Parallelism is important to many aspects of visual effects. In this course, experts in several key areas present their specific experiences in applying parallelism to their expertise domains. The problem domains are very diverse, and so are the solutions employed, including specific threading methodologies. This allows attendees to gain a wide understanding of various approaches to multi-threading and compare different techniques in a broad context of state-of-the-art approaches to implementing parallelism, and helps them decide which technologies and approaches to adopt for their own future projects. The presenters describe the challenges and difficulties they encountered, and the approaches they adopted to resolve these issues.

The course begins with an overview of the current state of parallel programming, followed by five presentations on various domains and threading approaches. Domains include rigging, animation, dynamics, and rendering for film and games, as well as a threading implementation for a full-scale commercial application that covers all of these areas. Topics include CPU and GPU programming, threading, vectorization, tools, debugging techniques, and optimization and performance-profiling approaches. The focus is on practical approaches and solutions to problems commonly encountered by developers.