The VES holds events and screenings around the world in every VES Section, ranging from the annual Awards Gala to educational and anniversary affairs to pub nights produced by volunteers within the various VES Sections. Many of our screenings include Q&A panels with the visual effects teams who prove that we can create anything that can be dreamed up.
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Upcoming Events
March 2024
Montréal, QC H2X 1K1 Canada
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening [...]
Find out moreApril 2024
London, W1F 0NL United Kingdom
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening [...]
Find out moreCulver City, CA 90232 United States
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening [...]
Find out moreVES Members and Their Families are Invited to a Screening [...]
Find out moreCulver City, CA 90232 United States
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening [...]
Find out morePortland, OR 97211 United States
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening [...]
Find out moreMiramar, Wellington, 6022 New Zealand
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening [...]
Find out moreMontréal, QC H2X 1K1 Canada
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to an Opening [...]
Find out moreToronto, ON M5V 3M6 Canada
VES Members and Their Guests are Invited to a Screening [...]
Find out moreVES Members and Their Families are Invited to an Opening [...]
Find out morePast Speakers
Paul Martin Smith (2009) — Visual Effects Editor
Paul Martin Smith is known for his editing work with George Lucas, having worked for five years at Lucasfilm Ltd. His many film editing credits include “Journey to the Center of the Earth” (3D); Star… » more
Ansul Doshi (2009) — Global COO, Prime Focus Group
Based in London, Anshul is the Global COO for the Prime Focus group, responsible for the management of the UK and North American companies. He joined the Prime Focus group in 2004, as a finance… » more
Volker Engel (2009) — Producer and Visual Effects Supervisor, President of Uncharted Territory, LLC
Volker Engel is an Oscar and Emmy Award winning Visual Effects Supervisor. He also produced or co-produced several films and mini series’. He is Co-Producer and Visual Effects Supervisor (with his… » more
Steven Poster, ASC (2009) — Director of Photography, President – International Cinematographers Guild
Steven Poster ASC has been fascinated with the art and science of capturing images since the age of ten. Beginning with still photography, Poster knew he wanted to make movies by the time he was… » more
Art Repola (2009) — Executive Vice President, Visual Effects and Production Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Art Repola is the executive vice president of Visual Effects and Production for The Walt Disney Studios, where he is responsible for overseeing all aspects of visual effects production for the Studio… » more
Eric Barba (2009) — Visual Effects Supervisor, Digital Domain
Eric Barba is the Academy Award®‐winning Visual Effects Supervisor of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. He has been at Digital Domain for thirteen years, and like many of the top directors he… » more
Daryn Okada, ASC (2009) — Cinematographer
Daryn Okada, ASC (Director of Photography) has photographed every movie genre from period epics to comedy and suspense. He has of collaborated with director Mark Waters on three features, “Ghosts of… » more
Dion Bebee, ASC (2009) — Cinematographer
Dion Beebe, ASC, ACS was born in Brisbane, Australia, but relocated with his family to Cape Town, South Africa, at the age of five. He first studied film at Pretoria Technikon and later at the… » more
Jeff Barnes (2009) — Co-Founder & Executive Producer, CafeFX
Jeff Barnes is co-founder and CEO of the ComputerCafe Group and has broad oversight of the operations of its feature effects division, CafeFX, and its Santa Monica-based commercial visual effects and… » more
Steve Beres (2009) — Director of Engineering for nextLAB, a division of FotoKem, Inc.
Stephen Beres is the Director of Engineering for nextLAB a division of FotoKem Inc. As one of Hollywood’s most prestigious film laboratories FotoKem has worked on thousands of films over the past 46 … » more
Lee Berger (2009) — President, Film Division – Rhythm & Hues Studios
Lee Berger is the senior executive for Rhythm… » more
Steve Scott (2009) — Vice President / Creative Director, EFILM
Steve began his career in the entertainment industry when he sang and danced with Bing Crosby and Fred Astaire in Bing’s 1975 Christmas special on CBS. He’s had the showbiz bug ever since. During his… » more
Jim Bissell (2009) — Production Designer
Jim Bissell began his motion picture career as production designer on Steven Spielberg’s enduring classic “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” and was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Best Production Design… » more
Ben Grossmann (2009) — Visual Effects Supervisor, CafeFX/The Syndicate
BEN GROSSMANN Visual effects supervisor and director Ben Grossmann’s range of talents is as diverse as his background. Born in Washington, D.C., he grew up in Alaska, where he attended the… » more
Catherine Hardwicke (2009) — Writer/Director
As a storyteller, Catherine Hardwicke is drawn to emotion-driven, often edgy material. Her ability to portray the subtleties of teenage life brings realism to both her independent and commercial… » more
Alan Silvers (2009) — New Business Development, Lowry Digital
Alan Silvers, VP of Business Development, is a long-time motion picture professional with experience in Production, Post-production, Film Industry Management, Dcinema, DI, Restoration, high-end… » more
Dr. Eric Haseltine (2009) — President and Managing Partner, Haseltine Partners LLC
Throughout his career, Eric C. Haseltine has helped organizations harvest the future by developing far-sighted technological solutions that deliver near-term value. He is an expert on managing… » more
Dennis Hoffman (2009) — Senior Vice President and General Manager – CIS Vancouver
Dennis Hoffman was named Senior Vice President and General Manager of CIS Vancouver in May, 2008. Having originally joined Rainmaker Visual Effects in 2007 as Head of Production, Hoffman was there… » more
Colin Brown (2009) — British Film Commissioner, UK Film Council
Colin Brown took up the role of British Film Commissioner at the UK Film Council in February 2007. He is responsible for feature film inward investment into the UK and for promoting the UK as a… » more
Richard Hollander (2009) — Producer, Pixar Animation Studios
Richard Hollander has been a recognized leader in the effects industry for over 25 years. His film career began in 1979 with The China Syndrome, Star Trek, The Motion Picture and Blade Runner and… » more
Fred Chandler (2009) — Executive VP Post Production, 20th Century Fox
1995- present Executive Vice President of Post Production, Twentieth Century Fox. At Twentieth Century Fox in the mid 90s initiated film preservation with the films Diary Of Anne Frank and The Power… » more
Marc Weigert (2009) — Producer and Visual Effects Supervisor, CEO of Uncharted Territory, LLC
Currently co-producer and VFX supervisor on Roland Emmerich’s “2012” for Sony/Columbia Pictures. Marc is the CEO of production company Uncharted Territory, LLC, founded in 1999 with business partner… » more
Terry Clotiaux (2009) — Senior Vice President / COO, Visual Effects Worldwide for Prime Focus Group, and Senior Executive Producer for North America
A native of Nederland, Texas. From family of six children. Father deceased; welder and eventually a manager of oil pipe line facility. Mother living; retired homemaker, sales and teaching… » more
Randy Lake (2009) — Executive Vice President and General Manager, Sony Pictures Imageworks
Randy Lake has been named executive vice president and general manager of Sony Pictures Imageworks, the award winning visual effects and animation production studio it was announced today by Bob… » more
Richard Pearson (2009) — Editor
RICHARD PEARSON is currently working with co-editor Dan Lebental on “Iron Man 2” starring Robert Downey Jr., for director Jon Favreau. Pearson recently shared editing duties with Matt Chesse on the… » more
Jeffrey A. Okun (2009, 2013) — Visual Effects Supervisor / Chair – VES
JEFFREY A. OKUN, Most recently Senior V.P., Visual Effects for Prana Studios, Los Angeles, recently completed work on 20th Century Fox’s Oscar nominated feature film, HITCHCOCK and THE WATCH as well… » more
David S. Cohen (2009, 2010, 2011) — Reporter / Features Editor, Variety
David S. Cohen is a reporter and features editor for Variety, where he has covered visual effects and post-production since 1993. He spearheaded Variety’s expanded technology coverage, which includes… » more
Chris de Faria (2009, 2011, 2013) — Pres, Digital Prod, Animation and VFX Warner Bros. Pictures
CHRIS deFARIA is President, Digital Production, Animation and Visual Effects for Warner Bros. Pictures. His recent projects include Zack Snyder’s blockbuster “Man of Steel”; Guillermo del Toro’s, “… » more
Shane Mahan (2010) — Co-Owner, Legacy Effects / VFX Supervisor
Within mere months of Legacy Effects opening their doors, Shane was recognized for his work on 2008’s Iron Man by receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Visual Effects. Crediting his work to… » more
Wally Pfister, ASC (2010) — Cinematographer / Director
Wally Pfister began his career as a television news cameraman in Washington, DC covering Capitol Hill, the White House and local news. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1980’s while working as a… » more
Bill Mechanic (2010) — Producer and CEO, Pandemonium Films
Through his company, Pandemonium Films, respected industry veteran and independent producer, Bill Mechanic continues to produce high quality films with directors such as Henry Selick (Coraline),… » more
Matt Plec (2010) — Product Designer, Nuke
Matt Plec has filled a variety of roles in the post production industry from compositing and 3D to software and pipeline development. In 2007 he joined The Foundry to head up the company’s Nuke… » more
Jeff Miller (2010) — President, Worldwide Post Production and Operations, The Walt Disney Studios
Jeff Miller is President of Worldwide Post Production and Operations for The Walt Disney Studios. A 27 year Disney veteran, Jeff has held varied positions during his tenure including: Treasurer,… » more
Cliff Plumer (2010) — CEO, Digital Domain
Cliff Plumer is responsible for Digital Domain’s overall strategy and all aspects of its business. Cliff joined Digital Domain in 2006 as C.T.O., following a ten-year tenure with Industrial Light… » more
Jon Ferguy (2010) — Co-Owner, Sohonet
As a director and co-owner of Sohonet, Jon is one of the driving forces that has led the company to become a world-leading provider of connectivity and data management services. He is well known by… » more
Michael Fink (2010) — President, Visual Effects Worldwide, Prime Focus Ltd.
President, Visual Effects Worldwide, Prime Focus Ltd. CEO, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor, Prime Focus VFX North America Michael created his first miniature shot — a still of a rocket to the moon… » more
Ron Prince (2010) — Editor, British Cinematographer / Managing Director, Prince PR
Ron Prince has over 20 years experience in PR and marketing communications, working with leading companies involved in software and hardware development, manufacturing, post production, and… » more
Jenny Fulle (2010) — Founder and Visual Effects Producer, The Creative-Cartel
With over 30 years experience in the visual effects and animation industry, Jenny Fulle is a leader when it comes to producing and providing high quality visual effects and production management to… » more
Seth Rosenthal (2010) — President, Tweak Software
Seth Rosenthal is a Co-Founder and the President of Tweak Software the maker of RV, the next-generation the next generation image and sequence viewer for VFX and animation artists. Tweak Software was… » more
Steve Gaydos (2010) — Executive Editor, Variety
Dan Germain (2010) — WW Strategic Business Dev., DVS Digital Video Inc.
Dan is an accomplished industry veteran with broad experience, having held key strategic positions in leading manufacturers across the globe with companies such as Quantel Ltd., Digital Vision AB, … » more
Carolyn Giardina (2010) — Media and Entertainment Journalist
Journalist Carolyn Giardina has spent more than 15 years covering media and entertainment, with emphasis on the impact of technology as well as the creative process. That has included coverage of… » more
William Sargent (2010) — Chief Executive and Co-Founder of Framestore
Chief Executive and Co-founder of Framestore, March 1986. The company has created digital images (visual effects, animation and filmgrading) for major Hollywood studios, UK and US broadcasters and… » more
Michael Bravin (2010) — Vice President of Market Development for ARRI, Inc.
Michael is responsible for developing new markets for ARRI with focus on the new Alexa line of cameras. He works closely with cinematographers in their transition from traditional film methodologies… » more
Lynwen Brennan (2010) — President / General Manager, ILM / Skywalker Sound
Lynwen Brennan is President and General Manager of two of the best known brands in post production; Industrial Light… » more
Eric Brevig (2010) — Director
Academy Award winner Eric Brevig made his directorial debut on the 2008 boxoffice hit Journey to the Center of the Earth 3-D (the first live-action feature to shoot in digital 3-D), which became the… » more
Olcun Tan (2010) — Co-Founder / Head of R&D Gradient Effects
Olcun Tan is an award winning visual effects artist, co-founder and head of research and development at Gradient Effects. He is the architect of Gradient’s GLoW software and workflow. Developed… » more
Dr. Rich Terrile (2010) — NASA/JPL Astronomer and Evolutionary Computation Designer
Dr. Rich Terrile is an astronomer and the director of the Center for Evolutionary Computation and Automated Design at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory. He uses techniques based on biological… » more
Jonas Thaler (2010) — SrVP Post Production, Anschutz Film Group/Walden Media
Jonas Thaler is a post production jack-of-all-trades with a career in film and TV starting with VFX on “Empire Strikes Back” and music on “Amadeus”. As a production executive, he introduced Avid… » more
Mark Jaszberenyi (2010) — Founder, Colorfront
Mark Jaszberenyi is a founder of Colorfront, Budapest, one of Europe’s leading digital film post-production facilities, and a successful innovator of software and workflow tools for motion picture… » more
Ed Jones (2010) — Chief Executive Officer, Reel FX Creative Studios
Ed Jones is an award-winning industry leader, visual effects and animation expert, and pioneer in digital media whose illustrious career spans three decades and more than 200 projects. Jones joined… » more
James Chressantis, ASC (2010) — Cinematographer / Director
James Chressanthis, ASC, a member of the American Society of Cinematographers is a director and cinematographer who has earned a diverse range of nearly 40 credits since the early 1990s, including… » more
John Kilkenny (2010) — Executive VP, Twentieth Century Fox
John Kilkenny is an Executive Vice President at Twentieth Century Fox, heading the studio’s visual effects department. His division budgets, produces and oversees all the visual effects – a key… » more
Tony Clark, ACS (2010) — Co-Founder / Director, Rising Sun Pictures
Tony Clark is an Emmy Award winning Cinematographer, co-founder and Director of Rising Sun Pictures [RSP]. He has several film credits as a Cinematographer and Visual Effects Supervisor for RSP on… » more
Don Parker (2010) — CEO / Co-Founder, Shotgun Software
Don Parker is the CEO and Co-Founder of Shotgun Software, where he leads the team designing and building a production tracking system called Shotgun that addresses the industry need to effectively… » more
Warren Franklin (2010,2011) — CEO, Rainmaker Entertainment, Vice Chair, DigiBC
Warren Franklin, CEO of Rainmaker Entertainment, oversees one of North America’s leading digital animation production companies. Since joining Rainmaker in 2005, Mr. Franklin has re-focused the… » more
David Morin (2010,2012) — Consultant, Autodesk / Chair, Joint Technology Committee on Virtual Production
Chair, Joint Technology Subcommittee on Virtual Production Chair, Autodesk Film CTO Advisory Council David participated in the early development of motion capture and 3D software at Softimage, as… » more
Rob Bredow (2010,2012) — Chief Technology Officer, Sony Pictures Imageworks and Visual Effects Supervisor
Rob Bredow is Chief Technology Officer and Visual Effects Supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks. As CTO, Bredow is an innovator who brings a production-perspective to the role and has created… » more
VR & AR – Near-Term Opportunities and Long-Term Directions (2010,2013, 2017) — Moderator: Carl Rosendahl, Associate Professor at Carnegie Mellon’s Entertainment Technology Center
Discussion Topic: At the roundtable we’ll discuss where VR and AR could be headed in the next 10 years, and where some of the immediate opportunities are. Examples from projects at Carnegie Mellon’s… » more
Bob Pisano (2011) — President and COO, Motion Picture Association of America
Bob Pisano has over 40 years’ experience in organizational leadership in the entertainment industry and law. Until September 2011, Bob served as President and COO of the Motion Picture Association of… » more
Stephen Nakamura (2011) — Feature Colorist, Company 3
Stephen Nakamura is among the most accomplished DI colorists in the country. One of a handful of artists who helped to pioneer DI color grading, Nakamura has worked alongside such directors and… » more
David Nicksay (2011) — Producer
David Nicksay most recently was Executive Producer of GLEE! THE 3D CONCERT MOVIE, released in August by 20th Century Fox. This film immediately followed JUSTIN BIEBER: NEVER SAY NEVER, the 3D concert… » more
Ted Gagliano (2011) — President Feature Post Production, Twentieth Century Fox Studios
Ted Gagliano has been at Twentieth Century Fox since 1991 and was named president of feature post-production in 2001. At Fox, his responsibilities include oversight of the completion of over 30 films… » more
Christian Roberton (2011) — Managing Director, Film, MPC
Christian started his career in the traditional drawn animation business in the mid 90’s. Working for a number of London based traditional animation companies on commercial and television series… » more
Shannon Gans (2011) — Co-Founder and CEO, New Deal Studios
Shannon started her career with 2 projects and 2 partners straight out of the USC Entrepreneur Program in which she wrote the business plan for the studio. Shannon has carefully guided the evolution… » more
Andy Romanoff (2011) — Industry Relations / Business Development, AbelCine
In a career spanning almost fifty years Andy Romanoff has worked as a cameraman, equipment designer, inventor and businessman. Currently he is responsible for Business Development and Industry… » more
Deborah Giarrantana (2011) — Producer
Deborah is currently producing, along with Robbie Brenner, THE MACHINE GUN PREACHER, starring Gerard Butler, with Marc Forster directing. It will have it’s world premiere at the 2011 Toronto Film… » more
Dan Glass (2011) — Sr VFX Supervisor, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Method Studios
Dan Glass joined Method in 2010 as Senior Creative Director overseeing both feature and commercial projects. Glass, who most recently served as Senior VFX Supervisor on Terrence Malick’s Palme D’Or… » more
Hitesh Shah (2011) — Founder and CEO, BOT VFX
Hitesh is a serial entrepreneur whose passions lie at the intersection of creativity, technology, and business, where he has adeptly applied his entrepreneurial and business leadership skills for… » more
Scott Squires (2011) — Visual Effects Supervisor
Scott Squires is an accomplished Visual Effects Supervisor with more than 30 years of experience in visual effects. He has worked on numerous high-profile films, including Fantastic Four : Rise of… » more
Randy Starr (2011) — Visual Effects Producer
RANDALL STARR (Visual Effects Producer) is currently finishing work on “Journey 2: Mysterious Island”, the sequel to the ground-breaking 3D stereo film, “Journey to the Center of the Earth”. Like… » more
Stephan Trojansky (2011) — VFX Supervisor / Co-Founder of Scanline VFX
Stephan Trojansky is a VFX Supervisor and Co-Founder of Scanline VFX, with studios in Los Angeles, Vancouver, and Munich. His feature film credits include “Super 8”, “Hereafter”, “2012”, “Narnia:… » more
Richard Chuang (2011) — CEO Cloudpic Global, Inc
CEO Cloudpic A startup looking at capturing the creativities of the next generation of talents in the new world of digital content creation and multi-channel deliveries. Co-founder PDI (PDI/… » more
Uday Kumar (2011) — Vice President US Operations Reliance Media Works
Uday Kumar is in charge for the US operations of Reliance Media works as Business Head – North America. His experience includes senior management roles in all segments of the media and entertainment… » more
Thilo Kuther (2011) — CEO & Managing Director, Pixomondo
Thilo Kuther is CEO and managing director of Pixomondo, an international visual effects company. In addition to overseeing operations and technology he is continually exploring new opportunities in… » more
Tony Wible, CFA (2011) — Director of Media & Entertainment, Janney Montgomery Scott
Tony Wible joined Janney Montgomery Scott in 2008 as a Director covering the Media and Entertainment sector after spending the previous 10 years at Citigroup Investment Research—most recently… » more
Sean Wimmer (2011) — VP of Post Production – Warner Premiere
Sean Wimmer is currently the Head of Post Production for Warner Premiere, a division of Warner Bros. Entertainment specializing in the development and production of both features and digital content… » more
Amy Lemisch (2011) — Executive Director, California Film Commission
As Executive Director of the California Film Commission, Amy Lemisch oversees all of the state’s efforts to facilitate motion picture, television and commercial production. She was appointed by… » more
Tom Wujec (2011) — Autodesk Fellow
Tom Wujec is a Fellow at Autodesk, the world’s leader in 2D… » more
Annie Chang (2011, 2013) — VP Post Production Technology, Walt Disney Studios
Annie Chang is the Vice President of Post-Production Technology for The Walt Disney Studios Digital Production Technology group. Annie oversees the research and implementation of new technology into… » more
Chris del Conte (2012) — Managing Director, Prime Focus, Los Angeles
Chris Del Conte is currently at Prime Focus World as Managing Director, Los Angeles, following a successful earlier stint as a Senior Producer between 2008 and 2010. During this time he was… » more
Bill Desowitz (2012) — Senior Editor, Animation World Magazine
Bill Oversaw editorial for premier online trade publication/portal devoted to animation and visual effects (awn.com). Assign, edit and proof nearly a dozen features a month, as well as write… » more
Sam Nicholson, ASC (2012) — CEO and Founder, Stargate Studios
Sam Nicholson, ASC, is CEO and founder of Stargate Studios, a state-of-the-art visual effects production company founded in 1989, with studios in Los Angeles, Atlanta, Vancouver, Toronto, Berlin and… » more
Steve Pugh (2012) — Executive Producer, Pixomondo
Pugh came to Pixomondo from Eden FX where he spent 10 years as a Visual Effects Producer. He oversaw work on a number of prominent television series including “Lost”, “Fringe:, ”Pushing Daisies”, “… » more
Stephanie Allen (2012) — Senior Vice President, Visual Effects, Paramount Pictures
Stephanie Allen was named Senior Vice President of Visual Effects for Paramount Pictures in April 2012, having previously served as Vice President of the department since 2009. She is responsible for… » more
Corey Rosen (2012) — Head of Creative Marketing, Tippett Studios
Corey Rosen is the Head of Creative Marketing at Tippett Studio in Berkeley, California. Rosen began his career at Industrial Light… » more
Mat Beck, ASC (2012) — VFX Supervisor, Director, DP, President: Entity FX
Mat Beck, ASC, is a visual effects supervisor, producer, cinematographer and director known for his work on over 60 motion pictures, numerous TV shows, commercials and music videos. Beck started out… » more
Scott Ross (2012) — Former CEO, Digital Domain
As one of the most notable pioneers in digital media and entertainment, Scott Ross’ career has been stellar. He founded, along with Hollywood luminaries James Cameron and Stan Winston, Digital Domain… » more
Gaston Bitar (2012) — Senior Vice President, People & Organization, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Gaston Bitar is the Senior Vice President of Human Resources at Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE). He has primary responsibility for advancing SPE’s global employee engagement in support of SPE’s… » more
Ruth Hauer (2012) — VFX Production Executive, The Walt Disney Company
Ruth Hauer has worked at the Walt Disney Company in the Feature Film VFX department for the past ten years. She is responsible for the management of visual effects from inception through delivery on… » more
Buzz Hays (2012) — Former Senior Vice President of 3D Production, Sony Corporation
rofile Buzz Hays is one of the leading experts in stereoscopic 3D film development, production, and postproduction in the motion picture and television industry. As senior vice president of 3D… » more
David Stump, ASC (2012) — Cinematographer
David Stump ASC has worked on numerous motion pictures and television productions as Director of Photography, as Visual Effects Director of Photography, as Visual Effects Supervisor, and as… » more
Stan Szymanski (2012) — Owner/Resource Strategist, StanleyVision, Inc.
Stan is an experienced digital media production executive with a 30 year career in artist management, talent development, recruiting, facility management and resource strategy. As SVP of Creative… » more
Vincent Brisebois (2012) — Fusion-io Director of Visual Computing
As Fusion-io Director of Visual Computing, Vincent Brisebois works closely with entertainment production studios on implementing solutions that facilitate new levels of creativity, productivity and… » more
Erika W. Burton (2012) — Co- President, Film Division- Rhythm & Hues Studios
A veteran of the visual effects and animation arena, with a career spanning more than twenty years, Erika Burton has held leadership positions in the top tier of entertainment companies, including… » more
Mary Ann Hughes (2012) — Vice President, Film and Television Production Planning, The Walt Disney Company
Mary Ann Hughes is a 24 year veteran with Disney. She has held a number of positions during her tenure ranging from a Senior Tax Analyst to Vice President, Film and Television Production Planning. … » more
Sean Carroll (2012) — Senior Research Associate in Physics, California Institute of Technology
Sean Carroll is a Senior Research Associate in Physics at the California Institute of Technology. He received his Ph.D. in 1993 from Harvard University, and has previously worked as a postdoctoral… » more
Stephanie Ito (2012) — Executive Vice President, Post Production, Paramount Pictures
As Executive Vice President of Post Production at Paramount Pictures since January 2011, Stephanie Ito oversees all aspects of the department, from budgeting to the delivery of the final print, for… » more
Albert Cheng (2012) — EVP of Digital Media, and Chief Product Officer, Disney-ABC Television Group
As Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer, Digital Media, for the Disney/ABC Television Group, Albert Cheng is charged with general management and strategic oversight of digital media, as… » more
Thomas A. Walsh (2012) — Production Designer & President, Art Directors Guild (Local 800)
Production Designer Thomas A. Walsh has been serving as President of the Art Directors Guild since January 1, 2003. The union was then also known as IATSE, Local 876. He succeeded Jack De Govia, who… » more
George Whitesides (2012) — CEO, Virgin Galactic
George Whitesides is the CEO and President of Virgin Galactic, the spaceflight company founded by Sir Richard Branson. With Scaled Composites, the company has developed the WhiteKnightTwo and… » more
Andrew Orloff (2012) — Executive CreativeDirector / VFX Supervisor, Zoic Studios
Andrew Orloff is Zoic Studios’ Creative Director and has been with Zoic Studios since its inception in 2002. Prior to Zoic, he served as a CG Animator and Supervisor at such top LA shops incuding… » more
Bob Coleman (2012) — President, Digital Artists Agency, Inc (DAA)
Bob Coleman is President and founder of Digital Artists Agency, Inc (DAA), the first below-the-line agency to represent the full spectrum of visual effects artisans for feature films, television and… » more
Robin Alan Linn (2012) — Artist Manager / Recruiting & Academic Relations
Robin Alan Linn was born in Southern California in a house where the television was always on. Robin was not so much raised on television; but rather he was raised by the television. His earliest… » more
Ed Ulbrich (2012,2013) — CEO, Digital Domain and Mothership
Ed Ulbrich is a film producer, executive producer, senior executive, visual effects expert, consultant, public speaker, and board member. Ed is currently a producer on the upcoming tent-pole feature… » more
Rohin Aggarwal (2013) — Founder & CEO Scarecrow Visual Effects
Rohin Aggarwal is a Harvard MBA with several years of experience in management consulting across multiple industries and geographies. He has been involved in the family business for over 10 years,… » more
Max Michael (2013) — Head of Business Development, Asia – Agent, Motion Picture Literary Department, UTA
Max Michael is Head of Business Development for Asia at leading talent and literary agency UTA, where he is in charge of pursuing the agency’s ventures in China and the region. Originally from the… » more
Jacqui Barcos (2013) — Writer/Director
Jacqui Barcos is a DGA award-winning filmmaker whose credits span the film, television and animation industries. As screenwriter and producer, Barcos recently launched a successful Kickstarter… » more
Stacy Burstin (2013) — Founder and President, Eevolver Inc.
