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From: bobr@zeus.UUCP (Robert Reed)
Newsgroups: net.graphics
Subject: Re: SIGGRAPH observations
Message-ID: <500@zeus.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 27-Aug-86 14:48:53 EDT
Article-I.D.: zeus.500
Posted: Wed Aug 27 14:48:53 1986
Date-Received: Sat, 30-Aug-86 19:57:59 EDT
References: <3043@pixar>
Reply-To: bobr@zeus.UUCP (Robert Reed)
Organization: CAE Systems Division, Tektronix Inc., Beaverton OR
Lines: 39

Bruce Young is being too modest (understandably so) about the Electronic
Theater.  Certainly the Pixar film, "Luxor Jr." stole the show, just as
"Tony de Peltri" did last year.  We've finally reached the age of CG
animation where the technique is good enough that it can be forgotten, so
that the art of film or video can be the focus.  "Luxor Jr." has all the
technique that anyone could ask for, but you think about that for about
three seconds, and then become engrossed in the story.  Generating yet
another flyby around simple geometric solids just doesn't cut it anymore.

BEST PAPER.  My vote would be for "Fast Phong Shading" by Gary Bishop, et.
al.  Not only is the work significant, but his presentation was entertaining
and delightful, helping many party-weary audience members stay awake enough
to follow it.

BEST PARTY.  I heard that the Abel party was really crowded this year, but
my vote for the best time goes to the Pixar organized sortie to the Photon
parlor that same night.  For two and a half hours, sixty crazed maniacs from
nearly as many companies donned combat gear to dash around an obstacle
course, shooting each other with LED equiped plastic guns.

BEST EXHIBIT.  Pixar certainly had some great demos.  I was also impressed
with the Symbolix/Pixar marriage, the Symbolics Scope.  But the booth that
really blew me away was the Japanese company up near the main entrance (what
were they called?) who had eight fully stuffed graphics processor boards,
most with custom chips and two to ten megabytes of memory, with various
names such as the "Pre Postprocessor".  The hardware looked awesome! :-)

In general, this struck me as a refinement year for SIGGRAPH.  The show
seems to either present big new gizmos all over the floor, that do new and
amazing things, or to reshow last year's gizmos and demonstrate that they
actually work.  This year was definitely the latter.

--------
I went to the hardware store and bought some used paint.  
It was in the shape of a house.  
I also bought some batteries, but they weren't included.
--Steve Wright
----
Robert Reed, Tektronix CAE Systems Division, tektronix!teklds!bobr