Press Release

Crossovers Abound! The International Computer Graphics and InteractiveTechniques Community Descends in Tokyo for SIGGRAPH Asia 2018
•Keynotes by NASA’s David Oh, MIT’s Erik Demaine, and GROOVE X’s Kaname Hayashi Explore the Limitsof Engineering and Design•

Featuring 93 exhibitors from 14 countries and regions

TOKYO, Japan, 26 November 2018 – The 11th edition of SIGGRAPH Asia aims to take computer graphics andinteractive techniques into space and beyond this year. Themed, Crossover, SIGGRAPH Asia 2018, today
announced the full lineup of its conference program. The annual conference and exhibition will take placefrom 4 – 7 December at the Tokyo International Forum, where 10,000 attendees from more than 60 countries
are expected to attend.
"In a few short decades, the computer graphics and interactive techniques community has been exploring
new frontiers of digital media and industries. The international teams at SIGGRAPH Asia 2018 will share theirknowledge, crossover experiences and achievements to further inspire the next generation of the computer
graphics community,” said Dr. Ken Anjyo, SIGGRAPH Asia 2018 Conference Chair. "This year, we've also sought
out keynote speakers, who are pioneers in their own fields beyond computer graphics, bringing interesting
topics that are reflective of our conference theme "Crossover". We believe that the delegates will be verymuch excited to attend the future-minded conference.”
Close to 750 speakers will be presenting at the four-day conference. Notable panel and production sessions
include:The boundaries of Space, Origami and Robots will be explored through the Keynotes:•Exploring Red Planets and Metal Worlds: How JPL turns Dreams into Reality by Dr. David Oh, Senior
Systems Engineer and Engineering Technical Authority for “Psyche: Journey to a Metal World”•

Computational Origami: From Science to Sculpture by Dr. Erik Demaine, Professor in Computer Scienceat Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)•New Generation Household Robot’s Concept by Kaname Hayashi, Founder and CEO, GROOVE X (Inventorof the Robot “Pepper”)

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Invited Sessions from the Featured Sessions and Computer Animation Festival – Panel and Production Talks,
which spotlights major breakthroughs in the field of computer graphics and interactive techniques, include:•Featured Sessions – Beyond the Uncanny Valley: Creating Realistic Virtual Humans in the 21st Centurywith Christophe Hery, Senior Scientist, Pixar Animation Studios; Matt Aitken, Visual Effects Supervisor,Weta Digital Ltd; Prasert “Sun” Prasertvithyakarn, Senior Game Designer, Luminous Production; Erik
Smitt, Director of Photography, Pixar Animation Studios and David Hanson, CEO and Founder of Hanson
Robotics•Computer Animation Festival – Panel & Production Talks – The Making of Pixar’s Bao: A Production
Panel with Domee Shi, Story Artist, Pixar Animation Studios; Ian Megibben, Director of Photography,Lighting, Pixar Animation Studios; Rona Liu, Artist, Pixar Animation Studios; Patrick Lin, Director ofPhotography – Camera, Pixar Animation Studios; Mara MacMahon, Character Technical Director, PixarAnimation Studios•Computer Animation Festival – Panel & Production Talks – Cinematography of Incredibles 2 - Functionand Style with Erik Smitt, Director of Photography, Pixar Animation Studios•

Featured Sessions – From Gollum to Thanos: Characters at Weta Digital by Matt Aitken, Visual Effects
Supervisor, Weta Digital Ltd•

Computer Animation Festival – Panel & Production Talks – Behind the scenes of Solo - A Star Wars
Story with Nigel Sumner, Creative Director, ILM Singapore Atsushi Kojima, Lead Animator, ILM SingaporeCutting-Edge Technologies on the Exhibition Show-floor
A total of 93 exhibitors from 14 countries and regions will showcase the latest developments in hardware andsoftware applications in Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques on the exhibition show-floor.
Some of the key exhibiting companies and brands include: ASTRODESIGN, Inc., AWS Thinkbox, BANDAI
NAMCO Studios Inc., BinaryVR, Inc., CLO Virtual Fashion Inc, CyberAgent, Inc., Dell Japan Inc.,

