The art of storytelling.(Siggraph 2006)(Editorial)

Just a few years ago, SIGGRAPH attendees were awed by waves of realistic water, the appearance and movement of realistic hair and fur, and the gentle folds and wrinkles of realistic cloth simulations. This year, showgoers once again illustrated their enthusiasm for novel digital techniques as they crowded into the conference halls to listen to the current rock stars of the visual effects world explain how they accomplished Hollywood's latest and greatest CGI--Rhythm & Hues talking about Aslan the lion and the creature crowds it created for The Chronicles of Narnia, Blue Sky discussing its fur raytracing for Ice Age: The Meltdown, Weta detailing its grooming and rendering techniques for the lead character in King Kong, and DreamWorks explaining its creative seeds for the foliage in Over the Hedge.

Meanwhile, on the show floor, enthusiastic digital artists flocked to various studio booths--particularly those of LucasFilm and Sony Imageworks--in hopes of coming away with an informational nugget about Pirates of the Caribbean or Monster House, or snagging a position on the next blockbuster.

There is far more to filmmaking than just creating amazing new effects, however. According to Yas Takata, director of large-format films at Blur, rich imagery synchronized with motion offers a great theme-park ride-film experience. But to take that experience to the next level, there must be a story--an actual tale that goes far beyond the pre-show snippet that simply provides a basic context so the ride makes sense to the audience. As he points out in the location-based entertainment feature "Time Riders" on page 26, the basic structure of a movie has not changed for quite some time, and yet audiences never seem to tire of a film that has a really good story. The audience needs to connect emotionally with the ...