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Convention Reports CG Overdrive 2007 - Singapore
Getting over the jetlag is not an easy task when you travel half way across the globe, so the first few days were a bit of a blur. Still, I managed to perform all the duties I had committed to. The second day of our arrival, we were brought to the Singapore Expo where the convention was taking place. There, I met the other speakers who were a truly talented bunch. They had been flown from all over the world to share their expertise. There were representatives of Spain, USA, France, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Germany etc. All of us conducted a soundcheck of our respective presentation and everything worked fine. As far as I could tell, no one experienced any problems of compatibility, which is always a fear when you bring equipment from one part of the world to another. I bought a brand new laptop specifically for this presentation so I was relieved to see everything working smoothly.
During the lecture, I gave a sneak peek at some of my upcoming projects including 2 and a half minutes of animation I recently completed, for an upcoming short film. The response was tremendous. All and all, the presentation was a success and I could have easily kept going for another 2 hours. The last 15 minutes were devoted to Q&A and I gave copies of my books to everyone who asked a question.
Other booths of interest included Imaginary Friends where my pal, Edmund T Shern and a group of talented Singaporean artists were showing off their impressive work. Lucasfilm also had a presence as they recently set up shop on the island. They were showing some of the footage from their upcoming CG series, Clone Wars, and what I saw looked quite nice.
Here's a recording of the interview: Part
1 (2mb) This was my last scheduled assignment. Kyle and I rode back to the expo, where I spent a few more hours on the floor chatting up colleagues.
After the convention, Nancy and I spent another 5 days enjoying life in Singapore. We traveled all across town in the MRT (Singapore's transit system); we ate a lot of sea food; we went to the cinema to see a silly Singaporean movie (Men in White); we explored the Science Center; we saw a cool film at the omnimax theater; we rested in Sentosa Beach where we ate among roaming wild cats and peacocks; we did tons of walking around Clark Quay, Chinatown and beautiful downtown Singapore. We were impressed by the kindness of the Singaporean people, the cleanliness of this ultra modern city, as well as the extreme efficiency of the public transportation. Singapore is a kind of utopian society where people from various ethnic backgrounds enjoy a very high standard of living. A very nice place. Michel Gagne, June 2007 |
We
landed in Singapore completely drained of energy. From the
airport, a driver brought us to our hotel. I gotta say, the
folks at CG Overdrive did not skimp on the lodging. We were
treated to The Oriental, a 5 star hotel that would be perfectly
suited for royalty and celebrities.
these
things are peripheral and should always be at the service
of imagination and not vice versa. To quote Einstein: "Imagination
is more important than knowledge."
After
the presentation, I did a couple of interviews with the media
and walked around the hall. It was interesting to see that
my old school, Sheridan College, had a booth on the floor.
They are actually in the process of starting an animation
division in Singapore. I ended up talking quite a bit to
the folks at the booth and, Angela Stukator, the associate
Dean of Animation, told me that she would be most interested
in having me lecture at the main school in Toronto. I'd definitely
be up for that, as I haven't been in Toronto in quite a few
years and I'd love the opportunity to spend a few days there.
On
the 4th day, Kyle Balda (Pixar/ILM) and myself were escorted
to the National Broadcasting Station where we were interviewed
live on radio for about 45 minutes. It was an interesting
experience that had me quite nervous at first but ended up
being a most relaxed and pleasant time. 
The
organizers were extremely nice and helpful. They treated
us to 2 wonderful dinners and were always ready to cater
to our every need. I'd like to give my most sincere thanks
to Sen Lai, Selina Ang and Sophia Ang for going above and
beyond the call of duty.