With a successful track record of over twenty-years in the VFX and animation industries, Ms. Burstin has produced and managed creative teams and productions resulting in numerous awards that span… » more
Chris Kubsch (2013) — President Method Studios
Christian Kubsch is president of Method Studios, the visual-effects unit of Deluxe Entertainment Services Group, with bases in Los Angeles, London, Vancouver, Sydney, Melbourne, New York, Chicago… » more
Richard Crudo, ASC (2013) — Cinematographer
Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, cinematographer Richard P. Crudo, ASC’s lengthy resume includes such notable feature credits as American Buffalo, Outside Providence, American Pie, Down To… » more
Arnon Manor (2013) — VFX Production Executive, Columbia Pictures
Arnon started his career in visual effects as an artist at Buf in Paris, working on the feature film The City of Lost Children. He then spent several years at Framestore and Double Negative in… » more
David Danesi (2013) — Founder, Digital District
DAVID DANESI, founder of DIGITAL DISTRICT is both a talented artist and an astute businessman who has integrated these twin aspects into his company. Paris native Danesi began his career as an editor… » more
Tim Sarnoff (2013) — President of Technicolor Digital Productions
Tim Sarnoff is President of Technicolor Digital Productions. He is In charge of Visual Effects, Animation and Games for Technicolor worldwide. Technicolor’s digital production facilities are… » more
Patrick Davenport (2013) — SVP, Global Operations, Method Studios
Patrick Davenport is Senior Vice President of Global Operations for Method Studios, an award-winning visual effects company, with facilities across the US, Canada, England and Australia. Since… » more
Chris Edwards (2013) — CEO & Creative Director, The Third Floor, Inc.
After 5 years as a Layout Artist and Character Animator at Walt Disney Feature Animation, Chris joined a team of digital artists at Lucasfilm tasked with previsualizing Star Wars: Episode III from… » more
Mimi Gramatky (2013) — President, Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800)
Mimi Gramatky’s skills reach beyond Production Design into interior and landscape architecture, theatre design, visual FX and animation, documentary filmmaking, and teaching. Having worked in the… » more
Payam Shohadai (2013) — Executive Supervisor / Co Founder, Luma Pictures
Payam Shohadai is co-founder of Luma Pictures and the leader of its creative and executive management teams. Under his guidance, the company has established itself as a premier provider of visual… » more
Jason Garber (2013) — Production / Effects Agent, Paradigm
Jason Garber started his entertainment career by interning for the feature casting team at 20th Century Fox. He transitioned to ICM Partners’ mail room and then to the production department, where he… » more
Greg Chou (2013) — COO FilmEngine Entertainment
Gregory Chou is the COO of FilmEngine Entertainment, helping lead the creative, strategic, and business efforts of the Beverly Hills-based production company. FilmEngine has produced over fifteen… » more
Chris Meledandri (2013) — Founder, CEO, Producer, Illumination Entertainment
CHRIS MELEDANDRI is the founder and CEO of Illumination Entertainment, which has an exclusive financing and distribution partnership with Universal Pictures. In July 2010, Illumination released its… » more
Nagin Cox (2013) — System Engineer, NASA/JPL
Nagin graduated from Cornell University with a BS in Operations Research and Industrial Engineering and a BA in Psychology and was commissioned as an officer in the US Air Force. As a lieutenant, she… » more
Cheryl Boone Isaacs (2013) — Pres, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Boone Isaacs was elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on July 30, 2013 by the organization’s Board of Governors. She is beginning her 21st year as a governor… » more
Sid Ganis (2013) — Producer, Out of the Blue… Entertainment
Sid Ganis founded Out of the Blue… Entertainment in 1996, following a distinguished career as an executive at several major studios. In 2005, Ganis was elected President of the Academy of Motion… » more
Hawk Koch (2013) — Producer, President of the Producers Guild of America
Hawk Koch is a veteran movie producer who currently serves as the President of the Producers Guild of America with Mark Gordon. The PGA membership represents 5800 of the top Film, Television, and… » more
Bill Kroyer (2013) — Director of Digital Arts, Chapman University
Bill Kroyer is an Oscar®-nominated director of animation and computer graphics commercials, short films, movie titles and theatrical films. Trained in classic hand-drawn animation at the Disney… » more
Andrew Merkin (2013) — Head of Special Projects and Transmedia, Mirada Studios
Andy Merkin is the Head of Special Projects and Transmedia at Mirada Studios. Overseeing cross-platform and nontraditional storytelling projects, Andy develops narrative for traditional and digital… » more
David Johnson (2014) — Lead Visual Effects Artist, Infinity Ward Studio
David Johnson is the Lead Visual Effects Artist at Activision/Blizzard’s Infinity Ward Studio. David has 16 years of computer graphics experience, of which 14 has been dedicated to video games. … » more
Don Parker (2014) — CEO and Co-founder, Shotgun Software
Don Parker co-founded Shotgun Software in 2006 with a vision of developing a standardized production management and review system that would enable creative companies to manage projects across global… » more
Marc E. Hankin, Esq (2014) — Hankin Patent Law, APC
Marc E. Hankin, Esq., of Hankin Patent Law, APC, is a Registered Patent Attorney with a strong science background who has had extensive involvement as the lead lawyer in all areas of intellectual… » more
Dave Walvoord (2014) — Visual FX Supervisor
Dave Walvoord recently served as Visual FX Supervisor for the feature animated film “How to Train Your Dragon 2.” Before joining the show Dave was the Workflow Director for Look and Lighting at… » more
Sarah Patterson (2014) — Executive Producer, TBWA/Chiat Day, Los Angeles
A production veteran at one of the world’s hottest ad agencies, Sarah has managed integrated campaigns for The Grammys, Gatorade, Tostito, Bare Escentuals and Nissan along with Adidas content for the… » more
Paul Debevec (2014) — Associate Director of Graphics Research at USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies
Paul Debevec is a research professor at the University of Southern California and the associate director of graphics research at USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies. Debevec’s Ph.D. thesis (UC… » more
Brent Young (2014) — Principal and Creative Director, Super 78
Brent Young is the principal and Creative Director for Super 78, a new media production studio in Los Angeles that develops and produces award-winning, branded entertainment and educational… » more
Chris Schroeder (BIO) (2014) — Chief Marketing Officer, Veremonte
Schroeder is the Chief Marketing Officer for Veremonte, a multi-billion dollar international development and investment firm committed to investing in projects to make the world a better place,… » more
Brandon Fayette (2014) — VFX Supervisor at J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions
Brandon Fayette is a VFX Supervisor at J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot Productions. He has worked on a gamut of film and television properties over the past 7 years including Super 8, Fringe, and Star Trek as… » more
Frank Hartman (2014) — Senior Software Engineer, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory
Frank is currently one of the engineers driving NASA’s Curiosity rover across the surface of Mars, having also driven the Opportunity Mars rover for eight years. Frank was selected for this… » more
Stephan Fleet (2014) — Executive Creative Director, Encore
Executive Creative Director Stephan Fleet has extensive experience in television visual effects and production. Currently VFX supervisor for the Halle Berry/Stephen Spielberg show “Extant,” he… » more
Stephen Beres (2014) — Vice President, Media & Technology Operations Group, HBO
Stephen Beres currently serves as Vice President of HBO’s Media… » more
Debra Blanchard Knight (2014) — President, Fringe Talent
Debra Blanchard Knight, Conduit Seminars/Fringe Talent. For over 25 years, Debra Blanchard Knight has built teams for animation, visual effects and themed entertainment studios and projects. During… » more
Dion Beebe, ASC (2014) — Cinematographer
Dion Beebe, ASC, ACS, was born in Australia. He was mainly raised in Cape Town, South Africa, where his father was a dentist and his mother was a makeup artist who worked with still photographers… » more
Ben Grossmann (2014) — Visual Effects Supervisor / CEO, Magnopus
He is an Oscar-winning and Emmy-winning visual effects supervisor who is currently CEO of the visual development company Magnopus in downtown Los Angeles. He has supervised visual effects on many… » more
Bill Taylor, ASC (2014) — VFX Supervisor / Cinematographer
Bill Taylor ASC is a VFX Supervisor and Director of Photography. After ten years as Al Whitlock’s cameraman at Universal Studios, Bill and Syd Dutton co-founded Illusion Arts in Van Nuys CA, where… » more
George Bloom (2014) — Executive Producer, CBS Digital
George has a passion for art and science. He is executive producer at CBS Digital the visual effects team responsible for movies and television series. He and his colleagues develop disruptive… » more
Bo Welch (2014) — Production Designer
Armed with a Bachelor of Architecture degree, Bo Welch began his design career in Los Angeles at a large architectural firm. After 6 mind numbing months he was lured into the world of movie design…. » more
Victoria Alonso (2014) — Executive Vice President of Visual Effects and Post Production, Marvel Studios
Executive Producer Victoria Alonso is currently executive producing writer/director Joss Whedon’s Avengers: Age of Ultron and Peyton Reed’s Antman for Marvel Studios, where she serves as Executive… » more
Jon Goldman (2015) — Venture Partner, Greycroft
Based in Los Angeles, Jon complements his Greycroft work through his continued involvement as Managing Partner for Skybound, the IP holder of The Walking Dead and other top IPs. Jon focuses on new… » more
Melissa Schneider (2015) — SVP Development and Production, New Form Digital
Melissa Schneider oversees all production and creative for New Form Digital’s projects. With an extensive background in both digital and traditional media, Schneider seeks out and cultivates emerging… » more
Matthew DiPietro (2015) — Twitch | VP of Marketing
Matthew is VP of Marketing and Communications at Twitch (www.twitch.tv), the world’s leading social video platform and community for gamers. Prior to Twitch, Matt launched and managed marketing for… » more
John Kuhn (2015) — Founder at P360
John Kuhn served twenty years in the U.S. Army special operations community before transitioning to the civilian sector in early 2014. In 1999, he was selected for assignment to a special mission… » more
Al Lopez (2015) — VP of Creative Services, Stargate Studios
Al Lopez has worked in the VFX industry for nearly 20 years, however he began his career as an Industrial Designer. With a Bachelors of Science from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena,… » more
Warren Franklin (2015) — Producer
Warren Franklin, Producer, is a global leader of the animation and visual effects industry. As a founder and former CEO of Vancouver’s Rainmaker Entertainment he helped to create one of the leading… » more
Ted Schilowitz (2015) — Futurist, 20th Century Fox and CinemaVangelist, Barco
Ted was founding member, first employee, and integral part of the product development team at RED Digital Cinema, that has made a significant impact on the Motion Picture Industry, with many of the… » more
Jacki Morie (2015) — Founder / Chief Scientist, All These Worlds, LLC
Jacquelyn Ford Morie With advanced degrees in both art and computer science, Dr. Morie has 25 years experience in developing innovative techniques for rich, emotionally evocative virtual reality (VR… » more
David Dozoretz (2015) — Director and Co-Founder, Platinum 360
DAVID DOZORETZ started his career in film at age 20 in the Art Department of George Lucas’ famed Industrial Light… » more
Jevon Phillips (2015) — Writer, Los Angeles Times
Jevon Phillips started at Variety in 1998, helping create the publication’s website. Once there, he also started a blog called Bags and Boards to cover genre news for the Comic-Con crowd. Moving to… » more
Chris Healer (2015) — CEO / CTO / VFX Supervisor, The Molecule
After finishing his film degree at CU Boulder, having built a 16mm projector out of legos and written a 3d graphics library for DOS, Chris Healer transitioned from web design to motion capture and 3d… » more
Andrew Wallenstein (2015) — Co-Editor-in-Chief, Variety
Andrew Wallenstein is Co-Editor-in-Chief of Variety. With the publication since 2011, he oversees daily and weekly coverage of the entertainment industry, with a focus on technology. Andrew worked at… » more
Jon Carnage (2015) — Live Programming Director, Twitch
Jonathan “Carnage” Joyce is the live programming director of Twitch (www.twitch.tv), the world’s leading video platform and community for gamers. His role involves working closely with publishers and… » more
Andres Garza (2015) — Staff Product Designer, Spin Master Ltd
Andres is a Staff Product Designer at Spin Master Ltd. Over the past 10 years, he has been developing interactive robotic products for the toy industry. Currently, Andres is the creative lead for… » more
Eric Bergez (2015) — Vice President Intuitive Aerial, Inc
Eric Bergez has two decades of expertise and achievement in the entertainment industry, including 16 years in postproduction leadership positions. He is an expert in workflow supervision, production… » more
Mark Bolas (2015) — Director, Mixed Reality Lab, ICT / Assoc. Professor, USC School of Cinematic Arts
Mark Bolas, Director of the Mixed Reality Lab at the Institute for Creative Technologies and an Associate Professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, has been exploring presence and immersive… » more
Andrew Cochrane (2015) — Interactive and New Media Director, DFX Supervisor, Mirada Studios
Andrew Cochrane is a filmmaker currently working at Mirada, Guillermo del Toro’s independent studio. As a Digital Director and Technical Supervisor, Andrew offers a unique blend of creativity and… » more
Rachid El Guerrab (2015) — Technical Project Lead, Google/ATAP
Rachid El Guerrab is a Technical Project Lead for Google Spotlight Stories at ATAP/Google, where he specializes in immersive and interactive storytelling for mobile. Prior to his company being… » more
Dean Devlin (2015) — Founder/ President, Electric Entertainment
Devlin is Founder and President of Electric Entertainment and has forged a storied career as a wildly successful screenwriter, producer and director. His first produced screenplay was Universal… » more
Sarah Malkin (2015) — Vice President of Programming, Maker Studios
Sarah Malkin serves as Vice President of Programming at Maker Studios, overseeing the development and acquisition of original content to be distributed across platforms. She previously held the role… » more
Josh Scherr (2015) — Writer, Naughty Dog
Josh Scherr has been a staff writer at Naughty Dog since early 2014 and is currently co-writing UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF’S END. Prior to his new role, he led the award-winning cinematics team for the… » more
Robert Stromberg (2015) — Founder / Chief Creative Officer, The Virtual Reality Company (VRC)
Robert is the 2-Time Academy Award winner for the production design on Avatar and Alice in Wonderland, and the Director of Disney’s Maleficent which has passed over $760MM in worldwide box office,… » more
Aruna Inversin (2015) — CG/VR Supervisor, Digital Domain
Aruna Inversin has been with Digital Domain for 9 years, and has been working in the visual effects industry for the past 18+ years. Working all over world from Northern California, British Columbia… » more
Guido Voltolina (2015) — Head of Presence Capture, Nokia
Originally from Milan Italy Guido is currently Head of Presence Capture at Nokia Technologies, the division that announced the OZO camera. A veteran in display technologies Guido worked previously at… » more
Jon Karafin (2015) — Head of Light Field Video, Lytro
Jon Karafin is a production executive with expertise in technology innovation for live action cinema, VFX post-production, light field imaging, VR and AR. With a proven track record of new product… » more
David Rosenbaum (2015) — Creative Director, Jaunt
Director David Rosenbaum has an impressive background in visual storytelling. He began his career as an art director and later creative director at Academy Award-winning digital production studio… » more
Catherine Stephens (2015) — Director of Marketing and Communications, AwesomenessTV
Catherine Stephens is Director of Marketing and Communications at AwesomenessTV, a multi-platform media company entertaining the most influential generation – Gen Z. Prior to AwesomenessTV,… » more
Christopher Lockhart (2015) — Story Editor, WME
Christopher Lockhart is a Story Editor at WME. In his role, Lockhart helps find projects that are suited for a variety of the agency’s clients. An award-winning filmmaker, Lockhart co-produced the… » more
Richard Winn Taylor II, VES (2015) — Creative Director, XLNT FX LLC
RICHARD W. TAYLOR II Richard has an extensive background in live action direction, production design, special effects, and computer generated images for theatrical films, television commercials,… » more
Francesco Grisi (2015) — Founder and Executive Producer, EDI
Francesco Grisi, born in 1971, after scientific studies decides to dedicate himself to his passion: photography. First in Italy, he works with some photographers from Naples, then in 1993 moves to… » more
Michael Jackson (2015) — Postvisualization Supervisor, HALON
Michael Jackson joined the HALON crew with 20 years of experience in the visual effects fields for companies like ILM, EA-LA, Dream Quest Images,Sony Imageworks and Walt Disney Imagineering. With… » more
Gilles Gaillard (2016) — CEO, Mikros Image
A graduate from the Ecole Nationale Louis Lumière in Paris, Gilles Gaillard began his career as a freelance artist creating artwork for TV channels such as Canal+ and Game One. Passionate about the… » more
Grant Anderson (2016) — Head of Studio, Jaunt Studios
Jaunt’s technology provides an end-to-end solution for creating cinematic VR experiences enabling a new generation of filmmakers working in VR. With the opening of Jaunt Studios, Anderson is looking… » more
Jacki Morie (2016) — Founder and CEO All These Worlds LLC
Dr. Jacquelyn Ford Morie has built her career around advancing technology to create meaningful, healthful and joy-giving experiences. Over the past 25 years she has developed multi-sensory techniques… » more
Jonah Greenberg (2016) — Managing Director, CAA China
Jonah Greenberg is the Managing Director of CAA China at leading entertainment and sports agency Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Based in Beijing, Greenberg and his colleagues represent many of the… » more
Nancy St John (2016) — Visual Effects Producer
Nancy St John St John was the Production side VFX Producer for Academy Award-winning films Babe and Gladiator and co-VFX Producer for the Academy Award nominee I-Robot. Her filmography also… » more
Tom Sanocki (2016) — Founder and CEO of Limitless Ltd.
Tom Sanocki is the CEO of Limitless Ltd, a new VR startup that enables content developers to create interactive VR characters that respond to voice, gestures, gaze and more. The technology is being… » more
Roy Taylor (2016) — Corporate Vice President / Head of Alliances, Radeon Technologies Group, AMD
Taylor is responsible for a global team managing all aspects of the AMD ecosystem and external relations. In his current role, Taylor manages AMD relations with Microsoft, Google, major games… » more
Thierry Coup (2016) — Senior VP, Universal Creative, Universal Parks & Resorts
Thierry Coup is the Senior Vice President for Universal Creative and executive in charge of media production for Universal Parks and Resorts. He has played an integral role in shaping the blockbuster… » more
Tim Alexander (2016) — Visual Effects Supervisor, ILM
Tim joined Industrial Light… » more
Jack Greasley (2016) — Head Of New Technology, The Foundry
Jack Greasley is The Foundry’s head of new technology and the original developer of MARI, a high-resolution 3D texture painting system used in movies, games and VR. After graduating from Bristol… » more
Mariana Acuna (2016) — Media & Production Creative Manager, The Foundry
Mariana is the Media… » more
Susan Beth Smith (2016) — Executive Producer, Media Producer
Susan Beth Smith orchestrates the creative, human and technological components of large scale, media-‐ based and visual effects projects for theme parks, special venues and museums. With an… » more
Sharon Calahan (2016) — Cinematographer
Sharon joined Pixar Animation Studios in 1994 as lighting supervisor on the studio’s first feature film, “Toy Story.” She then served as director of photography on “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2,” and… » more
Edward Grogan (2016) — Technical Director for Advanced Counter-terrorism Technologies, Department of Defense
Edward T. Grogan is in his 40th year of service in the Department of Defense. His eclectic career has evolved from engineering of civil and military tactical and strategic voice systems to his… » more
Apurva Shah (2016) — Head of Creative Technology, Capital One
Head of Creative Technology, Capital One Apurva Shah joined Capital One in spring 2016 to bring over two decades of animation, visual effects, games and computer graphics experiences with the goal of… » more
Mike Sanders (2016) — Senior Visual Director, Activision’s Central Studios
Mike Sanders is the Senior Visual Director for Activision’s Central Studios overseeing innovation in art, animation and production across Activision’s game franchises, most notably Call of Duty. … » more
Kevin Bruner (2016) — Co-Founder, Telltale, Inc.
Kevin co-founded Telltale, Inc., in 2004 to blend technology, creativity and production processes to create a new entertainment experience and define a new business model. Since its inception,… » more
Thad Beier (2016) — Director of Image Platform Workflow, Dolby Laboratories
Thad is the Director of Image Platform Workflow at Dolby Laboratories. He is helping create high dynamic range and wide color gamut movies with breathtaking quality; both by helping create tools and… » more
Sam Richards (2016) — Visual Effects Design Manager, Walt Disney Imagineering
Sam Richards is a Visual Effects Design Manager for Walt Disney Imagineering. In his role, Sam develops the pipeline and projection mapping tools for WDI. The Visual Effects Design department… » more
Tom Kennedy (2016) — Head of Production, California Academy of Sciences Visualization Studio
Moderator Tom Kennedy is a veteran producer of feature film VFX and commercials. In 2008, Tom transitioned back to his first love, creating science-driven films, including five award-winning full… » more
Dan Hammond (2016) — Business Development, Production Resource Group
Dan Hammond is considered to be a valuable technologist to the entertainment industry. Throughout his 30-year career, Dan has worked closely with many of Hollywood’s top story tellers and their crews… » more
Miles Perkins (2016) — VP of Marketing Communications, JauntVR
Miles Perkins has a wealth of experience in the fields of media communications, entertainment and emerging technologies. Before coming to Jaunt Miles was a 23 year veteran of Lucasfilm where as Head… » more
Craig Barron (2016) — Creative Director for Magnopus
An Oscar winner for Best Visual Effects on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Craig has been an innovator in the cinematic illusion of creating environments for the past three decades and has… » more
Cliff Plumer (2016) — President, Jaunt VR
As President of Jaunt Studio, Cliff Plumer is responsible for the development of content and production at Jaunt. Prior to joining Jaunt, Cliff was an angel investor and advisor to Oculus Rift, a… » more
Paul Cameron, ASC (2016) — Cinematographer
Paul Cameron, ASC has worked on some of the most visually groundbreaking feature films of the past decade. He is currently shooting The Commuter starring Liam Neeson for director Jaume Collet-Serra…. » more
Chris Anderson (2016) — CEO, 3D Robotics
CEO of 3D Robotics and founder of DIY Drones. From 2001 through 2012, Chris was the Editor in Chief of Wired Magazine. He is the author of the New York Times bestselling books “The Long Tail and… » more
Naida Albright (2016) — Owner-Producer, Conshimfee Productions Inc.
In 2007, Naida Albright opened up her own production and consulting company Conshimfee Productions Inc.. Naida acts as a Filmmaker Liaison and Advisor for Canon USA and their ad agency 360i for the… » more
Henry LaBounta (2016) — Chief Visual Officer, Zynga
Henry recently joined Zynga as Chief Visual Officer bringing together his 25+ years of entertainment experience in games, film visual effects, feature animation and television. Most recently Henry… » more
Wally Pfister, ASC (2016) — Director / Cinematographer
Wally Pfister is an accomplished Director/Cinematographer who has spent more than two-thirds of his life behind the camera. Before focusing on a directing career he collaborated on seven films with… » more
Rex Grignon (2016) — Co-Founder and CCO of Nimble Collective
Co-Founder and CCO of Nimble Collective, Rex has animated on some of the top grossing animated films of all time: Toy Story, Shrek, and the Madagascars. With Nimble Collective, he is working hard to… » more
Rich McBride (2016) — Visual Effects Supervisor
Rich McBride first joined Industrial Light… » more
Jason Schleifer (2016) — Animator, Leader, Character Technical Director and Workflow
Animator, leader, character technical director and workflow guy, Jason and his mad scientist eyebrows have been pushing the boundaries of CG Animation and sharing his knowledge for nearly 20 years. He is currently Co-Founder and Head of Content for Nimble Collective.
