr. Hao Li (Pinscreen/USC/ICT) – Thursday, May 04
Li will discuss state of the art techniques for human digitization, avatar building, and facial performance capture for enabling immersive face-to-face communication in virtual environments.
Independence Day: From “ID4” to “Resurgence” – A VFX journey
Volker Engel (Uncharted Territory) – Wednesday, May 03
For a sequel that is created more than twenty years later with over 1700 VFX shots can you stay visually true to the well-liked original? Should you even try? To answer these questions Volker dug deep in his own archives and will connect the dots between the ‘wire, tape and rubber band-style’ adventure that was “ID4” and the daunting digital challenges of its sequel “Independence Day: Resurgence”
The VFX of “A Cure for Wellness” and “Doctor Strange”
Florian Gellinger (RISE) – Friday, May 05
The VFX of “Star Wars: Rogue One”
John Knoll (ILM) – Friday, May 05
In addition to various presentations, manufacturers run a variety of sessions such as ones by Pixar on RenderMan with Dylan Sisson, Solid Angle/Arnold, Adobe, MAXON, Chaos Group, and more. Autodesk and The Foundry also have company suites with presentations covering their products.