SPI Supes Talk Spider-Man, Disney/Pixar Considers Shading in Brave

SIGGRAPH 2012 organizers today announced a full slate of panels helmed by visual effects and character animation supervisors heading to this year's exhibition and conference in Los Angeles on August 5 – 9. The production sessions on tap this year include those with the supes of this summer's biggest tentpole releases, including The Amazing Spider-Man, Brave, Men in Black 3, Madagascar 3 and Snow White and the Huntsman.

The visual effects team at Sony Pictures Imageworks will discuss, in two different sessions, how they recreated Shea Stadium, circa 1969, for MIB 3 and how they blended live-action stunt-driven sequences with digital environments and character animation in the latest Spider-Man, out on July 3. In another panel, Disney/Pixar's Character Shading Supervisor, Colin Thompson, will be joined by his own fearless team of technical artists, including Tia Kratter, Shading Art Director, Claudia Chung, Simulation Supervisor, and Danielle Feinberg, Director of Photography, Lighting, who will discuss how they developed pencil sketches and concept art into lush, detailed environments in Brave.

Other panels will offer attendees a sneak peek at films to come later this year. LAIKA's Brian Van't Hul, who won an Academy Award for his work on King Kong, will discuss the intertwined VFX, compositing and CG pipelines with his colleagues on their next feature, ParaNorman, due in theaters on August 17. Some of the most respected names in visual effects, including pioneer Douglas Trumbull, will weigh in on the coming impact of stereoscopic 3D high-frame-rate cinema upon the release of James Cameron's Avatar sequel and Peter Jackson's The Hobbit.

The show's Computer Animation Festival is often a first-stop qualifying showcase for Best Animated Shorts nominees in the Academy Awards.This year's winners were announced last week. "Réflexion," which won Best in Show, is a French production about a woman facing off with her own reflection in the mirror. It was produced by Planktoon and directed by Yoshimichi Tamura.

For a full list of scheduled panels and to follow updated show information, visit the SIGGRAPH 2012 page here.