The TechTalks Stuttgart event series presents technical topics from the fields of visual effects (VFX) and animation for scientists, creative professionals, students and the interested public. After the keynote speeches, people can spontaneously take to the microphone on their own behalf.
The two presentations of the TechTalks on March 28, 2023 at Das Gutbrod celebrate their YouTube premiere!
„Winkelauflösung einer simulierten Lichtfeldanzeige. (Angular resolution of a simulated light field display.)“ | Sophie Kergaßner, Audiovisual Media (M. Eng.) at Stuttgart Media University Sophie Kergaßner is currently working on her master’s thesis at Stuttgart Media University. In this context, she recently published a paper on “Evaluating the angular resolution of a simulated light field display with regard to three-dimensionality, motion parallax and visual experience“.
Online premiere on October 2, 2023, 12:00 CET:
„VFX Creature Rigging und Simulation. (VFX Creature Rigging and Simulation.)“ | Lukas Kapp, Freelance Creature TD // Student at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg Lukas Kapp studies Technical Directing at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg’s Animationsinstitut. He presents his work on creature rigging and simulation for theGhoul project (VES Award 2023 for “Outstanding Visual Effects in a Student Project”). As part of his research at Filmakademie, he is also working on the use of artificial intelligence for rigging tasks.
New AMCRS IP Presentation Forum on October 10! Register now!
You’ve got a great idea for an IP (intellectual property)? You are developing a new game or interactive format? You are in the middle of preparing your new animated short film or animated series? You are a resident of Baden-Württemberg? That’s perfect!
The IP Presentation Forum will take place for the seventh time on October 10, 2023. Come by and take the opportunity to present your project to professionals from the industry and to exchange ideas and get advice for the next steps!
Pre Fixe with Animation Lounge on October 9 about SYMBLINGS
Together with the Film- und Medienfestival gGmbH (organizer of Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film) and the AMCRS, MFG organizes the Pre Fixe with Animation Lounge as a prelude to the monthly network meeting of the film industry (Jour Fixe), at which speakers from the animation film scene report on current projects using practical examples and provide insights into their work.
On October 9, 2023at 18:00 CET, Lennard Fricke, Dominik Girod, Sylvia Jorde, Anita Kerbel and Caroline Keulertz will be presenting their project SYMBLINGS. Across different courses of study, they have come together in their third year at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg’s Animationsinstitut.
Symblings
SYMBLINGS was initially their semester project as part of “Anifilm/Aniplay”, before they decided to expand the world and the story further and develop a 2D Metroidvania game. The game is about a contaminated and doomed world, where plants and mushrooms are separated by a bitter enmity. In the midst of this conflict, the Symbling, a symbiosis of a chestnut and a mushroom, tries to reunite the two hostile worlds in order to save the world.
With SYMBLINGS the team set the cornerstone of their company, which they have now founded parallel to their studies.
Team of the Game „SYMBLINGS“ | Photo: Filmakademie BW
The event will take place at the Kulturzentrum Merlin, Augustenstraße 72, 70178 Stuttgart. Admission is free.
Gamescom 2022 – MFG Games BW joint booth The Länd | Photo: Tobias Vollmer Fotografie
Since 2013, MFG Baden-Württemberg has been organizing a joint booth in the business area of Gamescom in Cologne (Business Area Hall 4.1, Booth C64). The exhibiting games companies have the opportunity to present their latest developments to the trade visitors and to establish contacts with the international games scene. For the second time, the 2023 event will be held under the motto “THE LÄND – Games made in Baden-Württemberg”.
Among the games companies from Baden-Württemberg represented there are also our HEROES from Pixelcloud!
On August 24, a Baden-Württemberg reception will take place at the THE LÄND booth starting at 13:30 CET.
To make it possible to experience the diversity of game productions from the southwest of Germany, MFG invites all trade visitors to the Publisher Pitch Pitch & Rise: Hangover Edition on August 25 from 10:00 to 12:30 CET at THE LÄND joint booth. At this pitch, selected game developers from Baden-Württemberg will meet publishers eager to make new discoveries. More info
EMMY Nominations for Accenture Song and Pixomondo!
