I’m planning to be at SIGGRAPH LA and looking forward to seeing y’all there.
Good to meet you Jason, welcome to the Blender community. A quick search found this SF groupwhich lists Blender in their interest tags along with other topics. Kick starting a San Francisco Blender meetup would be excellent. There are west coast groups in Seattle, Portland, and SoCal (LA, SD, etc…) with a SF sized gap in between.
Usually it’s after the BOF. Also, as a side note, most days after the show there will be a gaggle of Blenderheads gathered near the pool at the Figueroa… until they get hungry, at least.
Hmmm, work is really keeping me busy and affecting my schedule guys. I don’t know if I am going to make it this year. Hype I’ll email you to remind you to bring some power strips if Ton hasn’t already mentioned it to you.
The good news is in what little spare time I have a small team of us has been working on some tangible resources for SoCal Blenderheads that goes beyond just meetups. Hopefully we will have an announcement to make around SIGGRAPH time.
Hi, Blenderheads. I’m planning on going to SIGGRAPH 2015 from Japan.
It’s first time to attend.
I forgot to input promotion code for Tradeshow, but I’ll go to BOF on Sunday and I’m excited about it.
Siggraph is on the bucket list, but I’m not one to venture out from the Shire - sorry, England due to travel costs.
Would it be possible to post a video of your presentation, Jason, on Youtube? The idea of BOAF sounds interesting, because I’ve always felt Blender is ideal for at least its availability for those artists working in distributed environments - no matter their financial status nor choice of software or operating system.
If not, I hope all goes well and you have a great time!
Too bad its not the size of E3. It takes some getting used to going from E3, in which the whole convention floor is used to Siggraph in which just one part of it is used… the booths are tiny in comparison as well. Should be good though. For locals I recommend taking the subway, parking and traffic are a horror to deal with regardless of the day or event.
I didn’t realize you hadn’t been to Siggraph before. I was there with Colin, Brecht, Fweeb, Bassam, Fatima, and others the year before Sintel. Was a lot of fun, so many great people. Of course you know most of these folks extremely well from being present at Blender Institute for the movies.
Have you met with Ton at all there since you keep mentioning how Blender would be better off if it did that instead of this. You can’t get any more direct regarding those points than approaching him in person (so now is your chance).
Ton is extremely intimidating in person to most people - he is very tall, and doesn’t have the same sense of physical boundary space that most people do. So most people would be rather cowed when talking with him.
FWIW, as the receiver of “conference floor suggestions” in my bill-paying/day job, I find that a lot of the stuff I get told on the day tends to fade as it’s piled up amongst everything else on the day. I find, and always suggest, that people who have ideas, suggestions, or other comments other than vague praise they wish to see acted on get a hold of me via email or the forum thread for our product.
It also takes out personal / timing issues like the “intimidating presence” of a person, the fact they’re tired at the end of a long day, forgetfulness, etc. General networking is great to do in person at a conference but action items, design discussions, etc tend to be better off the conference floor.
That all to one side - it’s good to see that Blender is getting some attention at SIGGRAPH.
From my perspective LetterRip your observation is accurate in general about people meeting Ton for the first time especially in addition to what you said someone experiences that he is very straight forward in his opinions. My perspective is from working in the SIGGRAPH booth two different years, talking with Ton many times face to face over the years and comments during the SoCal user meetings from others who have met him. Anyone who has a chance should make every effort to meet Ton in person even if it is just to say hi and get a personal feel for him. I consider him a friend and am thankful to know him in person. : )
From my experience, there is a bit of an adjustment in getting to know him and how to communicate with him and understand him when he talks. Although he speaks good English, sometimes the misunderstandings and miscommunications are comical in person. But it boils down to he is still the same person in emails, IRC and in person. He’s consistent when it comes to that and that’s a good thing from my perspective. So meeting him in person definitely sheds light on understanding his writings and BConf video recordings. I am glad that years ago I figured out his and other regulars’ style of humor in IRC. For example “going to throw the VSE into the canal!” causing me alarm at first, lol. This is all part of his mystique is one way to look at it! ; )
So how was your Blender @ SIGGRAPH experience Jason? Sorry I could not make it there and meet you in person. So tell us what your biggest impressions were!
Clearly I am going, flying in from taxes How do we make this a thing. I am all about sharing notes and a beer or two! I look forward to it. We really should have a point of contact for everyone who is going. As I have never been I am sure I am not alone in the not knowing what to expect category.
