The RMCAD Students Siggraph Adventure

Three of us caught the Electronic Theater yesterday afternoon.  It was at a theater a few blocks away from the main convention center.  Before the program started there was a little preshow where they selected three audience members and invited them on stage to play some old school arcade games on the giant screen.  I never thought tha Ateroids could be a spectator sport, but I guess I was wrong.  The three games where Asteroids, Tempest, and the original Star Wars game.  Pretty amusing, but not as group interactive as some of the other Electronic Theater shows that they’ve done in the past.

 The show itself was good overall.  There where some pieces that where absolutly beautiful and some pieces that we all questioned their merit for being included.  I think most people think that the Electronic Theater is where the best of the best most high quality animation is shown.  But as the speaker at the Intro to Siggraph said, getting into the ET isnt really about better quality animation; its also about presenting something unique, something revolutionary perhaps, demonstrating a new way to do things, etc.  So it’s not just how much entertainment value a piece has that determines whether it makes it into the show or not.  Still on a few pieces I wondered what quality it was that landed them in the ET.

 Still a good show though.  Pixar had a new short, as did the people behind Ice Age.  There where some really fun commercials and some independent shorts as well.  Actually the Best in Show went to an indpendent short called Ark (or the Ark, I can’t remember now.)

I’m looking forward to getting home and watching the DVD.  I’m also excited to watch the Animatino Theater DVDs as I only got to poke my head in there once or twice.