Larry Fong, ASC (2016) — Director of Photography
Larry Fong was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. His interest in photography and film began in his teens with short films as well as animation and stop motion projects. He graduated from… » more
Karen Dufilho (2016) — Executive Producer, Google ATAP
Dufilho, Executive Producer at Google ATAP, has been developing and producing animation for renowned directors, studios and start-ups for more than 18 years. She is the producer of Academy Award® and… » more
Bruno Sargeant (2016) — Virtual Production Producer, Halon Entertainment
Bruno Sargeant is a Virtual Production Producer for Halon Entertainment and a founding member of the Virtual Production Committee. He started working in the field of Virtual Production in 2009 while… » more
Maxwell Planck (2016) — Co-Founder, Oculus Story Studio
Having started his career at Pixar as a technical director helping make computer animated films like Cars, Wall•e, Up, and Brave, Maxwell Planck left to seek out and develop the next generation of… » more
James Knight (2016) — Virtual Production Director, AMD
James Knight is a Virtual Production Director working for AMD, based in Los Angeles, CA. In addition to being Performance Capture Supervisor on Columbia Pictures’ The Amazing Spiderman, he spent… » more
Shannon Jeffries (2016) — Production Designer
As an Art Director and Production Designer in film, I am tasked with the job of designing the visual story. Because the story is not a single moment, it is a sequential experience, I create the… » more
John Root (2016) — Co-Founder, VRLA
John Root has been specializing in motion capture, virtual production and digital humans for 25 years. He’s worked for such companies as Digital Domain, Image Movers Digital, Magic Leap, iD Software… » more
Habib Zargarpour (2016) — Director of Visuals Microsoft Studios Global Publishing
Habib joined Microsoft Studios in 2010 and is the Director of Visuals for Global Publishing. He has over 12 years of experience in visual effects for film and 13 years in the games industry. His… » more
Jill Smolin (2016) — Production Manager, Nokia Technologies
As a production manager at Nokia, Jill serves OZO, working with creators around the world of both live and offline productions, as well as the engineers who create OZO’s hardware and software… » more
Jimmy Maidens (2016) — Supervising Technical Director, Penrose Studios
Jimmy is a veteran CG filmmaker, having served as a technical lead and artist at Dreamworks for over 12 years on films such as the Shrek and Madagascar series. As a true CG generalist, Jimmy has wide… » more
Bruna Berford (2016) — Lead Animator, Penrose Studios
Bruna Berford is a VR Animator working for Penrose Studios, a startup based in San Francisco. At Penrose, Bruna helped bring to life the beautiful and unique Allumette, a VR film which held its World… » more
Devin Sterling (2016) — VP Global Operations, Long Form, Deluxe Creative Services
Devin Sterling designs and continually improves operational processes and maintains quality control for all of Deluxe Creative Services’ long form finishing work. This includes guiding technical… » more
Brett Ineson (2016) — President and CTO, Animatrik Film Design
Brett Ineson has close to 20 years’ experience in visual effects, 15 of which has been spent in the field of performance capture. Brett sits on the board of the Motion Capture Society. He has worked… » more
James Hattin (2016) — President, Creative Director, VFX Legion
James has over two decades of experience in the visual effects industry and has over a hundred visual effects credits, including: The Purge: Election Year, Hardcore Henry, Scandal, and How to Get… » more
Christopher Nichols (2016) — Director of Chaos Group Labs
CG Industry veteran Christopher Nichols is the Director of Chaos Group Labs. He can also be heard regularly as the host of the CG Garage podcast. With a background in both VFX and Design, Chris has… » more
Albert “Skip” Rizzo, Ph.D. (2016) — Director, Medical Virtual Reality – Institute for Creative Technologies
Albert “Skip” Rizzo is a clinical psychologist/neuropsychologist and Director of Medical Virtual Reality at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies. He is also a… » more
Gawain Liddiard (2016) — Visual Effects Supervisor, The Mill
Gawain Liddiard is a VFX Supervisor at The Mill in Los Angeles where he works closely with clients and artists to deliver complex, innovative content. He also recently Co-Directed the first immersive… » more
Eve M. Cohen (2016) — Cinematographer
Eve M. Cohen is a cinematographer whose work ranges from independent feature films to television series, documentaries, and most recently cinematic virtual reality. She entered into the world of… » more
Storytelling in VR (2017) — Moderator: Annmarie Koeing, Digital Supervisor, Penrose Studios
Discussion Topic: More and more people are using the capabilities of VR to let the viewer experiment with something new. However, films and VFX companies may see this as an opportunity to expand the… » more
Interactive Characters in AR/VR (2017) — Tom Sanocki, Founder / CEO, Limitless Ltd
Discussion Topic: After decades of promise, virtual reality is finally here. Storytellers are gravitating to this new medium with its promise of immersion, interaction, and emotional connection. How… » more
Storytelling in VR (2017) — Moderator: Bruna Berford, VR Lead Animator, Penrose Studios
Discussion Topic: More and more people are using the capabilities of VR to let the viewer experiment with something new. However, films and VFX companies may see this as an opportunity to expand the… » more
Photoreal Digital Actors in Movies, Games, and Virtual Reality (2017) — Moderator: Paul Debevec, Senior Staff Engineer, Google VR
Discussion Topic: In less than a decade, the ability to render a photorealistic animated human face has gone from being an unfathomable challenge to an enabling technology in feature films from… » more
Robert Legato (2017) — Visual Effects Supervisor
After a career in Television for Paramount Pictures, Rob Legato joined the newly formed Digital Domain, a visual effects company founded by James Cameron, Stan Winston and Scott Ross. For Rob’s… » more
Crossover from Live Action VFX Films to AR/VR/Multi-Media (2017) — Moderator: Wayne Billheimer, ILM Executive Producer
Discussion Topic: The VFX World is the perfect training ground for the new (and not-so-new) kinds of screens and experiences people are craving: VR/AR/XR/Multi-Media/etc. This roundtable will… » more
Telling Stories using Virtual Light, the Beauty & Challenges (2017) — Moderator: Danielle Feinberg, Director of Photography, Pixar
Discussion Topic: As a Director of Photography, working in the computer gives us so many options that the real world doesn’t have, but this power can be a great boon and sometimes a bust…sometimes… » more
Ava DuVernay (2017) — Director/Producer/Writer
Nominated for the Academy Award and eight Emmy Awards, winner of the BAFTA for Best Documentary and The Peabody Award, Ava DuVernay’s 13TH is one of the most critically-acclaimed films of 2016. In… » more
Jason Brenek (2017) — President, IMAX Home Entertainment
Jason Brenek joined IMAX Corporation in February 2015 as President, IMAX Home Entertainment where he oversees a series of global initiatives designed collectively to translate elements of The IMAX… » more
Nonny de la Peña (2017) — Founder / CEO, Emblematic Group
Nonny de la Peña is the founder and CEO of Emblematic Group, a leader in creating immersive virtual, mixed and augmented reality. One of the most influential pioneers in VR, Nonny created walk… » more
Syd Mead (2017) — Visual Futurist and Conceptual Artist
Syd Mead is an acclaimed visual futurist and conceptual artist whose storied career spans almost six decades. He was recognized by the Visual Effects Society’s Board of Directors as the recipient of… » more
Hemanshu (Hemu) Nigam (2017) — CEO, SSP Blue
Hemanshu “Hemu” Nigam has worked inside the largest prosecuting agencies, software companies, media and entertainment giants, and most influential trade associations in the world. Hemu served as the… » more
Gavin Miller (2017) — Head of Adobe Research & VP, Creative Intelligence Lab
Dr. Gavin Miller is the Head of Adobe Research and the Vice President of the Creative Intelligence Lab. As the Vice President of the Creative Intelligence Lab, Dr. Gavin Miller aims to create a… » more
Karin Joy (2017) — VFX Producer
Karin Joy is a freelance VFX Producer and Consultant. She is currently working as the VFX Producer for Crazy Alien, a film currently shooting in Qingdao, China. Last year she was the VFX Producer… » more
Christopher Lockhart (2017) — Story Editor at WME
Christopher Lockhart is Hollywood’s foremost story professional. As Story Editor at WME, the world’s largest diversified talent agency, Chris curates projects for A-list actors such as Denzel… » more
Vince Baertsoen (2017) — Group CG Director, The Mill
Vince Baertsoen is Group CG Director at The Mill, where he is responsible for overseeing the communication and development of the CG pipeline across all offices, working closely with The Mill’s Heads… » more
D’nardo Colucci (2017) — President and Co-Founder of The Elumenati, LLC
D’nardo Colucci is President and co-founder of The Elumenati, LLC (2003). Aside from business related responsibilities, he is responsible for overall system design matching immersive projection… » more
Kevin Baillie (2017) — Conductor Technologies and Atomic Fiction
Kevin is a co-founder and VFX Supervisor at Atomic Fiction, an effects company with studios in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Montreal. In the 7 years since co-founding Atomic Fiction, he has… » more
Dominik Tarolli (2017) — Esri, Director, Global Business Development 3D Geodesign
Dominik is the Director for Global Business Development 3D Geodesign at Esri Inc. in Redlands (CA), where innovative 3D solutions for Esri’s customers are developed. He is instrumental in Esri’s… » more
Darren Hendler (2017) — Director Digital Human Group, Digital Domain
Darren Hendler is a 20-year veteran of the visual effects industry, where he has contributed his talents to more than 15 feature films and scores of commercials. In his current role at Digital Domain… » more
Evan Atherton (2017) — Sr. Research Engineer, Office of the CTO – Autodesk
Evan received his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and has been with Autodesk ever since. He currently serves as a Senior Research Engineer for… » more
Merging Realms: Art, Science & Social Awareness (2017) — Moderator: Drue Kataoka, Technology Artist
Discussion Topic: At this roundtable we’ll discuss current Virtual Reality tools for artists and creators. Participants are welcome to bring examples of their VR artwork or experiments in this space… » more
Filming for VR: Hallelujah VR Music Experience (2017) — Moderator: Ariel Braunstein, Chief Product Officer, Lytro
Discussion Topic: Lytro has built the first ever production-ready Light Field video solution for Virtual Reality – Lytro Immerge. This breakthrough system was recently used to produce Hallelujah,… » more
The Future of Machine Learning in Entertainment (2017) — Moderator: Kamal Mistry, Netflix Product Executive focused on Art & Technology
Discussion Topic: Machine Learning and Computer Vision algorithms are seeing greater adoption in Media… » more
Lynwen Brennan (2017) — EVP & General Manager | Lucasfilm, ILM & Skywalker Sound
As General Manager of Lucasfilm, Lynwen Brennan oversees all operational matters for Lucasfilm, Industrial Light… » more
Physical sets, RAPTURE Gear, Social Experience (2017) — Morderator: Cliff Plumer, CEO, THE VOID
Discussion Topic: We have yet to see true mass-consumer adoption of VR. In-home and mobile equipment is expensive and the experiences, while visually compelling, are isolating and limit movement…. » more
Modern VFX Production in the Cloud (2017) — Morderator: Kevin Baillie, Co-founder and VFX Supervisor, Atomic Fiction
Discussion Topic: Deadpool, The Jungle Book and Pirates of the Caribbean are all poster children of the biggest leap forward for VFX… » more
“What AI Designers are learning from Film & Storytelling!” (2017) — Moderator: Apurva Shah, Head of Creative Technology, Capital One
Discussion Topic: Films have given us some memorable AI characters like Maria, HAL, Rachel, R2D2, Iron Giant, Agent Smith, Wall-E and many more. These characters, or at least the complex dynamics… » more
THE BAY LIGHTS, Villareal Studio | Public Artworks (2017) — Moderator: Amy Critchett, Executive Producer of Public Artworks for Leo Villareal
Dicussion Topic: In leading the development and management of Leo Villareal’s largest artwork to date THE BAY LIGHTS, Amy built community, grew international awareness and assembled a world-class… » more
David Altenau (2017) — FuseFX CEO
David Altenau is the original founder of FuseFX, and is also the CEO and senior Visual Effects Supervisor. Altenau has been in the visual effects industry for over 25 years and his work has garnished… » more
Douglas Trumbull, VES (2017) — Visionary Filmmaker, Innovator and Entrepreneur
Visionary filmmaker, innovator and entrepreneur, Douglas Trumbull has enjoyed a long and prestigious technological and creative career in filmmaking and entertainment technologies. Following his… » more
Joe Letteri (2017) — Senior Visual Effects Supervisor
Joe Letteri’s pioneering work on digital visual effects has earned him four Academy Awards® for Best Visual Effects on Avatar, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Lord of the Rings: The Return… » more
John Mariella (2017) — Senior Production Consultant – SideFX
A visual effects and animation veteran of over 25 years, John has worn many hats in a broad range of film and TV productions as a VFX artist, animation director, technical director, producer, and… » more
Marc Petit (2017) — General Manager, Unreal Enterprise (Epic Games)
As General Manager of the Enterprise business, Marc oversees growth of Epic Games’ Unreal Engine business into markets outside of game development. Prior to joining Epic Games in mid-2016, Marc was a… » more
Scott Farrar, ASC (2017) — Visual Effects Supervisor / Second Unit Director – ILM
Scott Farrar joined Industrial Light… » more
Todd Masters (2017) — President/Founder/Chief Monster Maker – MASTERSFX
Todd Masters is the President/Founder and Chief Monster Maker with MASTERSFX, one of the world’s leading, full-service character FX companies. With studio locations in Los Angeles, Vancouver and… » more
Vincent Brisebois (2017) — Senior Technical Marketing Manager at NVIDIA
Recently joining NVIDIA, Vincent oversees developer marketing for Design, Visualization and Professional VR. Previously VP of Product Development at DAZ3D, he spearheaded integrating physically based… » more
Paul Martin Smith (2009) — Visual Effects Editor
Paul Martin Smith is known for his editing work with George Lucas, having worked for five years at Lucasfilm Ltd. His many film editing credits include “Journey to the Center of the Earth” (3D); Star Wars: Episode 1 –“The Phantom Menace”; Renny Harlin’s “Mindhunters”, starring Val Kilmer, Jonny Lee Miller, Christian Slater, Kathryn Morris and LL Cool J; the war drama “Behind Enemy Lines”, starring Gene Hackman and Owen Wilson; the romantic comedy “The MatchMaker”, starring Janeane Garofalo; and Jim Gillespie’s thriller “Venom”. Smith designed (in collaboration with David Dozoretz) and edited three key sequences for the animated feature “Titan A.E”. He served as the consulting editor on Ernest Dickerson’s crime drama “Never Die Alone”, and edited four telefilms in the feature franchise “The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones.” Additionally, he has edited over 30 documentaries, including “Gunfight USA” for PBS’s “Frontline” and “Cold Spring New Dawn” for PBS’s “Nova.” Smith’s other television credits include the telefilms “Country Justice”, starring George C. Scott; “Unforgivable”, with John Ritter; “The Canterville Ghost”, starring Patrick Stewart and Neve Campbell; the Hong Kong detective series “Yellowthread Street” for ITV in the UK; and the Amblin Entertainment/Unversal for NBC sci-fi series “Earth 2.” Over his career he has also edited award-winning commercials and music videos, and has been second unit director, first assistant director and camera operator. Smith is multi-lingual and carries both French and US passports. He is a member of the Guild Of British Film & TV Editors (GBFTE).
Ansul Doshi (2009) — Global COO, Prime Focus Group
Based in London, Anshul is the Global COO for the Prime Focus group, responsible for the management of the UK and North American companies. He joined the Prime Focus group in 2004, as a finance analyst for the Indian operations, and was quickly promoted to VP Strategy & Business Development for India. In 2006, Anshul moved to London to oversee the purchase of VTR plc by Prime Focus, and subsequently managed the integration of the acquired London companies and the attendant business audit and management reshuffle. He was also closely involved in the acquisition of the North American companies, and continues to oversee their operation.
Previous to his time at Prime Focus, Anshul was employed by KPMG in India as a Corporate Finance analyst, specializing in the media industry, and before that he was Business Development Manager for a voice recognition technology company, and a chartered accountant performing valuations and due diligence for a number of blue chip firms.
Anshul holds a law degree from Government Law College Mumbai, is a Bachelor of Commerce graduate and is a certified chartered accountant.
Volker Engel (2009) — Producer and Visual Effects Supervisor, President of Uncharted Territory, LLC
Volker Engel is an Oscar and Emmy Award winning Visual Effects Supervisor. He also produced or co-produced several films and mini series’.
He is Co-Producer and Visual Effects Supervisor (with his long-time business partner Marc Weigert) of the 2009 Columbia Pictures production 2012, directed by Roland Emmerich.
After obtaining a Master’s Degree in Graphic Design at Germany’s acclaimed Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart, he started his film career in Germany in 1988 as Visual Effects Supervisor for Emmerich’s “Moon 44”.
Emmerich hired him again in 1995 to supervise the visual effects for the blockbuster movie Independence Day. Volker’s work earned him an Oscar for Best Visual Effects in 1996. He then went on to lead a team of 500 artists for Emmerich’s production of Godzilla.
In 1999, he co-founded the production company Uncharted Territory, LLC www.uncharted-territory.com in Los Angeles with Marc Weigert to develope and produce feature films. The first of these independent projects was an adventure movie titled Coronado that was released in over 40 countries in 2003.
In 2004 Uncharted Territory co-produced the four-hour mini series Dark Kingdom – The Dragon King (starring Max von Sydow) that aired on the SciFi Channel.
In 2005 they were producers for the $20 Million six-hour mini series The Triangle (starring Sam Neill and Eric Stoltz) together with Bryan Singer and Dean Devlin for the SciFi Channel. It was aired in December 2005 and broke ratings records for the network. They were honored with an Emmy award for “best visual effects in a mini series” by the Television Academy.
In 1998 Volker received the highest honor for a citizen of his home country, the Order of Merit. He was awarded this medal in Berlin from German President Roman Herzog.
Several years ago he has been given the title of Professor by the Senate of his home state Bremen. He teaches Film and Media Production whenever his schedule allows.
He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the British Academy for Film and Television Arts and the European Film Academy. He also has served for three terms as a member of the board of directors of the Visual Effects Society.
Volker lives in Los Angeles, California.
Steven Poster, ASC (2009) — Director of Photography, President – International Cinematographers Guild
Poster launched his cinematography career in hometown Chicago at twenty-one, filming television commercials, cinema verite documentaries and industrial films. He soon moved on to feature films, working as Second Unit Director of Photography on Close Encounters of the Third Kind and Blade Runner. As Director of Photography, Poster has filmed a wide variety of motion pictures, including the Emmy-nominated Mrs. Harris, Stuart Little 2, Daddy Day Care, Rocky V, The Cemetery Club, Life Stinks, Opportunity Knocks, Next of Kin, Big Top Pee-wee and Testament. He received an ASC nomination for Best Cinematography for Ridley Scott’s Someone To Watch Over Me and has the distinction of being the only American cinematographer to shoot a French language film in France, Une Chance sur Deux, for director Patrice Leconte
In early 2008, Poster completed filming The Box, written and directed by Richard Kelly and starring Cameron Diaz, Frank Langella and James Marsden. This is his third film with the young, innovative director; their collaboration started with cult-favorite Donnie Darko and continued with Southland Tales, which was chosen for full competition at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival. He also filmed Spread, in 2008, which had a world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. The movie was directed by David Mackenzie and starred Ashton Kucher. Poster finished 2008 filming Cats And Dogs for Warner Bros.
In addition to his work on numerous television pilots, Poster filmed the critically acclaimed television movies Roswell, The Color of Justice and Courage, as well as the controversial, award-winning Madonna video Like A Prayer.
Poster is President of the International Cinematographers Guild, a six thousand-member trade union representing camera workers and film publicists across the United States. He was formerly a member of the Executive Board of the International Documentary Association, and is currently on the committee of the Nicholl Fellowship of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
During his tenure as President of the American Society of Cinematographers, Poster was responsible for re-forming its Technology committee, and continues to act as its co-chair. This committee is at the forefront in standard-setting recommendations for the paradigm-changing use of digital tools for cinematography, and the post-production control of images.
Poster’s involvement in digital technology for the motion picture industry dates back to 1990, when he was asked to experiment with one of the first High Definition television systems for NHK Television in Japan. He has since become an internationally known spokesman in the industry for the transition to digital imaging.
A native of Chicago, Poster began his college education at Southern Illinois University as a member of a special program conceived by Buckminster Fuller; the master of problem-solving through deductive reasoning. Transferring to the Los Angeles Art Center College of Design, Poster learned how to ‘see light’ and was taught a true professional discipline. Returning to Chicago, he graduated from the Institute of Design of the Illinois Institute of Technology, where he was greatly influenced by the philosophy of Bauhaus design – that form should fit function.
Art Repola (2009) — Executive Vice President, Visual Effects and Production Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Art Repola is the executive vice president of Visual Effects and Production for The Walt Disney Studios, where he is responsible for overseeing all aspects of visual effects production for the Studio’s motion pictures division. Throughout his career, Repola has managed the visual effects on nearly 200 live-action films including such ground-breaking, effects-laden projects as the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.” He is currently overseeing the visual effects on Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland,” “John Carter of Mars” and “Captain Nemo.” Under Repola’s leadership, The Walt Disney Studios has received seven Academy Award® nominations and won an Oscar® for Best Visual Effects. Among his other accomplishments, Repola produced the Disney 3D feature “Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience,” and the 3D “Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert,” as well as Touchstone Pictures’ “Ultimate X,” a large format film based on ESPN’s X-Games.
Repola began his association with Disney in 1989, when he was named vice president of Post Production for Hollywood Pictures. Following that, he joined Universal’s Theme Park division, where he held the post of vice president of Film and Video Production. In that role, his credits included executive producer of the innovative 3-D 70mm film featured in the theme park attraction, “T2 – 3-D: Battle Across Time,” directed by Oscar®-winning filmmaker James Cameron, and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Among his other notable credits, Repola produced a TV pilot, and co-wrote and produced a Special Venue – High Definition Interactive film for Sony. This educational film detailed sound and picture technologies through the use of live-action, CGI, and 2-D animation. His associate producer credits include Lucasfilm’s “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade,” and the fantasy film, “The Indian in the Cupboard.”
Repola began his professional career at 20th Century Fox. After working on the foreign versions of George Lucas’ “Star Wars,” he joined Lucasfilm’s Industrial Light and Magic (ILM) as a visual effects editor, and went on to become a visual effects producer. During his tenure at ILM, he contributed to such landmark effects projects as “The Empire Strikes Back,” “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” “Dragonslayer,” and “Return of the Jedi.”
After moving back to Los Angeles, Repola became a member of the team at Boss Films, which was responsible for the visual effects on “Ghostbusters” and “2010.” He went on to join Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment as the executive in charge of Post Production and Visual Effects, supervising the activities for a wide variety of film projects including “Back to the Future,” “The Color Purple,” and “Empire of the Sun.”
Repola is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences, and the Visual Effects Society.
Eric Barba (2009) — Visual Effects Supervisor, Digital Domain
Daryn Okada, ASC (2009) — Cinematographer
Among Okada’s recent projects are the hit comedies “Baby Mama,” starring Tina Fey and Amy Pohler, and “Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay.” Both films opened on the same weekend to numbers one and two, respectively, at the box office.
Okada has compiled more than 30 feature credits, including “The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard” starring Jeremy Piven, produced by Will Ferrel, Adam McKay, Chris Henchy and Kevin Messick, “Stick It,” “Sex and Death 101,” “Dr. Doolittle 2,” “Anna Karenina,” “Captain Ron,” “My Father the Hero,” “Halloween: H20,” “Lake Placid,” “Cradle 2 the Grave,” “Joe Somebody” and “Wild Hearts Can’t Be Broken,” as well as the series pilot for “Dawson’s Creek.”
A Los Angeles native, Okada is self-taught in the art of cinematography, beginning in his teens as a black-and-white still photographer and Super 8 film hobbyist as well as an avid movie fan. Upon graduating high school at 16, he became a projectionist at East Los Angeles City College, screening classic films from around the world and donating his time on short and student films. During the mid-1980s he was photographing and directing commercials when his career was put on hold for several years after he was injured in a helicopter crash while shooting aerial footage.
Upon his return to cinematography, Okada photographed several independent films in the late 1980s and earned an American Society of Cinematographers Award nomination for his work on the 1991 Emmy-nominated CBS telefilm “In a Child’s Name.”
He has been president of the American Society of Cinematographers for three consecutive terms and is a member of the Science and Technology Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Dion Bebee, ASC (2009) — Cinematographer
Dion Beebe, ASC, ACS was born in Brisbane, Australia, but relocated with his family to Cape Town, South Africa, at the age of five. He first studied film at Pretoria Technikon and later at the Australian Film Television and Radio School. Beebe holds both Australian and South African citizenship. His work has twice been recognized by the Australian Cinematographers Society (ACS), which presented him the Award of Distinction for the feature film Praise, and the Golden Tripod for the short film Down Rusty Down. In 1995, he won the Australian Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cinematography for What I Have Written, and has twice been nominated by the Australian Film Institute for his cinematography (Praise, What I Have Written). Beebe took home the Oscar for his work on Memoirs of a Geisha in 2006, and was nominated for Chicago 2003. His credits include Holy Smoke, In The Cut, Collateral, Miami Vice, Rendition, Land of the Lost and the upcoming Nine and The Green Lantern.
