My SIGGRAPH Experience

Working in WHA’s Rendering Studio, I am always on the lookout for ways to learn and improve my skillsets. So, when I had the opportunity of attending SIGGRAPH 2023 in Los Angeles, CA, one of the leading computer graphics conferences in the world, I couldn’t pass it up. The annual conference draws talent from across the globe where companies and individuals submit their latest research and achievements in the world of computer graphics. This year, the conference highlighted AI generated content and advancements in real-time graphics.

I attended the second day of the conference where the keynote speaker was none other than the Founder and CEO of NVIDIA, Jensen Huang. NVIDIA is the leader in GPU technology. He revealed a mixture of new products, such as new computing chips and graphics cards, updates to their software Omniverse, and insights into their involvement with other companies to incorporate AI into workflows.

I also attended an inspiring panel hosted by Sony Pictures Entertainment that discussed the process of creating a digital short film while collaborating with different companies. It was great to learn how each team collaborated, especially hearing from movie director Jason Reitman. He offered his insight as a director and how it applied to directing a film in real time in a virtual environment.

The EXPO floor was filled with exciting new technologies. There was representation from NVIIDA, Autodesk, Adobe, Meta, Epic Games and plenty of up and coming companies transforming the computer graphics industries. One highlight was experiencing the Immersive Pavillion, which featured innovative research projects in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. Projects ranged from showcasing new haptic feedback methods for VR to showcasing technology that can take a 2D photograph of someone’s face and then display a 3D model on an eye tracked 3D Display. Little pieces of history with Virtual Reality headset prototypes from over the years were also showcased.

Overall, it was great to be surrounded by all the creative energy, engage with my peers, and make new connections. My SIGGRAPH 2023 experience has inspired me to explore new methods to incorporate in our Rendering Studio services that will push the limits for our client’s projects!