Bring Your Own Animation Night!

It is the Event That Would Not Die! After a long absence, your NYC ACM SIGGRAPH Bring Your Own Animation Night is back! Working with Scott Lang and Jaimie Ekkens of the NYC SIGGRAPH Board, we present a newly minted classic, re-launched in March 2011, a monthly event that showcases...YOU! Bring your own animated piece on playable DVD (not data), and we'll put it on; free! Get feedback from other animators, industry professionals, and guys at a bar! A real animation community event, a chance to meet and greet people in the NYC animation scene. Don't miss another! Go to NYC.SIGGRAPH.ORG for details and the next time and place! See you there!

SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Electronic Theater Juror

I had the opportunity to participate in the SIGGRAPH Asia 2010 Computer Animation Festival as a Juror this summer. Though I missed the SIGGRAPH Asia Conference in Seoul in December, it was great to be involved and to work for the festival's Chair, Jinny H. J. Choo of the ONCOMM & Interactive Motion Graphics Lab at Korea National University of Arts. Check out the festival trailer by clicking the logo above right, and the festival page and conference at the links above. I'm rather proud of how the show turned out, and was glad to be a part of it. Thanks, Jinny!

In the New York Times with Mariano Rivera and NYU Movement Lab

I had the chance to work this summer (2010) with Chris Bregler and crew at the NYU Movement Lab. They've been doing advanced research and development on video motion capture systems, and we were published in the article "How Mariano Rivera Dominates Hitters", New York Times Online, June 29th, 2010. Working with motion capture data is a familiar scenario for me, having done my share of data manipulation in the late 90's. This is new and interesting research, however, and I'm looking forward to working with them in the future. For more info on this and other projects at the NYU Movement Lab, simply follow this link.

SIGGRAPH 2010 Los Angeles

Steve Rittler will be working with Isaac Kerlow, the SIGGRAPH 2010 Computer Animation Festival Chair, and the rest of the CAF Committee and volunteers, to hold the first ever SIGGRAPH Animation Clinic. A new event, the clinic will feature animation industry leaders and masters reviewing student final projects to offer creative, production, technical, and career advice. This looks to be a great event, exciting for students and good for the conference. Steve will be working for the CAF Chair as the Animation Clinic Producer.

At SIGGRAPH Asia 2009, Yokohama, Japan

Steve Rittler participates in the jury the Art Gallery, chaired by NYC SIGGRAPH colleague Yuko Oda, premiered in Yokohama, Japan in December, 2009. Steve attended the conference and researched animation and animation arts, as well as traditional arts and architecture, in Yokohama and Tokyo. Japan is a great resource for any animator or artist, a great culture with a marvelous view of tradition through the most modern of lenses. The City of Yokohama and its citizens were gracious hosts, along with the SIGGRAPH Asia 2009 Committee, volunteers and participants. Steve hopes to have the opportunity to teach in Japan one day. Check out the Art Gallery here.

"There Can Be Only One" at SIGGRAPH Asia 2008

In December, Steve Rittler and Kristen Palana will once again teach their digital animation production course, "There Can Be Only One; Independent Animation Production for the Lonely", at the first ever SIGGRAPH Asia 2008 Conference in Singapore. Back by popular demand (or at least interested suggestion), this will be the third and final incarnation of this successful tutorial course, presented at the San Diego and Los Angeles SIGGRAPH Conferences in 2003 and 2004. For more information on the SIGGRAPH Asia 2008 Conference, please visit http://www.siggraph.org/asia2008/ or return to this site. Updates will be posted as they arrive. Please say hi to Steve if you attend; as an independent animator, he sometimes, too, gets lonely.