Jeff Barnes (2009) — Co-Founder & Executive Producer, CafeFX
Barnes is the driving force behind business development, sales and marketing for the Group, where his leadership and vision has facilitated the company’s meteoric growth into a sprawling visual effects facility in Santa Barbara County and a high end post production studio in the creative hub of Santa Monica. Founded in 1993, CafeFX has become a world-class provider of stunning imagery with over 80 films to its credit, including the upcoming ALICE IN WONDERLAND and Martin Scorsese’s SHUTTER ISLAND. Last year, CafeFX’s team of artists won an Emmy Award for their epic photo-real environment effects for HBO’s JOHN ADAMS. Recent films include G.I. JOE: RISE OF COBRA, NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM 2, WOLVERINE, SEVEN POUNDS, IRON MAN, THE KITE RUNNER, SPIDER-MAN™ 3, GHOST RIDER, SIN CITY, KING KONG, MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA, MASTER & COMMANDER, THE AVIATOR and ARMAGEDDON.
Barnes was instrumental in forming the creative and financial partnership with director Guillermo del Toro to associate produce the Academy Award®-winning PAN’S LABYRINTH through Sententia Entertainment, further evidence of his vision and leadership. Barnes is Past Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Visual Effects Society (VES) and is an invited guest at conferences and film festivals around the world.
Steve Beres (2009) — Director of Engineering for nextLAB, a division of FotoKem, Inc.
Previously, Steve served as Chef Technical Officer for PlasterCITY Digital Post (PCDP) of Hollywood, California. PCDP was an acknowledged leader and innovator in post-production processes for feature films, commercials, music videos, and non-fiction programming. As system architect for PCDP’s nonlinear editing facility-designed around Apple Final Cut Pro and central storage-Steve was a key player in developing the industry’s first 4Gb SAN solution, based on Apple Xsan technology. Steve also earned distinction on television and film projects for Sony Pictures Classics, Mandalay Entertainment, Canada’s YTV, Fox Sports, Comedy Central, The WB and many others. Before joining PlasterCITY, he worked with Apple Computer as a Final Cut Pro Trainer and Video Systems Engineer. Steve’s insights and experience have made him a popular guest speaker at The National Association of Broadcasters Convention (NAB), MacWorld and SMPTE, as well as an instructor and curriculum developer for Panasonic & HD Expo.
Lee Berger (2009) — President, Film Division - Rhythm & Hues Studios
Currently, Lee’s team is working on a full slate of upcoming 2009-10 releases, including: “Cabin in the Woods,” “Aliens in the Attic,” “The Wolf Man,” “Alvin & Chipmunks: The Squeakuel” and “Cirque du Freak.” The studio’s recent releases include “Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian,” “Land of the Lost,” “State of Play,” “Fast & Furious 4,” “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,” “The Incredible Hulk” and “The Mummy 3: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor.” Lee’s career in the entertainment business spans thirty years. His initial exposure in visual effects came in 1987 at Apogee Productions, where he started as an Assistant Director with industry veteran and Academy Award-winning VFX supervisor John Dykstra. Lee also worked for many years alongside director and effects whiz Bruce Dorn at his commercial production facility in Hollywood.Lee’s first foray into producing visual effects came in 1993, as a freelance VFX producer on such projects as “Batman Forever,” “Titanic” and “Volcano,” before joining Foxowned Blue Sky|VIFX as VP, Production. With the merger of VIFX with Rhythm & Hues in 1999, he became R&H Films’ Executive Producer. During the Ford and Carter administrations, Lee was a news cameraman at the White House. After relocating to Los Angeles, he worked on numerous features, commercials and documentaries, becoming a producer and first assistant director. Lee is a graduate of the University of Maryland’s Radio, TV and Film program. He recently co-authored a chapter on Effects in The Oxford Handbook of Film & Media Studies with former Rhythm & Hues Films president Richard Hollander.
Steve Scott (2009) — Vice President / Creative Director, EFILM
During his performing career, Steve also studied painting, eventually taking up illustration full time. In 1991, he entered the then new field of digital effects in an effort to combine his love of movies, TV & painting, starting as a compositor for ‘Star Trek: TNG’.
Steve is a former Governor of the Television Academy for the Special Visual Effects Peer Group. He is also a member of the Visual Effects Society, and the American Society of Cinematographers (Associate). He lives & works in Hollywood as a EFILM’s VP / Creative Director & Supervising Digital Colorist.
has won an Emmy for his effects work, and has received 3 HPA nominations, which he won twice for his DI work, and is currently nominated for his work on ‘Julie & Julia’ this year.
Digital Intermediate credits include: Ironman, Julie & Julia, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Burn after Reading, Wanted, Sex & the City, Children of Men, The Illusionist, Hairspray, Night at the Museum 2, Finding Neverland, Jarhead, Lemony Snicket, The Wedding Crashers, Van Helsing, The Village, Peter Pan, Intolerable Cruelty, The Ladykillers, The Cat in the Hat, Blue Crush, Angels in America, and The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.
Television credits include: Angels in America, Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Trek (TNG & DS9), The X-Files, The Simpsons, Third Rock from the Sun, Roseanne, MacGyver, Home Improvement, Northern Exposure and That 70s Show.
Compositing credits include: Titanic, Apollo 13, True Lies, Interview with a Vampire, Independence Day, numerous commercials and music videos.
Jim Bissell (2009) — Production Designer
Other credits have included “The Falcon and the Snowman,” “The Boy Who Could Fly,” “Harry and the Hendersons,” “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “Twins,” “Arachnophobia,” “The Rocketeer,” “Jumanji,” “Tin Cup,” “My Fellow Americans,” “Cats & Dogs,” “The 6th Day,” “Hollywood Homicide.” and “The Ring 2”. Early in his career, Bissell won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Art Director for a Television Series for his work on “Palmerstown, U.S.A.” More recently he was honored with nominations from the Art Directors Guild for his work on Zach Snyder’s “300” and “The Spiderwick Chronicles.”
Bissell is also known for his collaboration with director George Clooney, starting with Clooney’s feature film directorial debut “Confessions of a Dangerous Mind.” This was followed in 2005 with “Good Night, and Good Luck,” and continued with the 2007 release of “Leatherheads.” “Good Night, and Good Luck” garnered Art Direction nominations from both the Art Directors Guild and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as well as a Satellite Award for best Production Design.
He has been a guest lecturer at USC, AFI and the North Carolina School of the Arts and is a former instructor at the UCLA School of Continuing Education. Bissell is a past vice president of the Art Directors Guild and is on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He holds a BFA in Theater from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Ben Grossmann (2009) — Visual Effects Supervisor, CafeFX/The Syndicate
Moving to Los Angeles in 2001 to seek out what he considered to be the future of filmmaking, Grossmann began his career in feature film visual effects with paint and roto positions on films like Spider-Man and Hart’s War. He was visual effects supervisor on Hollow Man II, sequence supervisor on Sin City and compositing supervisor on The Day After Tomorrow. He was also a digital compositor on Master and Commander and The Italian Job. In addition to serving as supervising compositor on more than 650 shots for Coronado, Grossmann designed the main titles for the film.
In 2006, Grossmann won an Emmy for Outstanding Visual Effects for his work as a digital compositor on the 2005 mini-series The Triangle.
Since joining The Syndicate, Grossmann has directed the You Are Here commercial campaign for Six Flags, on which he was additionally responsible for all aspects of production, still photography, and visual effects design and supervision. He has also directed Anatomical, a television and print campaign for sport equipment manufacturer CCM.
Grossmann recently won a Gold Clio for visual effects on The Key to Reserva, a seven-minute commercial short film for the Spanish winery Freixenet, working with famed director Martin Scorsese. Earlier this year, Grossmann enjoyed a similar collaboration with Scorsese and visual effects supervisor Rob Legato on the Rolling Stones feature film Shine a Light. He has just wrapped VFX Supervising principle photography on Scorsese’s next film Shutter Island with The Syndicate as lead VFX house.
He also recently designed the workflow and VFX supervised the groundbreaking Radiohead music video for “House of Cards;” the first known project to be shot entirely with LIDAR scanners. The video has received acclaim, and the raw data elements were provided on Google for anyone to create their own version of the video, spawning a flood of user-created variations building off The Syndicate’s work.
Identifying the rising talent that will shape the industry in the coming years, The Hollywood Reporter singled out Grossmann in its prestigious 2007 Next Generation issue. Grossmann continues to direct commercials and VFX supervise a variety of features, commercials and music videos for The Syndicate while developing new film and digital workflows for filmmaking.
Catherine Hardwicke (2009) — Writer/Director
As a storyteller, Catherine Hardwicke is drawn to emotion-driven, often edgy material. Her ability to portray the subtleties of teenage life brings realism to both her independent and commercial films. Most recently, Hardwicke directed the film TWILIGHT, based on the best selling novels by Stephenie Meyer. Set in a teenage world ripe with obsessions and self-discovery, TWILIGHT explores the dangerous love between a teenage girl (Kristen Stewart) and a vampire (Rob Pattinson). TWILIGHT currently holds the record for the highest-grossing opening weekend ever by a female director and the soundtrack debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 200. Hardwicke has also recently teamed up with Little Brown Publishing to release the “Twilight Director’s Journal” – an intimate behind-the-scenes portrait of the making of the film. It quickly reached the top of the New York Times Young Adult Non-Fiction Bestseller list, and has been translated into twelve different languages.
Hardwicke’s debut as a feature film writer/director was THIRTEEN, a graphic look at the downward spiraling lives of teens as they discover drugs, sex, and petty crime. The film starred Holly Hunter and established Evan Rachel Wood and Nikki Reed as rising young stars. Hardwicke was honored with the Director’s Award from the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and the film went on to win top awards at Deauville, Locarno, and Nantucket film festivals and land a SPIRIT AWARD for Reed, Golden Globe nominations for Hunter and Wood, and an Academy Award nomination for Hunter.
Hardwicke conceived THIRTEEN’s bold, visual style as a way of matching the intensity of a young girl’s journey, pulling from her experience as a production designer. As a production designer, she worked with critically acclaimed directors such as Cameron Crowe (on VANILLA SKY), David O. Russell (on THREE KINGS), Costa Gavras (on MAD CITY), and Richard Linklater (on SUBURBIA, THE NEWTON BOYS). She designed over twenty films, including TOMBSTONE and LAUREL CANYON.
Hardwicke’s sophomore film was Columbia’s LORDS OF DOGTOWN, starring Heath Ledger, Emile Hirsch, Victor Rasuk, and John Robinson. Dogtown chronicles the story of three boys from fractured homes in rough Venice neighborhoods who revolutionized skateboarding in the 70”s. Dogtown won the coveted High Times “ Stoner Movie of the Year” award.
THE NATIVITY STORY, filmed in Italy and Morocco, marked Hardwicke’s third directorial endeavor. This period epic depicts Mary, (WHALE RIDER’s Keisha Castle-Hughes) as a 14-yr-old Jewish peasant girl, living under the oppressive rule of Rome’s client-king Herod (Cieran Hinds). Nativity was the first feature film to premiere at the Vatican, playing to an audience of 7000 nuns, priests, and non-subscribers to High Times magazine.
Catherine is currently developing a contemporary adaptation of Shakespeare’s HAMLET. Emile Hirsch (Lords of Dogtown, Milk, Into the Wild) is set to star in the title role, with Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen (Milk, American Beauty) producing. Screenwriter Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia, The Painted Veil) has transformed Shakespeare’s text into an intense psychological thriller, giving the classic play a dark, modern twist.
A native of the South Texas border town of McAllen, Hardwicke studied art in Mexico and received a degree in Architecture from the University of Texas at Austin. She designed and constructed a 20-acre passive solar townhouse complex in Texas, then enrolled in UCLA’s Graduate Film School, where she completed her first animated/live action short. It won her a Nissan Focus Award and toured in the Landmark “Best of UCLA” film program.
AWARDS & NOMINATIONS
-Academy Awards (2004)
-Nomination for Holly Hunter – Best Actress in a Supporting Role
-Golden Globe Awards (2004)
-Nomination for Holly Hunter – Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
-Nomination for Evan Rachel Wood – Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
-National Board of Review, USA (2003)
-Won Special Recognition for Excellence in Filmmaking
-Sundance Film Festival (2003)
-Won Directing Award (Dramatic) for “Thirteen”
-Locarno International Film Festival (2003)
-Won Silver Leopard (Best First or Second Feature Film) for “Thirteen”
-Deauville Film Festival (2003)
-Won Jury Special Prize for “Thirteen”
-Independent Spirit Awards (2004)
-Won Best Debut Performance – Nikki Reed
-Nominated for Best First Screenplay
-Nominated for Best First Feature
-Nantucket Film Festival (2003)
-Won Screenwriting Award (Best Feature Screenplay) for “Thirteen” – Shared with Nikki Reed
-Bratislava International Film Festival (2003)
-Nominated for Grand Prix for “Thirteen”
-Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards (2003)
-Nominated for WAFCA Award – Best Original Screenplay for “Thirteen” (Shared with Nikki Reed)
-Director’s View Film Festival (2004)
-Won Dorothy Arzner Prize for “Thirteen”
-BAFTA Awards (2004)
-Nominated for Holly Hunter – Best Performance by Actress in a Supporting Role
-Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards (2004)
-Nomination for Holly Hunter for Critics Choice Award – Best Supporting Actress
-Nominations for Evan Rachel Wood for Critics Choice Award – Best Young Actor/Actress
-Chicago Film Critics Association Awards (2004)
-Nomination for Holly Hunter for CFCA Award – Best Supporting Actress
-Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards (2004)
-Nominated for PFCS Award – Best Original Screenplay “Thirteen” (Shared with Nikki Reed)
-Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards (2004)
-Won Sierra Award – Best Supporting Actress (Holly Hunter)
-Won Sierra Award – Youth in Film (Evan Rachel Wood)
-London Critics Circle Film Awards (2004)
-Nomination for Holly Hunter for ALFS Award – Actress of the Year
-Prism Awards
-Won Prism Award for Performance in Theatrical Feature Film (Evan Rachel Wood)
-Nomination for Prism Award for Best Theatrical Feature Film
-Screen Actors Guild Awards (2004)
-Nomination for Holly Hunter – Outstanding Performance for a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
-Nomination for Evan Rachel Wood – Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role.
-MTV Movie Awards (2004)
-Nomination for Evan Rachel Wood for MTV Movie Award – Breakthrough Female Performance
-Satellite Awards (2004)
-Nominated for Golden Satellite Award – Best Director for “Thirteen”
-Nominated for Golden Satellite Award – Best Original Screenplay for “Thirteen” (Shared with Nikki Reed)
-MovieGuide Awards (2007)
-Won Epiphany Prize for “The Nativity Story”
-Heartland Film Festival (2007)
-Won Truly Moving Sound Award – Truly Moving Picture
-Young Artist Awards (2007)
-Nomination for Keisha Castle-Hughes for Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress
-Other Venice Film Festival (2008)
-Won Maverick Abbot Award
-Elle Magazine Icon Award (2008)
-Texas Film Hall of Fame Awards (2009)
-Honored with Ann Richards Award
-MTV Movie Awards (2009)
-Won 6 Awards including Best Picture, Best Nominated for 7.
Young Hollywood Awards (2009)
-Honored with Young Hollywood “Dream Director” Award
-Women in Film Society (2009)
-Honored with “Dorothy Arzner Director’s Award”
Alan Silvers (2009) — New Business Development, Lowry Digital
Currently, Alan leads the New Business Development effort at Lowry Digital, focusing on Sales; Marketing & PR; Emerging technologies for motion picture capture, noise reduction and detail enhancement; and 3D. Alan assists early adopters of these technologies to establish workflows and processes to deliver the highest quality images to the theater, on Blu-ray, and for broadcast.
Dr. Eric Haseltine (2009) — President and Managing Partner, Haseltine Partners LLC
He is an expert on managing innovation processes, with especially deep experience the defense and entertainment industries—for Hughes Aircraft, designing virtual reality technology for flight simulation; then for Disney Imagineering as head of R&D; and ultimately, as ‘CTO’ for the U. S. intelligence community.
Eric applies neuroscience to new technologies, using how the human brain naturally wants to interact with technology to improve performance.IP. Eric is also a leading authority on managing digital rights and protecting intellectual property.
Eric Haseltine is President and ManagingPartner, Haseltine Partners LLC. He was Director of Research at the National Security Agency and then ‘CTO’ for the entire U.S. intelligence community under the Director of National Intelligence.
Before entering government service in 2001, Eric was Executive Vice President of Walt Disney Imagineering, in charge of all R&D for Walt Disney Company, and director of engineering for Hughes Aircraft.
Eric has 15 patents in optics, special effects and electronic media, and more than 100 publications in science and technical journals, the web, and Discover magazine.
Dennis Hoffman (2009) — Senior Vice President and General Manager - CIS Vancouver
Prior to CIS Vancouver, Hoffman, a 20-year production veteran, served as Vice President/Head of Production at Digital Domain where he was responsible for the management of the visual effects feature division including oversight of all visual effects projects. During his tenure there, Digital Domain’s credits included Flags of Our Fathers (winner of the 2006 VES Award for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Motion Picture), Letters from Iwo Jima and My Super Ex-Girl Friend, as well as the strategic planning, budgeting, client relations and management of all feature film related departments.
Hoffman began his career in 1988 in the commercial world at Image G, where as Executive Producer he was responsible for the day-to-day operations of the full service commercial company.
In 1990, Hoffman joined Dream Quest Images as a Visual Effects Producer and over a tenure of nine years moved up the ranks to become Vice President/Executive Producer overseeing such films as visual effects Oscar® nominees Mighty Joe Young and Armageddon. Other feature film projects included The Rock, Honey We Shrunk Ourselves, Crimson Tide, Kundun, Hero and Final Analysis. Television projects included Earth 2 which won the Emmy for Best Visual Effects, and theme park based projects included Space Shuttle America for Six Flags, StarQuest for Landmark Entertainment/Taejon Expo, Korea and Asteroid Adventure for IMAX/Phantasialand, Bruhl, Germany.
From 1998-2002, Hoffman served as Vice President/Head of Production at Cinesite, a Kodak company, where he was responsible for the management of the visual effects division including oversight of all visual effects projects and strategic planning. Hoffman was responsible for the management and oversight of the art department, pre-visualization, 3-D, character animation, paint, digital compositing, rotoscope, 3-D and 2-D tracking and data management departments. Projects included Clockstoppers, Ali, U571, Red Planet, 13 Days, Mothman, Rush Hour 2 and Road to Perdition.
Subsequent to that, Hoffman was General Manager/Producer at BWFX where projects included Bulletproof Monk, Out of Time, Legally Blonde 2 and Pirates of the Caribbean. Hoffman was then recruited by Electronic Arts to join their Vancouver facility as Senior Development Director, where he was responsible for the centralized artist groups and production of the visual content for 16 of the 25 game titles of EA Canada.
In 2008, Hoffman received a VES Award for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Motion Picture for Changeling. He is a current VES Board Member.
Colin Brown (2009) — British Film Commissioner, UK Film Council
Colin Brown took up the role of British Film Commissioner at the UK Film Council in February 2007. He is responsible for feature film inward investment into the UK and for promoting the UK as a filming hub for international filmmakers.
Before taking up the role of British Film Commissioner, Colin was a Board Member of the UK Film Council, which was founded by the government in 2000 with the objective of helping to create a sustainable UK Film Industry and to develop film culture by improving access to, and education about, the moving image.
He spent more than a decade at leading post-production house Cinesite (Europe) Ltd after founding the company in 1994. Under his guidance, Cinesite grew to become one of the largest and most prolific visual effects houses in Europe. Between 1999 and 2002, Brown oversaw the Hollywood side of the business, Cinesite Inc. Running a major US based operation for three years gave Brown a clear business understanding of the politics and mechanics of film-making, from inside the international heart of the industry. In 2002, Brown became Chairman of Cinesite’s wide range of services and business interests.
Brown has a wealth of experience in the European production, post-production, transmission and animation markets, including serving as Managing Director of European Television Network Group, Managing Director of Molinare Ltd., and 1986 to 1989 as the Executive Vice President of Rank Cintel Inc., in New York.
Richard Hollander (2009) — Producer, Pixar Animation Studios
Fred Chandler (2009) — Executive VP Post Production, 20th Century Fox
At Twentieth Century Fox in the mid 90s initiated film preservation with the films Diary Of Anne Frank and The Power and The Glory. The Power and The Glory was Preston Sturges debut as a screenplay writer. Twentieth Century Fox has since established a film preservation program and department.
1993 Saved the lost Orson Welles movie, It’s All True. Produced a short of It’s
All True revealing the truth behind the myth and legend of Welles’ Hollywood downfall. The short was accepted at all major film festivals and premiered at the Venice International Film Festival and the New York Film Festival.
1987-1995 Vice President of Theatrical Post Production, Paramount Pictures Corp.
At Paramount Pictures initiated film preservation. Also, initiated a new printing technique to convert Vista Vision negatives to standard negatives for Home Video release. Restored to its original length, the 1927 silent movie, Wings. Restored Sergio Leone’s 1968 movie, Once Upon A Time In The West, to its original director’s version. Under tenure at Paramount more than 300 vista vision and standard shot movies were preserved including Shane, Sunset Boulevard, Stalag 17 and White Christmas.
1980-1985 Worked with Orson Welles on the films, The Dreamers, The Other Side of the Wind, and The Trial. These are all films directed by Orson Welles and are considered unseen cinema. Worked in the preservation of his films in his post archives.
Awards In 1967 was among the first seven fellowship members of the American Film Institute.
Produced and directed “The Lottery” which won the 1970 New York Film Festival for Best Short.
In 1972, Produced and directed a theatrical short, “Black Mass”, which won first prize at the Washington, D.C. National Education Association Film Festival.
In 1973, wrote, directed and produced a short on Robert Louis Stevenson for NAT (National Public Broadcasting) called “Seas of Cheerful Courage”.
Was awarded the National Endowment for the Humanities grant for feature screenplay writing of “The Newburgh Conspiracy” in 1974.
Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and Writers Guild of America
He is an accomplished poet and has been published 15 times since 2007.
Marc Weigert (2009) — Producer and Visual Effects Supervisor, CEO of Uncharted Territory, LLC
Marc is the CEO of production company Uncharted Territory, LLC, founded in 1999 with business partner Volker Engel (academy award winner for visual effects on “Independence Day”). Uncharted Territory produced the feature film “Coronado” in 2001 and co-produced the mini-series “Dark Kingdom” for sci-fi channel and the mini-series “The Triangle” with Bryan Singer and Dean Devlin. Marc received an EMMY-award in 2006 for “The Triangle”.
In between producing feature and TV films, Uncharted Territory also provided visual effects services for “The day after tomorrow” (2004) and the “Intermedia”-title for “Terminator 3” (2003).
Weigert also served as visual effects producer and supervisor on a multitude of commercials and the ride film for Universal Studios Florida Harry PotterIsland of Adventure.
Before Uncharted Territory, Marc Weigert was CEO for visual effects company Dreamscape Imagery Inc. Opened in 1995, their credits include “Independence Day”, “Muppets From Space”, “Flubber”, “The Drew Carey Show” and many European movies and series.
As the VFX Project Manager for “Independence Day”, Weigert created “Digital Assistant for Visual Effects”, a project management software program to manage, schedule and track the shooting and post production of thousands of VFX elements. His software has subsequently been sold to several major studios, including 20th century fox, the Walt Disney company and Sony Pictures. It has been used on many feature films including “Stuart Little”, “Alien: Resurrection”, “Flubber”, “Volcano”, “Godzilla”, “Wing Commander”, “Monkeybone”, and “X-Men”, as well as on TV movies and series.
Weigert has lectured at seminars for the Producer’s Guild of America and European Digital Arts Media, and he conducted the Visual Effects Master Class “Action with Effects” for producers and directors sponsored by the European Film Academy. He has also taught visual effects classes at The Art Institute of Los Angeles and was speaker at the iHollywood Forum in Los Angeles.
Marc Weigert is a member of the Visual Effects Society and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences.
Terry Clotiaux (2009) — Senior Vice President / COO, Visual Effects Worldwide for Prime Focus Group, and Senior Executive Producer for North America
Graduated B.A. Trinity University, San Antonio, Texas. Theater major. Graduate work at the Dallas Theater Center.
Early production experience in commercial production and a sales marketing program designed to provide TV commercial production kits to client’s local dealers and distributors.
Moved to Los Angeles in 1976, working the next ten years primarily with Robert Guenette Productions, a TV production company specializing in after school specials, MOW’s, network specials and documentaries that became the early versions of “reality television”. Producer and Production Executive credits with Guenette include: “Indiana Jones: Heroes and Sidekicks”, “SPFX: The Empire Strikes Back”, “Revenge of the Jedi: Classic Creatures”.
Left Guenette to work with Doug Trumball at Showscan Company, a special process medium applied mainly to special venue outlets. Was a part of the producing team on three shorts for Showscan, working with legendary film directors Ronald Neame, Richard Fleischer and cinematographer Jack Cardiff.
Moved from Showscan to its VFX facility, The Chandler Group in 1989, worked there for six years, becoming its Executive Producer. Credits at Chandler include: “The Shadow”, Batman Returns”, “Cabin Boy”, Batman Forever”, “Honey, I Blew Up the Kid”, Nightmare on Elm Street VI”, Muppet Vision 3-D” and numerous commercials and trailer projects.
Moved into VFX at that auspicious moment when work was going digital and effects were becoming larger and bigger parts of feature budgets. Left Chandler to take on VFX Producer job on “Independence Day” which won the 1997 Academy Award for Outstanding VFX.
