3December Animation Conference

Release Date: 11/1/2000. Expired: 12/3/2000

An international event celebrating computer graphics and animation will bring some of the industry’s top representatives to The Renaissance Center in Dickson, Tenn. Sponsored around the world by Alias/wavefront, 3December will include activities in 30 cities throughout the day of Dec. 3, 2000.

Speakers scheduled for 3December activities at The Renaissance Center have been involved in projects from “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace” to “The Simpsons,” from “Veggie Tales” to “Toy Story 2,” from “Twister” to “X-Men.”

“We are bringing together people from the top production companies in the animation world to share their experiences and knowledge,” said Jason Busby, director of Animation at The Renaissance Center. “We are very excited to be part of the international celebration of 3December.”

The Renaissance Center, located just 35 miles west of Nashville, is a state-of-the-art facility utilizing the latest technology to promote a variety of educational programs and initiatives.

The day of activities is free and includes various speakers, informational sessions, Maya workshops and a special premiere of an Alias/wavefront promotional announcement.

Speakers will be:

• Jay Francis, director of talent recruiting for Film Roman. Francis is responsible for locating the artistic talent behind such high-profile animated programs as “The Simpsons,” “King of the Hill,” “Doomsday,” “The Oblongs,” “Mission Hill” and “The X-Men,” as well as the artists for Film Roman’s in-house development team. He recently also became acquisitions director for level13.net, Film Roman’s internet subsidiary, where he acquires short animated films that the company can develop into television series, direct-to-video features, video games and internet programming;
• Ed Kramer, sequence supervisor for Industrial Light and Magic (ILM), a division of Lucas Digital Ltd. Kramer has been involved in computer animation from its earliest days, having worked the last 18 years in the entertainment industry while also doing scientific visualizations for NASA. His ILM credits include work on “The Mummy Returns,” “The Perfect Storm,” “Galaxy Quest,” “Star Wars: The Phantom Menace,” “The Mummy,” “The Lost World,” “101 Dalmatians,” “Twister” and “Jumanji.” He has received national recognition from the Broadcast Design Association, National Computer Graphics Association and Clio Awards;
• Marc Vulcano, director of animation for Big Idea Productions. A professional musician and former draftsman and CAD department manager in the architectural industry, Vulcano began building 3D models in 1988 and two years later started his own 3D CG Design Company. After a stint as 3D artist and character animator in the video game industry, he joined Big Idea Productions in 1998 as a character animator. Big Idea Productions is the home of the popular animated program “Veggie Tales;”
• Wayne Wooten, animation scientist in the Studio Tools group at Pixar Animation Studios. He was a member of the research and development team at Pixar that developed new animation and lighting software for use on “A Bug’s Life.” He also managed a team of developers who designed and implemented new renderfarm scheduling and control software for “Toy Story 2,” the Golden Globe-winning animated feature;
• Michael Kennedy, senior 3D artist at Giant Studios. Kennedy is one of the senior animators responsible for leading the production team of animators in generating CGI components and completing projects utilizing a broad palette of proprietary and off-the-shelf graphics software. He previously was art director and senior artist with CyberFlix Inc., where he managed a team of artists and developed content for more than half a dozen titles and also generated imagery for a variety of programs seen on networks such as A&E and The Discovery Channel.

These experts will discuss the newest techniques and software, their latest projects and the behind-the-scenes world of computer animation, with each program included a question and answer session.

Attendees will also get to see the premiere of a laser and graphics promotional announcement for Alias/wavefront presented in The Renaissance Center’s CyberSphere Theatre, a four-story domed, interactive theater complete with the world’s first 360-degree laser projection system, 14,000 watts of digital sound and DigiStar II starfield projector which is home to planetarium and laser music shows.

3December at The Renaissance Center is free and will be 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 3. Registration and check-in will be 9-10 a.m.

3December events will be held Dec. 3 in 30 cities around the world, including Bogota, Budapest, London, Stockholm, Tokyo, Toronto, Auckland, Johannesburg, Lisbon, Madrid, Milano, Paris, Singapore, Sydney, Tel Aviv and several cities across the United States.

To register or for more information on 3December at The Renaissance Center, call Vona Hall at (615) 740-5517. For information on the worldwide 3December event, visit www.3december.com.

Agenda for 3December at The Renaissance Center
9 a.m. - Registration
10 a.m. - Animation workshops
11 a.m. - Speaker: Jay Francis of Film/Roman
12 p.m. - Lunch
1 p.m. - Alias/Wavefront promo premiere
2 p.m. - Speaker: Marc Vulcano of Big Idea Production
3 p.m. - Animation workshops
4 p.m. - Speaker: Michael Kennedy of Giant Studios
5 p.m. - Alias/Wavefront promo premiere
6 p.m. - Speaker: Wayne Wooten of Pixar
7 p.m. - Animation workshops
8 p.m. - Speaker: Ed Kramer of ILM