FMX 2012 - Newsletter #5: The program is online - get your ticket now!

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FMX 2012 - 17th Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Transmedia
May 8-11, Stuttgart, Germany

Newsletter #5 - March 2012

... brought to you by:

With less than six weeks remaining before FMX 2012 opens its doors, we are happy to present a program that is bursting at the seams with VFX blockbusters, animated features and gaming highlights. Moreover, audience and experts will get more than their money's worth when FMX highlights the vast field of Virtual Production. With the success of Avatar, Virtual Production exploded on the scene as a new, effective way to make movies in the digital age. Centered on the ability for filmmakers to interact with virtual worlds in real time, Virtual Production enables an iterative workflow that is blurring the boundaries between pre-production, production and post. Stay tuned for further information on the Virtual Production track that will cover topics from World Building, to Previsualization, to the Virtual Production stage, on movies such as Tintin, Real Steel, Hugo, War Horse and Total Recall. The Virtual Production track is generously supported by our main partner Autodesk.


- The FMX 2012 program is now online!
Purchase your ticket from our Online Ticket Shop.


- FMX rolls out the red carpet for VFX pioneers Doug Trumbull and Ray Feeney

FMX has an illustrious guest list this year: In addition to Oscar winner Rob Legato, who supplies you with essential VFX treats from award-winning Hugo, FMX 2012 is happy to welcome VFX pioneers Doug Trumbull and Ray Feeney. Director and VFX supervisor Douglas Trumbull, who has substantially shaped VFX ever since Stanley Kubrick's 1968 cult classic 2001: A Space Odyssey, has helped to create cinematic milestones such as Ridley Scott's Blade Runner, Steven Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind and, most recently, Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life. At FMX, Trumbull discusses the history of cinema from both photographic and projection aspects in the special track Cinema of the Future. Together with RFX president Ray Feeney and presenter and renowned film journalist Bill Desowitz of Immersed in Movies he will also explore how higher frame rates will improve the quality of cinematic presentation. Read more about this panel discussion here. What's more, Ray Feeney presents a retrospective on the history of Visual Effects beginning from his early career with Robert Abel and Associates (RA&A). Let the VFX virtuosos fill you in on their mastery!

- Fight evil: Men in Black III and Sherlock Holmes 2

Galaxy defenders Agent J (Will Smith) and Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) return once more to save the earth from slimy aliens when Men in Black III premieres on May 25th. It's the first of the Men in Black movies to be released in 3D. Two weeks before its opening day, Jay Redd, Visual Effects Supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks, offers an exclusive look behind the scenes of the upcoming science fiction comedy. With Sherlock Holmes 2: A game of shadows, FMX features yet another successful sequel. Ben White, CG Supervisor at Framestore, dissects several sequences of the blockbuster that stars Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law, giving A blow by blow account. Join the good guys, beat the bad guys!


- Travel to Mars with John Carter

Put your sandals on when FMX brings the red, hot planet to FMX: Three exciting presentations offer insights on the adventures of John Carter as part of the Effects: Showcases track. Andrew Stanton's John Carter features over 2.000 visual effect shots delivered by four companies. The major part of these visual effect shots were produced by Double Negative. Their Visual Effects Supervisor and Co-Founder Peter Chiang discusses how to raise the bar of visual effects production in his talk Creating the world of John Carter. In a similar manner, his colleague Ken McGaugh, Visual Effects Supervisor, explains in his presentation how his team brought to life CG characters and creatures inhabiting the red planet. There's more: Sue Rowe, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor at Cinesite, reveals how her team created a considerable part of the film's environments - read more about them here. Looks like you've got to mount your Thoat and ride to FMX.

