Episode VII: Revenge of the Escargot
Attendees of Siggraph2005, the 32nd International Conference on Computer Graphics and Interactive Techniques, will get a chance to find out.
Among the films being shown at the conference, set for L.A. at the end of July, is "Loop" by a team of students at France's Supinfocom. The short follows "les peregrinations d'un escargot dans un monde totalement abstrait."
Other films scheduled to be shown in the Siggraph art gallery include "Chrysalide," a digital look at the Japanese dance form Butoh, and "Grau," by a student at the Bauhaus-University Weimar, which depicts "memories coming up during a car accident, where past events emerge, fuse, erode and finally vanish" giving "a very private snapshot of a whole life within its last seconds." (Despite a longish download time, "Grau" is well worth checking out online if you're of an experimental bent).
Siggraph also promises a bevy of activities, from a larger computer-animation festival (groovy trailer available here) to courses and tutorials to panel discussions (including one on open source and the graphics community and another on the ultimate TV screen).
And last but not least, the conference features a keynote address by Star Wars creator George Lucas, as well as a display of storyboard art from "Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," including work by Aaron McBride, one of the film's visual effects art directors.
May l'escargot electronique be with you!