CAVEMODE 7, held on July 22nd, 2010 was another great meeting. The event was hosted at CPCC in uptown Charlotte. There were about 45 people in attendance, filling nearly every seat. CAVEMODE 7 was sponsored by CPCC, Papa John’s Pizza, Artbeats, Peachpit, Focal Press, Digieffects, Stash Media and Toolfarm

CAVEMODE Animation Challenge Winner

First up was the CAVEMODE Animation Challenge results. Michael Wilfong was selected as the winner from a strong group of entries. The finalist entries were screened for the crowd. The Animation Challenge was a great success and we are sure to host more contests like it in the future. More details on the Animation Challenge can be found here, including links to view the winner and entries.

Pixelfab Studios, comprised of Chase Gordon and Karl Wagner gave a detailed project breakdown for the next item in the agenda. Pixelfab employed the open source application Blender to accomplish the 3d and compositing needed for their architectural visualization job. They showed numerous techniques and workarounds utilized to finish the job in time. They also discussed some of the challenges and rewards of working with open source software and opposed to off the shelf solutions.

Last up on the docket was Buddy Lewis. Buddy is a seasoned animation production professional and came to discuss some of his experience and the workflow of animation production. Buddy shared many stories, animation, and artwork while discussing how an animated movie or video gets produced. Buddy has worked with Disney Animation, Big Idea Productions, and most recently Glueworks Animation.

Thank you to all who came out to the meeting. It was a great time and we look forward to CAVEMODE 8 sometime in early fall.