General notes and thoughts about my experience of #SIGGRAPH2022

Watch a video about it here.

The agenda:
- What is SIGGRAPH?
- The overall schedule
- What I liked/disliked about the experience
- A brief history —of me! Let’s start with this :)

About Me

I want to share my background to give you an idea of where I’m coming from as I visit booths/panels. A sort of way to view the experience through my perspective.

I started an animation student. Though after putting in the work and working between Maya and XSI, I realized that being a 3D animator wasn’t something I was passionate about. So, I pivoted to be a modeling/texture artist instead. Although I enjoyed this a lot more, enjoyed painting in Photoshop, and absolutely LOVED ZBrush, when it came to modeling CARS, assets that require the utmost perfection, I found myself raging, lol. It was too frustrating to get every single vertex just in the right place at every possible angle! I didn’t have the patience for it. Later on, on a project to create an animated short for a wedding, I was tasked the role of concept artist, set modeler/texture artist, and person-who-organizes-everyone-and-everything. And boy did I love doing the last part! It was very fun for me to help set the team up, put together a schedule, track the progress, and lead the team towards the project’s completion.

I mentioned this to a friend of mine who was already in the industry and she helped set up an interview. I went in and explained how I;d be a great fit and emphasized that with my background, I’d already be familiar with the industry terminologies. To my disappointment, I didn’t get the job.

I still knew that this was the industry I wanted to be in, so while I was trying to get my foot in the door, I taught Blender and Maya as a 3D animation instructor for kids! Unbeknownst to me at the time, this experience actually ended up shaping me to be the Production support I am today.
(But, that’s a story for another time ;) ).

Eventually, I did get in to a studio. I started out as a Production Coordinator for an animated series working for Nickelodeon under the studio, Nerd Corps. Then acquired by DHX. Then rebranded to Wild Brain. I wanted to continue learning, and was very interested in VFX, so I moved on to be a show Production Coordinator for episodics at Zoic Studios. After some time, I wanted to learn more about VFX in film, so I switched studios to be a VFX Production Coordinator at ILM / Industrial Light & Magic. After a while, I realized that animation still held my heart. I wanted to go back. I made the difficult decision of changing studios once more to be a 3D Production Coordinator for an animated series at Atomic Cartoons. Finding my home, I worked my way up to be a Sr. Production Coordinator, and eventually a CG Production Manager.

Throughout my experience, I’ve touched practically all departments of a traditional pipeline. That is, until, I went to SIGGRAPH this year and learned about Virtual Production! (It's a whole new world! Perhaps one day, I’ll join it too!)

What is SIGGRAPH?

Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics & Interactive Techniques.

A 4 day conference, hosted annually in North America and Asia, featuring various presentations and exhibitions of the latest innovations in CG. It brings together a community of researchers, artists, developers, filmmakers, scientists and industry professionals, experts, and students alike.

There are booths, events, parties, and networking opportunities to meet and get to know even the biggest companies and studios within the CG industry!
Also, LOTS of FREE SWAGS.

Overall Schedule

The days are pretty long, so make sure to bring comfortable shoes!

The convention center provided bagels, drinks, and other snacks throughout the day, and you’ll find water fountains everywhere which was perfect since the event was happening in the summer and are whole day events.

The earliest panels start at 8am and the latest could be around 5/6pm.

There are multiple panels happening at the same time so you will have to pick and choose which ones you’d want to catch. Some panels will get pretty full and if you’re late, you wouldn’t be able to get in. I should mention that depending on the type of badge you purchase, some panels may/may not be accessible. Unfortunately, it’s one of those things where the more you pay, the more you can access…

In the evening, there are also a lot of studio parties or company parties going on all around the city and you can get in if you talk to the right people! * cough * talk to them at their booths! * cough *

There is also a JOB FAIR, which I actually missed because I had not realized it was only for 1 day :(

Likes/Dislikes

CBB Note: Schedule App

(That’s a production joke up there if you didn’t get it, haha)

We had a blast! So, I think the only thing that could be better is the Schedule App. In the previous years, you are also provided with a booklet that lists all the events happening, so if you did end up missing your 1st choice, it’s pretty handy to see your other options right away. This year, everything was via mobile, but it didn’t list everything. We only found out about some panels by reading the actual physical posters outside.

What I loved about SIGGRAPH is seeing old friends and colleagues again. Some of them, even meeting for the 1st time as we had been WFH in the last 2 years due to the pandemic. It was also very inspiring to learn from one of the world’s bests! It’s so crazy to see how fast the technology is changing, and SIGGRAPH leaves you a sense of where the future is headed —and it’s all so very cool! One of my favourites are the Production Sessions. These are like the Hall H of SDCC, hah! These are the biggest panels where studios are invited to share their workflow, thought process, and behind the scenes of recent films. A lot of times, I also find these surprisingly endearing when the team shares little anecdotes that happened during production. These are things you wouldn’t have had a chance to know unless you meet the people who were there!

Overall…

It was a super awesome week, and I’m very grateful to have been able to attend this year. Next year will be held in the US, and I’m not sure yet if I will be able to go in 2023, but one can hope!