Author: Mark Jette

DATE:   Thursday, May 25, 2023
FROM:  7:00-9:00pm EDT
WHERE:  Online

The Washington DC Chapter of ACM SIGGRAPH is proud to present Jessica Chinnadurai, Attorney Advisor in the Office of Public Information and Education at the U.S. Copyright Office. Jessica will be discussing what members of the graphics community should know about copyright. As computer graphics and interactive media specialists, you create materials protected by copyright every day. Copyright protects creative expressions including photographs, drawings, website content, and even source code for computer programs.

During this session, you will learn about the basics of copyright, copyright owners’ rights, the benefits of registration with the U.S. Copyright Office, and recent developments in copyright law.

U.S. Copyright Office:

The Copyright Office’s mission is to promote creativity and free expression by administering the nation’s copyright laws and by providing impartial, expert advice on copyright law and policy for the benefit of all. Under the direction of the Register of Copyrights, the Office registers copyright claims, records information about copyright ownership, provides information to the public, and assists Congress and other parts of the government on a wide range of copyright issues, both simple and complex. We produce a number of helpful Circulars, FAQs, and videos that explain copyright concepts and explore copyright issues we discuss at our events, including this one! The Office is looking toward the future, working to ensure that we continue to support the thriving U.S. copyright system from both legal and technological perspectives. The Copyright Office is part of the Library of Congress.

The meeting will be hosted on the Zoom platform. A link to the meeting can be found below. Please do not forward this link.

https://www.meetup.com/dc-acm-siggraph/events/293519995/

The Zoom client may need to be downloaded to connect to the meeting. Safelinks Protection, used by some email applications, may alter the above links. Please contact us if you have issues accessing the meeting.

Please join us on Thursday, May 25, from 7pm to 9pm EDT online to learn more about copyrights and how to protect your work.

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Biography – Jessica Chinnadurai
Jessica Chinnadurai is an Attorney Advisor in the Office of Public Information and Education at the U.S. Copyright Office. She provides her colleagues with legal advice and guidance on copyright topics and makes recommendations based on legal research. She also participates in outreach projects focused on educating the public about copyright issues. Jessica first joined the Copyright Office in 2019 as a registration specialist, examining copyright applications in the Literary Division of the Office of Registration Policy and Practice. Prior to that, she received her J.D. from the University of Missouri School of Law, where she developed a passion for intellectual property and participated in the school’s Entrepreneurship Legal Clinic.

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Contact Washington DC ACM SIGGRAPH:
http://washington-dc.siggraph.org/
http://www.meetup.com/DC-ACM-SIGGRAPH/
https://www.facebook.com/DCsiggraph

DATE:   Thursday, April 20, 2023

FROM:  7:00pm-9:00pm EDT

WHERE:  Online

Please join the Washington DC chapter of ACM SIGGRAPH for our annual demo reel and portfolio review night. Whether you are a graduating student looking to enter the job market, or are a seasoned professional contemplating a change, a dynamic demo reel and portfolio are a must.  We will be reviewing demo reels and portfolios after which we will creatively discuss the works.  Feedback will be provided on how best to showcase the skills, talents, and experience of each individual. If you do not have a reel yet, feel free to join us and enjoy networking with other like-minded individuals.

Putting together a demo reel or portfolio can be challenging. How long should it be? What are interviewers looking for? If you are looking for ways to improve your present position, or shopping around for a new one, the time to polish up your demo reel is now. If you are looking to hire, this will be a great opportunity to see a range of fresh new talent.

For those planning on presenting a demo reel or portfolio, we ask for you to RSVP so we will know how many people to expect. Ensure your work is online and you are able to share your screen during the Zoom session.

The meeting will be hosted on the Zoom platform. A link to the meeting will be provided 5 minutes prior to the presentation to all those who have responded to the announcement on our MeetUp. The link will also be visible to those who RSVP. Those who do not RSVP to the MeetUp announcement will not receive the link to the meeting.

https://www.meetup.com/dc-acm-siggraph/events/292858267/

Please join us on Thursday, April 20, 2023 from 7pm to 9pm EDT online as we discuss demo reels, portfolio questions, and more during our Annual Demo Reel & Portfolio Night.

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Contact Washington DC ACM SIGGRAPH:

https://washington-dc.siggraph.org/

http://www.meetup.com/DC-ACM-SIGGRAPH/

https://www.facebook.com/DCsiggraph

DATE:   Thursday, March 30, 2023
FROM:  7:00-9:00pm EDT
WHERE:  Online

The Washington DC Chapter of ACM SIGGRAPH is proud to present Jason Lott, Managing Attorney for Trademarks Customer Outreach at the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Join us for a discussion about what members of the graphics community should know about trademarks. We’ll discuss what trademarks are, the benefits of federal trademark registration, and the basics of the registration process. We’ll also talk about why it’s so important for any business to select a trademark that is both federally registrable and legally protectable. We’ll close out the discussion with a question-and-answer session and direct you to free resources from the USPTO.

