Architectural Visualization Conference

[coolhand]

Hello Everyone,

 

In the spirit of SiGGRAPH going on, I thought to myself we have enough people to have a conference specifically for Arch Viz. With a quick google search the last conference dedicated to Arch Viz was SIGGRAPH 2006!. So who would be interested in helping put together a conference?

 

We could find an attractive location, get some speakers, sponsors, vendors.... etc. With enough people we can pull this off. Think about it, September 2012 Arch Viz Expo ( it would need a better name). We can get people from cgarchitect, Autodesk, Evermotion, Mint Viz, etc. to put on lectures and demo's. This could be awesome, who's with me!

[BrianKitts]

google and search on these forums for the DMVC. Jeff worked really hard for a couple of years to put on a great visualization based conference. You'll find some threads that detail the amount of work and effort that he put into it and the expenses that it required. Unfortunately when the economy dipped most companies travel/conference budgets were cutback and the attendance level for the last conference that was planned dipped to the point that they were forced to cancel the conference.

 

It was really a great time, would be great to see it come back one day as the market recovers but I'm not really sure it's there yet.

Edited August 12, 2011 by BrianKitts

[anejo]

If I recall correctly San Francisco was the last scheduled event for the Arch viz industry. Unfortunately, it was canceled several months before it was to take place. Non participation was the reason. Since than nothing for arch viz has ever been mentioned.

[Devin Johnston]

From what Jeff has said these conferences were not profitable enough to justify all of the hard work. The reason the last one didn't happen was they needed a certain number of confirmed reservations before they would commit to the conference and they didn't get it. I'd really like to see the DMVC come back, it seems like there are quite a few similar events happening in Europe all the time. I don't know why we can't get something reasonable together on this side of the pond.

[Crazy Homeless Guy]

First, ...put a name on your account. It is required for the website.

 

(Edit: The link below is what Brian, Gilbert, and Maxer are talking about.)

http://forums.cgarchitect.com/39767-will-there-dmvc-year.html#post275782

Edited August 12, 2011 by Crazy Homeless Guy

[Jeff Mottle]

This SIGGRAPH I pitched an idea I've had rolling around in my head for the last two years. It would be a hybrid event of sorts that we think is going to work. I rebooked my flight home to make more time to discuss this with a few people and if the rest of the pre-planning ads up, this is something that may happen in the spring of 2012. I don't want to go into too many details just yet, but if the numbers are right, we may have finally figured out how to make very profitable event(s) that will benefit people all over the world in the CG industries.

 

The current model of conference DMVC and some of the other smaller European events you alluded to are break-even propositions at best, usually a slight loss, and that again does not consider the hundreds of hours that are required to put something like this on. I know the organizers of almost every event that goes on in CG, and I have spoken to them about their budgets so I know they are not making any money either. If you're only talking 50-75 people, it's much easier to be profitable, but not guaranteed, but once you start getting over 100-150 people the entire landscape of the preparations changes completely. It becomes a VERY big risk. The kind that can bankrupt companies. Having worked on four of the DMVC events, as well as another half dozen private and smaller events, I think I can speak with pretty good authority that the type of event you know are generally not worth the efforts or risk for those involved. They are great for the community, but not those who put them on. I know some of those European events have often thought of cancelling due to lack of budgets and previous losses.

 

Stay tuned though in the next few months for some announcements about this new hybrid though if we can get the final arrangements and agreements in place.

[Devin Johnston]

Music to my ears!

[coolhand]

Thanks Everyone for the replies,

 

Jeff, first off that sounds fantastic and I can't wait to hear more and your previous efforts should have gotten better results. You put in alot of work into the project and i'm sorry it wasn't able to go through as planned. However the idea I have in mind takes a different approach and I should give a few more details.

 

A bit about my background, I work for a Company that is a big player in the open source community and If its one thing that I learned out of my many years here is that sharing information shouldn't be profitable. There are lots of people that want to learn and are hungry for knowledge. While I have nothing against profitable company's that throw on events like SIGGRAPH, i think that we can get a conference together that will take on a more grass roots approach.

 

I'm thinking we can throw on a barcamp style event (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BarCamp). If we can get enough sponsors to cover minimal costs of said event (space, materials, etc) and keep the budget low... very low while still getting the participation needed. We don't have to book a huge place just somewhere where we can meet and have some demonstrations and workshops. We can record the event and broadcast in online with very little cost. When it comes to things like this I think opensource style is the way to go, you will find people that are passionate and willing to just share knowledge and distinguish themselves in the community as they do in the forums. Also this "Event" doesn't have to take place in one location. Like bar-camp is can happen in multiple locations across the globe. I for one am willing to put in the time and effort to pull this off, I think the rewards for our community are there we can make this happen.

 

Jeff, I would love to discuss this with you some more and share some of my ideas and get your thoughts. look in your inbox here shortly for more details.

 

Thank you for your time everyone and if anyone is interested in being involved please shoot me a PM.

[VRayGuide]

Alright! Sounds like a brilliant idea Count me in

[coolhand]

Hey guys just a quick update.....

 

I've done a bit of research and waiting to hear back from a few vendors but things are looking great. I have a couple great presenters already lined up and I have a place in mind (I won't disclose yet because I'm still waiting to hear back from a few people). So far things are pretty cheap and I will update this thread once I have more concrete plans.