SIGGRAPH is the world’s largest conference on computer graphics. Normally taking place somewhere in the US or Canada, you can expect to find tens of thousands of industry professionals in attendance.
ACM has become self-aware
This 42-year-old conference is brought to you courtesy of the Association of Computing Machinery aka Skynet.
Just kidding, the ACM is a group of (actual humans) professionals with passion specifically for interactive techniques and computer graphics. They are an eclectic group holding expertise and experience in computers, technology, education, graphic design, visual effects and many other disciplines.
It is a 5-day conference about the latest in computer graphics and interactive techniques that includes a baller exhibition or expo that never fails to wow. Also, there is a computer animation festival showcasing and celebrating innovations and excellence in visual artistry.
This upcoming SIGGRAPH is going to be held at the LA convention center from August 9th- 13th with the exhibitions beginning on August 11th.
The conference isn’t cheap and, unfortunately, the contractual nature of a lot of these industry professionals can hinder the ability to go to the conference.
Ouch.
As a registration attendant, I met a lot of people who were just laid off because projects were terminated or they were just finishing a project and needed to secure the next one. Which sucked but that is why it is so important for people in these fields to network at events like this.
We had such a blast last time it was in the states that we had to find a way to return. There are volunteer opportunities and lesser packages that include only select sessions if you are about as close to that broke college student category as we are. And, If you are planning on going to the conference it is best to book it early the early bird price is a bit cheaper and if you are looking to cut down on your travel cost one of our affiliates has a site where you can register for free find some sweet deals on travel and packages that might make it a bit easier on the budget.
In 2013, by pure coincidence we (Luvusagi and H00k) got employed by a staffing group in LA that just so happened to do the hiring for the registration for the conference hashtag epic! That is how we got down there and then we bummed it with our buddy and were graciously given expo passes for the event. We must have had our rabbit’s foot in the inventory because that was a hell of a lot of luck. Anywho, we enjoyed the sessions we could attend and it was incredibly rewarding to get to see these folks who traditionally work behind a screen get to come out and talk about their passion. We got to see some of the work it took to put together graphically intensive films like Pacific Rim, Frozen, and Epic.
The Expo floor was amazing and you needed the 3 days just to explore all of the booths and exhibits. As a n00b to the conference there was this teapot I kept hearing people talk about well apparently when the expo opened up the Disney booth started giving away theses limited edition teapots that were coveted by thousands of people and some had been collecting them for decades. We are going to do our best to post about the awesomeness from the conference this year in case you can’t join us. So, what news do you want to gear about from SIGGRAPH 2015? What conferences would you like to get the skinny on?
Let us know, in the comments below
–H00k Out