Thaumatropia

I’m in Los Angeles this week for SIGGRAPH 2010. I was lucky enough to land a Student Volunteer spot, so I’m paying for my conference badge in labor. Along the way, I’m looking forward to spending the week networking with industry professionals and checking out the latest trends and advances in computer graphics and interactive media.

My week started on Saturday (SV orientation), but the past few days have been a bit hectic, so this post covers my first two days.

Day 1

Sunday, I had to be at the conference center at 7:30am. The LA Metro being what it is, that meant getting up at 5:30am. I was pretty sure that would be the hardest thing I’d do all week.

Since there wasn’t a lot of programming going on, I took an extra shift and used the running around to familiarize myself with the layout. Before I left, I had an opportunity to have my portfolio reviewed by a conference mentor. It went really well, and I got some solid guidance for my grad school search and my professional art practice. I headed home a bit early to try to catch up on sleep (a precious commodity this week).

Day 2

Today meant getting to the LACC at 7am. I was wrong about yesterday- THAT was the hardest thing I’d do all week.

I spent the morning helping out at Registration, followed by a short afternoon shift on call at the Ready Room.

After my shifts, I headed over to a presentation by Riot Games aimed at students, with helpful tips for anyone looking to break in to the game industry. After that, I swung by the Disney Research Center to see some of the work the company is doing in Educational Gaming. Then I headed over to the Computer Animation Festival and saw some amazing short films. The three films that really stuck out to me were The Guest, Meet Meline, and Nuit Blanche.

The highlight of the conference so far has been the people I’ve met. Student volunteers, exhibitors, contributors, conference officials- everyone has been approachable and friendly, even when busy. I think I was nervous about the conference for the same reasons I’m always nervous about networking opportunities- the networking itself. This conference, though, has confirmed for me something I had suspected for a while- I, like many other young students in my position, tend to overthink networking. I’m starting to realize that networking is really just about making friends. Deliberately making friends, perhaps, but making friends nonetheless. If you’re friendly and laid back, and you have interesting things to say (preferably not all about yourself), people will want to talk with you, and even stay in touch afterward. (Then again, I’m not actively looking for a job, so I don’t feel the pressure that other students might. Your Mileage May Vary.)

Tomorrow, I’ll talk about my day working in the Emergent Technology hall, and other adventures.