USPTO
The USPTO is the federal agency for granting U.S. patents and registering trademarks. Under this system of protection, American industry has flourished. New products have been invented, new uses for old ones discovered, and employment opportunities created for millions of Americans. The strength and vitality of the U.S. economy depends directly on effective mechanisms that protect new ideas and investments in innovation and creativity. The USPTO is at the cutting edge of the nation’s technological progress and achievement.

The meeting will be hosted on the Zoom platform. A link to the meeting can be found below. Please do not forward this link.

https://www.meetup.com/dc-acm-siggraph/events/292178906/

The Zoom client may need to be downloaded to connect to the meeting. Safelinks Protection, used by some email applications, may alter the above links. Please contact us if you have issues accessing the meeting.

Please join us on Thursday, March 30, from 7pm to 9pm EDT online to learn more about how to protect your brand name, slogan, logo, and other trademarks.

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Biography – Jason Lott
Jason Lott is the Managing Attorney for Trademarks Customer Outreach at the USPTO where he specializes in helping small business owners understand trademarks and the federal trademark registration process. He conceptualizes and delivers educational content using live presentations, creative videos, and other multimedia platforms. He also presents to experienced practitioners on advanced trademark topics, providing them the tools and expertise to better serve their clients. Jason began his career at the USPTO in 2000 as a trademark examining attorney.

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Contact Washington DC ACM SIGGRAPH:
http://washington-dc.siggraph.org/
http://www.meetup.com/DC-ACM-SIGGRAPH/
https://www.facebook.com/DCsiggraph

DATE:   Thursday, February 23, 2023

FROM:  7:00pm-9:00pm EST

WHERE:  Online

The Washington DC Chapter of ACM SIGGRAPH is proud to present Daniel Zeballos, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer at Illustrate My Design (IMD). This evening, Daniel will be discussing DaVinci Resolve, the professional editing, color, effects, and audio post software tool used in feature films and television. He will be providing an overview of DaVinci Resolve as well as discussing how the software is used in his studio.

DaVinci Resolve

DaVinci Resolve is the world’s only solution that combines editing, color correction, visual effects, motion graphics, and audio post production all in one software tool! Its elegant, modern interface is fast to learn and easy for new users, yet powerful for professionals. DaVinci Resolve lets you work faster and at a higher quality because you don’t have to learn multiple apps or switch software for different tasks. That means you can work with camera original quality images throughout the entire process. It’s like having your own post production studio in a single app! Best of all, by learning DaVinci Resolve, you’re learning how to use the exact same tools used by Hollywood professionals!

The meeting will be hosted on the Zoom platform. A link to the meeting will be provided 5 minutes prior to the presentation to all those who have responded to the announcement on our MeetUp. The link will also be visible to those who RSVP. Those who do not RSVP to the MeetUp announcement will not receive the link to the meeting.

https://www.meetup.com/dc-acm-siggraph/events/291560686/

Please join us on Thursday, February 23, 2023, from 7pm to 9pm EDT online to learn more about Blackmagic Design DaVinci Resolve.

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Biography – Daniel Zeballos

As Founding Partner at Illustrate My Design (IMD), Daniel Zeballos is a second generation architect, fourth generation entrepreneur, and has an innate talent and passion for architectural visualization, architectural lighting and technology.

As Chief Creative Officer at IMD, Daniel uses his experience and talent to oversee the dozens of renderings sent out weekly for both local and international projects.

Before establishing IMD, Daniel worked as a Lighting Consultant on projects such as The Freedom Tower in NYC, Winspear Opera House in Dallas, The Bow in Calgary among many others. This experience gave him the design and technical knowledge to correctly apply lighting design into a 3D environment. With IMD he has worked on Lighting Visualization projects such as Lusail Stadium in Qatar for the World Cup 2022, New International Airport in Mexico, and Zayed National Museum in Abu Dhabi

He is a member of American Society of Architectural Illustrators (ASAI), the American Institute of Architects, and an active member of SIGGRAPH.

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Contact Washington DC ACM SIGGRAPH:

https://washington-dc.siggraph.org/

http://www.meetup.com/DC-ACM-SIGGRAPH/

https://www.facebook.com/DCsiggraph

DATE:   Thursday, January 26, 2023

FROM:  7:00pm-9:00pm EST

WHERE:  Online

The Washington DC Chapter of ACM SIGGRAPH is proud to present, Affinity Designer 2 with Mark Jette, our very own chapter Chair. Mark will be discussing several of the new features in the recently released Affinity Designer 2 as well as demonstrating these exciting additions to this very accomplished illustration package. He will also show vector illustrations created with Affinity Designer 2 then discuss how they were created.

