The FMX Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Immersive Media has closed out another successful edition in Stuttgart. Haus der Wirtschaft and new venue Hospitalhof were packed with more than 4,000 visitors maxing out the event’s capacity. “We are very happy,” says FMX Conference Chair Prof. Andreas Hykade. “High-caliber speakers and an enthusiastic audience made FMX 2019 an unforgettable event.”
Minister-President of the State of Baden-Württemberg, Winfried Kretschmann, was enthusiastic in his opening speech, naming FMX an “international flagship” for the state. “The illusion is the most beautiful of all pleasures,” he quoted Voltaire. The Minister-President described the ability to fill the empty screen with our fantasy through the animated film “an exemplary digital space” as “one of the most important human talents.”
The central theme of FMX 2019, Bridging the Gap, highlighted worldviews and workflows that inspire exchange in the fields of animation, effects, games and immersive media. Bridging the Gap was interpreted in different ways by the FMX 2019 speakers. Dr. Andrew Glassner, artificial intelligence pioneer, held a Crash Course in Deep Learning and expressed a philosophical approach: “We nourish and protect our dreams, from the quiet murmurs of our hearts to the bold plans of our minds. As they evolve, these intimate visions grow beyond ourselves, bridging the gap between our inner passions and our outer engagements with the world.”
Academy Award-winning director Dr. Jan Pinkava, who gave the opening keynote speech, said, “The best thing is to do good work with people that you like. If we can understand each other, learn from each other, respect each other, and disagree happily with each other, we can like each other more and do better work.”
For supervising sound editor Nina Hartstone, who talked about the Oscar-awarded sound editing of Bohemian Rhapsody, Bridging the Gap means “pushing the boundaries of creating sound in film to tell a story in a way that immerses the viewer in another world – transporting our consciousness out of reality and experiencing a different life.”
VR/360° creator, documentary maker and journalist Gayatri Parameswaran presented the VR documentary Home After War. “Bridging the Gap means, to me, using technology for storytelling in a way that we can bring people together,” she said.
Academy Award-winning filmmaker and animation historian Prof. John Canemaker expressed his enthusiasm about FMX 2019: “FMX is a super event — impressive in the quality and breadth of the presentations and hospitality shown! It was of great value to me as a filmmaker and educator.”
More than 280 top-class speakers gave presentations, workshops and masterclasses. Moreover, 33 companies presented their latest products and services at the Marketplace as well as in six Company Suites. At the Recruiting Hub, 28 companies were on the lookout for creative talents, while 19 universities showed their projects on the School Campus. For the first time, over 20 virtual reality experiences and presentations could be experienced live on the School Campus.
FMX 2019 once again proved to be one of the most important events for the community to meet, refresh old contacts and make new acquaintances. This year, the new Get-Together, which took place daily in front of Haus der Wirtschaft, was the perfect place for an exchange of ideas.
The 25th edition of FMX (www.fmx.de) will take place from May 5-8, 2020.
