While at SIGGRAPH conferences I usually spent the majority of my “attendance time” in the animation festivals and production talks primarily because (1) the contents are usually not recorded for later consumption, (2) the effects look nice, and (3) the topics tend to be something I am less familiar with, even after 20+ years in the field.
The animation creations and effects productions are hybrids of art and science/engineering.
Each effect is tailored for the specific style and story and created by a combination of artistic practices and off-the-shelf/bespoke tools.
The presentations tend to focus on the design process and tools deployment, instead of technical methods and implementations.