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Overriding Opinions:
USD and Solaris in a Real-time Pipeline for Indie Studios and Freelancers

How can artists and small studios combine the best real time tools and workflows with the benefits of USD? More than a file format, USD in Houdini offers major advantages in scene assembly and just like Houdini, USD shouldn't be scary for artists.  

This talk addresses the pressing need for more resources to aid the shift towards USD adoption for those outside the realm of large-scale productions. We explore practical strategies for onboarding teams and individuals into a USD-centric pipeline, highlighting Houdini's role not just as a tool, but as a bridge towards a more integrated and versatile creative process. Dive into discussions on overcoming the intimidation factor associated with Houdini and USD, and uncover the pathways to making these powerful technologies accessible and beneficial for projects of any size. 

Join us to navigate the misconceptions, learn through real-world applications, and empower your creative workflow with the robustness of USD in Houdini.

Paul Booth co-founded Super Motion Collective with a focus on thoughtful integration of 3D artistry into narrative experiences. His work builds on a Ph.D. in Visual Analytics and Behavioural Economics, underpinning his methodical approach to digital storytelling. A career woven through design, teaching, academia and later product management, Paul spent two years at MPC Film London - an experience that would give him a grounding in Virtual Production, production pipelines, and also introduced him to USD. COVID later catalysed permanent move to Spain where Paul is now a resident. Inspired to return to creative practices remotely, he is building a small and global client base with a network of other creative freelancers. Their most recent project work with Super Motion made the final selection for the Future of Film incubator programme for 2023/24. Reflecting Super Motion's commitment to blend the boundaries between film, gaming, and digital interaction.

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Unbreakable Houdini (Presentation Recording To Come)

Digital Artist Will MacNeil from The Mill is on a quest to find new ways to tell stories visually and Houdini is his loved and trusted horse. In this talk, Will looks at his latest projects which range from a basic system for creating rips in paper to a realtime system for visualising brainwaves from an EEG. He'll also talk about his determination to find meaningful and ethical uses for machine learning tools and demo a few of these. And of course Will also drops in a few of the Mill's latest Houdini jobs. There will be something for anyone interested in Houdini, generative design or AI.

Will MacNeil is a Director and Creative Director at The Mill. He is an award-winning director and artist focused on innovative image making techniques for films, installations and interactive. His work explores novel uses for AI as well as new types of interfaces for interactive experiences. Working for The Mill, he has recently designed and led the EE Hope United generative Shirt project as well as the Art to Brainwaves installation for ArtFund UK. Other projects include designing sections of the Winter Olympics Closing Ceremony and the Lush Spa Experience data visualisation film. Will regularly speaks about creativity in 3D design at industry events such as OFFF, FMX and Us By Night.

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AIAIAI - It's a wAIld world (Presentation Recording To Come)

Don't panic quite yet - putting recent developments in AI into perspective for generative design.

Moritz Schwind is gonna take part in it all - Be it pixels, hardware, code or cameras. And sometimes even reassemble it. In his spare time, he likes to dabble with code and create generative artwork. He claims his early exposure to QBasic is no help at all when working in Houdini, Blender, Processing or Arduino. But it might have been what started his fascination for the boundaries of code and art. When not wreaking havoc to any intriguing devices around him, he works as a freelance Technical and Art Director. His more recent areas of interest cover the use of scientific algorithms in generative design and the application of AI in creative fields.

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Minimalism, Maximized (Presentation Recording To Come)

Simon Holmedal explores Panoply’s intricate interplay between complexity and simplicity for some of their most recent work, breaking down the layers to their creative process. Discover how Panoply's evolving experience with Houdini unlocks transformative potential, showcasing the art of harmonizing complexity in design.

Simon Holmedal, Director at Panoply, brings a wealth of experience collaborating with industry-leading brands such as Nike, Apple, Amazon, and ESPN. His unique blend of technical design prowess and minimalist principles results in captivating and impactful films.

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Building Complexity from Simplicity

From simplicity to complexity, in this presentation, we will explore a series of techniques that originate from simple concepts but are cleverly combined to produce visually rich and complex results.We will embark on a journey through the various techniques employed in the Symphony project, an immersive audiovisual experience that transports the viewer on a journey through emotions and classical music. Using Houdini, we will bring to life an imaginary and magical forest that grows and transforms in harmony with the music. Furthermore, we will explore other strategies applied in different projects, which allow the combination of seemingly simple techniques to achieve visually captivating effects.

