It always surprised me that there isn’t more press for Siggraph. It has such a large foothold in the industry, and yet when you research it there’s barely anything that tells you what it is!
So I made this short video for people that have never been to Siggraph but are thinking about it:
I asked a handful of attendees what they get out of it and why they keep going.
Hopefully it can convince a few more Blender users to make the trip 
It’s worth it!
Andrew
Always wanted to go but its expensive travelling to America(for me, anyway). Saying that, the video does bring back memories of a very similar “CGI-Festival” they held in Lewisham, London - back in 2004. I even bumped into a friend there who I met previously in pub gatherings in London - small world!
Its certainly an eye opener attending such a show if you have no experience of the kind of environment you might find in a CG job. Absolutely recommended.
A great video, Andrew, I had no idea Siggraph was like that. I thought it was just a bunch of boring conferences and Powerpoint presentations. How wrong I was!
So this means Siggraph is open to anyone, as long as you can afford the ticket?
I used to go to SIGGRAPH every year, but my current job doesn’t allow me to travel much. I really enjoyed going and learned a lot. I even met Mr. Dick Van Dyke once… he is an avid 3d/CGI guy.
You can get in for free if you know where to look and which communities you are part of. For example, when Siggraph is in LA, I generally get a ticket (code) from Pixologic to attend. I believe the Blender Foundation had a few to give away if you were up there.
@AndrewPrice
Do you have video of the Birds of a Feather Blender event that took place? If so can you post that as well.
Lucky sausage! What did he say to you? Any Mary Poppins jokes? 
I’ve heard he’s a long time Lightwaver.
Thanks guys, glad you liked it
Nah pretty sure they ban video of all talks.
But you didn’t miss much. The Blender Birds of a Feather meeting was kinda boring IMO. Probably because it was aimed to the broader CG community who are curious of Blender.
Still, was fun to meet all the North American/Canadian blender users.
Thanks, SaintHaven, I didn’t know that! Hopefully one day I’ll be able to experience it.
I would never have guessed Dick Van Dyke was a CG fan- what an experience that must have been to meet him!
Np, if you can make it Los Angeles when they have it down here again, just pay attention to the Pixologic community page. They will have a link that can generate a ticket for print, naturally if you do go that route make sure to spend some time at their booth so its both give and take.
@AndrewPrice, ah bummer. I was curious to see how its being presented to larger cg group and see what ton had to say on the future of blender as well as the conflicts tied to a larger user base. Hope to maybe see you around if you hit up the Los Angeles siggraph sometime.
I thought exactly the same, since you always hear of the papers/research presented at siggraph, but not anything else !
@SamusDrake : He was just talking to us like a regular guy… about all the cool software he got (he had a bag full of stuff that he bought), the neat things to see, etc. What a great, humble guy he is.
@James Candy : It’s well known within the CG community what a huge fan/hobbyist he is. I think he’s even done a few short films and an e-book or two.
I spoke on behalf of my school at SIGGRAPH back in 2006 when it was in Boston. It was an amazing experience. 3D displays were the big thing at the time, it seemed like every other booth was showing versions of them. I would have loved to take part in the technical papers program, but my admission didn’t cover it, and neither did my budget!