All demos are non-commercial, and the host drags participants off the stage if they indulge in hype. Bring an enthusiastic attitude to the event and be prepared for serious fun. The audience votes for category and best-of-show winners, in real time, using an innovative laser-pointer voting system developed at Iowa State University. Bring your laser pointers!
Sandy Ressler National Institute of Standards Technology
Leonard Daly Daly Realism
Tuesday, 10 August, 1:45 - 3:15 pm
The field of computer music, which has evolved from its origins in early computing technology, analog electronic music, digital signal processing, audio engineering, and the experimental music tradition, represents the nexus of modern creative and technical issues associated with digital audio and analysis. This Special Session features experts at the forefront of several primary research areas:
- Software-based sound synthesis
- Human-computer interface technologies for performers and composers
- Acoustic simulation of auditory environments
- Sound spatialization and presentation of electro-acoustic music
- Intuitive computer music composition
- Computer-assisted music composition and affective music computing systems
- Stylistic emulation and modeling of human performers
- Music information retrieval
Each panel member addresses ongoing research in these primary points of focus within the broader context of their historical impetus and potential future applications.
Colby Leider University of Miami
Tuesday, 10 August, 6 - 8 pm
Pioneering artists such as Jim Henson and Phil Tippett, and many other puppeteers, have been experimenting with computer graphics from the beginning.
Jim Henson's early CG puppets, Waldo C. Graphic and Tizzy the Bee, led to development of the Henson Digital Performance Studio, and, more recently, CG versions of Kermit the Frog and Gonzo the Great. Tippet's Digital Input Device first gave CG animation access to additional stop-motion animators working on "Jurassic Park" and "Starship Troopers." Virtual CG sets of "The Jim Henson Hour" and "The Wubbulous World of Dr. Suess" also added a broader freedom to the medium.
This special session reviews the history, advantages, and future of CG in puppetry, and it presents many personal stories from the puppeteers' perspective.
Wednesday, 11 August, 6 - 8 pm
The explosive new generation of visual artists known as VJs and the dozens of companies that support them with new tools, equipment, and software are continually creating more complex and vivid presentations. In this roundtable discussion hosted by Los Angeles Video Artists (LAVA), several respected and widely known VJs offer insight into current and future trends for this adventurous new culture. For more information and updates, see: www.la-va.org/siggraph2004
James Cui Los Angeles Video Artists (LAVA)
Thursday, 12 August, 10:30 am - 12:15 pm
The next generation of game hardware and real-time, per-pixel shading will make it possible to create more compelling interactive visuals then ever before. Dramatic improvements are on the horizon in high-resolution models and textures, soft subtle lighting, complex character animation, and amazing visual effects. Presenters from top game companies, including Habib Zargarpur ("Need to Speed Underground" and "007 Bond: Everything or Nothing") and Henry LaBounta ("SSX3") from Electronic Arts, show examples of what they are doing now to push the envelope and speak about their plans for creating the breathtaking games of tomorrow.
Henry LaBounta Electronic Arts Canada