Marco Rossi has extensive experience in the field of CGI. Currently, he works as a VFX Artist at Glassworks Barcelona. Thanks to his solid technical background and great versatility, Marco can work as a Technical Director, VFX Artist, or CGI Supervisor according to the specific needs of each project. With a career spanning various fields, at Glassworks, Marco has specialized in research and development (R&D) of various effects, especially those of notable complexity that pose a challenge. He uses Houdini as primary tool in this process, creating visual effects that are then used by the rest of the team.

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XK studio: Morphing Reality

Whether it's using musical annotations, 3D scans or motion capture data, XK studio looks to apply strong art direction intentions to morph reality into something new and unexpected using Houdini as their main tool.

Lukas Vojir is a co-founder and creative director of XK studio looking after the technical and motion aspects of XK outputs. At OFFF he will be presenting XK's take on reality through the projects done in the past year.

Stephan Helbing is a London based artist working at XK studio with a deep curiosity for 3D scanning and simulation driven design in Houdini. He will be showing technical breakdowns of different XK projects including flowers, photogrammetry tricks and slitscan effects.

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Really Short Bits & Very Large Pieces

Diving into the past year's explorations for the "few" fresh projects I had the chance to work on. For anyone interested in massive visuals or real-time. 

Jakub Spacek is an FX Designer whose passion is composing beautiful and pleasing visual effects that artistically represent abstract real world phenomenon. Working with simulations and procedural workflow is his key approach to creating immersive, pleasing, and meditative content and exploring how to truly enjoy such a vision. 

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Take Your Renders to the Next Level! 

In this talk, we'll explore how to expand your creative toolset and delve into the art of creating beautiful renders to tap into the power of visual storytelling. Discover techniques to elevate your work, evoke emotions, and captivate your audience through immersive visuals that leave a lasting impact. 

Bastian J. Schiffer is a creative professional looking to answer design challenges through well-crafted and intentional design solutions. Guided by an unwavering passion for generative art, creative coding and holistic design systems, he strongly believes design to not just be an aesthetic craft but a conscious approach to shaping the world we live in. He strives to craft meaningful, engaging and sustainable results through contextual understanding and putting an emphasis on a strategic and thorough design process. 

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Natural Materials in Houdini

Discover the process behind two of our recent studio projects, both focusing on the topic of creating natural materials. The first project is about creating natural elements like rocks and minerals, exemplifying it in an easy and flexible way. The second project is about creating apparel and textiles. We will speak about our process both in terms of our approach to design, and our way of thinking regarding techniques and tools that we use in Houdini. 

Oscar Forsman & Alex Mäki are a Creative 3D duo from studio Brickland, operating from Gothenburg, Sweden. Both of them have chosen Houdini as their preferred tool when tackling creative challenges. Currently serving renowned clients such as Polestar, NIO, and Nike.

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Master Vellum: The Ultimate Cheat Sheet You NEED! 

Dive into some tips and tricks I've learnt from using Vellum in production. We'll tackle topics such as adding wrinkles to incoming animations without the muscle solver. We'll also discuss the importance of collision ignore and how to use it to prevent jitter and how to explore some creative solutions with it. Stay tuned as we unlock the secrets to taking your Vellum simulations to the next level! 

Paul Esteves is a freelance 3D artist who is focused primarily on motion design for advertising and branding. Houdini is his tool of choice, but he also enjoy hobbies like playing guitar and woodworking. Originally from Durban, South Africa, he now calls Munich, Germany, home. 

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From Vision to Visualization: Human-Centric Tools in Houdini 

Delve into the creative process at SAUVAGE.TV and the craftsmanship behind our projects. Through an engaging case study, learn how we developed innovative tools with Houdini that gave us complete artistic control to achieve the desired level of hand-painted aesthetic. 

SAUVAGE.TV is an ultra creative multi-award-winning Production and Post-production house based in Barcelona. Creativity, storytelling and a passion for graphic culture are the driving forces that make us different, that make us wild. We do not intend to compete with monster size post-production studios, but creativity does not understand resources because ideas are boundless, and that is the real fuel for SAUVAGE.TV. We believe in freeing up the process of visual creation so our instincts can explode. That makes us wild. When a project has developed like that, it really shows. It hooks you and makes you fall in love... ROAR!

John Prieto
Head of PostProduction

Nico Zarza
VFX Creative Supervisor

Lidia Rodríguez
Character Artist & 3D Generalist