U2 3D Film Director Selected As SIGGRAPH 2008 Featured Speaker

[Josh]

ACM SIGGRAPH announced the selection of Irish artist and director Catherine Owens, best known for her staging and film work with the Irish rock band U2, as a featured speaker for SIGGRAPH 2008 to be held in Los Angeles this August.

Owens will present "Giving Technology Emotion: From the Artist's Mind to U2 3D," which details her co-directing and producing experiences during production of the film U2 3D, the first digital 3D, multi-camera, real-time production.

"Catherine's ground-breaking work with U2 3D is an excellent example of how the computer graphics industry continues to evolve and push the boundaries for the next generation," said Jacquelyn Martino, SIGGRAPH 2008 Conference Chair from IBM T.J. Watson Research Center. "Even the most complex technologies and films begin with an idea and emotion. Catherine's work illustrates the artist's process perfectly -- from imagination to fruition."

Owens also directed U2's spellbinding ORIGINAL OF THE SPECIES music video, which was nominated for two VH1 Music Video Awards in 2006. The video, which explored CG motion capture technology, was in many ways a precursor for her work on U2 3D. Currently Owens is working on a new body of drawings in her studio, where she is also creating content for the next U2 album and tour campaign.

Based on overwhelming positive feedback provided after the switch from a single keynote speaker format to multiple featured speakers in 2007, SIGGRAPH will once again provide focused content by offering presentations from different prominent industry leaders and technology experts. Each featured speaker will provide key insights on the future of computer graphics and interactive techniques.

SIGGRAPH 2008 will bring an estimated 30,000 computer graphics and interactive technology professionals from six continents to Los Angeles, California, USA for the industry's most respected technical and creative programs focusing on research, science, art, animation, gaming, interactivity, education, and the web from Monday, August 11 through Friday, August 15, 2008 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

Celebrating its 35th year, SIGGRAPH 2008 includes a three-day exhibition of products and services from the computer graphics and interactive marketplace from August 12-14 2008. More than 250 international exhibiting companies are expected. Registration for the conference and exhibition is open to the public. More details are available at www.siggraph.org/s2008.

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