Overview:

Affinity Designer 2 is the fastest, smoothest, most precise vector graphic design software available. Built from the ground up over a five-year period, every feature, tool, panel, and function has been developed with the needs of creative professionals at its core. With continuous innovation and development, the result is a ground-breaking application that will revolutionize how you work.

** Apple Design Award Winner **

The meeting will be hosted on the Zoom platform. A link to the meeting will be provided 5 minutes prior to the presentation to all those who have responded to the announcement on our MeetUp. The link will also be visible to those who RSVP. Those who do not RSVP to the MeetUp announcement will not receive the link to the meeting.

https://www.meetup.com/dc-acm-siggraph/events/290860856/

Please join us on Thursday, January 26, 2023, from 7pm to 9pm EST online to learn more about Affinity Designer 2 and vector illustration.

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Contact Washington DC ACM SIGGRAPH:

https://washington-dc.siggraph.org/

http://www.meetup.com/DC-ACM-SIGGRAPH/

https://www.facebook.com/DCsiggraph

DATE:   Thursday, December 22, 2022

FROM:  7:00pm-9:00pm EST

WHERE:  Online

The Washington DC Chapter of ACM SIGGRAPH would like to invite everyone to our virtual holiday social. Even though December is generally a busy time for us, we wanted to have one last gathering in 2022 to thank everyone who has followed us throughout the year. So, join us to talk about the highlights from 2022 as well discuss plans for the new year (and celebrate the holiday season). If anyone has created holiday artworks or animations, we would love to see them (our Chair may have something new to share).

The meeting will be hosted on the Zoom platform. A link to the meeting will be provided 5 minutes prior to the presentation to all those who have responded to the announcement on our MeetUp. The link will also be visible to those who RSVP. Those who do not RSVP to the MeetUp announcement will not receive the link to the meeting.

https://www.meetup.com/dc-acm-siggraph/events/290379769/

Please join us on Thursday, December 22, 2022, from 7pm to 9pm EST online to celebrate the holiday season.

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Contact Washington DC ACM SIGGRAPH:

https://washington-dc.siggraph.org/

http://www.meetup.com/DC-ACM-SIGGRAPH/

https://www.facebook.com/DCsiggraph

DATE:   Friday, November 18, 2022

FROM:  7:00pm-9:00pm EST

WHERE:  Online

The Washington DC Chapter of ACM SIGGRAPH would like to invite everyone to our SPACE design challenge reveal where we will be showcasing the work of participants who have created images for our 3^rd Chapter Design Challenge for 2022 which was announced in August. Participants will show their work then discuss the story behind the image as well as the software used and any tips the artist would like to share. Participants will also receive a complimentary membership to our chapter for taking part in our challenge. Our goal is to encourage our members and followers to stretch their imaginations, as well as explore new techniques, to create compelling stories.

We will also be finalizing the vote for our 2023 board members at the beginning of the meeting. Members of the Washington DC chapter were notified of the candidates with nominations closing on October 28, 2022.

There is still time if you choose to participate in the design challenge. The guidelines for the SPACE design challenge can be found below. Please let us know if you are planning to show an image during the meeting.

The meeting will be hosted on the Zoom platform. A link to the meeting will be provided 5 minutes prior to the presentation to all those who have responded to the announcement on our MeetUp. The link will also be visible to those who RSVP. Those who do not RSVP to the MeetUp announcement will not receive the link to the meeting.

https://www.meetup.com/dc-acm-siggraph/events/289587594/

Please join us on Friday, November 18, 2022, from 7pm to 9pm EST online to see the incredible designs from our design challenge participants as well as confirm our chapter Board members for 2023.

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If you choose to participate, we do have a few rules:

 * No obscene or vulgar artwork.  While we respect the right for artists to express themselves, we have a diverse audience so please do not submit work with nudity or work which is overtly sexual in nature.  Works with extreme, graphically violent acts would also fall into this category.

 * No political or religious artwork.  Again, while we respect the right for artists to express themselves, our chapter cannot become a platform for political or religious agendas.

Please let us know if you will be participating.

We look forward to seeing your creations!

–  Washington DC ACM SIGGRAPH

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– Design Challenge –

Challenge:  SPACE

Media: Use the application(s) or medium which inspires you

Space. What does Space mean to you. Is it something physical or something conceptual? Could it be the stuff of science or perhaps it is positive/negative? Using your favorite medium, create an image or animation which tells a story about your concept of Space.

People have preferences for 2D or 3D so, either is acceptable so long as it conveys your story.