In addition to various participations in “Volcano”, “Devil’s Advocate” and “Nutty Professor II”, VFX Producer credits since ID4 are Roland Emmerich’s “Godzilla”, Henry Sellick’s “Monkeybone”, the Wachowski Brothers’ “Matrix Reloaded’, “Matrix Revolution”, and Oliver Stone’s “Alexander”.
Joined the Sony ImageWorks team as Senior VFX Producer for Sam Rami’s “Spiderman III”. Just completed a year as Executive Producer for Digital Domain.
Randy Lake (2009) — Executive Vice President and General Manager, Sony Pictures Imageworks
Lake joined Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) in 2006 as vice president and later senior vice president of corporate development for SPE, with the specific charter of supporting Sony Pictures Digital Productions’ strategy and finance. In that capacity, Lake played a major role in the acquisition of what is now Imageworks India and in the development of the strategic plan for Imageworks and Sony Pictures Animation. In addition, Lake was part of the team responsible for creating the overall three-year medium range plan for Sony Pictures Entertainment, as well as providing leadership on various corporate initiatives.
“Since arriving at SPE, Randy has consistently demonstrated a broad and creative business view, tireless work ethic and an intuitive sense of the organization that will serve him well as he transitions to an operating role,” said John Calkins, executive vice president, corporate development for Sony Pictures Entertainment. Lake previously served as a strategy consultant to the entertainment, media, and technology industries for Booz Allen in New York, London, and San Francisco. While at Booz Allen, Lake served as a consultant specializing in growth strategy development for a variety of global media and technology clients.
Richard Pearson (2009) — Editor
Other editing credits include the motion picture adaptation of the groundbreaking Broadway musical “Rent”; the dark ensemble comedy “A Little Trip to Heaven”; and, with Christopher Rouse, the international hit “The Bourne Supremacy.” Pearson also edited the jungle-set action-adventure “The Rundown,” starring Dwayne Johnson and Seann William Scott, and, with Steven Weisberg, the hit sequel “Men in Black II.” Additional credits include “The Score,” “Drowning Mona,” “Bowfinger” and “Muppets from Space.”
Pearson earned both an Emmy Award nomination and an Eddie Award nomination for his work on the 1998 miniseries “From the Earth to the Moon.” He has also edited numerous television shows, music videos and commercials for various directors including Antoine Fuqua, Michael Bay, and Spike Jonze.
Jeffrey A. Okun (2009, 2013) — Visual Effects Supervisor / Chair - VES
Okun, known for creating ‘organic’ and invisible effects, as well as spectacular ‘tent-pole’ visual effects that blend seamlessly into the storytelling aspect of the project, has won the VES AWARD for OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS for his work on THE LAST SAMURAI. He has been nominated for 2 other VES Awards as well as numerous other awards. “I feel that the job of visual effects is to serve the story above all else. The art and technology of visual effects is only one color in the palette available.”
Jeff has also delivered wide-ranging effects in award winning films such as BLOOD DIAMOND, STARGATE, SPHERE, RED PLANET, DEEP BLUE SEA, LOLITA, and THE LAST STARFIGHTER. Additionally he oversaw the rush 3D conversion of CLASH OF THE TITIANs for Warner. (For a full list of credits please refer to his CV.)
Okun, Chair of the Visual Effects Society for his 6th year, has taken the organization global. In addition to creating a global community he has focused attention on bringing creating business and creative education to artists, facilities and studios. Jeff was a driving force in the creation of the VES 2.0 initiative, which brought together studios, facilities and artists to explore new business models, pipelines and technologies. Under Okun’s leadership the VES was a key player in the creation of a worldwide software anti-pirating alliance with the US Government to insure that all facilities have a fair and level playing field from which to bid. The Visual Effects Society is the entertainment industry’s only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners including artists, technologists, model makers, educators, studio leaders, supervisors, PR/marketing specialists and producers in all areas of entertainment from film, television and commercials to music videos and games.
Okun also created and co-edited the VES HANDBOOK OF VISUAL EFFECTS – A 980 page reference book covering all aspects of creating visual effects, techniques and practices. The book won the PROSE award in 2011.
Okun created the visual effects tracking and bidding software that is in wide use within the industry today, as well as the revolutionary visual effects techniques dubbed the “PeriWinkle Effect” (an underwater blue screen technique) and the “Pencil Effect” (accurately predicts the final visual effects count and budget).
Jeff is a respected member of the Visual Effects Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (currently serving on the VFX steering committee), British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA), the Academy of Television Arts and Science, and an associate member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC).
David S. Cohen (2009,2010,2011) — Reporter / Features Editor, Variety
Chris de Faria (2009,2011,2013) — Pres, Digital Prod, Animation and VFX Warner Bros. Pictures
He also served as an executive producer on Alfonso Cuaron’s, Gravity”, Snyder’s animated adventure “Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole” and action fantasy “Sucker Punch,” as well as George Miller’s “Happy Feet Two.”
Spearheading the studio’s expanding efforts in innovative animation and hybrid filmmaking, deFaria was instrumental in the production of “300,” “Corpse Bride” and “Happy Feet.” At Warner Bros., he has also been involved in such film productions as the “Dark Knight” trilogy, “Where the Wild Things Are,” “Watchmen,” “Clash of the Titans,” and “The Matrix” trilogy. Prior to that, deFaria produced the hit “Cats & Dogs” and the combination animation/live action comedy “Looney Tunes: Back in Action.”
He is the recipient of three regional Emmy Awards and two NATPE Iris awards. His extensive television credits include numerous documentaries, primetime specials and longform projects, including, as producer, “In Concert Against AIDS,” NBC’s “And Then She Was Gone” and Universal’s “Tremors II.” A graduate of UCLA, deFaria is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Shane Mahan (2010) — Co-Owner, Legacy Effects / VFX Supervisor
Shane moved to California during the effects boom of the early 1980’s. Shortly after school, he began working at various effects studios around Hollywood, eventually landing on the steps of Stan Winston Studio. Shane’s first film for SWS was James Cameron’s classic The Terminator, where he served as Key Sculptor. Thus began his relationships with some of Hollywood’s A-list filmmakers, as he devoted his talents to the long list of projects he created, coordinated, or supervised effects for, including such classics as Aliens, Predator, Edward Scissorhands, Jurassic Park, and Big Fish.
In 2001, Shane’s diverse talents and skills earned him the title of Co-Producer on HBO’s Creature Features, where he not only designed and coordinated the effects, but also lent his experience and vast knowledge of classic horror films to produce and enhance the series. Having worked with Stan Winston for over two decades, it seemed fitting that Shane, along with John Rosengrant, Lindsay Macgowan and Alan Scott, would carry the torch of practical/makeup effects to lead them into the next generation of filmmaking by founding Legacy Effects in 2008. With inherent aptitude, Shane pursues each project with a commitment to artistic excellence and enthusiasm unrivaled in the industry. Having wrapped up work on Jon Favreau’s Iron Man 2, Shane and Legacy were immediately involved in another epic adventure for Marvel, Thor, from director Kenneth Branagh. Concurrently, he’s back in the saddle with Jon Favreau for Dreamworks’ Cowboys and Aliens, set for release in summer of 2011.
Wally Pfister, ASC (2010) — Cinematographer / Director
Wally Pfister began his career as a television news cameraman in Washington, DC covering Capitol Hill, the White House and local news. He moved to Los Angeles in the late 1980’s while working as a camera operator for Robert Altman to further a career in feature filmmaking. After attending AFI’s Cinematography program, he quickly moved forward and became one of the top camera operators in Hollywood. Pfister’s ascent as a Director of Photography began when he shot Christopher Nolan’s “Memento” in 1999. That work earned him a Spirit award nomination for Cinematography. Since then, he has joined the ranks of the top Hollywood Cinematographers, earning 3 academy award nominations for his work. The first came for 2005’s “Batman Begins,” The following year, he was Oscar-nominated for his cinematography work on “The Prestige,” and in 2009, for Christopher Nolan’s
Select Filmography:
The Hi-Line 1999
Memento 2000
Insomnia 2001
Laurel Canyon 2002
The Italian Job 2003
Batman Begins 2005 *Nominated for Academy Award
The Prestige 2006 *Nominated for Academy Award
The Dark Knight 2008 *Nominated for Academy Award
Inception 2010
Bill Mechanic (2010) — Producer and CEO, Pandemonium Films
During Mechanic’s tenure at Fox, Mechanic revitalized the comic book genre with X MEN, the first successful adaptation in nearly a decade. Under his reign, the company produced such hit films as Cast Away, Titanic, Independence Day, Entrapment, Big Momma’s House, What Lies Beneath, Men Of Honor, Never Been Kissed, There’s Something About Mary, Star Wars Trilogy Special Edition, Braveheart, Boys Don’t Cry, Quills, Mrs. Doubtfire, Speed, True Lies, Die Hard With A Vengeance, The Full Monty, Dr. Dolittle, The X-Files, Me Myself And Irene, The Thin Red Line, Ever After, William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, Broken Arrow, Courage Under Fire, Soul Food, Anastasia and Waiting To Exhale.
Twentieth Century Fox also released Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace, the new chapter in George Lucas’ epic saga, in 1999. Greenlit by Mechanic, but released after his departure from Fox, were Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge, Tim Burton’s reinterpretation of Planet Of The Apes, and Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report, starring Tom Cruise, as well as sequels to the franchise projects Mechanic had greenlit, most notably the X-Men franchise.
Under Mechanic, Twentieth Century Fox in 1998 was the number one studio in worldwide box-office gross. That same year, Fox Music produced five of the top ten selling soundtracks: Titanic, Hope Floats, Doctor Dolittle, Bulworth, and Ally McBeal. In addition, Fox has produced six of the top ten grossing movies of all time, and six of the top ten selling live action videos – both domestically and internationally – including the best selling video in history, Titanic. For three years of Mechanic’s tenure, Fox produced the number one grossing movies worldwide with Die Hard With A Vengeance, Independence Day and Titanic, shared the Best Picture Oscar for two years (Braveheart and Titanic), and won the Best Actress Award for Boys Don’t Cry. In all, Fox earned 42 Oscar nominations and 2 Best Picture Oscars under Mechanic’s tenure.
Matt Plec (2010) — Product Designer, Nuke
Jeff Miller (2010) — President, Worldwide Post Production and Operations, The Walt Disney Studios
A 27 year Disney veteran, Jeff has held varied positions during his tenure including: Treasurer, Buena Vista Distribution; Vice President, Manufacturing, Walt Disney Pictures and Television; and Senior Vice President, Character Voices and International Dubbing Production. Today, Jeff oversees Post Production, Worldwide Technical Services, Disney Character Voices International, Buena Vista Post Production Services and Studio Operations Media Asset Management Services Administration.
Jeff’s most recent accomplishments are the design and implementation of The Walt Disney Studios’ Operations structure, from post production through worldwide release across all markets and territories. This includes the timely finishing and worldwide delivery of all live action and animated films and DVDs as well as key vendor strategies and negotiations across the Studio’s supply chain.
Jeff is also a key advisor guiding the Studio’s strategy for transitioning to a secure digital workflow for Post Production. Most recently, Jeff negotiated the industry precedent setting deal to launch the deployment of digital cinema in approximately 5000 screens. As a founder of Disney Character Voices International, Jeff pioneered Disney’s methodology enabling the day and date worldwide release of films and video product. Today, many of Disney’s tent pole titles such as Alice in Wonderland release day and date in over 40 countries using the process, organization and technology established by Jeff’s worldwide post team.
Jeff received his B.S. from Villanova University, and previously worked for Warner Bros., Inc. Jeff is also a member of the Board of Trustees for the Providence Saint Joseph Foundation.
Cliff Plumer (2010) — CEO, Digital Domain
Jon Ferguy (2010) — Co-Owner, Sohonet
Prior to joining Sohonet in 1999, Jon worked as a systems engineer at Framestore in London, where he designed many of the production systems employed on projects such as Walking With Dinosaurs and Lost in Space, with networking security a particular specialism.
Before Framestore, he freelanced for leading facilities and TV broadcasters, working with digital and analogue video techniques, telecine, film scanning and recording, online and offline editing, the Quantel product line including Domino, and Discreet Logic products including Flame and Inferno. Jon’s has a BSc in Physics(from the University of Southampton), where he was president of the student film society, leading to chairmanship of the British Federation of Film Societies Student Group.
Michael Fink (2010) — President, Visual Effects Worldwide, Prime Focus Ltd.
Michael began working in film on “China Syndrome” in 1977. He “cut his eye teeth” on films such as “Star Trek the Motion Picture” and “Bladerunner” before becoming a Visual Effects Supervisor on “WarGames”, in 1982. He has since worked on over 45 films, including “Buckaroo Banzai”, “Project X”, “The Seventh Sign”, “Batman Returns”, “Braveheart”, “Mars Attacks!”, “X-Men”, “X-Men 2”, “Constantine”, “The Golden Compass”, and “Tropic Thunder”.
In 2008, Michael received an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, and a BAFTA Award for Best Special Visual Effects for the film “The Golden Compass”.
More recently, Michael joined Prime Focus, Ltd., as CEO, Senior Visual Effects Supervisor. During his tenure at Prime Focus, Michael has overseen visual effects for films such as “G.I. Joe”, “New Moon”, “Avatar”, and some new films yet to bementionable.
In addition, Michael is on the Executive Committee of the Visual Effects Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and is a founding member, board member, and former Vice-Chairman of the Visual Effects Society.
Michael, his wife Melissa Bachrach, and their son, Alex, live in Los Angeles with their dog, Comet.
Ron Prince (2010) — Editor, British Cinematographer / Managing Director, Prince PR
Jenny Fulle (2010) — Founder and Visual Effects Producer, The Creative-Cartel
With this knowledge and experience, Fulle recently founded The Creative-Cartel, Inc., a Los Angeles based Production Company specializing in the assembly of teams tailored specifically for the visual effects and animation needs of individual productions. Under her guidance, the company is currently overseeing production of the visual effects and 3D conversion of Screen Gem’s film Priest. Produced by Michael DeLuca and Josh Donen, Priest is Screen Gems largest film to date and has over 750 visual effects shots. Fulle’s company is overseeing all 10 facilities working on this project.
Before forming The Creative-Cartel, Fulle worked as Executive Vice President of Production/Executive Producer for Sony Pictures Imageworks. Fulle spent 11 years overseeing and managing day to day production as well as strategic planning and Business Development for Imageworks, which during her tenure, went from a company of 300 to over 1200 employees. Additionally, Fulle oversaw the set up of a pipeline that would successfully manage both animated and live action visual effects films within one facility – a first in the industry. Under Fulle’s leadership, Imageworks began exploring the Indian market of visual effects and animation. The result was Imageworks India; a partnership between FrameFlow, India and Sony. She served on the board of that joint venture until she left the company.
While at Imageworks, Fulle managed digital production on Sony Pictures Animation’s, Academy Award® nominated film Surf’s Up, Academy Award® nominated The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion Witch and the Wardrobe, Academy Award® winning Spider-Man 2, Academy Award® and BAFTA nominated Spider-Man, as well as Imageworks’ first animated short film and Oscar® winner for Best Animated Short Film in 2002, The Chubb-Chubbs. Some of Fulle’s other Imageworks credits include Open Season, Charlie’s Angels, Bad Boys 2, The Martrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolutions, I Am Legend, Stuart Little, The Aviator, Hancock and Ghost Rider.
Before joining Sony Pictures Imageworks, Fulle was visual effects producer at DreamWorks SKG on Gore Verbinski’s first feature film Mousehunt. She also worked as a visual effects production executive for Disney’s feature department.
Fulle has also served as head of production for Warner Digital Studio where she produced the visual effects for the feature film Eraser, a visual effects producer at Digital Domain on the feature film Apollo 13, and a visual effects producer on the feature film True Lies for Boss Film Studio.
Fulle first produced visual effects in 1992, on the feature film Batman Returns, while working at 4Ward Productions. Before producing visual effects, Fulle worked at Dream Quest Images on the film Total Recall.
Fulle began her career in visual effects at age 18 as a janitor for George Lucas’ Industrial Light & Magic. She rose through the ranks of entry-level positions, eventually becoming visual effects production assistant on Star Trek; The Voyage Home. While working and learning visual effects at ILM, Fulle worked on many projects, including the Academy Award® winning and nominated films Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Innerspace, Back to the Future III and Ghost.
Fulle was born in San Francisco and raised in Marin County. Her earliest national accomplishment was at age 11 when, after a lengthy court battle with N.O.W. and the A.C.L.U. by her side, she won the right for girls to play Little League baseball and was the first girl in the United States to actually play. She led her league in homeruns that year.
Seth Rosenthal (2010) — President, Tweak Software
Seth joined Tweak after more than 6 years at Industrial Light and Magic where he supervised a team that made a number of interesting contributions to visual effects film-making. He supervised projects including:
- Motion capture (The Day After Tomorrow, Star Wars episodes I and II, The Mummy),
- Real-time virtual set integration with first unit photography (Artificial Intelligence: AI),
- Multi-camera photography for 3D reconstruction of actors and performances (Lemony Snicket, Minority Report, Pearl Harbor), and
- Photogrammetric set reconstruction and high dynamic range photography (Hulk).
Seth co-invented ILM’s patented facial motion capture process and supervised facial capture on the then secret Brother Termite test. He also supervised facial capture for ongoing internal development including the Hugo test and the Marianne test which demonstrated that high-resolution facial motion capture could be recovered using hand held cameras on a freely moving actor. Many of the techniques and procedures that Seth helped create have become a standard part of ILM’s pipeline for creating digital doubles, measuring scenes and sets for geometry and lighting, and image-based motion capture and match-animation.
Dan Germain (2010) — WW Strategic Business Dev., DVS Digital Video Inc.
With over 25 years of experience in the professional video industry, DVS continues to develop revolutionary systems for customized, flexible, high-performance workflows. DVS’s intention is to provide its clients with future-proof technologies while setting standards for the professional video market.
Last year DVS was honored with winning the Hollywood Post Alliance’s Engineering Excellence Award and at the BANFF World Television Festival, DVS received the 2009 Deluxe Outstanding Technical Achievement Award.
With its DI systems, DVS was the first company in the world to make real-time 4K processing possible.
Headquartered in Hanover (Germany) and Los Angeles (California), DVS also has branch offices in Miami (Florida), Paris (France), Warsaw (Poland), and Singapore.
Carolyn Giardina (2010) — Media and Entertainment Journalist
William Sargent (2010) — Chief Executive and Co-Founder of Framestore
The company has created digital images (visual effects, animation and filmgrading) for major Hollywood studios, UK and US broadcasters and international advertising agencies. The company has won most major creative awards internationally including the Academy Award (Oscar), British Academy (Bafta), US Television Academy (Primetime Emmy), Royal Television Society and many more. Today the company employs over 600 staff (artists, computer scientists, producers and mathematicians) in offices in Soho London, SoHo New York and Reykjavik.
William is a Fellow, Royal Society for the Arts, a non executive Board director of HM Treasury, and was knighted in the Queen’s 2008 Birthday List.
For company credits see, www.framestore.com
Michael Bravin (2010) — Vice President of Market Development for ARRI, Inc.
Prior to his position with ARRI Michael was CTO at Band Pro Film & Digital from 1994-2009. At Band Pro he was responsible for their pioneering efforts in the 90’s to bring electronic tools and workflows to the film community. He worked closely with Sony and Zeiss to develop electronic cameras and high performance lenses to meet the demands of the motion picture film, television and commercial markets.
Prior to his tenure at Band Pro, Michael worked with Abekas Video Systems, a company that made some of the first digital post and production tools in the transition from analog to digital production. He also was with California Communications, Inc, and early in his career he worked for NBC Sports in live sports television production.
Michael was a founding member of the Santa Fe High Definition Workshops in 2000. The SFHD Workshops trained cinematographers, camera operators, DIT’s and producers in the methods and practices of digital cinematography. With workshops in Asia, Europe, Latin America, Canada and the US, the SFHD Workshops prepared the market for the coming transition to digital electronic cinematography.
Michael has a broad technical background in production and post production which he brings to bear in his educational and support activities. He has a reputation for making complicated technical and engineering principles simple and straightforward for production creatives.
He is an Associate member of the ASC, SMPTE, and The Digital Cinema Society.
Lynwen Brennan (2010) — President / General Manager, ILM / Skywalker Sound
Lynwen joined Industrial Light & Magic in 1999 and has since held positions of increasing responsibility and scope. Prior to being promoted to her current position in early 2010, Brennan held the title of Executive in Charge of Production at ILM, a position she held for 4 years. In this role, Lynwen oversaw all of the artistic and production talent at ILM and was responsible for ensuring that productions were efficiently staffed for on-time, on-budget delivery. She played a driving role in the company’s overall portfolio management and was a key member of ILM’s executive staff.
Before coming to Lucasfilm, Lynwen had 10 years of experience in visual effects software development. She began her career as an original member of Parallax Software Ltd. where she held a variety of roles from support to sales. In 2005 Parallax was sold to Avid Technology and Lynwen was a key member of the transition team. She spent 2 years with Avid as a marketing manager before joining Alias Wavefront as a Product Manager focusing on strategic business development and product management.
Lynwen holds a BS from the University of London.
Eric Brevig (2010) — Director
Prior to helming Journey, Brevig served as second unit director and visual effects supervisor on over 25 films, including Men in Black, Pearl Harbor and The Island.
An expert in 3D filmmaking, he has overseen the photography and visual effects for Magic Journeys, Captain Eo and Honey I Shrunk the Audience- all created for continuing exhibition at Disney theme parks around the world.
Brevig was awarded a Special Achievement in Visual Effects Academy Award for his ground-breaking work on Total Recall.
Olcun Tan (2010) — Co-Founder / Head of R&D Gradient Effects
He is the architect of Gradient’s GLoW software and workflow. Developed first as an in-house tool, GLoW’s next generation meta-data toolset has matured into a commercially available service. Mr. Tan was previously the lead effects developer at Dreamworks Animation, Earlier, he innovated new VFX software at The Mill and Moving Picture Company in London, on films including several “Harry Potter” installments.
Olcun began to demonstrate his technical prowess early in his career, making impactful industry contributions while working at leading Europe-based visual effects houses including Millfilm and London`s Moving Picture Company. At MillFilm, he was the lead software developer on global blockbusters like Black Hawk Down and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. His Research and Development on Lara Croft: Tomb Raider resulted in advancements in rigid body simulation. Black Hawk Down on which Olcun served as CG location supervisor–earned industry wide praise in particular for its realistic Black Hawk crash sequence. Other Contributions include the development of a fast and stable computational fluid dynamics system in cooperation with Flow Analysis, which was used in Blockbusters such as “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer`s Stone” and “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”. Next, he was recruited to serve as lead effects developer at Dreamworks Animation. For Over the Hedge, Olcun developed a foliage system, which today remains a key feature in the DWA pipeline. It has been used on subsequent releases including the hit Kung Fu Panda. In 2006 a Siggraph Sketch detailed his work. He co-founded Gradient Effects to combine visual effects supervision and artistry with cutting-edge R&D typically available only at much larger studios.
Dr. Rich Terrile (2010) — NASA/JPL Astronomer and Evolutionary Computation Designer
Dr. Terrile is a private pilot, a SCUBA and ski instructor, a rock climber and caver, and was an astronaut candidate. He has interests in fiction writing, photography, cinematography and movies, and works as a technical advisor on several major motion pictures, including work with Academy Award winning directors James Cameron and Steven Soderbergh. Dr. Terrile was featured in several science shows and has been a regular performer at the Ice House and the Comedy Store in the “Improv Inferno” improvisation group.
Terrile Science and Technical Consulting (www.terrile.com;rich@terrile.com): Dr. Rich Terrile offers science and technical consulting services for motion picture, movies, television, corporate and financial customers. A summary of his consulting work and customers is listed below:
Terrile Science and Technical Consulting Customers:
Motion Pictures:
Technical Advisor 2010: The Year We Made Contact
Peter Hymas – Director
MGM
Status – Released 1984
Technical Advisor, Actor Solar Crisis
Richard Sarafian – Director
Japan America Picture Company
Status – Released 1990
Technical Advisor Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
David Mostaw – Director
C-2 Pictures
Status – Released 2003
Technical Advisor Solaris
Stephen Soderberg – Director
Twentieth Centrury Fox/Lightstorm Entertainment
Status – Released 2002
Technical Advisor The Core
John Amiel – Director
Paramount Pictures
Status – Released 2003
Technical Advisor When Worlds Collide
Stephen Sommers – Director
Stephen Spielberg – Producer
Dreamworks SKG/Paramount Pictures
Status – Preproduction
Technical Advisor Bright Angel Falling
James Cameron – Writer, Producer
Lightstorm Entertainment
Status – Preproduction
Technical Advisor Journey to the Center of the Earth
Kathleen Kennedy – Producer
Disney
Status – Preproduction
Script Advisor Sinbad
John Singelton – Director
Tedi Sarafian – Writer
Columbia Pictures
Status – Development
Script Advisor Creature From the Black Lagoon
Gary Ross– Director
Tedi Sarafian – Writer
Universal Pictures
Status – Development
Technical Advisor Rendezvous with Rama
Lori McCready – Producer
Revelations Entertainment
Status – Preproduction
Television:
Science Advisor Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman
Discovery Science Channel
Revelations Entertainment
Morgan Freeman, Lori McCready – Producers
Status – Released 2010
Appearance Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman
“Is There A Creator?”
