Open Call for GDC Animation Bootcamp Submissions

We are starting to plan the next GDC Animation Bootcamp and we want to open up submissions to anyone that has something to say!

The Animation Bootcamp was born out of the desire to have an honest discussion about the capabilities of game animation, beyond the sales pitches and promises of new tech or recognized actors. It is talks and discussions, by animators, showing how to find and craft amazing performances while dealing with the constraints and strengths of an interactive medium. 

Last year at the Bootcamp, we had over 200 attendees overwhelmingly exclaim their enthusiasm at animators having a voice at the conference, giving the type of talks that really dig into what game animation is capable of. And for our second year we hope to dig even deeper and raise our collective voices in the industry even more. 

The want to balance deeper, animation specific talks with more cross-discipline buy-in is what we believe to be the ultimate goal, and to do that we hope to make it a two day affair.

The first day would be very similar to last year (which you can watch on the GDC vault), with a focus purely on the craft of animation, digging into topics like believability, body mechanics, facial animation, and acting.

Then on day two, we dive directly into the game abyss, armed with the creative knowledge from the day before. We bring in AI programmers, designers, writers and indie devs to show the theories and solutions people are applying the illusion of life to, either in conjunction with or in ways other than animation.

All of this is of course contingent on the bootcamp being accepted by the advisory board again, but based on our numbers and feedback we feel quite confident in our plan.

So what type of talks are we looking for? Well...

What is your process? What is something you do in your games that you are surprised isn't more common? What is something that you wish you COULD do? What is a tool or tech that you couldn't live without? What motivates you? What are your best practices when it comes to working with and influencing other disciplines?

The guidelines and schedule for talk submissions are as follows:

- Talks can be 30 minutes or 1 hour long. It should be a talk that will be unique to the bootcamp.
- AUGUST 23rd - Proposed submissions due date. Email a short description and takeaway to [email protected]
- AUGUST 29th - Submission due date for the Animation Bootcamp. By this date we hope to have the bulk of the presenters already lined up to show the overall tone of what we have planned.
- NOVEMBER - If the bootcamp is accepted, we need all specific talks along with an outline submitted around this time
- If the specific talks are accepted, finished talks will need to be prepared sometime shortly after. (The ability to make slight revisions can persist until the conference)

We are expecting the Bootcamp to be on March 17th & 18th in San Francisco but that is just the beginning of GDC's focus on animation. In the following days during the Main Conference there will be a daily Animation and Character Roundtable, hosted by Tim, to carry on the conversations across all game dev disciplines. Our goal is that by the end of GDC 2014, animation will continue to grow as a necessary part of the discussions at the conference and the industry as a whole.

We look forward to you not only being part of the conversation, but helping to drive it.

Mike Jungbluth
Tim Borrelli