Above: The first annual SPARK Animation Festival in full swing in Vancouver.
In September 2008, BCIC supported the Vancouver Chapter of the Association for Computing Machinery's Special Interest Group for Computer Graphics (ACM SIGGRAPH) with $50,000. ACM SIGGRAPH is the world's first and largest society serving computer graphics researchers, professionals, and artists worldwide. The Vancouver chapter is the most active in the world and is celebrating its successful launch of the first annual SPARK Animation Festival held September 10 to 14 in Vancouver.
Here, SPARK set the stage for five days of premiere screenings, panels, and presentations from world-class directors, animators and film-makers including: Directors John Stevenson and Mark Osborne of DreamWorks "Kung Fu Panda", and former Vancouverite Jimmy Hayward and Steve Martino of Blue Sky Studios "Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who".
The advent of digital and emerging technologies are transforming the creative industries with leading-edge discoveries and applications. Innovations in this sector are usually seen in applications like film and video games; and is a surprise for many to discover new advancements in these industries originating from mathematics, computer science, electrical and computer engineering. With this in mind, BCIC and Vancouver ACM SIGGRAPH are working with industry, education and government partners to further this connection and the growth of B.C.'s creative industries.
For more information about ACM SIGGRAPH and upcoming events, visit www.siggraph.ca.
