The kids are all grown up! The gamer generation has entered the workforce and they are not afraid to push technology to the limits for fast, high-quality results. In this class, you will see how the Autodesk Media and Entertainment collection can take AEC storytelling, visualization and simulation to the next level. Additionally, we will explore game engine workflows to create immersive experiences that help projects get to a finished state faster. Join us!

The Autodesk Research Residency Program is open to external groups in academia, the startup ecosystem, and industries focused on novel project work. The program provides Autodesk with industry insights and offers resident teams access to a global network of innovators, events, and the Autodesk Technology Centers. Resident teams often work alongside Autodesk researchers and peers, fostering a conducive environment for problem-solving, ideation, and development with rapidly advancing technology like artificial intelligence (AI). As leaders in AI research and a trusted partner to industry, Autodesk Research and the Autodesk Residency Program are natural fits for Design and Make teams developing high-impact industry solutions with AI. This session will provide multiple case studies of the AI work taking place within the Autodesk Research Residency Program. We will feature specific teams using AI, and highlight how their participation in the Residency Program is accelerating their work and use of AI.

Explore the fusion of ancient culture and modern technology in the Longmen Grottoes metaverse project by Xu Hui Design Co., Ltd. Discover how Autodesk software was instrumental in creating a digital replica of this UNESCO World Heritage Site. This session will cover the innovative process—from 3D modeling with Autodesk tools to virtual space planning—culminating in a metaverse experience that preserves and promotes cultural heritage. Learn about the challenges of digitizing intricate sculptures and the impact on sustainable tourism and education. This case study is for professionals interested in the intersection of technology, cultural preservation, and the future of interactive learning experiences.

In this session, we will show the new media and entertainment Autodesk Platform Services-oriented software and give an introduction to how the APIs work. The Autodesk Platform Services Flow Graph Engine API is already in beta, with the Media and Entertainment Data Model coming soon to support the Flow Asset Management tools. This class will focus on those features that will also be included in the digital content creation (DCC) tools, but from an API perspective to show how customers can automate and access the data and functionality in an automated way.

Join Zaha Hadid Architects (ZHA) to discover its journey of adopting and deploying OpenUSD to build an interoperable Spatial Technology Stack (STS) with tools that include Maya software, 3ds Max software, Epic Unreal, and McNeel Rhino. The STS lets ZHA build immersive digital twins that enable deeper integrations between design and construction, enhance spatial experiences, and increase efficiencies in design and review cycles. In the session, we'll cover how no-code or low-code platforms and APIs, such as NVIDIA Omniverse, are enabling ZHA to build proprietary tools. These tools allow the firm to interact with and manipulate its data sets in processes such as robotics and digital fabrication. This approach reduces material waste while increasing sustainability and innovation. Join us to explore how this innovative approach revolutionizes architectural design, making it more engaging, responsible, and accessible to the architecture, engineering, and construction industry.

Attend this session for an in-depth exploration of animation techniques in game development using Maya software. Gain valuable insights into hand-keyed animation, considering the demands of modern gaming environments. Dive deep into Maya software's sophisticated toolset, discovering how you can refine your animation process with precision and finesse. Learn an optimized workflow engineered for seamless integration with diverse game engines, facilitating the smooth transition of your animations into the game engine you work.

In this session, we'll introduce GraphQL and explore how it is being used to deliver the promise of "granular" data. As you have heard before, Autodesk is investing heavily in cloud data with Autodesk Fusion (manufacturing), Autodesk Forma [architecture, engineering, and construction; building information modeling (BIM)], and Autodesk Flow (media and entertainment) industry groups. At the center is also the Data Exchange API that allows data to be shared in a specific and durable way. From authoring to access, this class will explain the details about each software system, and how to use the GraphQL API to access the data. We'll also cover the fact that data can easily be accessed across each of the information models, and via Data Exchange.

Embark on a flight above Westeros with the Rodeo FX animation department as they discuss the intricate work done on these jaw-dropping creatures for the latest season of HBO's smash hit House of the Dragon.

Although the character-animation process has been largely digitized, the fundamental approach has remained relatively unchanged for more than a century. Animators create performances by creating key poses, which they then string together in a sequence to create motion. They continue to add and finesse these keyframes until they get a believable performance. In this presentation, we will demonstrate a new approach to character animation that uses AI to transform the way animators work. With neural motion controllers, we use machine learning to model how characters move and behave. An animator then only needs to specify high-level intent, like when and where they want the character to move, and the neural motion controller does the tedious work of producing natural, believable motion. We will also demonstrate that by connecting this new technique with core Autodesk capabilities, we can create a production-ready workflow where animators retain full artistic control over the final animation.

Teaching Tectonism to AI"" is an exploration that focusses on the convergence of AI and tectonism. Tectonism, as a leading subsidiary style of parametricism, poses a unique challenge for current text-to-image AI tools due to their limited comprehension of structural dependencies in architectural representations. The presentation will showcase the potential of merging structural topology generation tools with Generative Artificial Intelligence across various architectural typologies and how this is integrated into early stage ideations at Zaha Hadid Architects.