“Shadow And Bone” | Image: Accenture Song
There was great excitement among our AMCRS HEROESAccenture Song and Pixomondo – and among us, too – at the announcement of the 2023 Emmy Awards nominations on July 12!
In the “Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Single Episode” category Accenture Song got a nomination for “The Nevers – It’s A Good Day” (with Visual Effects Supervisor Emmanuel Fuchs) and for “Shadow And Bone – Rusalye” (with their former VFX Supervisor Juri Stanossek).
In the “Outstanding Special Visual Effects In A Season Or A Movie” category Pixomondo was nominated for “House Of The Dragon” (with Sven Martin, Sebastian Meszmann, Mark Spindler, Mark Dauth and others).
The GAMESTATE Festival BW on July 14 brings together professional developers, students and career changers from Baden-Württemberg to strengthen the local exchange within the games industry and to highlight future development opportunities.
A broad spectrum of talks, roundtables, a panel discussion as well as a party at the end offer many opportunities for intensive exchange and networking.
By the way: Our HEROES will also be there – Dominik Schön (Managing Director Kaleidoscube) will talk from 16:30 to 17:00 about “Navigating the Publisher Maze: Was wir bei der Publisher-Suche gelernt haben“.
The event is free of charge, please register by July 7, 2023here (button on the top right).
June 16, 2023
Digitalgipfel Wirtschaft 4.0 BW 2023
The Digitalgipfel Wirtschaft 4.0 BW (Digital Summit Economy 4.0 BW) 2023 presents valuable impulses around the topic of digitization and the latest future technologies under the motto NEW PATTERNS TO GO DIGITAL. Beginners and professionals in digitization, traditional industries and high-tech startups, multipliers, science and companies are all welcome.
It will take place on Thursday, June 22, 2023 from 9:00-18:00 CET at Porsche Arena, Mercedesstraße 69, 70372 Stuttgart. Admission is free, but registration is requested via https://digitalgipfelbw-2023-anmeldung.de/en.html.
The program includes presentations by top-class speakers on several stages, topic-specific workshop sessions with experts, and numerous networking opportunities.
16:55 EXTENDED REALITY IN FILM, VFX UND ANIMATION – WIE WERDEN DIGITALISIERUNG UND TECHNOLOGISCHE INNOVATION DIE INHALTE VON MORGEN BEEINFLUSSEN? Prof. Volker Helzle, Head of R&D Animationsinstitut at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg
14:00-16:00 Uhr Impulse mit Expertengespräch zu virtuellen Räumen für Begegnungskommunikation Christian Laurin (Head of Production), inverve studios, Gerald Bumann (CEO Strategy & Consulting), Stoll von Gáti, and Marc Schleiss (Creative Director / Head of media creation), jangled nerves The workshop is organized by MFG Baden-Württemberg with the Animation Media Cluster Region Stuttgart and supported by the Referat IKT und Kreativwirtschaft des Ministeriums für Wirtschaft, Arbeit und Tourismus Baden-Württemberg. More info: https://kreativ.mfg.de/veranstaltungen/detailseite/1664-digitalgipfel-2023-wirtschaft-40-bw/
The Annecy Festival 2023 (June 11-17, 2023) is currently taking place – and the Animationsinstitutof the Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg is right in the middle of it! A large number of students of the institute is on site, talking to industry professionals and colleagues, and attending screenings.
This year, the short films DODO(Producer: Jiayan Chen, Director: Yi Luo, Animation: Oscar Bittner, Sarah Schulz, Laura Staab, Sabine Volkert) and MAKULATOUR(Director/Score: Tim Markgraf), produced at the Animationsinstitut, are part of the official student competition. Fingers crossed!
Makulatour, image: FABW
The new Head of the Animationsinstitut, Jan Pinkava, is attending Annecy Festival. At this year’s German Reception (Tuesday, June 13, 18:00-20:00 CET, by invitation, organized by AG Animationsfilm, AG Kurzfilm, Animation Germany, AMCRS, Animations Production Days, Animationsinstitut, FMX, German Films, ITFS, Mitteldeutsche Medienförderung, MFG Baden-Wuerttemberg), he will give an introductory speech.
On Wednesday, June 14, starting at 15:00 CET, there will be an Animationsinstitut picnic at Jardins de l’Europe, Annecy. Come around!
