Motion Graphics Festival 2007
Wednesday, January 24th, 2007
CMGF07 Informational Pre-Party
Onomatopoeia Wednesday weekly @ Dulcenea
7pm - 12am, Free
Come and learn more about the festival. Check out the new festival DVD and witness the live performance of Artificial Life Preserver with DJ set by Asmadeus. Expect a memorable night with the inspirational talent of ALP and the official intro event to CMGF07. The music and environment caters to a loungy, laid back and conversational atmosphere leaving you free to delve into the soundscapes, the intricate conversations, or geek-out via Wi-Fi.
Thursday, January 25th, 2007
Free Lectures on Film & Video Software at the Apple Store
North Michigan Apple Store Theater, 679 North Michigan Ave.
1pm - 6pm, Free
These are introductory presentations of Apple's film & video software. If you are just beginning in motion graphics or editing and want to get a good understanding of what is available, then "Start Here!" is the event for you. Free and open to the public.
1pm : Final Cut Pro 5 Pro Workshop
2pm : DVD Studio Pro Workshop
3pm : Motion Pro Workshop
4pm : Soundtrack Pro Workshop
5pm : Video Blogging with iPod and iTunes
Screen Magazine's Star Awards
Thorne Auditorium, 375 E. Chicago Ave.
Doors open at 5:30pm, Show starts at 7pm
A celebration of the creative community between the coasts. At the top of the list will be Bob Bernstein, President and CEO of Bernstein-Rein and one of the most important figures in our region’s ad community. Screen will also present awards in nine competitive categories, including honors for both the agency and production communities. We selected our nominees based on work that we received during the year, with winners chosen by the magazine’s staff. Following is a comprehensive list of nominees in our competitive categories, including bios and contact info to help readers get to know our nominees a little better.
Friday, January 26th, 2007
After Effects Master's Class at Ascend Training
9am - 4pm, 410 South Michigan Ave
Taught by Michele Yamazaki, presented by Toolfarm.
Recommended for intermediate After Effects users. Topics include: expressions, advanced text engine, motion tracking and stabilization, 3D lighting &cameras, advanced masking (morphing masks), keying effects, and the paint engine (paint and clone tools). tickets coming soon.
Motion Graphics Interactive Mixer and Studio Tour
8pm - 12am, Bridges Media Group, 100 W Kinzie St.
Catered with an open bar, and several interactive motion graphics installations.
Saturday, January 27th, 2007
Maya Master's Class
Saturday, January 27th, 2007
9am - 4pm, Maclean Center, 112 S. Michigan Ave.,
Taught by Harry Frank, Sponsored by Toolfarm
This will be an introductory course in the Maya 3D animation software. Harry Frank is freelance motion graphics artist in Detroit, Michigan. He also teaches After Effects, Combustion and Maya at the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, and is an Adobe Certified Expert in After Effects.
Harry started out as a recording engineer, studying classical percussion and recording engineering at the Fredonia School of Music at the State University of New York. Audio led to video, video led to graphics, and graphics led to animation and here he is. You can catch his work on networks such as NBC, G4TV, ESPN, and SpikeTV.
Shake Master's Class
Saturday, January 27th, 2007
9am - 4pm, Maclean Center, 112 S. Michigan Ave.,
Taught by Dion Scoppettuolo, Presented by Apple Pro Training
This is a hands on introduction class to Apple's Shake compositing application. It will take you through some of the science behind compositing operations that is often overlooked in most applications. Then you will walk through real-world examples using shots from well known feature film and television projects. Each project is selected to develop a specific compositing skill that can prove useful in a wide range of situations.
Dion Scoppettuolo :: Based in Cupertino California with Apple computer, Dion Scoppettuolo is a senior product marketing manager focusing on image processing, motion graphics and visual effects compositing within the software applications division. With over 15 years of experience, Dion has been involved with bringing industry leading graphics and visual effects products to the market from companies such as Apple, Autodesk/Discreet and Avid.
Dot.Video Master's Class
Saturday, January 27th, 2007
9am - 12pm (half-day), 410 South Michigan Ave
Taught by Mason Dixon, Presented by Design After Next
Recommended for video artists and potential filmmakers that want to learn to grow an audience for their work through web technologies. The course will he a hands-on workshop of online distribution essentials. Flash video, Feedburner RSS, MySpace & YouTube marketing, videoblogs and video conferencing.
CMGF07 Festival Screening
Saturday, January 27th, 7pm
doors open 6.30pm
Chicago Cultural Center, Cassidy Theater
78 E. Washington Street
Artists to be screened include: Designers Republic, Animal Logic, 1st Avenue Machines, Logan, Trollback & Company, Framestore CFC, Method Studios, Psyop, The Mill, Left Channel, Motomichi, current_tv, MTV, Sundance, Soho, u-ziq and many more...