- Still freezing: Ice Age 4 & Arthur Christmas

Beware of the ice floe: Blue Sky's Ice Age movies rank among the most successful animation series of all times. The fourth installment Ice Age: Continental drift, which premieres July 13th, will continue this unique success story. However, they stop over in Stuttgart two months before they come to the screen. At FMX, Supervising Animator Nick Bruno and Lead Animator Jeff Gabor, who won the Annie Award for "Best Character Animation" for Rio just a few weeks ago, provide valuable insights into the process of animating the most beloved extinct animals. In their presentation How do you Scrat? Bruno and Gabor pay tribute to Scrat, the most popular of all Ice Age characters. And as if that isn't enough snow for one FMX, Aardman Animation brings additional winter cheer to Stuttgart: The British production company, internationally known for their Academy Award-winning Wallace and Gromit series, constitutes another Animation Highlight. Director-Supervising Animator Seamus Malone explains the work on the Christmas tale Arthur Christmas. Find this presentation on our website.


- Set sail with Madagascar 3 and The Pirates!

Jump onboard with the Madagascar movies that have been just as positively received by movie goers and critics as the Ice Age movies have been. Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted is the third installment and the first of all three films to be released in 3D. One month before its official release, Scott Peterson, Head of Effects at DreamWorks Animation, looks behind the scenes and delivers exclusive insights into the Mad World of Madagascar 3 that is surely going to float your boat. In a similar vein, Tom Barnes, the Technical Director of Aardman Animations, discloses why The Pirates! Band of Misfits is the company's first stop-motion clay animated feature to be released in Digital 3D in his presentation.

- Wild 'n Strange Animation

Quirky, deviant or extraordinary: The art and craft of Animation exceeds blockbuster and family entertainment. Our FMX track Animation: Wild 'n Strange, curated by Animation Director Andreas Hykade, explores how three short films and one media institution use animation to achieve their aims. Colorful animation contributions: Director Marv Newland explains how he used animation techniques to create his experimental short CMYK that constitutes a symphony of color and sound. In a similar vein, filmmaker Rosto A.D., whose artwork has been compared to Tim Burton, reveals the animation processes involved in creating his 30-minute musical The Monster of Nix that features the voices of Tom Waits and Terry Gilliam. In addition, Bo Mathorne, who directed the graduate film project Backwater Gospel from the Danish film school Animation Workshop, demonstrates how animation can be used in a convincingly macabre style, combining melancholy and gore. However, animation is much more than entertainment: Kevin Chuan-Chang Wang (Next Media Animation) elucidates the production of Animated News with the help of game development technologies that accelerate the production processes to match the rapidly changing news cycle. Venture into the wilderness!


- All fighters on-board: Mortal Kombat and SSX

We have a soft spot for extreme gaming experiences at FMX: The extended games section at FMX serves two successful long runners this year. TJ Galda, Senior CG Supervisor at EA Sports, illustrates how the latest SSX edition sets new standards for visual arts in Games with his presentation Own the Planet - The Massive World of SSX. In addition to ice-glazed mountain-tops, there's even more adrenaline entertainment with the Mortal Kombat series, which has been playing a pivotal role in the game scene for twenty years now. Dominic Cianciolo, Cinematic Director at NetherRealmStudios,devotes his talk to creative aspects of different production processes and essential components that are needed in order to create a long-term, emotional bond between the gamer and the franchise. Grab your console - Ice Freeze!


- Outside the box: Games and Transmedia

This isn't a game: As an international meeting point for the merging film and games industries, FMX broadens its perspective beyond singular case studies and thinks outside the box. Rick Stringfellow, Executive Art Director at EA Sports, speaks about the quickly transforming game industry. In a further talk, Stringfellow observes the difficulties of adjusting both quantity and quality to the ever-expanding games sector and its spread onto mobile devices and web browsers - find out how. On the other hand, Microsoft Studios' Director of Central Media, Ben Cammarano, reveals why his company dropped the word "Games" from its title to ensure 'Massive' Content Alignment.


- Is this your booth at the Marketplace?

The Forums are brimming with aspiring talent and successful professionals looking to improve their work with the latest technologies and products. Booths are nearly booked full, but there's still some time to make a reservation. Give your company the visibility it needs - book a booth at the Marketplace.