Program Board
FMX 2010 offers a variety of presentations and panels in special series that focus on different hot topics and point of views. Experienced professionals and renowned members of the cg community create, curate and host such series in the Conference, initializing their topics and inviting speakers for FMX 2010. We are happy to announce and welcome this year's program board:
Members
 | Paul Debevec (USC Institute for Creative Technologies) Paul Debevec is a research associate professor at the University of Southern California and the associate director of graphics research at USC's Institute for Creative Technologies. Debevec's Ph.D. thesis (UC Berkeley, 1996) presented Façade, an image-based modeling and rendering system for creating photoreal architectural models from photographs. Using Facade he led the creation of virtual cinematography of the Berkeley campus for his 1997 film The Campanile Movie whose techniques were used to create virtual backgrounds in "The Matrix". Subsequently, Debevec pioneered high dynamic range image-based lighting techniques in his films "Rendering with Natural Light" (1998), "Fiat Lux" (1999), and "The Parthenon" (2004); he also leads the design of HDR Shop, the first high dynamic range image editing program. At USC ICT, Debevec has led the development of a series of Light Stage devices for capturing and simulating how objects and people reflect light, used to create photoreal digital actors in films such as "Spider Man 2", "Superman Returns", "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" and "Avatar". He received ACM Siggraph's first Significant New Researcher Award in 2001 and co-authored the 2005 book High Dynamic Range Imaging from Morgan Kaufmann; he chaired the Siggraph 2007 Computer Animation Festival and serves on the ACM Siggraph Executive Committee. In February 2010 he received a Scientific and Engineering Academy Award for his work on the Light Stage systems. |
 | Christophe Hery (ImageMovers Digital) Christophe Hery joined ImageMovers Digital in Jan 2010 where he holds the position of Look Development Supervisor. Hery is responsible for overseeing the practices and technologies for texture painting, material designing, light rigging and rendering. An alumnus of Industrial Light & Magic, Hery previously served as a research and development lead, supporting the facility’s shaders and providing rendering guidance. He was first hired by ILM in 1993 as a senior technical director. In 2003, Hery was the recipient of a Technical Achievement Award for the development of practical methods for rendering skin and other translucent materials using subsurface scattering techniques. In 2010 he received Technical Achievement Award for the development of point-based rendering for indirect illumination and ambient occlusion. |
 | Katja Koeppl (Stuttgart Media University) For five years Prof. Katja Koeppl (formerly Hofmann) has chaired the field of Visual Design and Post Production at the University of Applied Sciences Hochschule der Medien in Stuttgart. Before, she was active as a post production coordinator at the Babelsberg Film Studios and has managed inhouse workflows for movie productions such as „The Bourne Supremacy“ and „Beyond the Sea“. Prof. Katja Koeppl participated in more than fifty film and video productions as a DoP, Editor and Digital Artist. |
 | Alex McDowell (5D Conference) An innovator in immersive design, Alex McDowell integrates digital technology and traditional design technique, and re-imagines the creative process in his cross-media production design practice (“Fight Club”, “Minority Report”, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “The Terminal”, “Watchmen”), allowing for unprecedented control of the final work. In 2006, McDowell was named a Royal Designer for Industry by the RSA, the UK’s most prestigious design society. Outside film, McDowell brings art and science into a new convergence, most recently designing the robotic opera Death and the Powers as Visiting Artist with MIT Media Lab; and as co-director of the 5D: Future of Immersive Design conference which redefines the role of the designer at the intersection of art, technology and storytelling in narrative media. He is currently designing an Independent Hybrid Movie, 'Upside Down', for Director Juan Solanas. |
 | Thomas Mueller (Autodesk) Thomas Mueller is a dedicated professional from Switzerland with extensive experience across all areas of marketing. He started his career as a Project and Design Architect in St. Gallen and Zurich, being responsible for architectural designing, supervising of construction work and international projects. In 1996 Thomas Mueller worked as Sales and Marketing Manager of Vifian & Zuberbühler AG in Aesch, before he became Product and Marketing Manager for Central- and East Europe at Discreet, a division of Autodesk GmbH, in 1999. From 2003 to 2007 he was the Marketing Manager GLC of Getty Images, developing marketing plans, concepts and campaigns as well as planning and organizing events, international tradeshows and exhibitions in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. After his return to Autodesk in 2007 Thomas Mueller operated as the Territory Manager Marketing for Central Europe, Nordics and Benelux, before he became EMEA Campaign Manager Design Visualization in August 2009. |