April 29, 2023
The AMCRS HEROES @ ITFS on Sunday, April 30, 2023!
ITFS Trickstars (Photo: Reiner Pfisterer)
The last day of a week full of events and inspiration, great meetings with old and new friends, an incredible amount of new background knowledge about current developments in art, technology and research, hopefully many new project ideas and collaborations and above all films, games and other media projects and experiences has almost arrived! We hope you’ve made it this far – here come the events our AMCRS HEROES are involved in at the ITFSon Sunday, April 30, 2023. We are keeping our fingers crossed for all nominees for the grand ITFS 2023 award ceremony!
The Winners of the Trickstar Professional Awards at ITFS 2023
Press release ITFS, April 26, 2023
The first award winners of the 30th Stuttgart International Festival of Animated Film (ITFS) have been chosen: In a joint awards ceremony – the Trickstar Professional Awards – the German Animation Screenplay Award, the Animated Games Award Germany, the Trickstar Business Award, and the Honorary Trickstar of the ITFS 2023 were presented on the evening of April 26, 2023 at the L-Bank Rotunde.
The prize for the best German screenplay for an animated feature film in the amount of € 2,500 sponsored by the Animation Media Cluster Region Stuttgart (AMCRS), goes to:
CLARISSA, Screenplay: John Chambers, Production: XFilme Creative Pool GmbH, Producer: Uwe Schott
The jury found: Based on the popular IP and German board game KAKERLAKAK, Clarissa’s journey from hated underdog insect to rising star shows how rewarding it can be to pursue your dreams without fear rather than hiding in the shadows and doing what’s expected of you because it has always been so. The story is also a modern appeal for equality, inclusion, and acceptance of gender diversity, supported by lots of humour, songs, and dance. CLARISSA – The Musical is born.
Host Anja Lange, John Chambers (ITFS/Reiner Pfisterer)
German Animation Screenplay Award
The prize for the German screenplay with the greatest international market potential in the amount of € 1,500 sponsored by Pink Parrot Media goes to: PIRATE MO AND THE LEGEND OF THE RED RUBY, Screenplay: Richie Conroy, Production: Ulysses Filmproduktion GmbH, Producer: Emely Christians.
The jury consisted of: Peter Keydel (Producer Mago Production, Barcelona/Düsseldorf), Tania Pinto de Cunha (President and Director of Int. Sales and Acquisitions, Pink Parrot, Media, Madrid), Lilian Klages (CEO & Executive Producer, Zooper Film, Ludwigsburg), Holger Weiss (CEO & Founder, M.A.R.K. 13 Group, Stuttgart), and Silke Wilfinger (Founder, SilkWayFilms, Munich).
The Animated Games Award Germany, the prize for the best and most innovative animation-based computer game from Germany in the amount of € 5,000 sponsored by MFG Medien- und Filmgesellschaft Baden-Württemberg, goes to:
SIGNALIS, Developer: Barbara Wittmann, rose-engine, Publisher: Humble Games
From the jury statement: “Signalis” convinced us with a particularly strong visual language that honors the 90s art style, but does not limit itself to it and skillfully mixes genres. Inspired by pop culture it uses familiar elements and through technical innovation, this develops into a modern aesthetic. While playing the game, one can feel the passion for storytelling in an immersive, meticulously crafted game world that captivates not only visually. The reduced but skillful use of sound and music underlines the thrilling atmosphere of this classic survival horror game.
The jury consisted of: Anna Katharina Brinkschulte (Senior Lecturer Interactive Media, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg – Animationsinstitut, Ludwigsburg), Stephan Jakob (Professor for Game Design and Development, Darmstadt University of Applied Sciences (h_da) & Founder, BiteTheBytes, Darmstadt), and Lea Schönfelder (Co-Founder, Fein Games, Frankfurt am Main).
The Trickstar Business Award, the prize for the best innovative and forward-looking business model in the animation sector in the amount of € 7,500 sponsored by Verband Region Stuttgart, goes to PentoPix Inc., Founders: Volha Paulovich, Amid Pate, United Kingdom.
The Honorary Trickstar of the ITFS 2023 goes to Latvian animation artist Signe Baumane (“My Love Affair with Marriage”, “Rocks in my Pockets”).
