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April 23-26, 3DVF is in Stuttgart, Germany, to attend FMX – Film and Media Exchange. This is one of the major international gatherings of the year alongside events such as the Annecy Festival, SIGGRAPH, and the View Conference. These landmark events are highly anticipated by many in the VFX industry, which has been experiencing a significant crisis for several months due to the writers and actors strike in 2023, resulting in the delay of many projects and consequently less work for the studios. In the animation industry, the same sentiment prevails, particularly as streaming platforms have significantly slowed down their investments. Concurrently, the arrival of generative AI is causing concern for many about the future of their jobs.
We therefore took the pulse of employment in addition to attending conferences and exploring the booths.
A quiet morning, a crowded afternoon
The morning of this first day was marked by numerous presentations and making-of conferences with Kung Fu Panda 4 (Dreamworks Animation), Percy Jackson (Raynault VFX), Leo (Animal Logic), Loki (Trixter), and Napoleon (MPC). Unfortunately, the crowd was not yet present. It took until the afternoon to note better attendance, with longer lines forming.
In the afternoon, numerous panels took place around education. During the panel “What’s AI going to do to education?”, Lotte Marie Allen (Computer Arts, School of Visual Arts), Olia Lialina (Design and Media, Merz Akademie Stuttgart), Harvey Goodall (VFX, Arts University Bournemouth), and Stefan Albertz (3D Animation and VFX, Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences) offered different perspectives on the subject both from artistic and technical aspects.
We attended a conference on real-time and the importance of open-source development with Marc Petit (Metaverse Standard Forum), Shehzan Mohammed (Cesium), Neal Stephenson (author), and Solomon Rogers (Magnopus). The challenge is immense and collaboration through open source seems to bring an evolution for the future of the creative industry. “It could impact our lives in ways we never thought possible,” explained the panel.
Renderman 26 has been released, providing an opportunity for Dylan Sisson of Pixar studios to present his first workshop at FMX 2024 (four in total during the week). He explored the innovations related to this new version, as well as his approach to 3D printing and stylized rendering. It should be noted that Dylan Sisson will also be present at the Annecy Festival in June and will give a conference on Thursday afternoon.
No CGI in movies? This seems to be the narrative from blockbuster producers and Hollywood to justify the realism of the latest productions. This type of marketing rhetoric is not without consequences, as it hides and minimizes the work carried out by hundreds of artists, without whom the project would not have come to fruition. Two worlds seem to clash, as we saw in the new episode of the video series “NO CGI” is really just INVISIBLE CGI initiated by Jonas Ussing. He was joined on stage by Nancy Ward (Visual Effects Society) and Kim Davidson (President and CEO – SideFX).
Job market – are studios hiring?
During FMX 2024, a job fair has been launched in a dedicated hub. Here, international VFX, animation, design, video game studios, and young talents, professionals gather. After a difficult year, everyone is hoping for a rebound. Many attendees have gathered to showcase their demoreels and discuss job and internship opportunities.
Recruiters advertised their studios, the benefits of working alongside them, their expectations, and of course, studio reels.
It should be noted, however, that the majority of studios recruiting at FMX 2024 like Pixomondo, Cinesite, were represented by recruiters from the German branches. There were no “non-European” recruiters except for ILM. Even though a rebound seems to be on the horizon, patience is required and we may not see the industry really rise up until Summer or Autumn.