Discovery Science Channel
Revelations Entertainment
Morgan Freeman, Lori McCready – Producers
Status – Released 2010
Writer Though Spots
ClickStar Entertainment
Morgan Freeman, Lori McCready – Producers
Status – Released 2006
Appearance Destination Mars
Michael Lennick – Director, Producer
Foolish Earthling Productions
Status – Released 2007
Appearance Universe 2001 – Beyond the Millennium: Planets
Pioneer Productions
Discovery Network
Status – Released 1999
Appearance The Astronomers – Prospecting for Planets
PBS – KCET Los Angeles
Status – Released 1991
Host Neptune All Night
PBS – KCET Los Angeles
Status – Released 1989
Technical Advisor Pioneer
Jon and Josh Pate – Writers
Imagine Entertainment
Status – Development
Numerous Appearances 49 Worlds and Counting
Newton’s Apple – Voyager
Kid’s View – Science Show
Discovery Channel
PBS – WGBS Nova
BBC Television
NHK Television
KABC-TV Los Angeles
Status – Released 1990 – 2007
Corporate:
Technical Consultant Activision
Development of intellectual property
Technical Consultant Fortune 500 Corporations (subject to non-disclosure)
Discretionary work using stochastic optimization techniques to improve corporate operations.
Financial:
Intellectual Property Uhlmann Financial Group
Consultant Mathematical and technical consulting for the
development of new mortgage instruments.
Jonas Thaler (2010) — SrVP Post Production, Anschutz Film Group/Walden Media
Mark Jaszberenyi (2010) — Founder, Colorfront
Ed Jones (2010) — Chief Executive Officer, Reel FX Creative Studios
Ed has received the industry’s highest accolades including an Academy Award® as Executive Producer on Happy Feet (2006), an Academy Award® and BAFTA award for Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (1988), a BAFTA award for The Witches of Eastwick (1987), and an Annie Technical Achievement award for Space Jam (1996). Additionally, the Cineon compositing software he codeveloped at Cinesite was awarded a Scientific Achievement Academy Award®. He is also a notable speaker and has spoken about the creative process, content and technology in many countries around the world.
Jones began his career with Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) when there were only 40 employees. He spent almost 13 years there in creative and management roles, breaking ground with accomplishments such as the 2 1/2D look for Who Framed Roger Rabbit where he was responsible for all the optical photography, and for which he won an Academy Award®. ILM also relied on Jones to lead the charge on the digital technology front and lay the foundation for the company’s expansion into the digital era. At ILM, Jones contributed to over 90 films including blockbusters Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, ET: The Extra Terrestrial, Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, Ghostbusters I &II, Ghost, Terminator 2: Judgment Day and the Indiana Jones trilogy.
From ILM, Jones was brought on as CEO/President and Senior Visual Effects Supervisor at Cinesite in 1992, which he founded for the Eastman Kodak Company. He was also responsible for launching Cinesite’s facilities in Hollywood and London. It was there that he co-developed the Cineon compositing software that went on to receive a Scientific Achievement Academy Award. Jones led Cinesite for four years until 1996, leaving to continue his career as a sought-after VFX
Supervisor.
Over the next few years, Ed worked in lead VFX roles with studio giants DreamWorks Animation, Paramount Pictures and Warner Brothers on multiple films including Hard Rain, Soldier, Almost Famous, and Cats and Dogs.
In 2001, Warner Brothers chose Jones to build and run ESC Entertainment, an AOL/Time Warner subsidiary which was the primary studio responsible for Matrix Reloaded and Revolutions, Catwoman, and Constantine. As CEO of ESC he built and led a team that developed a creative pipeline culminating in six patent applications being filed by AOL/Time Warner. Warner Bros. then asked Jones to join its Australia-based team in 2005 as Executive Producer on the CG feature, Happy Feet. The film went on to receive an Oscar for Best Animated Feature and a Golden Globe among many other honors.
When Happy Feet concluded in 2006, Jones left Australia for Canada, where he was tapped by Rainmaker Entertainment in Vancouver to produce The Weinstein Company’s Escape from Planet Earth. In January 2009, he joined Reel FX Creative Studios as CEO, overseeing all aspects of the studio’s operations and creative work.
James Chressantis, ASC (2010) — Cinematographer / Director
John Kilkenny (2010) — Executive VP, Twentieth Century Fox
Mr. Kilkenny oversaw the Academy Award®-winning effects on Avatar, written and directed by Academy Award®-winning filmmaker James Cameron (Titanic); Night at the Museum, X-Men: The Last Stand, Australia, from acclaimed filmmaker Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge), The Day The Earth Stood Still, and many other Fox “event” movies. He and his team are hard at work on the upcoming Gulliver’s Travels, The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, a prequel to Planet of the Apes, an epic film that explains the beginning of the very successful franchise; X Men Origins, another tent pole summer release from the X-Men franchise; the Jim Carrey comedy Mr. Popper’s Penguins; and a sequel to the highly successful live action-CGI comedy Alvin and the Chipmunks.
Prior to joining Fox’s senior executive ranks, Mr. Kilkenny was an associate producer/visual effects producer on the box-office hits Garfield and I, Robot, the latter earning an Academy Award® nomination for best achievement in visual effects. Before that, he was a freelance visual effects producer on the films Dr. Dolittle 2, Daredevil, Gone in 60 Seconds and Star Trek Insurrection.
Mr. Kilkenny began his career in motion picture visual effects at the renowned effects house Digital Domain, where he became head producer in the company’s commercial division. He has also worked as a freelance commercials producer (for clients Budweiser, Toyota, Chevrolet, and many others) and sportscaster at the NBC affiliate in El Paso, Texas.
As a student at the University of Arizona, Mr. Kilkenny, who grew up in Tempe, studied Radio/Television, interned at the NBC affiliate in Tucson, and was a sports producer at the local ABC station. In addition, he headed the Association of Students concert division, booking concerts headlined by superstars like Huey Lewis and the News, Barry Manilow, Kenny Rogers, and Hall and Oates. The University has recognized Mr. Kilkenny for his achievements in the film industry, by awarding him an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts during the Spring 2009 Graduation Ceremony.
Tony Clark, ACS (2010) — Co-Founder / Director, Rising Sun Pictures
The combination of Tony’s skills as a DOP and his deep understanding of digital film became the foundation for the technology spin off company Rising Sun Research, which was founded in 1998 and currently supplies the remote collaboration tool cineSync to film productions around the world.
Tony was the driving force behind Cinenet, an initiative to bring affordable broadband to the creative industries in Australia, which is now the premier broadband network for screen media in Australia and is driven by the desire to find ways to help people utilise technology to create better outcomes in film production.
Don Parker (2010) — CEO / Co-Founder, Shotgun Software
Prior to founding Shotgun, Don was the Pipeline Producer on the Disney animated film THE WILD, where he designed and produced the first generation of production tools Shotgun now provides.
Don has since worked with hundreds of studios and pipelines and has recently led the launch of an open source project that facilitates studio collaboration and the rapid evolution of production-critical tools.
Warren Franklin (2010,2011) — CEO, Rainmaker Entertainment, Vice Chair, DigiBC
In charge of setting the vision for the creative, technological and strategic goals of Rainmaker Entertainment, Mr. Franklin is creating one of the leading CG animation companies in the world. Currently the company is in production on its first theatrical animated feature, Escape From Planet Earth with The Weinstein Company, and has over 300 employees. In addition Rainmaker is in the process of developing a slate of family-oriented feature films in a variety of genres.
Mr. Franklin has over twenty years experience in managing studio operations and digital production including such industry leaders as Lucasfilm Ltd. and Colossal Pictures. He was a key member of George Lucas’ creative and management team for more than a decade where as part of the three person executive committee of Lucasfilm he managed the Entertainment Group’s six divisions, including Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), LucasArts Games and Skywalker Sound.
As the head of ILM for five years, Mr. Franklin spearheaded its growth and dominance as the industry’s premier visual effects company, which won five Academy Awards during his tenure. He founded the ILM computer graphics department that created the ground-breaking digital effects for The Abyss, Terminator 2, and Jurassic Park. As ILM’s production supervisor/production coordinator, Franklin supervised the production of visual effects for over 25 feature films, including The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, E.T.: The Extra Terrestrial, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Return of the Jedi and Back to the Future.
Mr. Franklin also served as the Chief Operating Officer of Colossal Pictures in San Francisco. He oversaw the development of Moxy, the first real-time digital character for the Cartoon Network; and two highly acclaimed animated series created for MTV, Liquid Television and Aeon Flux.
Raised in Berkeley, California, Mr. Franklin studied film at San Francisco State University and completed the Executive Program at Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business in 1987. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), a board member of the Visual Effects Society (VES) and Vice Chairman of the board of DigiBC, the digital media & wireless association of British Columbia.
David Morin (2010,2012) — Consultant, Autodesk / Chair, Joint Technology Committee on Virtual Production
Chair, Autodesk Film CTO Advisory Council
David participated in the early development of motion capture and 3D software at Softimage, as Director of Special Projects when Softimage was part of Microsoft, and Vice-President of Special Projects and Content Group when Softimage became part of Avid Technology. David later joined Manex Entertainment as President of the MVFX division, a visual effects house. Today David assists the Media & Entertainment division of Autodesk from his base in Los Angeles. For Autodesk he currently chairs the Autodesk Film CTO Advisory Council, a product focus group of large studio facilities. He is also chairman of the Virtual Production Committee, a subcommittee of six Hollywood-based organizations: the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC), the Art Director’s Guild (ADG), the Visual Effects Society (VES), the Previsualization Society, the Producers Guild of America (PGA), and the International Cinematographers Guild (ICG).
Rob Bredow (2010,2012) — Chief Technology Officer, Sony Pictures Imageworks and Visual Effects Supervisor
Bredow has been instrumental in the advancement of Imageworks’ lighting and rendering pipeline and is widely respected for his ability to mesh visual effects, animation and innovative technology into a seamless whole. Applications like Katana, the look development and lighting package, and Arnold, an advanced global illumination renderer, have been grown inside Imageworks’ walls and seen growing commercial adoption under Bredow’s leadership.
Prior to accepting the CTO position, Bredow VFX supervised the films CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF MEATBALLS and SURF’S UP, which was nominated for an Academy Award® and was also recognized with two Annie Awards wins for its effects.
Bredow has been involved in creating many of the complex visual effects featured in THE POLAR EXPRESS, STUART LITTLE 2, CAST AWAY, and Academy Award® nominated STUART LITTLE. Bredow’s other credits include GODZILLA AND INDEPENDENCE DAY.
Bob Pisano (2011) — President and COO, Motion Picture Association of America
Bob Pisano has over 40 years’ experience in organizational leadership in the entertainment industry and law.
Until September 2011, Bob served as President and COO of the Motion Picture Association of America, where he was responsible for the worldwide operations of the motion picture and television industry trade association. He also served as President and Interim CEO from January 2010 until March 2011.
Prior to joining the MPAA, he was appointed to the top post at the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) where he served as National Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer from 2001 – 2005. Before joining SAG, Bob served six years (1993-1999) at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), first as Executive Vice President, then as Vice Chairman and member of the Board of Directors. In his capacity as Vice Chairman, he acted as chief operating officer of the organization and oversaw all of its business activities and operations. Between 1985 and 1991, Bob was Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Office of the Chairman of Paramount Pictures.
From 1968-1985 and again in 1992-1993, Bob practiced law with the Los Angeles law firm O’Melveny & Myers, specializing in business litigation and entertainment matters. During the period 1979-1983, he was the partner in charge of the firm’s Paris office.
Bob attended San Jose State University where he received a BA in Public Administration in 1965. In 1968 he was awarded his law degree by Boalt Hall at the University of California in Berkeley, and later studied foreign and comparative law at Columbia University.
In April 2010 Bob was elected Chairman of the Motion Picture and Television Fund. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Executive Branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and serves as Lead Independent Director of Resources Global Professionals (Nasdaq: RECN).
Stephen Nakamura (2011) — Feature Colorist, Company 3
Prior to Company 3, Nakamura was with Technicolor Digital Services, where got his start in DI. Previously he was a colorist with Post Group, working on commercial, music video, television and feature film projects. He began his career at California Video Center.
David Nicksay (2011) — Producer
David’s previous Executive Producer credits include Surrogates, Step Up 2 The Streets, and Married Life. Nicksay was Producer of Be Cool, Legally Blonde 2: Red White and Blonde; Agent Cody Banks, Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London, A Guy Thing and Antitrust. He was Co-Producer of Legally Blonde.
Prior to that, Nicksay served as Executive Producer on What’s the Worst That Could Happen? The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle, The Negotiator, and Flubber. He was Producer of Up Close & Personal; before that he executive produced Addams Family Values.
As a studio executive, Nicksay was President and Head of Production at Morgan Creek Productions, also serving as Executive Producer on 6 of the company’s pictures, including Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Pacific Heights, and Young Guns II. This position followed his term as Senior Vice President of Production at Paramount Pictures, where he was creative executive on Ghost, Coming to America, The Untouchables, Scrooged, Star Trek V, The Two Jakes and others.
He produced the features Lucas and Mrs. Soffel, and other projects.
He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, of the Directors Guild of America, and serves on the American Film Institute Education and Training Advisory Board. He also is a Senior Lecturer in Digital Media at Otis College of Art and Design.
Ted Gagliano (2011) — President Feature Post Production, Twentieth Century Fox Studios
Ted Gagliano has been at Twentieth Century Fox since 1991 and was named president of feature post-production in 2001. At Fox, his responsibilities include oversight of the completion of over 30 films per year from the five film divisions.
Ted is most proud to have worked with so many great filmmakers over the years. During the course of his career, he has overseen post production on such diverse films as Independence Day, Titanic, Moulin Rouge, Master & Commander, Walk the Line, and both the X-Men and Ice Age franchises. He has a particular fondness for his role in supervising the film restoration for the special edition of the original Star Wars trilogy. Recently, Ted oversaw the complex post production of the groundbreaking film Avatar. More than 100 different delivery versions – an unprecedented number – were created for the December 18th day-and-date release in 102 countries.
Ted, a comparative literature graduate of Princeton University, began his professional career in 1982 at Paramount Pictures, New York, where he was the 3D technical coordinator for the Friday 13th Part III. In 1985 he moved to Los Angeles, where he was named manager of film library services. In 1986, he moved over to the feature and television post-production department.
In addition to his post production pursuits, Ted contributes to the Cambodia Children’s Fund, Project Angel Food, participates in maintaining the Redwood Monastery in Mendocino, and is an avid researcher/ investor in new medical technologies. Most importantly though, Ted spends his spare time with his boys Wilbur and Biscuit!
Christian Roberton (2011) — Managing Director, Film, MPC
Christian joined MPC in 2003, where he started as a VFX production manager and within 5 years became a Managing Director of Film. During his time as MD, MPC have opened a studio in Vancouver, Canada which now consists of more than 250 seats and Bangalore, India which has around 180 seats.
MPC are currently working on Prometheus, Superman: Man of Steel, Wrath of the Titans, World War Z, Dark Shadows, 47 Ronin, Life of Pi, Jack the Giant Killer and Journey 2: The Mysterious island.
Select Filmography:
- Prince of Persia (2010) Visual Effects Executive Producer
- Robin Hood (2010) Visual Effects Executive Producer
- Clash of the Titans (2010) Visual Effects Executive Producer
- Percy Jackson and The Olympians (2010) Visual Effects Executive Producer
- The Wolfman (2010) Visual Effects Executive Producer
- Angels and Demons (2009) Visual Effects Executive Producer
- GI Joe: Rise of Cobra (2009) Visual Effects Executive Producer
- Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince (2009) Visual Effects Executive Producer
- The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) Visual Effects Executive Producer
- 10,000 BC (2007) Visual Effects Executive Producer
- Charlie and The Chocolate Factory (2005) Visual Effects Producer
- AVP : Alien Vs. Predator (2004) Visual Effects Producer
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004) Visual Effects Production Manager
- Uli Meyer Studio’s (1998 – 2003) Company Manager
Shannon Gans (2011) — Co-Founder and CEO, New Deal Studios
Though best known for her below the line career in visual effects on over 100 of the biggest films and over 50 commercials in the past 15 years, Shannon has crossed the line and is currently a co-producer on 4 motion pictures, in addition to shorts, digital media projects, web TV shows and commercials. She has produced multi-million dollar projects along with more innovative smaller budget web campaigns.
Shannon is passionate about the use of business best practices and technology stragetgially, to naviage the distruptive change in the entertainment industry. Using her experience on the tech/post side of film, Shannon is helping to pioneer the world of Transmedia or the concept of depoying a story over multiple media channels from the big screen to the mobile.
Shannon is a member of the Producers Guild of America, the Entrepreneur’s Organization (EO), and the Visual Effects Society. She is an Advisory Board Member for the Entrepreneur Program at USC, where she remains active and was honored with Alumni Entrepreneur of the Year Award in 2000. She volunteers by speaking several times a semester and judging business plans in hopes of inspiring the next generation of entrepreneurs.
Andy Romanoff (2011) — Industry Relations / Business Development, AbelCine
Andy holds several patents related to efficient camera use in filmmaking. He invented Adjustable Automatic Backpan Compensation, used daily on film sets everywhere, which reduces the number of rehearsals and retakes. Another invention is the fourth axis head, a unique device which permits the camera to see “right” and “left” when pointed straight down.
Andy has written about film and video technology for publications in the U.S. and England, and has been the subject of numerous articles and interviews in such publications as American Cinematographer, ICG, Hollywood Reporter and Below the Line.
Andy is an associate member of the American Society of Cinematographers and a longtime member of the Society of Operating Cameramen. He was honored by them in 2008 with their Distinguished Service Award. He has served as the co-chairman of the PERA/ESTA industry-wide crane safety committee, drafting American National Standards (ANSI) for safe crane and remote head usage. Andy is a member of the Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences, and currently serves on the Academy’s Scientific and Technical awards committee.
Deborah Giarrantana (2011) — Producer
She is currently in active development with Virgin Produced on THE READING PROMISE, NY Times bestselling book about the true story of the heartfelt journey of Alice Ozma and her Dad’s to reach to each other for over 3000 days-8 yrs- and ended when Alice started College. Deborah also is producing SOPHIE TUCKER with Sony Pictures Animation about the true story of an australian shepherd dog who went overboard off coast of Australia and rescued 5 months later after being found on a deserted island. She is also developing 90 CHURCH, with Lorenzo DiBonaventura Pictures based on the true story of a rookie agent who was part of an enigmatic special ops agency formed to stop the war on drugs “at any cost” in the early years of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics before the DEA was formed. And she’s in active development on THE TIGER RISING, based on award-winning author, Kate DiCamillo (BECAUSE OR WINN DIXIE, TALE OF DESPERAUX).
Over the last 22 years Deborah has been in the entertainment business at the forefront of the emerging high-end visual effects and animation industry. She began building film business for Pacific Data Images which went on to become Dreamworks Animation. She then went to work with James Cameron’s company, Digital Domain and billed millions of dollars in revenue up through the release of TITANIC.
Deborah is now going on her 10th year managing film business for Sony Pictures Imageworks one of the leading visual effects and animation companies in the world. She’s been involved with, among others, such major motion pictures as the SPIDERMAN franchise, I AM LEGEND, ALICE IN WONDERLAND, GREEN LANTERN, and the upcoming OZ.
Deborah also founded LA LOVES which is a non-profit that aids and supports artists in channelling their talents toward humanitarian efforts in and around the world.
Dan Glass (2011) — Sr VFX Supervisor, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Method Studios
After completing a degree in architecture at University College London, Glass began his career at the Computer Film Company in London, where he literally learned from the ground up, starting first as a runner and projectionist, and then working as a CG artist, programmer and compositor.
Throughout his career, Glass has established relationships with esteemed directors across multiple disciplines and picked up numerous awards, the most recent of which was a VES award for Outstanding Visual Effects for the epic commercial Halo Reach: Deliver Hope. Currently based in Los Angeles, Glass continues his quest to drive future growth at Method and CIS and establish the most creative, efficient and technically advanced visual effects group in the world.
With locations in Los Angeles, Vancouver, New York, London, and Sydney, Method and CIS are leading post production facilities providing a full range of visual effects services to high-end feature film, television, commercial and gaming clients in the global marketplace. As artist-driven companies, both Method and CIS are built around an exceptional team of award winning VFX professionals providing conceptual design, look development, on-set supervision, 3D animation/CGI, matte painting, plus compositing and finishing. Recent features credits include Salt, The Green Hornet, The Sorcerer’s Apprentice and Red, while commercial campaigns include Bridgestone ‘Carma’, Halo Reach ‘Deliver Hope’ and Jameson ‘Fire’.
Dan Glass Feature Film Credits
The Tree of Life (sr visual effects supervisor, 2011)
Ninja Assassin (visual effects supervisor, 2009)
Speed Racer (visual effects supervisor, 2008)
V for Vendetta (visual effects supervisor, 2005)
Batman Begins (visual effects supervisor, 2005)
The Matrix Revolutions (visual effects supervisor, 2003)
Enter the Matrix (visual effects supervisor, 2003)
The Matrix Reloaded (visual effects supervisor, 2003)
Thir13en Ghosts (visual effects supervisor, 2001)
Bless the Child (compositing supervisor, 2000)
Mission: Impossible II (compositing supervisor, 2000)
The Beach (digital effects designer, 2000/2001)
Sleepy Hollow (visual effects designer, 1999)
The Bone Collector (CG animator, 1999)
The Debt Collector (digital effects supervisor, 1999)
Notting Hill (digital visual effects designer, 1999)
Alice in Wonderland (TV) (visual effects designer, 1999)
In Dreams (visual effects designer, 1999)
The Avengers (visual effects lead animator, 1998)
Snake Eyes (visual effects designer, 1998)
Spice World (visual effects designer, 1997)
Tomorrow Never Dies (visual effects designer, 1997)
Photographing Fairies (visual effects designer, 1997)
Event Horizon (visual effects designer, 1997)
The Saint (visual effects, 1997)
Hamlet (visual effects designer, 1996)
The English Patient (visual effects compositor, 1996)
Mission: Impossible (visual effects designer, 1996)
Muppet Treasure Island (visual effects designer, 1996)
Under Siege 2: Dark Territory (visual effects compositor, 1995)
French Kiss (visual effects operator, 1995)
Awards
Visual Effects Society award for Outstanding Visual Effects in a Commercial for Halo Reach: Deliver Hope (2011)
Satellite award for Best Visual Effects for V for Vendetta (2005)
BAFTA nomination for Visual Effects for Batman Begins (2006)
Saturn Awards nomination for Visual Effects in Batman Begins (2006)
Visual Effects Society award for Best Single Visual Effect Shot for Matrix Reloaded Tractor Trailer Crash (2004)
Australian Effects and Animation Festival award for Best Visual Effects in a Feature Film for Matrix Reloaded (2005)
Prix Ars Electronica award for Distinction for Visual Effects for Guinness “Surfer” (1999)
D&AD Gold award for Outstanding Visual Effects for Guinness “Surfer” (1999)
“Best Advert Ever,” voted by readers of the UK’s Guardian for Guinness “Surfer” (1999)
Hitesh Shah (2011) — Founder and CEO, BOT VFX
In late 2003 Hitesh founded and ran FrameFlow – one of the pioneer outsourcing companies in visual effects services – which was later sold to Sony Pictures Entertainment to become Imageworks’ India arm. Within several years of launching FrameFlow, the company had several major clients including Imageworks and ILM, and worked on feature films such as Click, Spider-man 3, Ghost Rider, Nightmare Before Christmas, The Last Mimsy, I am Legend, and Hancock. After selling the company to Sony in early 2007, Hitesh continued to run the company as a co-Managing Director and oversaw its transition and integration into Sony Pictures until mid-2008. Hitesh also founded BOT VFX, a specialized post-production outsourcing services company serving the film, TV and advertising industry clients in US, Canada, UK, Germany, and Australia. Most recently, he founded The Z Effect, a company focused on supporting 2D to 3D conversion of filmed content. Through the companies he has founded, Hitesh has worked for over 100 post production and VFX facilities on dozens of film projects and hundreds of ad projects. Recent projects his companies have worked on include Invictus, Harry Potter & The Deathly Hallows Part II, Priest, Conan the Barbarian, Green Lantern, Water for Elephants and Horrible Bosses. Hitesh is a Visual Effects Society Member.
Prior to coming onto the VFX stage, Hitesh has also consulted to many Fortune 500 companies in North America, Europe and Asia while at Gemini Consulting, a management consultancy. He engaged on business issues ranging from growth strategies to IT strategy development. His experience in the telecom industry includes senior management roles at AT&T where he held various positions in strategy, marketing, and new business creation. Hitesh’s early career included research and engineering roles at Bellcore (sister company to Bell Labs), IBM, and Northern Telecom.
Hitesh is a Charter Member of The Indus Entrepreneur (TiE), a nonprofit organization with 50 international chapters created by successful entrepreneurs to foster and support entrepreneurship. He is a mentor to other aspiring entrepreneurs and occasional speaker at conferences and universities. Hitesh’s academic background reflects his passion for business and technology. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Engineering from NYU, a Master’s in Computer Engineering from USC, and an MBA in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from Carnegie Mellon University. He currently resides in Atlanta with his wife of 22 years, and two daughters.