 | Joseph Olin (Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences) Joseph Olin brings more than 25 years of experience in video games and consumer products to his position as President of the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Since taking the helm of the non-profit organization in July 2004, Olin has championed the $21 billion video game industry by raising awareness of individuals, games, companies, organizations/associations and changing issues by promoting innovation and commitment. In addition, Olin has grown the Academy membership more than six-fold from 3,000 to 20,000 since June 2004. As President of the AIAS, he is the voice of the Academy and oversees the annual D.I.C.E. (Design, Innovate, Communicate, Entertain) Summit, the Interactive Achievements Awards (IAA) and the Into the Pixel video game art exhibit. Olin has been successful in advancing the international presence of the Academy and Into the Pixel by bringing it to New Zealand, Germany, Mexico, China and speaking at international video game and related industry conferences, brought the International Game Developers Association members to the IAA voting process and was instrumental in partnering with the Independent Film Channel for a multi-year deal to televise the IAA. |
 | Eric Roth (Visual Effects Society) Eric Roth brings more than 20 years of strategic management, communications and public affairs experience to his position as Executive Director of the Visual Effects Society (VES). During the past 5 years he has doubled the size of VES and is frequently consulted on worldwide visual effects trends by journalists and vfx practitioners of all stripes. VES now has approximately 2,000 members in 20 countries comprised of the most talented visual effects artists worldwide in film, TV, animation and video games. Prior to joining VES, Eric was a former Chief of Staff at Los Angeles City Hall, in addition to directing the Government Affairs Department for the Southern California Association of Governments (SCAG). |
 | Eric Riewer (Gobelins, l'ecole de l'image) Eric Riewer became the head of the animation department of Gobelins, l’école de l’image based in Paris in 1998. Since 2006, he has been the manager of international relations for the whole Gobelins school, and running an International Summer School course in character animation as well as organising master classes in Asia. |
 | Wolfgang Schmidt-Sichermann (Flashconference) Wolfgang has more than 10 years of experience on internet technology, strategic customer relationship management as well as a photographer and artist. He has authored multiple books, many of them dealing with flash, and taught at the Export Academy Baden-Württemberg as well as the University of Bamberg. In 1997 he founded his company online in4mation and started the first international flashconference in Europe with a focus on innovative, unknown, cutting edge features, artist and technology enthusiasts. As an innovator and consultant in technology, marketing and communication for companies like Siemens, spotme and Colada, Wolfgang integrates top notch technology with web based approaches for networking and project management. In the last view years he started to implemented mobile concepts and iPhone apps. |
 | Inga von Staden (Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg) Inga von Staden studied Agricultural Science in Jerusalem and Film in New York and has since worked in the media and event business. In 1995 she migrated to the digital media landscape holding a wide range of jobs as author, conceptor, creative producer, consultant and lecturer. 1999 she set up “projectscope”, a media consultancy. After founding and directing the European MEDIA funded program “Academy of Converging Media” at Deutsche Film- und Fernsehakademie, Berlin (dffb) in 2001, she worked for the regional media council, „Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg“ from 2004-2007, coordinating the new media sector. Today Inga von Staden works as an innovation consultant and directs the 4-year-studies program „Interactive Media“ at Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, training students to work for and with all media platforms. Her special interests are the impact of digital technology on media and applying media to empower sustainable action. |