SIGGRAPH Asia 2021 overcame all obstacles and successfully concluded its very first hybrid edition in Tokyo, Japan, reuniting the global computer graphics industry.
This year’s edition of SIGGRAPH Asia, themed “LIVE!”, marked the very first hybrid edition in ACM SIGGRAPH’s history. SIGGRAPH Asia 2021 overcame all obstacles and challenges amidst COVID-19, and successfully concluded its live program at the Tokyo International Forum in Japan. Held from 14–17 December, the event reunited over 3,000 attendees from 41 countries and regions. The on-site event was held in compliance with COVID-19 regulations from the government, local authorities, and the exhibition industry, ensuring the safety and well-being of all in-person attendees.
“Despite a lack of clarity as to what lies ahead due to COVID-19, we decided in the summer of [2021] to conduct the very first hybrid SIGGRAPH Asia,” said Shuzo John Shiota, Conference Chair of SIGGRAPH Asia 2021 and CEO of Polygon Pictures Inc. “It turned out to be a massive undertaking, and COVID continued to obstruct our progress. Against adverse conditions, we were able to create an illustrious conference, providing great insights into the current world of computer graphics and interactive techniques, as well as rekindling the SIGGRAPH and SIGGRAPH Asia communal spirit, both online and on-site. I’d like to extend my heartfelt gratitude to all who have contributed to this enormous undertaking”.
“I am extremely proud of what the SIGGRAPH Asia 2021 team has achieved this year, pulling off an incredible show on-site and online. The feedback from the global computer graphics community has been very positive, reaffirming our stand to continue holding the hybrid event despite the many curve balls being thrown at us due to COVID-19. It’s amazing how this industry is so closely knit and supportive of one another. We look forward to creating an even larger reunion for the CG industry next year in Daegu, South Korea,” added Prakash Ramajillu, SIGGRAPH Asia Chief Staff Executive and Division Director (Technology, DigitalMedia, Entertainment & Mobility) at Koelnmesse Pte Ltd.
A diverse range of conference program sessions
Close to 130 speakers presented at the conference in-person, and around 400 presenters joined the virtual platform to discuss the latest industry developments and future of the computer graphics and interactive techniques industry. The exciting line-up featured distinguished keynote speakers such as Toru Katsumoto, Executive Deputy President and CTO at Sony Group Corporation, and Matt Omernick, Co-founder and Chief Creative Officer at Akili Interactive. Toru Katsumoto’s session on “Creativity x Technology – How to fill the world with emotion” brought us through the history of innovation in the creative industry and discussed possibilities enabled by technology made available to creators in the fields of music, movies, and games. Matt Omernick’s session on “Video Games as Medicine” dove into how Digital Therapeutic products, like EndearvorRx, are changing the face of medicine, and how cognitive health and entertainment will live harmoniously together in the future.
Other highlights from the conference included the Featured Sessions program, which invited industry figureheads, such as Bandai Namco Studios, Weta Digital, DNEG, DNEG Animation, Kamizake Douga, MacLean Visual Effects, Sola Digital Arts, Sony Pictures Animation, Sony Pictures Imageworks, SQUARE ENIX, Toei Animation, and Ubisoft Divertissements, and exclusive insights on the remarkable VFX work behind films like “Dune”, “Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings”, “Blade Runner”, Apple TV’s “Foundation” series, “The Mitchells vs. The Machines”, “Wish Dragon”, and “Ron’s Gone Wrong”, all of which are still available on-demand through the virtual conference platform.
The Technical Papers program continues to be the anchor program of SIGGRAPH Asia and showcased 94 specially curated papers. Technical Papers at SIGGRAPH Asia 2021 adhered to the highest scientific standards and were chosen through a rigorous and highly refined peer-review process. This year, SIGGRAPH Asia had most of the presenters beamed on-site at the Tokyo International Forum to take on live questions from the local and online attendees.
The Trade Exhibition featured close to 30 virtual and on-site exhibitors, showcasing the latest developments in hardware and software applications in the computer graphics and interactive techniques space. Companies and brands include FORUM8, IMAGICA GROUP, Digital Hollywood University, KONICA MINOLTA, Amazon Web Services, BANDAI NAMCO, Carpe Diem Solutions, CyberAgent, ELSA Japan, Houdini SideFX, Huawei Russian Research Institute, NVIDIA, NHK Art, iPresence, and SkyVision. iPresence created a virtual SIGGRAPH Asia 2021 exhibition tour, which allowed remote attendees to travel into the exhibition hall from anywhere in the world. (Experience it today in the platform!)
