November 25, 2023

FABW XR DAY 2023 on November 29

The F ilmakademie Baden-Württemberg & Animationsinstitut invite you to their FABW XR DAY 2023. On November 29 from 9:00 to 18:00 CET, the Albrecht Ade Studio with an LED wall setup will be open to all XR and VR professionals and enthusiasts.

At the Networking Breakfast you can find out about the AUREA Young Talent Award 2024 (organized by 2112 Studios and the Filmakademie), which invites graduates of the 2024 diploma year and young professionals (up to and including the 2019 diploma) to submit entries.
Deadline December 20, 2023, call for entries and information here: https://degas.filmakademie.de/nextcloud /s/5yH4LBf9WdEAsZi

Input presentations by Michael Scholz (Founder & Creative Director halbautomaten), Stefan Kolbe (Head of jangled lab) & Marc Schleiss (Creative Director Jangled Nerves) and Volker Helzle (Head of R&D Animationsinstitut) as well as Mack One Deutschland GmbH, LightShape and Pong.Li will provide exciting insights into current projects.

You can also experience the current prototype of the interactive VR experience “MinoXR“, which is being developed as part of the EU-funded EMIL project (https://emil-xr.eu).
Book your slot here: XR Day – MinoXR Demonstrator | DFN Terminplaner

Further details on the program of the FABW XR Day 2023 at LinkedIn

November 4, 2023

Disguise Training “Introduction to Virtual Production” at Filmakademie

Disguise Training is offering the two-day event “Introduction to Virtual Production” on November 16 and 17, 2023 at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg‘s Animationsinstitut. In this workshop, the participants will explore the world of virtual production techniques and technologies.

About the event:

During this event, we will delve into the innovative ways virtual production is transforming the entertainment industry. From virtual sets and characters to real-time rendering and motion capture, you’ll gain valuable insights into the future of filmmaking.

Whether you’re a filmmaker, a VFX artist, or simply curious about the latest trends in technology, this event is perfect for you. Our knowledgeable staff will share their expertise and showcase practical examples to demonstrate the power of virtual production. Get acquainted with the world of virtual production, its tools, and history, and explore previsualization techniques and camera/lighting skills. Witness live virtual production processes and interactive environments, diving into emerging trends, to set up your virtual production journey.

Don’t miss this opportunity to network with like-minded individuals, exchange ideas, and learn from industry professionals. Mark your calendars and get ready for an immersive experience at the Introduction to Virtual Production event!

Location: Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, Akademiehof 10, 71638 Ludwigsburg

More information and tickets

November 3, 2023

TechTalks on November 22, 2023, at Filmakademie

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 next event will take place on November 22, 2023, at 18:30 CET at Albrecht-Ade Studio (Animationsinstitut / Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg), Akademiehof 10, 71638 Ludwigsburg.

Admission is free! Please register in advance at contact@amcrs.de. Please note: The event will be recorded, but is not hybrid.

Program Schedule:

„USD Project Workflows“ | Paul Golter, Technical Directing, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg

This talk is about the USD pipeline of the diploma project “Underwater” at Animationsinstitut. This talk will not focus on theoretical USD concepts, but rather show how to structure a project with USD. You will learn how to create assets and shots with the USD and how all USD data is organized on the hard drive.

„Unreal Nerfs“ | Max Schmierer, b.ReX

The polygon is dead, long live the polygon? Gaussian Splatting is on everyone’s lips, whether for “digital twins” of real film sets or as a creative way to create assets for virtual worlds. But how exactly do these “Gaussian Splats” work – and what are the limits of the technology? Can they be combined with conventional technologies? In this short talk, we will delve deeper into the topic and take a look at what is already possible with a real-time engine like Unreal.

„Projectionmapping & Künstliche Intelligenz“ | Maximilian Pfisterer, Frischvergiftung

Frischvergiftung from Stuttgart is already successfully using imaging AI in its workflows. In projection mappings to completely transform existing buildings, to create visuals for music festivals or in collaboration with Andreas Hykade to generate morphings between given artworks. Today, the Stuttgart-based studio is giving us some insights and providing keywords to get started.

Infoflyer (PDF)

TechTalks Stuttgart is an initiative of the following institutions:

TechTalks Stuttgart on Facebook

September 30, 2023

TechTalks presentations online!

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 the Ghoul 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.

YouTube premiere on October 2, 2023, 12:00 CET:

TechTalks Stuttgart on Facebook

July 23, 2023

2nd EMIL call open!

VPET Unreal (Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg)

EMIL’s second call for proposals is now open until August 14, 2023! They will be supporting innovative XR projects with funding between 250.000 to 500.000 € and expertise including access to infrastructure. Check out the details on how to apply and eligibility on emil-xr.eu/open-calls/

About EMIL:
The European Media and Immersion Lab EMIL is a pan-European XR Lab network composed of four major European academic institutions – Aalto University in Finland, Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg / Animationsinstitut in Germany, Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Spain and University of Bath in England, with a mission to accelerate development of virtual, augmented and mixed reality technologies, content, services and applications.

More information https://emil-xr.eu/about/

If you want to find out more about the selected FSTP projects from the first call, make sure to check out https://emil-xr.eu/call-1-projects-selected/

May 13, 2023

Bringing the real world into a virtual environment

The Container City at Stuttgart’s Nordbahnhof, an area used by creative professionals with studios, rehearsal rooms and stages, will be demolished at the end of 2023. Our HEROES from the Research & Development department of Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg’s Animationsinstitut and b.rex GmbH have teamed up with Third Picture GbR and digitally captured the Container City as part of a research project to make it accessible through VR technology in the digital world and to preserve it as a cultural site. A groundbreaking project to help bring real and fantasy worlds into the metaverse!

The TV magazine NANO reported about it on the 3Sat channel in their issue of April 25, 2023. Watch it here!

February 12, 2023

Animationsinstitut Partner in the EU Project MAX-R

Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg‘s Animationsinstitut is one of the partners in the EU project MAX-R (Mixed Augmented and Extended Reality Media Pipeline).

Description of the project: MAX-R aims to define, develop, validate and demonstrate a complete pipeline of tools for making, processing and delivering maximum-quality XR content. The pipeline will be based on open APIs, open file and data transfer formats which enable the development, and support the integration, of new tools. We will build on research and advances in VP technologies to develop real-time processes and tools that deliver better quality, greater efficiency, ease of use and interoperability between proprietary and open-source software. The new tools and processes will deliver enhanced interactivity, and novel content based on XR media data. A real-time pipeline based on open standards, creating pathways to further innovation, will launch a new era in the production of XR media.

The interdisciplinary Consortium of eleven partners (lead by Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona) from five countries covers the chain from technology development and product innovation to creative experiment and demonstration, and from XR media creation to delivery to the final consumer. It is built around Europe’s leading media technology developers, together with creative organisations operating in AR/VR/MR, Virtual Production, interactive games, new media, TV, video and news, multimedia and immersive performance.

Sources and more information: https://www.upf.edu/web/max-r/ & https://animationsinstitut.de/de/forschung/projects/max-r & in the video: