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Review of SIGGRAPH 2002, Animation Festival

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One of the biggest crowd pleasers at this years SIGGRAPH convention is the Computer Animation Festival. Attendees from around the world are treated to some of the most cutting-edge visual performances around. This year, over 70 countries were represented. This highly anticipated event showcases the world's most significant advances in computer graphics technology and creative design. Being in a theater full of computer graphics professionals was a wonderful experience. Every conversation in my vicinity was either in a foreign language or spoken with a heavy accent. It was also very refreshing to share a theater with hundreds of graphics nerds who share my same enthusiasm for animation and visual effects! The Computer Animation Festival is the most prestigious event of its kind and is divided into two venues, the Electronic Theater and the Animation Theater. Both events were repeated several times at the Lila Cockrel Theater in the Henry B. Gonzales Convention Center. The Animation Theater is made up of various film shorts in several categories: Commercials, Film Clips, Video Games, and Visualizations. Students and prospective graphic artists submitted many of the entries presented at the Animation Theater. With the Electronic Theater, a panel of judges is in charge of evaluating prime works from the most accomplished design houses in the world. Both events represent the state of the graphics and visualization community in 2002. The Computer Animation Festival jury unanimously selected "The Cathedral" as the Best Animated Short. Platige Images from Poland created a surrealistic masterpiece about a pilgrim who arrives to his final destiny. His lone journey takes him to an otherworldly location at the edge of humanity. An enormous cathedral stands high at the edge of a cliff in a barren wasteland. As he enters, the audience sees that he is not alone. The pilgrim walks through winding passages through the depths of the cathedral. All the while, watchful eyes witness his progression through the edifice. Finally, he comes to a portion of the cathedral that is unfinished. After marveling at his surroundings, the pilgrim lifts his walking staff and thrusts it into the ground. Suddenly, the staff transforms into a growing vine that encases the pilgrim. He is lifted from the ground and becomes absorbed by the rapidly growing vine. The vine reaches the end of the unfinished cathedral and becomes one of its structural supports. The pilgrim has reached his final destiny as a silent witness in an assimilated matrix. This beautifully crafted animation was a breathtaking drama that epitomizes the maturity of the special effects, 3d and graphics industry. For more info about The Cathedral, visit the Platige Images website at http://www.platige.com/katedra The panel of judges was composed of industry leaders from Dreamworks, Sony Pictures Imageworks and several universities. The judging process actually took place before the conference began. An awards ceremony followed the conference where an enthusiastic audience cheered for the winners.