6/2/2024
Generation
Registration is now open for the fourth edition of Next Lab Generation 2024, which will be closing on February 29th, and March 1st and 2nd at Espacio Rastro Madrid with a series of conferences, project pitches, networking and Meetup, where the latest trends in innovation and new technologies in the world of animation and video games will be presented and workshop finalists will be showing their results. Registration is now available on Eventbrite until February 20 at 11:59 p.m. Madrid Time or until full capacity is reached. The proceeds from registrations will be donated in full to an NGO.
As a novelty in this edition, a special monographic day will take place on Thursday, February 29, to bring together the vibrant Blender and Grease Pencil community, organized by Next Lab Generation in collaboration with IBERMEDIA NEXT. Registration is required, available through this link. The activity will feature conferences and networking sessions on Blender and Grease Pencil, ending with a Meetup open to the entire animation community at the Mercado de San Fernando.
One of the highlights of the event will be the conference “Grease Pencil, What’s Next?”, a brief summary of the evolution of this software over the last ten years, its use in productions and what Grease Pencil 3.0 will bring. We will also introduce a new milestone, the open source tool Next Lab Grease Pencil VR. The presentation will be given by Daniel Martínez Lara (Pepe School Land) and Alfonso Fulgencio (Next Lab). On Thursday, as well as during the two days of the event, an exclusive work-in-progress demo of this innovative software will be available for trial.
Flavio Pérez and Amélie Fondevilla (Les Fées Spéciales) are two of the professionals who will also be participating in Thursday’s special day with the conference “TD, pipeline and programming in Grease Pencil and XR”. Les Fées Spéciales studio has been working on different types of projects since 2015, starting with 2D/3D feature films and opening up to other formats. This studio, specializing in Blender and Grease Pencil, has worked on the creation of real-time programs, virtual and augmented reality, video mapping and other interactive programs. During the conference they will go over the specificities for the creation of this type of content and will discuss the different tools employed to assist in the creation of 2D animations with Grease Pencil.
The event will kick off on Friday, March 1 with a day full of conferences, case studies and networking opportunities. In addition to the already confirmed presentations by the German studio Lavamachine, and professionals Ruxandra G. Popescu and Will Anderson, further details of the program can be viewed on the event’s website.
One of the highlights of Friday’s activities is titled Immersive Prototyping: Creating Life with Quill and Unreal Engine in Game Development. This conference by Federico Moreno Breser (Reel FX) will explore the exciting synergy between these two powerful creative tools, discovering how they can be merged to streamline the video game prototyping process. Through practical examples based on the video game in development “Bogdan's Cross”, Moreno Breser will discuss the capabilities of Quill for the creation of assets and environments, and how to effectively integrate them into Unreal Engine.
On Saturday morning, one of the event’s milestones will take place: the pitches of the finalist projects that will bring the workshop to a close. Participants will show the animated piece created during the eight weeks of training, in addition to explaining the process and the progress experienced during such training. On Saturday afternoon, the Jury will announce the winners of Next Lab Generation 2024.
Other conferences that will take place on March 1 and 2 are: “European Landscape of Innovative Initiatives in Animation & VR”, by Aneta Ozorek, Artistic Director of Kaboom Animation Festival (Netherlands), and “Use of Innovative Pipelines in Large Companies: Reel Fx”, by Emmanuel Laurent, Vice President of Reel FX.
Another innovation, part of Next Lab Generation’s continued effort to nurture the business and professional fabric of the sector, is that this year attendees will benefit from a meeting app to contact and meet with other professionals participating in the event, thus promoting synergy, collaboration, and exchange.
The fourth edition of Next Lab Generation is made possible thanks to funding provided by the Institute of Cinematography and Audiovisual Arts (ICAA) as part of the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan promoted by the European Union; the main sponsorship of the Community of Madrid through the Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Sport; the participation of the Ministry of Culture and IBERMEDIA NEXT; and the collaboration of Enisa, Annecy Festival, Weird Market and FOM.