NSTC has long emphasized the integration of science and technology with humanities and society and strives to cultivate talent in interdisciplinary fields in hopes of sparking off research and innovation. One of the best examples of interdisciplinary integration is the use of technology to assist in the development of creative industries. Under the guidance of NSTC and the Ministry of Culture (MOC), and with cooperation from the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Hsinchu City, NARLabs' National Center for High‑Performance Computing (NCHC) and the Taiwan Contemporary Culture Lab (C-LAB) co-organized "Creating Culture: The HPC NCHC Animation Film Festival." The opening ceremony of the festival was held on Nov. 9 at the Taiwan Animation Creators' Base, inviting people from all walks of life to enjoy the brilliant animations created by artists with the help of high-speed computer rendering technology.
NCHC is also committed to promoting interdisciplinary applications of science and art and organizes Taiwan's most representative competition for animation and rendering, the HPC NCHC Animation Challenge, to help promote the development of rendering technology in Taiwan and cultivate outstanding creators. So far, 11 Animation Challenges have been held, totaling more than 850 teams and 4,000 participants. This year's competition results were announced on Sept. 15, and at November's film festival, the winning works from all previous years are presented.
The festival also showcases the NCHC Render Farm, which was independently developed by the center, as well as Smart Point Cloud Technology, which won an R&D 100 Award last year. In addition, cloud rendering and point cloud courses and workshops are held through the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Hsinchu City, allowing the creative imagination to travel through time and present infinite possibilities for digital preservation and revitalized use of historical sites.
The chief convener of the HPC NCHC Animation Challenge and curator of the HPC NCHC Animation Film Festival, Kuo Chia-Chen, explained that the purpose of organizing the competition and film festival is to use HPC technology to promote emerging cultural creation, and through the introduction of cloud rendering farms and smart point cloud technology, to help expand and add value to local culture. By nurturing talent through competition year-round and offering the cloud rendering classroom, NCHC is helping to cultivate a new generation of creators who make good use of HPC technology, furthering interdisciplinary science and art fields as a new form of national strength.
NARLabs President Lin Faa-Jeng stated that with their Cloud GPU Render Farm and R&D 100 Award-winning Smart Point Cloud Technology, NCHC has cultivated many outstanding animators over the years. In the future, NCHC will continue to lead Taiwan to enhance technological R&D and innovation through high-speed computing, smart point cloud technology, and cloud technology services.
This year's HPC NCHC Animation Film Festival was specially held at the Taiwan Animation Creators' Base, a quality creative environment for local creators pROVided by NCHC, C-Lab, and the Animation & Visual Effects Association under the guidance of NSTC and the Ministry of Culture. Together, they facilitate foundational interdisciplinary research and development in hopes of fostering talent in diversified fields and promoting innovative applications of culture and technology in Taiwan. C-LAB Executive Director Hsieh Tsui-Yu said that C-LAB has long been promoting technological R&D and interdisciplinary applications of culture and performing arts, creating innovative models for exhibition and performance, and actively incubating and cultivating creative talent. They hope to assist in the transformation of industries through value-added technology applications and to cultivate a new interdisciplinary force of technology and culture in Taiwan.