Our chapter logo can be found at the link below. The file contains both PNG and Illustrator files.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DVKyzwPzmScbSaBxpmZeFyuFPN0LDnK8/view?usp=sharing

The ACM SIGGRAPH logo design guide can be found at the link below:

https://www.siggraph.org/about/logos/

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Contact Washington DC ACM SIGGRAPH:

https://washington-dc.siggraph.org/

http://www.meetup.com/DC-ACM-SIGGRAPH/

https://www.facebook.com/DCsiggraph

DATE:   Thursday, October 27, 2022

FROM:  7:00pm-9:00pm EDT

WHERE:  Online

The Washington DC Chapter of ACM SIGGRAPH Will be hosting an open discussion on our chapter Discord server. October is a busy month for our board members so, in lieu of a regular presentation, we will have an open forum to discuss topics of interest to our members and followers (our Discord server was also feeling neglected so we would like to show it some love). This will also give us the opportunity to try a different streaming platform for our meetings.

The meeting will be hosted on the Discord platform. For those who have not already joined our server, you may require a Discord account. A link to the meeting will be provided 5 minutes prior to the presentation to all those who have responded to the announcement on our MeetUp. The link will also be visible to those who RSVP. Those who do not RSVP to the MeetUp announcement will not receive the link to the meeting.

https://www.meetup.com/dc-acm-siggraph/events/289299803/

Please join us on Thursday, October 27, 2022, from 7pm to 9pm EDT on our DC SIGGRAPH CHAPTER Discord server to discuss your favorite topics or share your works in progress.

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Contact Washington DC ACM SIGGRAPH:

https://washington-dc.siggraph.org/

http://www.meetup.com/DC-ACM-SIGGRAPH/

https://www.facebook.com/DCsiggraph

DATE:   Thursday, September 22, 2022

FROM:  7:00pm-9:00pm EDT

WHERE:  Online

The Washington DC Chapter of ACM SIGGRAPH is proud to present Christof Van Niekerk, founder of Motion Bones studio. Christof will be providing an introduction to Blender, the free and open-source 3D creation suite. The presentation will provide a broad overview of Blender which will cover the user interface, sculpting tools, shaders, rendering engines, and much more.

Blender

Blender is the free and open-source 3D creation suite. It supports the entirety of the 3D pipeline—modeling, rigging, animation, simulation, rendering, compositing, and motion tracking, even video editing and game creation. Advanced users employ Blender’s API for Python scripting to customize the application and write specialized tools; often these are included in Blender’s future releases. Blender is well suited to individuals and small studios who benefit from its unified pipeline and responsive development process

The meeting will be hosted on the Zoom platform. A link to the meeting will be provided 5 minutes prior to the presentation to all those who have responded to the announcement on our MeetUp. The link will also be visible to those who RSVP. Those who do not RSVP to the MeetUp announcement will not receive the link to the meeting.

https://www.meetup.com/dc-acm-siggraph/events/288385162/

Please join us on Thursday, September 22, from 7pm to 9pm EDT online to learn more about Blender.

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Biography – Christof Van Niekerk

Christof Van Niekerk is an award-winning freelance digital artist with 15 years industry experience, producing animation, music and design for advertising/marketing, film/entertainment, architecture, gaming and live events.

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Contact Washington DC ACM SIGGRAPH:

https://washington-dc.siggraph.org/

http://www.meetup.com/DC-ACM-SIGGRAPH/

https://www.facebook.com/DCsiggraph

DATE:   Thursday, August 25, 2022

FROM:  7:00-9:00pm

WHERE:  Online

The Washington DC Chapter of ACM SIGGRAPH would like to invite you to the 2022 SIGGRAPH hybrid conference recap. For those of you who did not get to attend the SIGGRAPH conference in-person or online, our board members and chapter members will be sharing their thoughts on the hybrid format as well as experiences and insights from the conference!  If you attended the conference, share your experiences with those who could not attend this year.

SIGGRAPH Conference 2022

http://s2022.siggraph.org/

The meeting will be hosted on the Zoom platform. A link to the meeting will be provided prior to the presentation to all those who have responded to the announcement on our MeetUp page. The link will also be visible to those who RSVP. Those who do not RSVP to the MeetUp announcement will not receive the link to the meeting.

MeetUp:

https://www.meetup.com/dc-acm-siggraph/events/287936427/

Please join us on Thursday, August 25, 2022, from 7pm to 9pm online to learn more about the latest news from the SIGGRAPH conference.

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Contact Washington DC ACM SIGGRAPH:

http://washington-dc.siggraph.org/

http://www.meetup.com/DC-ACM-SIGGRAPH/

https://www.facebook.com/DCsiggraph