Linux Foundation Projects Academy Software Foundation and Alliance for OpenUSD Make an Impact at SIGGRAPH 2024

SIGGRAPH 2024 is set to take place from July 28 to August 1 in Denver, Colorado. Renowned as the premier conference and exhibition for computer graphics and interactive techniques, this annual event gathers a global audience of professionals interested in arts and design, gaming and interactive technologies, new advancements, production and animation, and research and education.

Two of our key Linux Foundation projects, the Academy Software Foundation and the Alliance for OpenUSD (AOUSD) will have a significant presence at SIGGRAPH 2024. These projects are crucial in advancing open standards and technologies that are reshaping the future of visual effects, animation, and digital content creation.

Academy Software Foundation

The Academy Software Foundation (ASWF) will host its 6th annual Open Source Days concurrent to SIGGRAPH in Denver and virtually. Open Source Days is open to anyone and has become the leading event dedicated to open source software for visual effects, animation, and digital content creation. 

The event kicks off with a series of Virtual Town Halls for ASWF projects including MaterialX, OpenTimelineIO, Open Shading Language, OpenEXR, and OpenColorIO on July 23-25, leading up to the Open Source Days main program. All Virtual Town Halls will be available on the ASWF YouTube channel by early August.

The Open Source Days main program takes place on July 28 in person in Denver or virtually. The event is open to anyone interested in open source software for the motion picture industry and features a full day of talks including a keynote by Darin Grant, CTO of Animal Logic, and talks by Wētā FX, Autodesk, AWS, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Adobe, HP, NVIDIA and more. Register here.

Following the main program, SIGGRAPH attendees are invited to attend a full day of open source Birds of a Feather (BoF) sessions organized by the Academy Software Foundation on July 29. Featured BoFs include Alliance for OpenUSD + Academy Software Foundation USD Working Group, OpenVDB, Open Review Initiative, OpenEXR, OpenColorIO, and Seamless Rendering Interchange in OpenUSD. 

Additional details and the full Open Source Days schedule are available here. Anyone interested in attending the virtual town halls or the main program can register here.

Alliance for OpenUSD

The Alliance for OpenUSD (AOUSD) will have wide representation across SIGGRAPH with many OpenUSD talks and sessions throughout the week by AOUSD members including Autodesk, Apple, NVIDIA, and Pixar. 

Featured sessions at SIGGRAPH include:

OpenUSD Day: a full day of OpenUSD-focused sessions on Tuesday, July 30. Hosted by NVIDIA, OpenUSD Day features speakers from Ansys, Apple, Meta, NVIDIA, WPP, and more. Attendees can also get more practical experience with OpenUSD through the Hands-On OpenUSD Labs on Tuesday, July 30, and Wednesday, July 31.

A drilldown on the OpenUSD Day schedule and hands-on lab offerings at SIGGRAPH are available on AOUSD’s SIGGRAPH event page.

Autodesk Vision Series:  Autodesk will host two OpenUSD talks during its Vision Series, which delves into topics including how open, connected workflows are the industry’s path forward. Special guest speakers include Dexter Studios on Harnessing OpenUSD and Virtual Production for Efficiency and Fin Design + Effects on Open Standards in Action: VFX Workflow Behind ‘The Creator’.

Additional sessions include USD, Hydra and OpenSubdiv: Pixar's Open Source Meetup, a 3D with glTF and Commerce Birds of a Feather hosted by the Khronos Group, Sony Imageworks Animation Layout Workflow With Unreal Engine and OpenUSD and a USD in Production course featuring presenters from Animal Logic, Autodesk, Pixar, SideFX, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Weta FX. 

Attendees are also invited to the OpenUSD Developer Meetup - Wednesday, July 31 from 5:00-7:00 p.m. MT - to network with fellow developers and industry leaders, build lasting relationships, and inspire each other through shared insights and experiences on.

In a Fireside Chat Monday, July 29, at 4-5 p.m. MT, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang and Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg will discuss how fundamental research is enabling AI breakthroughs, and how generative AI and open source technologies like OpenUSD will empower developers and creators.

A full list of OpenUSD sessions at SIGGRAPH is available on AOUSD’s SIGGRAPH event page. To stay up to date on all other events AOUSD will be participating in, check out the event calendar. 

Stay Connected

Follow Academy Software Foundation on X, LinkedIn, YouTube, and GitHub, and join the Slack channel. Follow AOUSD on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X, and YouTube.