DigitalHollywood University, Dwango Media Village, EEZ Production Studios Co., Ltd., FORUM8 Co., Ltd., HUAWEITECHNOLOGIES JAPAN K.K., IMAGICA GROUP, InstaLOD GmbH, NOITOM, teamLab, Too Corporation, Tsinghua
University-Tencent Joint Laboratory, Unity Technologies Japan G.K., VFX-Japan Association, Visual Computing
Center at KAUST, Xsens Technologies B.V., YGGDRAZIL Group Co., Ltd, Zero C Seven, Inc. and more.
Delegates who are looking for career opportunities can head to the Job Fair, held by Imagica Digitalscape andKurihaku Navi, where the companies will present job offers from leading companies in computer graphics,
film and game studios.
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Key Exhibits at the Art Gallery
The Art Gallery program is a specially curated exhibition that aims to engage, challenge and entertain theconference attendees via media works. Art pieces under the Crossover theme include, Candle TV (1975) byNam June Paik, which is designed to represent two interrelated organisms in a communication system, andMannbi (1981), a mask used in classical Japanese musical drama Noh, by Ayako Iwai.
Academic Sessions and Research Papers
For academia and industry professionals, the Technical Papers program will feature the results of state-ofthe-art research on topics ranging from modeling and design to fabrication, from HDR imaging to noveldisplays, and physically based animation to capturing faces, bodies and hands and more. The Posters programis an interactive forum for innovative ideas that are not yet fully polished, it also showcases high-impact
practical contributions, behind-the-scenes views of new commercial and artistic work and solutions that help
solve challenging problems. The Doctoral Consortium is a forum for Ph.D. students to meet and discuss theirwork with one another and with a panel of experienced SIGGRAPH Asia researchers in an informal andinteractive setting.
First-time Programs at SIGGRAPH Asia
Three sessions make their debut at SIGGRAPH Asia 2018. Real-Time Live!, deconstructs the most innovativeinteractive techniques on stage, while VR Theater, a part of the Computer Animation Festival program, willfeature virtual reality narrative films in the newly established VR Theater. Production Gallery (Artists Behind
The Scenes Exhibition), also a part of the Computer Animation Festival, is one-of-a-kind exhibit thatrecognizes the art, processes, and physical materials used to create major studio projects. This gallery features
artwork, props, special makeups and more from recent films, TVCM or game productions. This program will
be jointly operated with Born Digital of Japan.
To register for SIGGRAPH Asia, and for more details, visit https://sa2018.siggraph.org/registration/. Attendees
can select from full week, single-day, and exhibition-only options.
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About SIGGRAPH Asia 2018
The 11th ACM SIGGRAPH Conference and Exhibition on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques in Asia
(SIGGRAPH Asia 2018) will be held in Tokyo, Japan at the Tokyo International Forum from 4 – 7 December
2018. The annual event held in Asia attracts the most respected technical and creative people from all over
the world who are excited by research, science, art, animation, gaming, interactivity, education and emerging
technologies.
Page 3 of 4The four-day conference will include a diverse range of juried programs, such as the Art Gallery, Computer
Animation Festival, Courses, Emerging Technologies, Posters, Technical Briefs, Technical Papers and Virtual &Augmented Reality. A three-day exhibition held from 5 – 7 December 2018 will offer a business platform forindustry players to market their innovative products and services to the computer graphics and interactive
techniques professionals and enthusiasts from Asia and beyond. For more information, please visit
http://sa2018.siggraph.org. Find us on: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube with the official event
hashtag, #SIGGRAPHAsia.
About ACM SIGGRAPH
The ACM Special Interest Group on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques is an interdisciplinary
community interested in research, technology, and applications in computer graphics and interactivetechniques. Members include researchers, developers, and users from the technical, academic, business, andart communities. ACM SIGGRAPH enriches the computer graphics and interactive techniques community
year-round through its conferences, global network of professional and student chapters, publications, andeducational activities. For more information, please visit www.siggraph.org.
About Koelnmesse
Koelnmesse Pte Ltd is one of the world's largest trade fair companies. Its more than 80 trade fairs andexhibitions have the broadest international scope in the industry, as 60 percent of the exhibitors and 40
percent of the visitors come from outside Germany. The Koelnmesse events include leading global trade fairs
for 25 sectors, such as Imm Cologne, Anuga, IDS, INTERMOT, Interzum Cologne, Photokina, Gamescom, andthe International Hardware Fair Cologne. Koelnmesse is ACM SIGGRAPH’s event organizer for the last 10
editions of SIGGRAPH Asia. For more information, please visit www.koelnmesse.com.sg.
Media Contacts
Hitoshi Kasai
Head of Communications, SIGGRAPH Asia 2018
MIACIS Associates
hitoshi.kasai@siggraph.org
Jamie Huang
Marketing & Media Partnerships, SIGGRAPH Asia 2018
Koelnmesse Pte Ltd
jamie.huang@siggraph.org
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