Siggraph 2006

[tricky]

Anyone booked their accommodation yet?

[jujubee]

Also, which portions of Siggraph's programs is everyone signing up for?

[tricky]

We've booked at Westen Copley (I think) and gone for the full pass then we don't need to bother checking which events we can go to - we'll decide all that on the plane!

[ShaunDon]

I'd also appreciate any suggestions from SIGGRAPH vets on which programs may be worth looking at -- I doubt I'll be able to go to the whole shebang, though with it being only an hour away I want to make sure I take in all that I can!

Shaun

[jujubee]

Yeah - recommendations definitely needed. I'd hate to pay for the whole thing only to discover that some of the lectures are a snooze-fest.

@Tricky and anyone else making reservations - the Copley area is probably the best. Right in the heart of all the stores and bars. It's also a close walk to the convention centers.

[tricky]

that's good.
not sure what the programme is yet, though the digital theatre will definately be worth looking at - it was great last year. Also the EMTECH is an excellent idea (that may actually be free - not sure)

[Sawyer]

Upcoming tech area and the art exibits are some of my favorites. I have been only 2 times the first time I spent just hours on the floor. It is amazing. The second time I had that weird feeling that a year hadn't passed and that I was there doing the same things only days before. Animation theater is great and I mainly go for the classes. I take as many of the discreet master classes as I can not all of them are great but you pick up 2 new things that you can use and the class is worth while. I also go the the CGA events. Those are fun. Its really fun to meet people you have talked with online. The first year I bought the big everything included package deal. Last year I bought the really cheap tickets and didn't really miss anything.
Networking is the main thing I think that people do there. I suck at it. I think at last years CGA party we were all pretty drunk at the end of the night and I spent an hour blustering about my kids to strangers (I was pretty embarrased when I found out who those strangers were).

[ShaunDon]

It's in Copley, thank God! I'm so tired of going to conventions in Southie.

I'm looking forward to meeting all you folks, for sure. This'll be the first year I don't miss every shindig in the world.

Shaun

[dbuchhofer]

Aiming towards the classes, they're generally geared more at the theory and towards the creators of the programs you use every day than to yourself

I've found that the Sketches can give you more real world ideas and tricks than most of the courses, the HDR courses can be worth checking up on though

On a quick look through the course list, where i'd go knowing what i've seen before: (Not looking at any of the times, so we'll see how it works out )

Its a little rough, for myself i've noticed that the classes entited Beginning are a little tooo beginning usually, and intermediate is ususally more towards new ways of implementing theory, and the advanced are usually for presenting new theory and very detailed implenetation.. (Implementation: Read, Programming)

5. High-Dynamic-Range Imaging: Theory and Applications
10. Procedural Modeling of Urban Environments
Any one where they talk about a movie is generally interesting, just in terms of ideas on how to deal with larger to huge scale scenes and workflow issues

dont underestimate the renderman oriented classes, they're not always directly applicable, but usually have some useful ideas that come through. these guys work with much stranger constraints then we do normally so they have some pretty ingenous workarounds for problems.

Papers are usually crazy.. but some of them can be interesting Flip through the thickass book after you get there, and judge from there...

This may sound crass, but if the name sounds rediculously non-english, its probably going to be painful to sit through these guys are fuckin geniuses, but on the fly translation in the head does not a good presentation usually make

Basically if you find the stuff that pops up at microsoft research and old sigg papers facinating, you'll have a good time at classes...

(Edit, and oh, there was much lunch drinking today, so this may or may not make any sense whatsoever when i read it back tommorrow!)

[siliconbauhaus]

I was just thinking of going to take juju out on the lash

[jujubee]

Yeah - don't forget to save some spare cash for the watering holes. We want to get people real drunk so we can post embarassing photos of them afterwards.

[tricky]

I think at last years CGA party we were all pretty drunk at the end of the night and I spent an hour blustering about my kids to strangers

I know exactly what you mean - I dread to think how much wine I drank. I think I insulted the MD or Archvision (or whatever they are called these days) to his face.
Oops!