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We’re back: Join us at the Annecy International Animation Festival 2022

June 2, 2022 in Industry | 10 min. read
Abstract depiction of Annecy
Abstract depiction of Annecy
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It’s been a couple of years since we’ve visited the beautiful French city of Annecy for its International Animation Festival. We’re delighted to return, and we’re bringing a whole new suite of artistry tools and demos.

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The festival gives us an opportunity to meet with the animation community and see the emerging talents within it. It’s a chance to celebrate animators’ work, check out current projects, discuss the future of content creation, present our latest tools and technology, and explore what all of this means for creators.

A woman playing chess in a palace, from Unity's "Enemies"

Unity at Annecy and MIFA 2022

The festival takes place June 13–18 at the imposing Impérial Palace overlooking Lac d’Annecy, and Unity will have a presence on the show floor as a MIFA Campus Event partner in Booth A.65.

Here, the Unity Art Tools team will showcase our roster of creative solutions for artists. Through a series of demo stations within the booth, visitors can check out tools such as Ziva, SpeedTree, ArtEngine, and SyncSketch while learning about new creative possibilities in 3D content creation, virtual production, and real-time animation workflows.

The event offers animation students and professionals the chance to discover our latest technologies and learn what we’re planning for the future. We’ve also invited several XR creators to present sessions throughout the festival, offering them tickets so they can share their insights and experience. Learn more about their presentations below.

Session highlights

Two people looking at lights in the distance

Tuesday, June 14, 10:00–10:45 am

ATLAS V: A five-year journey in immersive storytelling

Arnaud Colinart, Cofounder, Atlas V

One day in January 2018, the entire state of Hawaii received an SMS which read: “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT IN BOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.”

Arnaud Colinart from Atlas V takes us through his latest project, an immersive VR animation centered on one of the most infamous false alarms in modern history. This talk explores the creative processes for directors creating an immersive VR animation involving volumetric capture and the Unity Editor.

A video game with a man crying in front of a bike accident

Wednesday, June 15, 10:00–10:45 am

Previs Pro: “A bicycle for the auteur”

Ian Lynch Smith, CEO, Previs Pro

Previs Pro has been used by large premiere productions such as Our Flag Means Death on HBO Max, as well as by small-budget independent films and academic institutions. This session discusses how Previs Pro AR functionality allows storytellers to explore cinematic narrative.

A giant robot in a city

Wednesday, June 15, 6:00–7:15 pm

Elevated storytelling: Fueling creativity and accelerating production with real-time

Nathan Thomas, Senior Unity Artist

Marc Tanenbaum, Senior Technical Product Manager, Virtual Production

Follow along with senior Unity artist Nathan Thomas as he breaks down and reverse-engineers one of his animated short films, Big Friendly Killbots, to show how real-time tools elevate storytelling. Nathan will also share his journey from Hollywood blockbusters to real-time animation, why he develops his own IP, and how he collaborates with teams all over the world.

A green cupe surrounded by VR headsets and tools

Thursday, June 16, 10:00–10:45 am

ShapesXR: Leveraging VR as a tool to collaborate and create

Gabriele Romagnoli, Head of Community, ShapesXR

Human ingenuity and creativity, sparked with a little technology, are pushing the boundaries of storytelling. Physical installations, light projections, and augmented and virtual reality are just some of the ways stories are turning into fully immersive experiences. Join this session to learn how remote teams use ShapesXR as a creative tool on an untethered VR headset to remain creative, communicate effectively, and stay productive – all while showing the untold opportunities in VR.

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Journey to YourLand trailer

Friday, June 17, 9:30–10:45 am

Real-time animation production: Artist tools and pipeline

Ron Martin, Manager of Community & Education

Jan Hameeuw, Founder, The Pack 

In the first half of the session, Ron will break down some of the work behind Unity’s latest cinematic short, Enemies. He will also discuss how this teaser builds on The Heretic, the Unity demo that featured Unity’s first realistic digital humans.

From there, Ron explores how artists can achieve their creative vision with tools from Unity, and examine a complete workflow, regardless of toolchain. He will show how ArtEngine accelerates asset creation, from methods such as chrome ball technique and photometric image scanning processes to creating real-time content.

The second half of the presentation will follow the production path of The Pack’s film Journey to Yourland, the first feature-length animation using HDRP for cinematic release made with Unity.

Kaleidoco

Friday, June 17, 10:00–10:45 am

XR for large-scale live events: A TED 2022 case study

Sinan AlRubaye, Chief Experience Officer, ICVR

Chris Swiatek, Chief of Product, ICVR

Cassandra Rosenthal, cofounder and co-CEO, Kaleidoco

Particle Ink: Speed of Dark is an immersive mixed reality experience combining street art, live performances, and XR technology. It transports the viewer into a living graphic novel using the Unity real-time 3D development platform with a mix of projection mapping and live broadcast. 

Conceived by creatives from Cirque du Soleil, during the inaugural TED Talk of 2022, ICVR brought the live XR immersive experience to the 1,100-strong audience, each with one with synchronized iPads. Here, we will break down the tech behind Kaleidoco’s reveal of the Particle Ink world at the TED 2022 opening show, and discuss the future of live XR. 

Want to know more about Annecy 2022? Click here for full session descriptions.

June 2, 2022 in Industry | 10 min. read

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