CMGF07 Student Screening
Saturday, January 27th, 9pm
doors open 8.30pm
Chicago Cultural Center, Cassidy Theater
78 E. Washington Street
Includes student animations and motion graphics from design and art schools around the world. Sponsored by Stash & SAIC.
Sunday, January 28th, 2007
CMGF07 Educational Conference
Sunday, January 28th, 2007
10am - 5pm, SAIC Auditorium, 280 S. Columbus Drive
This is the main educational event of the Chicago Motion Graphics Festival and will consist of panel discussions, short workshops and lecture topics that include: how to be a successful freelancer, alternative techniques to motion graphics, and how the web and game industries are changing the face of film & video. The day will conclude with major presentations from both Adobe and Autodesk.
The Business of Motion Graphics Panel, 10am
This panel will look at the local motion graphics community from the perspective of working at a studio and as a freelancer. Topics will include how to manage your time, how to generate jobs and clients, demo reel best practices, and supervised vs unsupervised edits, and a general industry outlook.
Mike McGlynn (Psychofish), Aaron Edwards (Creative Chaos), Chistian Matts (Whitehouse), Dixon Galvez-Searle (Screen Magazine)
Hacking Motion Graphics Presentation, 11am
This presentation by Mason Dixon will look at some unusual software that can used by motion graphics artists to push outside the design limitations of mainstream commercial software. Demonstrations will include Particle Illusion, Artmatic, TX-transform, VJ software, Quartz Composer and more.
Motion Graphics, the Internet and Interactivity Panel, 12pm
This panel will look at two changes in the motion graphics industry. First it will look at how the internet is creating a new indie market for creative video producers, and secondly the panel will look at how interactivity creates a new set of opportunities for Motion Graphics artists.
Nick Schmidt (What's Going On?), Eric Olsen (Feedburner),Tim Frick (MightyBytes), Ross Garbasi (15Letters.com), John Fisher (15Letters.com), Michele Yamazaki (Toolfarm)
Motion Graphics and Games Panel, 1pm
This panel will explore motion graphics in the game industry. Specific questions will include:
• how next-gen game systems enable a higher degree of visual sophistication such as with post-processing color treatments and depth of field,
• how and when video has been successfully used in game mechanics and narratives,
• as the cinematic experience becomes more interactive, what can filmmakers learn from game developers?
• how integration of web portals to game systems open a door for an indie market in games
• how motion-capture and other game design technologies be used to enhance the animation process
Jan Sjovall (Electronic Arts), Ross Garbasi (15Letters.com), John Fisher (15Letters.com)
Autodesk Presentation, 2pm
Autodesk will present the new Maya 8.5 system and discuss Autodesk's outlook for the future of 3D software.
Adobe Presentation, 3.30pm
Join Adobe expert Kevan O'Brien as he gives an overview of the exciting capabilities of Adobe's Production Studio running on Intel Macs. During this session,Kevan will give an overview of Adobe Production Studio's award-winning applications, including Adobe After Effects for compositing, effects and animation, Adobe Premiere Pro for non-linear editing, Adobe Encore DVD for DVD authoring, as well as the time-saving workflow enhancements offered by Adobe Dynamic Link. Dynamic Link eliminates the need for rendering when moving motion graphics and visual effects from Adobe After Effects to the real-time HD, SD and DV editing environment in Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe Encore DVD.
Over $2000 in Prizes : Raffle tickets will be sold at the door for $3 each. Raffle prizes include several Stash Six-packs, and a full registered copy of After Effects 7.
After the Conference
Iron Chef of Video Competition
Heaven Gallery, 1550 North Milwaukee, 2nd Floor
6pm - 8pm, Free
Come and put your skills to the test! Video producers are invited to remix, animate, edit and "morph" a set of clips that are only revealed at the beginning of the competition. A set of both audio and visual components will be shared among all participants, who have 2 hours to construct something new with them. Final products are shown at the online event directly afterwards. Produced by Iron Chef of Music
MGChicago's Online Event
8pm - 11pm, Free
Muse Arena, Muse Isle, Second Life
Following up on last year's amazing video conferencing event, this year we invite you to log in from anywhere with a Wi-Fi connection and join us in the virtual worlds of second life to discuss the relative value of virtual reality. Muse Arena is second life's largest performance venue, once housing performances by acts like the Rolling Stones, has been featured in Wired Magazine. Followed by a special in-world performance by acclaimed 2nd Life keyboardist Kourosh Dini.