Exhibitor Talks covered technical topics such as using Houdini in medical product design and medical visualization; digital content creation on AWS; IMAGICA GROUP and Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology’s R&D on video content creation for their innovative displays on how to provide viewers with visual experiences; and, NTT Human Informatics Laboratories sharing of the cutting-edge Tokyo Olympics 2020 project and the world of live entertainment in the metaverse era.
The Experience Hall, held in the same venue as the Trade Exhibition, encompassed the Art Gallery, Emerging Technologies, and XR showcases. In the Art Gallery, 15 cutting-edge works were selected from 147 submissions around the world, addressing questions of what the rituals, behaviors, and modes of what the future will look like in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Art Gallery Curation Committee also hosted a gallery tour for the Japanese audience during the exhibition days. Additionally, Art Gallery talks were held virtually to discuss the future of art and the role of art gallery in the face of new factors such as the pandemic and NFTs.
The Emerging Technologies program, themed “Awaken Our Bodies”, showcased 19 exhibits on-site and online, which included novel and high-quality 3D projection mapping technologies, haptic interfaces, robotic avatars and virtual humans, input interfaces, music experiences, and VR experiences with novel sensation like wet, temperature, wind, and scent. Live demonstrations and Q&A sessions took place concurrently for both on-site and online delegates.
Attendees explored the XR program to discover 19 immersive technologies and experiences such as “Dislocation”, which examined the internal processes that develop during a dislocation and offers a visual depiction of a person forced into extreme circumstances. Another interesting XR showcase was the “Dementia Eyes” — a mobile AR experience which simulates the visual symptoms of senile dementia based on pathology and medical workers’ experience with patients. Live demonstrations and Q&A sessions took place concurrently for both on-site and online delegates.
Live drawing performances and CG Production Meetup also took place at the Experience Hall Talk Stage. The live drawing performances by BANDAI NAMCO Studios, Ubisoft Entertainment, SQUARE ENIX, and SAFEHOUSE were spectacular and had overwhelming attendance on-site. These live performances were recorded and will be uploaded onto the virtual platform for online attendees. And, the CG Production Meetup featured 48 companies from the games, interactive techniques, computer graphics, and animation spaces, and attracted over 300 students for the two sessions on 15 and 16 December.
Real-Time Live!, a showcase of virtual technologies demonstrated live in front of our on-site and online attendees, wrapped up SIGGRAPH Asia 2021. As a part of the hybrid event, five local presenters showcased their demonstrations on stage at Tokyo International Forum, while another four livestreamed their demonstrations.
Artists and Creators Recognized at SIGGRAPH Asia 2021 – Awards
SIGGRAPH Asia 2021 presented the following artists and creators with various awards in recognition of their top-notch work:
The winners for Real-Time Live! are:
- BEST IN SHOW: “CodeMiko: An Interactive Vtuber Experience“, presdented by CodeMiko, codemiko project, LLC, USA
- PEOPLE’S CHOICE: “Fencing Tracking and Visualization System“, presented by Yuya Hanai, Daito Manabe, Kyle McDonald, Satoshi Horii, Futa Kera, Kisaku Tanaka, and Motoi Ishibashi
The Computer Animation Festival honored the following top talents in animation:
- BEST IN SHOW: “Twenty Something” (USA), directed by Aphton Corbin
- BEST STUDENT PROJECT: “Le Retour des Vagues” (France), directed by Manon Cansell, Alejandra Guevara Cervera, Edward Kurchevsky, Francisco Moutinho de Magalhães, and Hortense Marian
- BEST STUDENT PROJECT: “Les larmes de la Seine” (France), directed by Yanis Belaid, Eliott Benard, Nicolas Mayeur, Etienne Moulin, Hadrien Pinot, Lisa Vicente, Philippine Singer, and Alice Letailleur
- JURY SPECIAL: “Only a Child” (United Kingdom, Switzerland), directed by Simone Giampaolo
The Emerging Technologies program will also be announcing a winner for the Best Online Demonstration Award soon. Registration may be closed, but the virtual platform remains open and accessible to attendees to watch on-demand content through 11 March 2022. SIGGRAPH Asia’s next edition — SIGGRAPH Asia 2022 — will be held at EXCO, Daegu, South Korea, from 6–9 December 2022. Visit http://sa2022.siggraph.org for more information.
Questions? Email registration_asia@siggraph.org and we’d be happy to answer them! Stay updated on the latest happenings of SIGGRAPH Asia 2022 by subscribing to our newsletter here: http://bit.ly/sa21subscribe.