Scott Squires (2011) — Visual Effects Supervisor
Randy Starr (2011) — Visual Effects Producer
Stephan Trojansky (2011) — VFX Supervisor / Co-Founder of Scanline VFX
Richard Chuang (2011) — CEO Cloudpic Global, Inc
A startup looking at capturing the creativities of the next generation of talents in the new world of digital content creation and multi-channel deliveries.
Co-founder PDI (PDI/DreamWorks)
Co-founder of PDI over 30 years ago, Richard pioneered the studio’s proprietary animation system, which received an Academy Technical Achievement Award in 1998. Chuang’s expertise is in computer animation and visual effects for both animated and live action films. His credits range from directing commercials to winning an Emmy Award for graphics design. He has 16 live action film credits as visual effects supervisor.
Besides the feature length animated film at PDI/DW, Richard also planned and guided the CG production for DreamWorks first all computer animated primetime TV show. He was the executive responsible for developing production capacity worldwide for DreamWorks Animation including multi-national productions in Asia and Europe.
Uday Kumar (2011) — Vice President US Operations Reliance Media Works
Thilo Kuther (2011) — CEO & Managing Director, Pixomondo
Tony Wible, CFA (2011) — Director of Media & Entertainment, Janney Montgomery Scott
Sean Wimmer (2011) — VP of Post Production - Warner Premiere
Amy Lemisch (2011) — Executive Director, California Film Commission
She was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in May 2004, and continues to serve for Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. Under her leadership, the Commission coordinates with all levels of state and local government to promote California as a production locale. Such efforts in-turn create jobs, increase production spending and generate tax revenues.
In addition to overseeing the Commission’s wide range of support services, Ms. Lemisch also serves as the state’s leading advocate for educating legislators, production industry decision makers and the public at large about the value of filming in California. Among her many accomplishments, Ms. Lemisch was instrumental in the creation, passage and implementation of the California Film & Television Tax Credit Program, which was enacted in 2009 to help curb runaway production. The Commission is charged with administering the $500 million program that targets the types of productions most likely to leave California due to incentives offered in other states and countries.
Prior to her appointment at the Commission, Ms. Lemisch served for more than 15 years as a producer for Penny Marshall’s company – Parkway Productions. While based at Universal Studios and Sony Pictures, she was responsible for overseeing physical production on all Parkway projects, as well as selecting new projects for the company to produce. Her credits include: producer on the independent feature film WITH FRIENDS LIKE THESE; co-producer on RIDING IN CARS WITH BOYS (starring Drew Barrymore), THE PREACHER’S WIFE (starring Denzel Washington and Whitney Houston) and RENAISSANCE MAN (starring Danny DeVito); associate producer on AWAKENINGS, A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, and CALENDAR GIRL. She was also associate producer on the television series A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN, which was adapted from the feature film.
Ms. Lemisch is a member of the Directors Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America.
Tom Wujec (2011) — Autodesk Fellow
Tom is a pioneer in business visualization, the emerging practice of using images, sketches and data-driven infographics to help teams solve complex problems. Tom’s work has been featured in many international conferences, such as TED, Pop!Tech and the Fortune Innovation Summit
Tom is also the author of three books on creative thinking and is a highly sought after international speaker, and delivers visually rich innovation keynotes, workshops and knowledge maps. Tom has worked as a creative director, writer and animator, has designed dozens of museum exhibits, and lives in Toronto with his wife and two children.
Annie Chang (2011, 2013) — VP Post Production Technology, Walt Disney Studios
Chris del Conte (2012) — Managing Director, Prime Focus, Los Angeles
Previously he worked at Technicolor’s 3D division, where as Executive Producer, he orchestrated the complete buildup of the division and oversaw conversion projects including DreamWorks Animation’s ‘Kung Fu Panda’ (2008) and the high profile Chinese animated project “The Monkey King”. Chris started his career in 1995 working at Amblin Imaging, Steven Spielberg’s VFX company, before going to Cinesite where he worked on ‘Titanic’ and ‘Space Jam’. Other film and television VFX producing credits include ‘The Matrix Reloaded’ and ‘The Matrix Revolutions’ at Centropolis Effects, as well as ‘Mr. and Mrs. Smith’, ABC’s ‘Lost’, ‘Talladega Nights’, and ‘Live Free or Die Hard’ for Digital Dimension.
In 2006 he won an Emmy for Outstanding Graphic Design for FOX’s Super Bowl XXXIX Opener and also received a nomination in 2007 for Outstanding Special Visual Effects for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special for HBO’s ‘Bury My Heart At Wounded Knee’.
Chris’ current duties at Prime Focus include managing the 3D conversions of the Lucasfilm projects Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith. Of which he is a longtime fan of the franchise and is thrilled to be involved with those projects.
Bill Desowitz (2012) — Senior Editor, Animation World Magazine
Bill Oversaw editorial for premier online trade publication/portal devoted to animation and visual effects (awn.com). Assign, edit and proof nearly a dozen features a month, as well as write significant features and news.
Sam Nicholson, ASC (2012) — CEO and Founder, Stargate Studios
A graduate of the UCLA graduate school of Fine Arts, Sam has been involved in film and television production for over thirty years. From his first experience as on-set visual effect supervisor on ‘Star Trek I’ and the groundbreaking ‘Max Headroom’, to his Emmy Awards for best Visual Effects for TNT’s “Battlegound” and NBC’s “Heroes”, Sam has built Stargate into an international leader in digital imaging for high concept television, feature films and commercials.
Currently working on multiple domestic and international projects, Sam and the Stargate team have created the visual effects for numerous series such as “The Walking Dead”, “Heroes”, “24”, “Grey’s Anatomy”, “CSI: New York”, “Ugly Betty”, “ER”, “The Event” and “Pan Am”. Some of his motion picture credits include supervising and producing the visual effects for feature films such as ‘Ghostbusters II’, ‘Highlander II’, ‘Naked Gun 33 1/3’, ‘White Noise’ and the upcoming “Phantom”.
A member of the American Society of Cinematographers, Sam has extensive experience with the latest digital cameras and a wide range of virtual production techniques. Sam consults, tests and shoots with latest digital camera systems from Canon, Arriflex, Sony and RED, including exotic digital hybrid cameras from Lockheed, Weisscam and the Fraunhofer Institute.
As CEO of Stargate Studios, Sam has built a dynamic international network of production partners interconnected with Stargate’s proprietary Virtual Operating System (VOS) which seamlessly integrates the entire Stargate global network of VFX studios. In addition, Stargate’s “Virtual Backlot” is one of the most extensive stock footage “environment” libraries available.
Sam Nicholson is a member of the ASC, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, an IA Director of Photography, a member of the Directors Guild of America and a multiple award-winning member of the Visual Effects Society.
Steve Pugh (2012) — Executive Producer, Pixomondo
Pugh came to Pixomondo from Eden FX where he spent 10 years as a Visual Effects Producer. He oversaw work on a number of prominent television series including “Lost”, “Fringe:, ”Pushing Daisies”, “Community”, “Person of Interest” and “Pan Am”. He also worked on several feature films including “Hellboy” and “Shoot ‘Em Up”.
Stephanie Allen (2012) — Senior Vice President, Visual Effects, Paramount Pictures
As Vice President, Allen worked on the “TRANSFORMERS” franchise, overseeing the visual effects on the series’ third installment, “TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON,” which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Achievement in Visual Effects. Additionally, she handled the visual effects on “SUPER 8” from director J.J. Abrams and producer Steven Spielberg; and Jason Reitman’s Academy Award-nominated “UP IN THE AIR.”
Allen is currently at work on the visual effects-heavy films “G.I. JOE: RETALIATION;” Darren Aronofsky’s “NOAH,” starring Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly; and “STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS,” which reteams director J.J. Abrams with the cast from the 2009 “STAR TREK” film. Also upcoming for Allen is “FLIGHT,” directed by Robert Zemeckis and starring Denzel Washington; and “JACK REACHER,” directed by Christopher McQuarrie and starring Tom Cruise.
Prior to Paramount, Allen was a Visual Effects Producer on “MEET DAVE,” starring Eddie Murphy for Twentieth Century Fox; director Catherine Hardwicke’s “THE NATIVITY STORY” for New Line Cinema; and “THE VISITING” for Warner Bros. Studios.
Before that, she worked at Warner Bros. Feature Animation, serving as a Visual Effects Producer on such titles as “FAT ALBERT” and “SCOOBY DOO TOO,” and as a Visual Effects Production Manager on “LOONEY TUNES: BACK IN ACTION.”
A native of Canada, Allen graduated with honors from Humber College of Applied Arts & Technology in Toronto.
Corey Rosen (2012) — Head of Creative Marketing, Tippett Studios
Corey Rosen is the Head of Creative Marketing at Tippett Studio in Berkeley, California. Rosen began his career at Industrial Light & Magic as a visual effects artist and screenwriter for 12 years, before moving to The Orphanage, heading their creature department and serving as visual effects supervisor on commercials.
After brief stints at Imagemovers Digital and XYZ Graphics, where he served as creative director, Rosen began teaching graduate animation and visual effects students at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco. He joined Tippett Studio in 2011 taking the lead on the creative management of its marketing and finding innovative ways to promote and extend the company’s presence in the worlds of social media, publishing, original film production, and advertising. An initial task that Rosen tackled was the launch and management of a successful Kickstarter campaign for Phil Tippett’s independently produced return to stop motion animation, MAD GOD, garnering nearly $125,000 in funding.
Mat Beck, ASC (2012) — VFX Supervisor, Director, DP, President: Entity FX
Corey Rosen is the Head of Creative Marketing at Tippett Studio in Berkeley, California. Rosen began his career at Industrial Light & Magic as a visual effects artist and screenwriter for 12 years, before moving to The Orphanage, heading their creature department and serving as visual effects supervisor on commercials.
Mat Beck, ASC, is a visual effects supervisor, producer, cinematographer and director known for his work on over 60 motion pictures, numerous TV shows, commercials and music videos.
Beck started out shooting personal films and documentary footage, then began designing and programming digital tools for the VFX industry, including what was likely the first microcomputer motion control system. At the same time, he worked as a camera operator, eventually progressing to Director of Photography and VFX supervisor. Beck founded Light Matters, Inc. in 1994, was original partner of Pixel Envy, and founded Entity FX in 2002. Entity’s Canadian subsidiary, Entity FX North, just celebrated its 5th anniversary.
Mat has worked on such notable films as Titanic, The Abyss, Moonstruck, X-Files: The Movie, True Lies, Galaxy Quest, Batman Returns and The Nutty Professor, among others. Since founding Entity FX in 2002, Mat has supervised visual effects for such feature projects as Miami Vice, Scary Movie 4, Hitch, The Aviator, Spider-Man 2, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Sweet Home Alabama, The Air I Breathe, Rush Hour 3, Into the Wild, The Spirit, Law Abiding Citizen, The Final Destination: 3D, Conviction, Michael Jackson’s This Is It, I am Number Four, Fright Night, and U2 – From the Sky Down.
On the television side, Mat has produced and/or executive supervised visual effects for many ground breaking series, including The Vampire Diaries, Smallville, Breaking Bad, and X-Files as well as, most recently, Charlie’s Angels and the Secret Circle Pilot. He has also supervised effects for HBO’s Six Feet Under, Entourage and Band of Brothers. Mat is also an experienced director, having led multiple second units on feature and television projects, as well as directing an episode of Smallville.
Mat has been nominated for VES and ATAS awards and has won two Emmy awards. In addition to the VES, where he served on the board for 6 years, Mat is a member of The American Society of Cinematographers (serving on the Tech Committee), The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences (Executive Committee), The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, The International Cinematographers Guild (Local 600), The Directors Guild of America and The Writers Guild of America.
Scott Ross (2012) — Former CEO, Digital Domain
As one of the most notable pioneers in digital media and entertainment, Scott Ross’ career has been stellar.
He founded, along with Hollywood luminaries James Cameron and Stan Winston, Digital Domain, one of the largest digital production studios in the motion picture and advertising industries. Under Ross’ direction, Digital Domain garnered multiple Academy Award nominations, receiving its first Oscar for the ground breaking visual effects in TITANIC. That success was followed by a second Oscar for WHAT DREAMS MAY COME and a third for THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Digital Domain received additional nominations for TRUE LIES, APOLLO 13 and I, ROBOT and has won four Scientific and Technical Achievement Academy Awards for its proprietary software. For well over a decade Ross oversaw the company that created imagery for movies such as TITANIC, THE FIFTH ELEMENT,APOLLO13, FIGHT CLUB, TRUE LIES, INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU, X-MEN, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, I ROBOT and many, many others. Ross has worked with the who’s who of film directors such as Cameron, Bay, Fincher, Howard, Scorsese, Coppola, The Coen Brothers, Spielberg, Kurosawa, Jackson, Salles and generally, has nice things to say about them.
In 2006 as Digital Domain’s CEO and Chairman, he successfully sold Digital Domain to director Michael Bay and a group of private equity investors.
Prior to forming Digital Domain he led George Lucas’ vast entertainment empire, running ILM, Skywalker Sound, LucasFilm Commercial Productions and DroidWorks. Ross first joined LucasFilm as General Manager of Industrial Light and Magic and under his leadership, ILM won five Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects (WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT; INNERSPACE; TERMINATOR 2; THE ABYSS; DEATH BECOMES HER). The company re-organized in the 90’s and Ross was named Sr. VP of the LucasArts Entertainment Group, which was comprised of Skywalker Sound, LucasArts Commercial Productions, LucasArts Attractions, Editdroid/Soundroid and ILM.
Ross has played a significant role in the worldwide advertising industry as well. Having started commercial production companies whilst at LucasFilm (ILM and LCP) as well as Digital Domain’s Commercials Division, he has led two of the largest VFX commercial production companies on the planet. Digital Domain has continually established itself as the premiere visual effects studio in the advertising industry. With Fortune 500 clients such as Nike, American Express, Gatorade, Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola and Mercedes Benz, the DD Commercials Division has garnered dozens of Clio Awards and numerous Cannes Golden Lions.
In addition to the visual effects divisions, Mr. Ross launched Digital Domain Films, a feature film production division. The first feature film produced by Mr. Ross was the New Line Cinema release SECONDHAND LIONS which achieved both critical and box office success.
Prior to his celebrated career in film and advertising, Ross was a sound engineer touring with bands such as Miles Davis, The Allman Brothers and Johnny Winter.
A native of New York City, Ross began his career in Media Studies at Hofstra University where he graduated with a BS in Communication Arts. He returned to Hofstra to receive an honorary doctorate degree from his alma mater.
Mr. Ross is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (OSCARS); The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (EMMYS). He has worked on over 100 of the world’s largest special effects films and has lectured extensively about the creative process, content and technology in over 30 countries around the world.
Gaston Bitar (2012) — Senior Vice President, People & Organization, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Mr. Bitar has been an HR professional and thought leader in the entertainment industry for over 20 years, with experience at studios including MGM, the Samuel Goldwyn Co., Warner Bros., as well as the Eastman Kodak Co. With responsibility for overseeing company-wide compensation and benefits, organization design, talent recruitment, employee relations, and management development for visual effects and production entities such as Warner Digital, Cinesite, Imageworks, Sony Pictures Animation, Colorworks and the various Sony Pictures production and marketing entities, his specialty lies within the field of managing and motivating highly creative and technical talent.
Mr. Bitar is a native of California, born and raised in Hollywood, and holds a degree in economics and international areas studies from the University of California at Los Angeles. He currently resides in Calabasas, CA with his wife and two young children.
Ruth Hauer (2012) — VFX Production Executive, The Walt Disney Company
Ruth Hauer has worked at the Walt Disney Company in the Feature Film VFX department for the past ten years.
She is responsible for the management of visual effects from inception through delivery on half of the feature films at The Walt Disney Studios.
She feels very fortunate to work for such a prestigious brand.
Buzz Hays (2012) — Former Senior Vice President of 3D Production, Sony Corporation
Profile
Buzz Hays is one of the leading experts in stereoscopic 3D film development, production, and postproduction in the motion picture and television industry. As senior vice president of 3D production at Sony Corporation, he played a key role as the 3D expert worldwide, from film production to live-broadcast events to consumer and professional electronics design. Hays founded the award-winning Sony 3D Technology Center, where he oversaw the creative and technical direction of Sony’s 3D efforts on multiple platforms. He was integral to the rollout of Sony 3DTV in 2010 and his contributions in camera design for 3D has led to successful products in the marketplace both for professionals and consumers. Hays has collaborated with the most influential filmmakers and leaders in the film and television industry on the creation of highquality 3D storytelling experiences, and he lectures on the subject of 3D to international audiences. Before joining Sony, Hays was an independent animation and film producer (“Swimming With Sharks”), and served as head of research and development at Lucasfilm THX.
Experience
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF 3D PRODUCTION, SONY CORPORATION – CULVER CITY, NEW YORK, TOKYO (2009-2012)
3D Technology Center – Designed, built, staffed and managed company-wide division.
Sony Consumer and Broadcast Electronics – Consultant to technology R&D teams throughout Sony worldwide.
3D Storytelling Consultant – Consultant to leading film and television directors, producers and editors working in 3D production.
SENIOR PRODUCER – 3D FEATURE FILMS, SONY PICTURES IMAGEWORKS, CULVER CITY, CA (2006-2009)
Alice In Wonderland (Disney) – Consulting 3D Producer (2009)
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs (Sony Pictures Animation) – Consulting 3D Producer (2009)
G-Force 3D (Bruckheimer Films/Disney) – Senior 3D Producer (2009)
Jonas Bros. 3D Concert Experience (Disney) – Senior 3D VFX Producer (2009)
Beowulf (Paramount Pictures/Warner Bros.) – Senior 3D Producer (2007)
Open Season (Sony Pictures Animation) – Senior 3D Producer (2006)
Monster House (Columbia Pictures) – Senior 3D Producer (2006)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER – COMMERCIALS & MUSIC VIDEOS, RADIUM, SANTA MONICA, CA (2005)
Missy Elliot “Lose Control” – Award-winning music video – Executive Producer (2005)
Spider Man 2.5 (Columbia Pictures) – European DVD release VFX – Executive Producer (2005)
Warm Springs (HBO) – VFX Producer/Executive Producer (2005)
Commercial Production
Coca-Cola, Budweiser, Bud Light, Oracle, Texas Instruments/DLP, and VW Polo – Executive Producer (2005)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER//PRODUCER – MAIN TITLE SEQUENCES & VFX, YU+CO, HOLLYWOOD, CA (2003-2004)
NOVA (WGBH) – Series Intro – Producer/Executive Producer (2004)
Beijing Summer Olympics (Int’l Olympics Committee) – Inaugural film – Producer (2004)
Catwoman (Warner Bros.) – Main Titles – Producer/Executive Producer (2004)
The Terminal (Dreamworks) – Main Titles – Producer/Executive Producer (2004)
Chronicles of Riddick (Universal Pictures) – Main Titles – Producer/Executive Producer (2004)
Taking Lives (Warner Bros.) – Main Titles – Producer/Executive Producer (2004)
Van Helsing (Universal) – VFX – Producer/Executive Producer (2004)
Iron Jawed Angels (HBO) – Main Titles – Producer/Executive Producer (2003)
Sobini Films Logo – Motion Logo Design – Producer/Executive Producer (2003)
Sex and the City (TBS) – Series Launch Campaign – Producer/Executive Producer (2003)
The Last Shot (Touchstone Pictures) – Main Titles – Producer/Executive Producer (2003)
HBO Summer Films Campaign (HBO) – Producer/Executive Producer (2003)
David Stump, ASC (2012) — Cinematographer
David Stump ASC has worked on numerous motion pictures and television productions as Director of Photography, as Visual Effects Director of Photography, as Visual Effects Supervisor, and as Stereographer, (including both live action work and 2D to 3D conversion work), earning an Emmy and an Academy Award for Scientific and Technical Achievement. His credits include such high profile projects as The Last Stand, Immortals, Quantum of Solace, The Resident, Flight Plan, Fantastic Four, X-Men 1 & 2, Into the Blue, Red Riding Hood, Garfield, Batman Forever, Hollow Man, Men of Honor, Deep Blue Sea, Stuart Little, The Sphere, Contact, Batman & Robin, Mars Attacks, Executive Decision, Stargate, Free Willy, and What Love Is, among many others.
David is a member of the AMPAS, ATAS, ASC, PGA, IATSE, SOC, SMPTE and numerous other industry associations. He is currently engaged in volunteer work for the SMPTE as co chair of a study group on the subject of High Frame Rate for digital cinema. He is also participating in the AMPAS Academy Color Encoding System (ACES) file format project where he has contributed significantly in the area of metadata.
In 2001 David was accepted for full membership into the American Society of Cinematographers, where he is currently chairman of the Camera Subcommittee of the ASC Technical Committee. Under his guidance, the combined efforts of the Producer’s Guild of America and the American Society of Cinematographers recently completed production of both the ASC / PGA Camera Assessment Series, and the ASC / PGA Image Control Assessment Series, side by side comparisons of virtually all of the high end digital cinema cameras against film, run through industry standard 10 bit log and ACES workflows, and taken all the way out to film print and Digital Cinema Package.
Stan Szymanski (2012) — Owner/Resource Strategist, StanleyVision, Inc.
Vincent Brisebois (2012) — Fusion-io Director of Visual Computing
Erika W. Burton (2012) — Co- President, Film Division- Rhythm & Hues Studios
As co-president of Rhythm & Hues’ Film division, Erika shares leadership duties with Lee Berger, the division’s president. Together, they are responsible for the extensive client relations and production management associated with the studio’s core animation and vfx production service work, in tandem with the division’s senior management team. In addition, Erika utilizes her vast experience and network of relationships within the entertainment industry to facilitate the studio’s emphasis on the development of new original content.
Prior to her current position, Erika served as vice president of production for Disney Animation. She was the executive producer for R&H Films from 2006 to early 2011, overseeing teams whose work included the Academy Award-winning “The Golden Compass,” (for Achievement in Visual Effects, 2008), and the highly successful “Alvin & Chipmunks” and “Night at the Museum” franchises. Erika was the vfx producer for R&H on the Oscar-nominated “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and vfx produced “Evan Almighty” and “Dr. Seuss’ ‘The Cat in the Hat’ for the studio.
Before joining R&H in 2002, Erika produced effects at The Secret Lab/Dream Quest Images on such films as “Reign of Fire,” “The Kid,” “Bicentennial Man,” “Instinct” and “Deep Rising.” At Industrial Light + Magic she moved up through the ranks working on “Mission: Impossible,” “Men in Black” and other projects. Erika’s early career featured stints at Jim Henson Productions, Showtime Networks and Triad Artists.
Erika is a graduate of UCLA, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in History
Mary Ann Hughes (2012) — Vice President, Film and Television Production Planning, The Walt Disney Company
Mary Ann Hughes is a 24 year veteran with Disney. She has held a number of positions during her tenure ranging from a Senior Tax Analyst to Vice President, Film and Television Production Planning.
As a result of the growth and focus on production incentives and film finance opportunities, Mary Ann transferred from Corporate Tax to the Studio Finance Group in 2006 as Vice President, Film and Television Production Planning. She now devotes 100% of her time looking for opportunities to reduce production costs through film and television production incentives and structured film financing deals. She supports Disney’s feature film groups (Walt Disney Pictures and Marvel) as well as Disney’s television groups (ABC Studios and ABC Cable Network).
Mary Ann holds a BS in Accounting from Cal Poly Pomona.
Sean Carroll (2012) — Senior Research Associate in Physics, California Institute of Technology
Sean Carroll is a Senior Research Associate in Physics at the California Institute of Technology. He received his Ph.D. in 1993 from Harvard University, and has previously worked as a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Theoretical Physics at MIT and at the Institute for Theoretical Physics at the University of California, Santa Barbara, as well as on the faculty at the University of Chicago. His research ranges over a number of topics in theoretical physics, focusing on cosmology, field theory, particle physics, and gravitation. Carroll is the author of From Eternity to Here: The Quest for the Ultimate Theory of Time, a popular-level book on cosmology and the arrow of time. He has also written a graduate textbook, Spacetime and Geometry: An Introduction to General Relativity, and recorded a set of lectures on cosmology for the Teaching Company. Carroll has been awarded fellowships from the Sloan and Packard foundations and the American Physical Society, as well as the MIT Graduate Student Council Teaching Award and the Villanova University Arts and Sciences Alumni Medallion. Carroll is a contributor to the blog Cosmic Variance. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, writer Jennifer Ouellette.
Stephanie Ito (2012) — Executive Vice President, Post Production, Paramount Pictures
As Executive Vice President of Post Production at Paramount Pictures since January 2011, Stephanie Ito oversees all aspects of the department, from budgeting to the delivery of the final print, for all theatrical releases from Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Insurge Pictures and Paramount Animation. She joined Paramount’s post production department as Senior Vice President in 2005.
Most notably, Ito oversaw post on the hit films “TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON,” Michael Bay’s first film in stereo, for which they developed a hybrid 3D post process to achieve the incredible experience he was after; J.J. Abrams’ “STAR TREK,” which was nominated for Academy Awards in both Sound Editing and Sound Mixing; “SUPER 8,” directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg; and “MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL,” the latest installment in the Tom Cruise action franchise.
Ito has recently completed post on “FLIGHT,” Robert Zemeckis’ return to live-action filmmaking, starring Denzel Washington; and Christopher McQuarrie’s action-thriller “JACK REACHER,” starring Tom Cruise. She is currently at work on Michael Bay’s “PAIN AND GAIN” and “STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS,” among others.
