Epic Games showcases advancements in virtual, augmented and mixed reality as well as the impact of the Cloud, AI and machine learning on production pipelines, at is first-ever User Group meetup at SIGGRAPH 2017.
SIGGRAPH 2017 boasted increased attendance and there was a renewed sense of optimism at the yearly computer graphics conference and expo, fueled by excitement around real-time production and advancements in virtual, augmented and mixed reality, as well as the impact of the Cloud, AI and machine learning on production pipelines.
Epic Games was at the center of these SIGGRAPH trends, generating buzz around its first-ever Unreal Engine SIGGRAPH User Group meeting and a range of demos and presentations. Marking the third win in a row for Epic and Unreal Engine, “The Human Race,” co-produced with Chevrolet and The Mill, received the Best Real-Time Graphics and Interactivity award at Real-Time Live! Epic’s cinematic trailer, “Fortnite: A Hard Day’s Nite,” was featured, along with “The Human Race,” at the Computer Animation Festival. This was the first year the festival included short films rendered in real-time, both of them projects using Unreal.
Augmented, virtual and mixed reality was another hot topic at SIGGRAPH 2017, with Unreal driving many of the experiences generating the most interest. Epic hosted the VR Film Jam, Ghost Paint, and Michelangelo’s David, and was a key partner in the Meet Mike virtual human research project.
The Unreal Engine User Group meeting held on Monday, July 31 was a jam-packed, 100-minute showcase, featuring 20 presenters across film and animation, TV, automotive, architectural and design visualization. Epic also introduced its new workflow toolkit, Datasmith, which was designed to help artists and designers simplify the process of importing data into Unreal Engine from more than 20 CAD/DCC sources, including Autodesk 3ds Max.
For those of you who missed it -- or would like to watch again -- check out the full recording in the player below:
SIGGRAPH 2017 Real-Time Live! Best Real-Time Graphics and Interactivity Award winner, ‘The Human Race’ (The Mill & Epic Games). Photo by John Fujii © 2017 ACM SIGGRAPH.
Michelangelo's David in Virtual Reality.
Part of the Wikihuman Project showcasing the latest research in digital human technology, ‘Meet Mike’ is a virtual representation of FXGuide’s Mike Seymour rendered in real-time using a custom build of Epic’s Unreal Engine.
The Ghost Paint VR graffiti wall in action at SIGGRAPH 2017.
Source: Epic Games
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
