Press Release #5

FMX 2021
Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Immersive Media
Online, May 4-6, 2021

Ludwigsburg/Germany, March 16, 2021. Only seven weeks till FMX 2021 will take off on May 4 to 6, and we are pleased to see more and more confirmations of amazing media creators coming in, who will share their insights at FMX's virtual edition: We are looking forward to having exciting speakers in our Open Source track and hosting presentations on Pixar's Soul and the collaborative animated short Cat and Moth. Furthermore, we welcome TRIXTER as an FMX Silver Partner.

If you want to be part of our unique digital live experience, connecting you to creatives from all over the world, visit www.fmx.de/tickets.

The Open Source track in Partnership with the Academy Software Foundation

Open source software has become ubiquitous across the motion picture industry, providing a foundation for many of the visual effects and animation used in motion pictures today. Developers and engineers across the industry are working together to solve common challenges and to develop new tools that help bring images to life. Developed in partnership with the Academy Software Foundation, the Open Source track highlights these cross-industry efforts to develop shared technologies for image creation, visual effects, animation and sound.

The speakers of the Open Source track will be David Morin (Executive Director, Academy Software Foundation), Nick Cannon (Walt Disney Animation Studios), Larry Gritz (Sony Pictures Imageworks), Carol Payne (Netflix), Jim Jeffers & Sean McDuffee (Intel Corporation), Kimball Thurston (Weta Digital), Karen Ruggles (DeSales University), Benoit Maujean & Fabien Castan (Mikros Image) and Allan Johns (Method Studios).

What do souls actually look like? The creative and technical efforts that created the unique ethereal characters in Pixar's Soul

What is the meaning of life? How can babies already have personalities? Pixar's Soul takes us on a journey to the place where these questions can be answered. But in order to visualize this ethereal place, before life begins, the looks development team had to figure out what souls actually look like. Join Markus Kranzler (Technical Director at Pixar Animation Studios) as he explains the creative and technical efforts that went into creating these unique characters.

A fluffy remote collaboration – The making of Cat and Moth

Ditto, a fluffy white cat, wants nothing more than to take her afternoon nap in the most comfortable spot in the universe. Little does she know that someone else has their eye on it too... Inspired by observations of the bemusing behaviour of her beloved feline friends, character animator and cat lover India Barnardo directed the playful natured short animation film Cat and Moth. She created it with a team of more than 90 filmmakers scattered all over the world working on this project entirely online, made possible through the collaborative platform Artella. India Barnardo and some of the team will walk you through the cutting-edge concerted Making of Cat and Moth.

Forum News

The FMX 2021 Forum is filling up. We're delighted to present you further partner confirmations:

We welcome TRIXTER as one of our Silver Partners. TRIXTER creates dazzling concept art and award-winning visual effects for television & feature films. From ultra-realistic CG creatures to immersive environments and electrifying effects, they work not only with big-name clients such as Marvel and Disney, but also frontrunner German production companies like X-Verleih. The powerhouse creative team takes on imaginative projects of any size or budget, working closely with clients every step of the way. From the very first concept drawing to the final immaculate render and beyond, TRIXTER's customized high-end solutions really put the 'X' in VFX.

Schools: ArtFX - School of Digital Arts, Hochschule der Medien, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, BA Animation, Merz Akademie, University of Applied Art, Design and Media, Stuttgart, Salzburg University of Applied Sciences, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria – School of Informatics, Communications and Media