Siggraph faces German competition

Govt-funded FMX challenges confab's dominance

By RACHEL WIMBERLY

Long the dominant show and conference in the computer graphics world, Siggraph has found itself competing with government-funded German event FMX. With the economic pinch, big exhibitors such as Disney and Sony Imageworks are opting not to exhibit this year. Still, FMX has a few things to prove, especially whether it can continue to draw big sponsors and increase attendance.

SIGGRAPH 2009

Location: New Orleans, La.,

Exhibitors: 160 booths, down from 260 last year in L.A.

Attendance: 20,000, down from 28,000 in 2008

Corporate supporters: Fluke Networks, Sohonet, Industrial Light & Magic, Sony, Real D

Who attends: Pros in animation, vfx and computer graphics; students; researchers

Ownership and funding: Assn. for Computing Machinery owns and funds the show as well as Siggraph Asia.

FMX 2009

Location: Stuttgart, Germany

Exhibitors: 18 companies, 22 schools and 20 recruiting desks

Attendance: 7,000, up 1,000 from 2008

Corporate supporters: Autodesk, Deutsche Telekom, Pixar Animation Studios, Imageworks

Who attends: Not as academic as Siggraph, with a focus on business-oriented attendees

Ownership and funding: Run by Filmakademie's animation department; Baden-Wuerttemberg owns the show.

Sources: Siggraph 2010 conference chair Terrence Masson; Assn. of Computing Machinery; Filmakademie Baden-Wuerttemberg Institute director and conference chair Thomas Haegele