Bifrost is a powerful graphical programming environment for creating procedural visual effects simulations, geometry, rigging, and animation. In this session, we'll showcase new, modular, deep-learning workflows in Maya software using Bifrost. We will demonstrate how to use Bifrost for procedurally generating training data for AI systems, as well as how to deploy trained AI models in Bifrost using new Bifrost nodes designed for deep learning. The session will include practical examples of industry problems that are suited to a media and entertainment audience, such as using AI for complex rigging kinematic solvers.

Join Fernando Macedo—founder and COO of SPIRIT Animation Studios and creator of KARL's Animated Franchise—for an exclusive lecture that will unveil the challenging strategies behind creating a global franchise with more than 1 billion views. Whether you're a talented artist with big dreams or a business owner, this event promises invaluable insights that can catapult your venture to extraordinary heights. Since its debut at Disney Channel, KARL has evolved into a franchise with three seasons, spin-offs such as Karl Babies (season 2) and Ketchup Jack: A Villain Story (feature), games, and e-books—reaching audiences worldwide. Macedo will share knowledge about strategic brand development on how to craft a brand that resonates on a global scale; maximizing engagement across diverse platforms; and monetization strategies that ensure sustainable revenue. Macedo is a veteran industry leader frequently present at global pitchings. He was invited to be a juror at the 51st Annual Annie Awards, and was a speaker at SIGGRAPH Bogotá.

Join us for an insightful session on how Ayelet Studio, with just three artists and an 18-member team, created the narrative-driven game Unsung Empires: The Cholas using Maya software as a pivotal tool. Discover how we harnessed Maya software's powerful features for prototyping, modeling, and animation to streamline workflows and bring the game to life. Learn how the immersive experience—enriched by captivating storytelling, unique artistic styles, memorable characters, engaging dialogues, and evocative music—resonated deeply within the gaming community, fostering a sense of pride among players. Explore the secrets behind the success of Unsung Empires: The Cholas and gain valuable insights into using Maya for game development.

While professional artists use high-fidelity animation techniques—pioneered and refined by Autodesk's animation products MotionBuilder, 3ds Max, and Maya—in games, film, and design production pipelines, we ask the questions: What if the user is not as skilled? What if their requirements for control are not as stringent Could we leverage new input modalities to allow untrained creators to record and edit 3D motion in just a few minutes? We'll discuss the speed and utility afforded by animating in a completely new paradigm: One that allows you to express intent with your body, fingers, face, gaze, and speech while enhancing presence, storytelling, and collaboration in real-time immersive experiences, and engaging your spatial understanding, reasoning, and memory to author 3D animations. Come and hear what our panel of experts from Meta Platforms, Workshop XR, Entertainment and Media Solutions as well as Autodesk Research have to say.

Production in the cloud continues to be a growing trend in the media and entertainment industry. Accelerated by the pandemic and ever-growing demand for content, the need for cloud-connected workflows to deliver more, faster has never been greater. As a result, studios are seeking modern solutions to improve pipeline scalability, collaboration, and data management. In this panel, representatives from Autodesk Media and Entertainment product, strategy, and sales, will join our customers to discuss how studios are investing in existing desktop and cloud products to help them achieve desired outcomes today, and how the media and entertainment industry cloud-based software Autodesk Flow will add new value to our customers' digital transformation journey by connecting workflows, data, and teams across the entire production lifecycle—from initial concept to final delivery.

As part of our 2021 product releases, many products will include a faster install and easier deployment experience that will automate critical updates, customize and streamline deployment, and let users get up and running instantly without any downtime. Come learn from an expert about the new install experience!

Maya software has recently added some significant new tools for character rigging and animation. These include Offset Parent Matrix, which creates an entirely new way to think about rigging characters. Understand how this feature works and how it can simplify rigs to make them both faster and easier to understand. In addition, new utility nodes such as UV Pin, Proximity Pin, and Rivet can help accelerate facial animation and other skinning tasks. Learn how to use these tools to create better rigs for your characters. Animation features include a brief tour of the new Maya Motion Library, along with a number of animation productivity enhancements, which can speed the animation process.

How can film and TV production move forward in the age of social distancing? This talk will explore a case study of a workflow under development by a broad team of studio production executives and technology partners. We will describe new capabilities in virtual production tools and system architectures to perform as much work as possible remotely using game engines, cloud services, virtualization, live LED wall projections, live motion-capture sessions, large-scale volumetric location scanning, and workgroup platforms.

In this class, the speaker will share the Fusion 360 free-form modeling tips and tricks that were used to model the Ironman Suit and the Ironman Armor: Mark XLIV—HulkBuster. The process of making these suits was presented at Autodesk University 2017 and 2018. These two models were also posted on the Fusion 360 Gallery: (https://gallery.autodesk.com/projects/110798/ironman-suit), and (https://gallery.autodesk.com/projects/120141/iron-man-armor-mark-xliv—-hulkbuster)

Designing a virtual reality (VR) environment for the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry depends greatly on content building groups. It leads to designing time consumption for the areas that are not the focus of AEC. Correlating with some level generator aspect of the gaming industry, the expense of environment generation could be reduced with highly varied environment design options. Using the algorithms of procedural generation and VR rendering options, a combination of human-generated assets using Maya software or 3ds Max software and algorithms can render an autogenerated and assorted range of VR environments in Revit software or related AEC tools. We will discuss a study of how procedural generated levels in a Spelunky game can be related to the VR environment generation for AEC, as well as how construction and building design can benefit from existing methodologies in the gaming industry.