SHENZHEN, 11 August 2014 – Over four days this December, Asia’s largest computer graphics (CG) event, SIGGRAPH Asia 2014, will be hosted in Shenzhen, China. SIGGRAPH Asia 2014 is dedicated to presenting the most cutting edge graphical achievements and product developments across a range of fields. Over 7,700 attendees from over 60 countries are expected, making the conference and exhibition the largest and most respected computer graphics conference in Asia.
SIGGRAPH Asia 2014 will present a myriad of experts and exhibits in a range of fields, including hardware and software, film and game production, as well as research and education.
SIGGRAPH Asia 2014 – showcasing China’s place in the computer graphics industry
The host city of Shenzhen is especially relevant, given the burgeoning graphics industry located there, and China’s position as a hub of graphics design innovation and production. With Chinese multimedia and creative industries growing at a rapid rate, the location of SIGGRAPH Asia 2014 in Shenzhen will offer a score of opportunities for businesses both regionally and internationally.
Currently China is undergoing a wave of reform and development within the industry, with government policies encouraging strong investment in animation, graphics and 3D technology. In Guangdong Province, the regional government has provided policy and capital support to develop an animation culture. China’s animation industry had a combined production value of CNY20.8 billion in 2010, and industry sales are projected to exceed CNY50 billion by 2015, largely as a result of government-led policies. Similarly, government-led education initiatives have overseen growing improvement and development of the computer graphics industry, both hardware and software. According to the 2013 China Game Industry Report, the total revenue of the China game market in 2013 was CNY83.17 billion, a 30% year-on-year growth from 2012. The highest recorded growth category was within the cell phone game market, which saw revenues of CNY11.24 billion in 2013 – a 246.9% increase on the preceding year’s performance.
Meanwhile, the 3D technology industry has evolved strongly since 2010, when epic Hollywood movie Avatar was partly produced in China. Subsequently, China effectively leveraged this opportunity to develop its own 3D industry, starting member organizations, launching 3D television programs and establishing government-sponsored industrial parks.
Experience the best SIGGRAPH Asia 2014 activities
Held from 3 to 6 December, the conference will also include a diverse range of programs, including: a Business Symposium, dealing with discussions related to the business, creative management, production and efficiency, as well as best practices of the computer graphics industry; Computer Animation Festival that showcases the most innovative and compelling of international animation and visual effects works; exciting and inspiring Courses on contemporary topics in computer graphics and interactive techniques, and a showcase of Emerging Technologies which features hands-on demonstrations and installations focusing on virtual reality, augmented reality, robotics, wearable devices, 3D graphics, haptic devices and more .
Other programs include the Symposium on Mobile Graphics and Interactive Applications, which will highlight recent developments and inventions in the rapidly changing world of mobile apps, computer hardware, augmented reality, location-based services, animation, social networking and more. Technical Briefs, Technical Papers and the Posters program are forums that represent the forefront of research breakthroughs in computer graphics and interactive techniques.
This year there is a new program at SIGGRAPH Asia known as Workshops. Held in conjunction with the other conference programs, Workshops are sessions that present and discuss novel research ideas in the area of emerging topics of computer graphics and interactive techniques. Workshops this year will cover such topics as Indoor Scene Understanding, Autonomous Virtual Humans and Social Robots for Telepresence, Creative Shape Modeling and Design, Designing Tools for Creating Interactive Content, and Urban Visualization.
Baoquan Chen, SIGGRAPH ASIA 2014 Conference Chair, welcomed this years’ inclusion of the Workshops program. He said, “The Workshops program allows attendees to directly ask questions and gain a greater understanding of the topics at hand from true masters of the subject. It’s a forum for open discussion and sharing, which leads the path to greater understanding, and therefore innovation. And most importantly, it emphasizes the SIGGRAPH ethos of collaboration, not competition.”
The Exhibitor Talks & Sessions are another key component of SIGGRAPH Asia 2014; they are focused on a trade audience and take place across all days of the exhibition and consist of hands-on presentations of the latest developments in product/services innovation. Held from 4 to 6 December, the SIGGRAPH Asia 2014 Trade Exhibition showcases innovations from hardware and software vendors, production houses, animation and game studios, as well as educational and research institutions. The exhibition is open to any local or international exhibitors and visitors who want to keep abreast of exciting developments in the global computer graphics technology industry and meet prospective customers, resellers, distributors and collaborators. Included among the 130 exhibitors this year is NVIDIA, DELL, Wincomn Technology, Shenzhen Macrotellect Technology, Noitom Technology, Cogito Software, RenderDigimania, Green Forest Animation Studio and Forum8.
Rick Xu, Vice President and Creative Director of SIGGRAPH Asia 2014 exhibitor Green Forest Animation Studio, said, “SIGGRAPH Asia is always our first choice, not only to promote our company and services but also to connect with the global community at large. We meet different people; get to know about their products, ideas and latest technologies. It’s like a big show where we get to find solutions for upgrading our pipeline, find our business partners, new talents and more. We also have opportunities to feature our animations and lectures to visitors, allowing us to connect with a healthy Asian audience and more.”
Similarly, David Lu, CEO of Shenzhen Macrotellect Technology noted that participation in SIGGRAPH Asia opens doors to both international and Asian partners, “SIGGRAPH Asia is also a great venue to meet with key professionals and industry partners; we successfully partnered with a Hong Kong- based incubation center and local schools at the event.”
