Workshop on Visualisation with a Teacher of Rubika, Supinfocom and Gobelins schools in St. Petersburg State University of Film and Television

On October 28-30, 2020, as a part of the agreement between the Institut français in Russia of the Embassy of France in the Russian Federation, a short-term international creative project was organised. The project consisted of a conference, a meeting and a 3-day workshop in 3D graphics with Damien Ancinelle, a teacher of Rubika, Supinfocom, Gobelins French animation schools.

Due to preventive COVID-19 measures, the conference was organised via remote technologies, which allowed to increase the number of participants, compared to offline classes. The recorded sessions would be included into the methodical materials database for Computer Modeling and Visualisation.

At the beginning of the workshop, Pyotr Ivantsov, the dean of the Faculty of Television, Design and Photography, Pascal Slivanski, a director of the Institut Francais, and Vasily Konovalov, a professor of the Department of Computer Graphics and Design, welcomed the participants. The speakers mentioned that exchange of experience and advice of professionals is the foundation of creative development in the film industry.

During the conference, a 3-day workshop on Autodesk Maya and Arnold, 3D animation, modeling, simulation, and rendering software, was organized at the Department of Computer Graphics and Design. The students of the University, future professionals in 3D modelling, computer graphics and design, lighting schemes, settings of materials and visualisation of a shot of a Pixar studio animation film and imitated it. The details of the technology, secrets of the professionals, specifics of the software algorithm – all these was discussed during the online sessions. The students practiced on their own computers, following the lecturer’s advice and comments.

The St. Petersburg State University of Film and Television and the Institut Francais in Russia has a long history of cooperation. Last year the students of the University actively participated in a workshop of Michael Mahy of TeamTO studio on 3D animation. Before that, there was a meeting with Stéphane Aubier, a creator of Ernest & Celestine animation film and the representatives of the TV Paint Animation software package. The meeting resulted in the University getting a license to use the software. The technics of computer graphics and animation keeps updating, the professionals are to keep up with these changes.

Galina Tsimmerman, the Head of the International Relations Office, Mikhail Konovalov and Aleksandr Tarasenko, Associate Professors of the Department of Computer Graphics and Design were in charge of coordinating the project. The online workshop sessions simultaneously interpreted by Olga Sazhina, Tatyana Belova, Anna Oskina, Elizaveta Dorfman, Marina Ivankiva, the teachers of the Department of the Foreign Languages. The teachers who participated in the conference were highly satisfied by the interpretation.

Mikhail Konovalov,
Associate Professor of the Department of Computer Graphics and Design