Prior to joining Paramount, Ito served as a Post Production Supervisor at DreamWorks, where she worked on the following titles from legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg: “WAR OF THE WORLDS,” “MUNICH” and “INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL.” Before that, Ito worked as a Digital Intermediate Producer at Technicolor Digital Intermediates and in Post at National Geographic Television, Specials.
Albert Cheng (2012) — EVP of Digital Media, and Chief Product Officer, Disney-ABC Television Group
As Executive Vice President and Chief Product Officer, Digital Media, for the Disney/ABC Television Group, Albert Cheng is charged with general management and strategic oversight of digital media, as well as development of ancillary revenue streams for Disney/ABC Television Group’s diverse portfolio of broadcast and cable networks, including ABC Entertainment, ABC News, ABC Daytime, ABC Family, Disney Channel and SOAPnet. To that end, he leads a team that oversees product development, marketing and operations for the Group’s digital media content platforms, including video-on-demand, broadband, web-based and mobile platforms, as well as interactive television technologies.
With the release of the ABC Player in 2010, Cheng and the Disney/ABC Television Group added an important first to their array of technical innovations, becoming the first network to offer ad-supported full episodes on the iPad. The player was recently named the sixth most downloaded free iPad app of all time, and has now expanded to iPhone and iPod touch. Other DATG firsts include being the 1st to offer full episodes on iTunes (October 2005); 1st to stream ad-supported full episodes online (May 2006); 1st to offer full episodes on demand on a mobile platform (w/Sprint, May 2007); the 1st to stream episodes online in true 720p HD (Fall 2007); and the 1st to offer expert and user commentary with full episodes online (Fall 2009). Most recently, Cheng’s team was nominated for two 2011 Creative Arts Emmy’s, which they won for “Oscar Digital Experience.”
Mat Beck, ASC (2012) — VFX Supervisor, Director, DP, President: Entity FX
Corey Rosen is the Head of Creative Marketing at Tippett Studio in Berkeley, California. Rosen began his career at Industrial Light & Magic as a visual effects artist and screenwriter for 12 years, before moving to The Orphanage, heading their creature department and serving as visual effects supervisor on commercials.
Mat Beck, ASC, is a visual effects supervisor, producer, cinematographer and director known for his work on over 60 motion pictures, numerous TV shows, commercials and music videos.
Beck started out shooting personal films and documentary footage, then began designing and programming digital tools for the VFX industry, including what was likely the first microcomputer motion control system. At the same time, he worked as a camera operator, eventually progressing to Director of Photography and VFX supervisor. Beck founded Light Matters, Inc. in 1994, was original partner of Pixel Envy, and founded Entity FX in 2002. Entity’s Canadian subsidiary, Entity FX North, just celebrated its 5th anniversary.
Mat has worked on such notable films as Titanic, The Abyss, Moonstruck, X-Files: The Movie, True Lies, Galaxy Quest, Batman Returns and The Nutty Professor, among others. Since founding Entity FX in 2002, Mat has supervised visual effects for such feature projects as Miami Vice, Scary Movie 4, Hitch, The Aviator, Spider-Man 2, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Sweet Home Alabama, The Air I Breathe, Rush Hour 3, Into the Wild, The Spirit, Law Abiding Citizen, The Final Destination: 3D, Conviction, Michael Jackson’s This Is It, I am Number Four, Fright Night, and U2 – From the Sky Down.
On the television side, Mat has produced and/or executive supervised visual effects for many ground breaking series, including The Vampire Diaries, Smallville, Breaking Bad, and X-Files as well as, most recently, Charlie’s Angels and the Secret Circle Pilot. He has also supervised effects for HBO’s Six Feet Under, Entourage and Band of Brothers. Mat is also an experienced director, having led multiple second units on feature and television projects, as well as directing an episode of Smallville.
Mat has been nominated for VES and ATAS awards and has won two Emmy awards. In addition to the VES, where he served on the board for 6 years, Mat is a member of The American Society of Cinematographers (serving on the Tech Committee), The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences (Executive Committee), The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, The International Cinematographers Guild (Local 600), The Directors Guild of America and The Writers Guild of America.
Mat Beck, ASC (2012) — VFX Supervisor, Director, DP, President: Entity FX
Corey Rosen is the Head of Creative Marketing at Tippett Studio in Berkeley, California. Rosen began his career at Industrial Light & Magic as a visual effects artist and screenwriter for 12 years, before moving to The Orphanage, heading their creature department and serving as visual effects supervisor on commercials.
Mat Beck, ASC, is a visual effects supervisor, producer, cinematographer and director known for his work on over 60 motion pictures, numerous TV shows, commercials and music videos.
Beck started out shooting personal films and documentary footage, then began designing and programming digital tools for the VFX industry, including what was likely the first microcomputer motion control system. At the same time, he worked as a camera operator, eventually progressing to Director of Photography and VFX supervisor. Beck founded Light Matters, Inc. in 1994, was original partner of Pixel Envy, and founded Entity FX in 2002. Entity’s Canadian subsidiary, Entity FX North, just celebrated its 5th anniversary.
Mat has worked on such notable films as Titanic, The Abyss, Moonstruck, X-Files: The Movie, True Lies, Galaxy Quest, Batman Returns and The Nutty Professor, among others. Since founding Entity FX in 2002, Mat has supervised visual effects for such feature projects as Miami Vice, Scary Movie 4, Hitch, The Aviator, Spider-Man 2, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Sweet Home Alabama, The Air I Breathe, Rush Hour 3, Into the Wild, The Spirit, Law Abiding Citizen, The Final Destination: 3D, Conviction, Michael Jackson’s This Is It, I am Number Four, Fright Night, and U2 – From the Sky Down.
On the television side, Mat has produced and/or executive supervised visual effects for many ground breaking series, including The Vampire Diaries, Smallville, Breaking Bad, and X-Files as well as, most recently, Charlie’s Angels and the Secret Circle Pilot. He has also supervised effects for HBO’s Six Feet Under, Entourage and Band of Brothers. Mat is also an experienced director, having led multiple second units on feature and television projects, as well as directing an episode of Smallville.
Mat has been nominated for VES and ATAS awards and has won two Emmy awards. In addition to the VES, where he served on the board for 6 years, Mat is a member of The American Society of Cinematographers (serving on the Tech Committee), The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences (Executive Committee), The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, The International Cinematographers Guild (Local 600), The Directors Guild of America and The Writers Guild of America.
Mat Beck, ASC (2012) — VFX Supervisor, Director, DP, President: Entity FX
Corey Rosen is the Head of Creative Marketing at Tippett Studio in Berkeley, California. Rosen began his career at Industrial Light & Magic as a visual effects artist and screenwriter for 12 years, before moving to The Orphanage, heading their creature department and serving as visual effects supervisor on commercials.
Mat Beck, ASC, is a visual effects supervisor, producer, cinematographer and director known for his work on over 60 motion pictures, numerous TV shows, commercials and music videos.
Beck started out shooting personal films and documentary footage, then began designing and programming digital tools for the VFX industry, including what was likely the first microcomputer motion control system. At the same time, he worked as a camera operator, eventually progressing to Director of Photography and VFX supervisor. Beck founded Light Matters, Inc. in 1994, was original partner of Pixel Envy, and founded Entity FX in 2002. Entity’s Canadian subsidiary, Entity FX North, just celebrated its 5th anniversary.
Mat has worked on such notable films as Titanic, The Abyss, Moonstruck, X-Files: The Movie, True Lies, Galaxy Quest, Batman Returns and The Nutty Professor, among others. Since founding Entity FX in 2002, Mat has supervised visual effects for such feature projects as Miami Vice, Scary Movie 4, Hitch, The Aviator, Spider-Man 2, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Sweet Home Alabama, The Air I Breathe, Rush Hour 3, Into the Wild, The Spirit, Law Abiding Citizen, The Final Destination: 3D, Conviction, Michael Jackson’s This Is It, I am Number Four, Fright Night, and U2 – From the Sky Down.
On the television side, Mat has produced and/or executive supervised visual effects for many ground breaking series, including The Vampire Diaries, Smallville, Breaking Bad, and X-Files as well as, most recently, Charlie’s Angels and the Secret Circle Pilot. He has also supervised effects for HBO’s Six Feet Under, Entourage and Band of Brothers. Mat is also an experienced director, having led multiple second units on feature and television projects, as well as directing an episode of Smallville.
Mat has been nominated for VES and ATAS awards and has won two Emmy awards. In addition to the VES, where he served on the board for 6 years, Mat is a member of The American Society of Cinematographers (serving on the Tech Committee), The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences (Executive Committee), The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, The International Cinematographers Guild (Local 600), The Directors Guild of America and The Writers Guild of America.
Mat Beck, ASC (2012) — VFX Supervisor, Director, DP, President: Entity FX
Corey Rosen is the Head of Creative Marketing at Tippett Studio in Berkeley, California. Rosen began his career at Industrial Light & Magic as a visual effects artist and screenwriter for 12 years, before moving to The Orphanage, heading their creature department and serving as visual effects supervisor on commercials.
Mat Beck, ASC, is a visual effects supervisor, producer, cinematographer and director known for his work on over 60 motion pictures, numerous TV shows, commercials and music videos.
Beck started out shooting personal films and documentary footage, then began designing and programming digital tools for the VFX industry, including what was likely the first microcomputer motion control system. At the same time, he worked as a camera operator, eventually progressing to Director of Photography and VFX supervisor. Beck founded Light Matters, Inc. in 1994, was original partner of Pixel Envy, and founded Entity FX in 2002. Entity’s Canadian subsidiary, Entity FX North, just celebrated its 5th anniversary.
Mat has worked on such notable films as Titanic, The Abyss, Moonstruck, X-Files: The Movie, True Lies, Galaxy Quest, Batman Returns and The Nutty Professor, among others. Since founding Entity FX in 2002, Mat has supervised visual effects for such feature projects as Miami Vice, Scary Movie 4, Hitch, The Aviator, Spider-Man 2, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Sweet Home Alabama, The Air I Breathe, Rush Hour 3, Into the Wild, The Spirit, Law Abiding Citizen, The Final Destination: 3D, Conviction, Michael Jackson’s This Is It, I am Number Four, Fright Night, and U2 – From the Sky Down.
On the television side, Mat has produced and/or executive supervised visual effects for many ground breaking series, including The Vampire Diaries, Smallville, Breaking Bad, and X-Files as well as, most recently, Charlie’s Angels and the Secret Circle Pilot. He has also supervised effects for HBO’s Six Feet Under, Entourage and Band of Brothers. Mat is also an experienced director, having led multiple second units on feature and television projects, as well as directing an episode of Smallville.
Mat has been nominated for VES and ATAS awards and has won two Emmy awards. In addition to the VES, where he served on the board for 6 years, Mat is a member of The American Society of Cinematographers (serving on the Tech Committee), The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences (Executive Committee), The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, The International Cinematographers Guild (Local 600), The Directors Guild of America and The Writers Guild of America.
Mat Beck, ASC (2012) — VFX Supervisor, Director, DP, President: Entity FX
Corey Rosen is the Head of Creative Marketing at Tippett Studio in Berkeley, California. Rosen began his career at Industrial Light & Magic as a visual effects artist and screenwriter for 12 years, before moving to The Orphanage, heading their creature department and serving as visual effects supervisor on commercials.
Mat Beck, ASC, is a visual effects supervisor, producer, cinematographer and director known for his work on over 60 motion pictures, numerous TV shows, commercials and music videos.
Beck started out shooting personal films and documentary footage, then began designing and programming digital tools for the VFX industry, including what was likely the first microcomputer motion control system. At the same time, he worked as a camera operator, eventually progressing to Director of Photography and VFX supervisor. Beck founded Light Matters, Inc. in 1994, was original partner of Pixel Envy, and founded Entity FX in 2002. Entity’s Canadian subsidiary, Entity FX North, just celebrated its 5th anniversary.
Mat has worked on such notable films as Titanic, The Abyss, Moonstruck, X-Files: The Movie, True Lies, Galaxy Quest, Batman Returns and The Nutty Professor, among others. Since founding Entity FX in 2002, Mat has supervised visual effects for such feature projects as Miami Vice, Scary Movie 4, Hitch, The Aviator, Spider-Man 2, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Sweet Home Alabama, The Air I Breathe, Rush Hour 3, Into the Wild, The Spirit, Law Abiding Citizen, The Final Destination: 3D, Conviction, Michael Jackson’s This Is It, I am Number Four, Fright Night, and U2 – From the Sky Down.
On the television side, Mat has produced and/or executive supervised visual effects for many ground breaking series, including The Vampire Diaries, Smallville, Breaking Bad, and X-Files as well as, most recently, Charlie’s Angels and the Secret Circle Pilot. He has also supervised effects for HBO’s Six Feet Under, Entourage and Band of Brothers. Mat is also an experienced director, having led multiple second units on feature and television projects, as well as directing an episode of Smallville.
Mat has been nominated for VES and ATAS awards and has won two Emmy awards. In addition to the VES, where he served on the board for 6 years, Mat is a member of The American Society of Cinematographers (serving on the Tech Committee), The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences (Executive Committee), The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, The International Cinematographers Guild (Local 600), The Directors Guild of America and The Writers Guild of America.
Mat Beck, ASC (2012) — VFX Supervisor, Director, DP, President: Entity FX
Corey Rosen is the Head of Creative Marketing at Tippett Studio in Berkeley, California. Rosen began his career at Industrial Light & Magic as a visual effects artist and screenwriter for 12 years, before moving to The Orphanage, heading their creature department and serving as visual effects supervisor on commercials.
Mat Beck, ASC, is a visual effects supervisor, producer, cinematographer and director known for his work on over 60 motion pictures, numerous TV shows, commercials and music videos.
Beck started out shooting personal films and documentary footage, then began designing and programming digital tools for the VFX industry, including what was likely the first microcomputer motion control system. At the same time, he worked as a camera operator, eventually progressing to Director of Photography and VFX supervisor. Beck founded Light Matters, Inc. in 1994, was original partner of Pixel Envy, and founded Entity FX in 2002. Entity’s Canadian subsidiary, Entity FX North, just celebrated its 5th anniversary.
Mat has worked on such notable films as Titanic, The Abyss, Moonstruck, X-Files: The Movie, True Lies, Galaxy Quest, Batman Returns and The Nutty Professor, among others. Since founding Entity FX in 2002, Mat has supervised visual effects for such feature projects as Miami Vice, Scary Movie 4, Hitch, The Aviator, Spider-Man 2, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Sweet Home Alabama, The Air I Breathe, Rush Hour 3, Into the Wild, The Spirit, Law Abiding Citizen, The Final Destination: 3D, Conviction, Michael Jackson’s This Is It, I am Number Four, Fright Night, and U2 – From the Sky Down.
On the television side, Mat has produced and/or executive supervised visual effects for many ground breaking series, including The Vampire Diaries, Smallville, Breaking Bad, and X-Files as well as, most recently, Charlie’s Angels and the Secret Circle Pilot. He has also supervised effects for HBO’s Six Feet Under, Entourage and Band of Brothers. Mat is also an experienced director, having led multiple second units on feature and television projects, as well as directing an episode of Smallville.
Mat has been nominated for VES and ATAS awards and has won two Emmy awards. In addition to the VES, where he served on the board for 6 years, Mat is a member of The American Society of Cinematographers (serving on the Tech Committee), The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences (Executive Committee), The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, The International Cinematographers Guild (Local 600), The Directors Guild of America and The Writers Guild of America.
Mat Beck, ASC (2012) — VFX Supervisor, Director, DP, President: Entity FX
Corey Rosen is the Head of Creative Marketing at Tippett Studio in Berkeley, California. Rosen began his career at Industrial Light & Magic as a visual effects artist and screenwriter for 12 years, before moving to The Orphanage, heading their creature department and serving as visual effects supervisor on commercials.
Mat Beck, ASC, is a visual effects supervisor, producer, cinematographer and director known for his work on over 60 motion pictures, numerous TV shows, commercials and music videos.
Beck started out shooting personal films and documentary footage, then began designing and programming digital tools for the VFX industry, including what was likely the first microcomputer motion control system. At the same time, he worked as a camera operator, eventually progressing to Director of Photography and VFX supervisor. Beck founded Light Matters, Inc. in 1994, was original partner of Pixel Envy, and founded Entity FX in 2002. Entity’s Canadian subsidiary, Entity FX North, just celebrated its 5th anniversary.
Mat has worked on such notable films as Titanic, The Abyss, Moonstruck, X-Files: The Movie, True Lies, Galaxy Quest, Batman Returns and The Nutty Professor, among others. Since founding Entity FX in 2002, Mat has supervised visual effects for such feature projects as Miami Vice, Scary Movie 4, Hitch, The Aviator, Spider-Man 2, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Sweet Home Alabama, The Air I Breathe, Rush Hour 3, Into the Wild, The Spirit, Law Abiding Citizen, The Final Destination: 3D, Conviction, Michael Jackson’s This Is It, I am Number Four, Fright Night, and U2 – From the Sky Down.
On the television side, Mat has produced and/or executive supervised visual effects for many ground breaking series, including The Vampire Diaries, Smallville, Breaking Bad, and X-Files as well as, most recently, Charlie’s Angels and the Secret Circle Pilot. He has also supervised effects for HBO’s Six Feet Under, Entourage and Band of Brothers. Mat is also an experienced director, having led multiple second units on feature and television projects, as well as directing an episode of Smallville.
Mat has been nominated for VES and ATAS awards and has won two Emmy awards. In addition to the VES, where he served on the board for 6 years, Mat is a member of The American Society of Cinematographers (serving on the Tech Committee), The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences (Executive Committee), The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, The International Cinematographers Guild (Local 600), The Directors Guild of America and The Writers Guild of America.
Mat Beck, ASC (2012) — VFX Supervisor, Director, DP, President: Entity FX
Corey Rosen is the Head of Creative Marketing at Tippett Studio in Berkeley, California. Rosen began his career at Industrial Light & Magic as a visual effects artist and screenwriter for 12 years, before moving to The Orphanage, heading their creature department and serving as visual effects supervisor on commercials.
Mat Beck, ASC, is a visual effects supervisor, producer, cinematographer and director known for his work on over 60 motion pictures, numerous TV shows, commercials and music videos.
Beck started out shooting personal films and documentary footage, then began designing and programming digital tools for the VFX industry, including what was likely the first microcomputer motion control system. At the same time, he worked as a camera operator, eventually progressing to Director of Photography and VFX supervisor. Beck founded Light Matters, Inc. in 1994, was original partner of Pixel Envy, and founded Entity FX in 2002. Entity’s Canadian subsidiary, Entity FX North, just celebrated its 5th anniversary.
Mat has worked on such notable films as Titanic, The Abyss, Moonstruck, X-Files: The Movie, True Lies, Galaxy Quest, Batman Returns and The Nutty Professor, among others. Since founding Entity FX in 2002, Mat has supervised visual effects for such feature projects as Miami Vice, Scary Movie 4, Hitch, The Aviator, Spider-Man 2, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Sweet Home Alabama, The Air I Breathe, Rush Hour 3, Into the Wild, The Spirit, Law Abiding Citizen, The Final Destination: 3D, Conviction, Michael Jackson’s This Is It, I am Number Four, Fright Night, and U2 – From the Sky Down.
On the television side, Mat has produced and/or executive supervised visual effects for many ground breaking series, including The Vampire Diaries, Smallville, Breaking Bad, and X-Files as well as, most recently, Charlie’s Angels and the Secret Circle Pilot. He has also supervised effects for HBO’s Six Feet Under, Entourage and Band of Brothers. Mat is also an experienced director, having led multiple second units on feature and television projects, as well as directing an episode of Smallville.
Mat has been nominated for VES and ATAS awards and has won two Emmy awards. In addition to the VES, where he served on the board for 6 years, Mat is a member of The American Society of Cinematographers (serving on the Tech Committee), The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences (Executive Committee), The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, The International Cinematographers Guild (Local 600), The Directors Guild of America and The Writers Guild of America.
Mat Beck, ASC (2012) — VFX Supervisor, Director, DP, President: Entity FX
Corey Rosen is the Head of Creative Marketing at Tippett Studio in Berkeley, California. Rosen began his career at Industrial Light & Magic as a visual effects artist and screenwriter for 12 years, before moving to The Orphanage, heading their creature department and serving as visual effects supervisor on commercials.
Mat Beck, ASC, is a visual effects supervisor, producer, cinematographer and director known for his work on over 60 motion pictures, numerous TV shows, commercials and music videos.
Beck started out shooting personal films and documentary footage, then began designing and programming digital tools for the VFX industry, including what was likely the first microcomputer motion control system. At the same time, he worked as a camera operator, eventually progressing to Director of Photography and VFX supervisor. Beck founded Light Matters, Inc. in 1994, was original partner of Pixel Envy, and founded Entity FX in 2002. Entity’s Canadian subsidiary, Entity FX North, just celebrated its 5th anniversary.
Mat has worked on such notable films as Titanic, The Abyss, Moonstruck, X-Files: The Movie, True Lies, Galaxy Quest, Batman Returns and The Nutty Professor, among others. Since founding Entity FX in 2002, Mat has supervised visual effects for such feature projects as Miami Vice, Scary Movie 4, Hitch, The Aviator, Spider-Man 2, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Sweet Home Alabama, The Air I Breathe, Rush Hour 3, Into the Wild, The Spirit, Law Abiding Citizen, The Final Destination: 3D, Conviction, Michael Jackson’s This Is It, I am Number Four, Fright Night, and U2 – From the Sky Down.
On the television side, Mat has produced and/or executive supervised visual effects for many ground breaking series, including The Vampire Diaries, Smallville, Breaking Bad, and X-Files as well as, most recently, Charlie’s Angels and the Secret Circle Pilot. He has also supervised effects for HBO’s Six Feet Under, Entourage and Band of Brothers. Mat is also an experienced director, having led multiple second units on feature and television projects, as well as directing an episode of Smallville.
Mat has been nominated for VES and ATAS awards and has won two Emmy awards. In addition to the VES, where he served on the board for 6 years, Mat is a member of The American Society of Cinematographers (serving on the Tech Committee), The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences (Executive Committee), The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, The International Cinematographers Guild (Local 600), The Directors Guild of America and The Writers Guild of America.
Mat Beck, ASC (2012) — VFX Supervisor, Director, DP, President: Entity FX
Corey Rosen is the Head of Creative Marketing at Tippett Studio in Berkeley, California. Rosen began his career at Industrial Light & Magic as a visual effects artist and screenwriter for 12 years, before moving to The Orphanage, heading their creature department and serving as visual effects supervisor on commercials.
Mat Beck, ASC, is a visual effects supervisor, producer, cinematographer and director known for his work on over 60 motion pictures, numerous TV shows, commercials and music videos.
Beck started out shooting personal films and documentary footage, then began designing and programming digital tools for the VFX industry, including what was likely the first microcomputer motion control system. At the same time, he worked as a camera operator, eventually progressing to Director of Photography and VFX supervisor. Beck founded Light Matters, Inc. in 1994, was original partner of Pixel Envy, and founded Entity FX in 2002. Entity’s Canadian subsidiary, Entity FX North, just celebrated its 5th anniversary.
Mat has worked on such notable films as Titanic, The Abyss, Moonstruck, X-Files: The Movie, True Lies, Galaxy Quest, Batman Returns and The Nutty Professor, among others. Since founding Entity FX in 2002, Mat has supervised visual effects for such feature projects as Miami Vice, Scary Movie 4, Hitch, The Aviator, Spider-Man 2, Herbie: Fully Loaded, Sweet Home Alabama, The Air I Breathe, Rush Hour 3, Into the Wild, The Spirit, Law Abiding Citizen, The Final Destination: 3D, Conviction, Michael Jackson’s This Is It, I am Number Four, Fright Night, and U2 – From the Sky Down.
On the television side, Mat has produced and/or executive supervised visual effects for many ground breaking series, including The Vampire Diaries, Smallville, Breaking Bad, and X-Files as well as, most recently, Charlie’s Angels and the Secret Circle Pilot. He has also supervised effects for HBO’s Six Feet Under, Entourage and Band of Brothers. Mat is also an experienced director, having led multiple second units on feature and television projects, as well as directing an episode of Smallville.
Mat has been nominated for VES and ATAS awards and has won two Emmy awards. In addition to the VES, where he served on the board for 6 years, Mat is a member of The American Society of Cinematographers (serving on the Tech Committee), The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences (Executive Committee), The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, The International Cinematographers Guild (Local 600), The Directors Guild of America and The Writers Guild of America.
Scott Ross (2012) — Former CEO, Digital Domain
He founded, along with Hollywood luminaries James Cameron and Stan Winston, Digital Domain, one of the largest digital production studios in the motion picture and advertising industries. Under Ross’ direction, Digital Domain garnered multiple Academy Award nominations, receiving its first Oscar for the ground breaking visual effects in TITANIC. That success was followed by a second Oscar for WHAT DREAMS MAY COME and a third for THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Digital Domain received additional nominations for TRUE LIES, APOLLO 13 and I, ROBOT and has won four Scientific and Technical Achievement Academy Awards for its proprietary software. For well over a decade Ross oversaw the company that created imagery for movies such as TITANIC, THE FIFTH ELEMENT,APOLLO13, FIGHT CLUB, TRUE LIES, INTERVIEW WITH THE VAMPIRE, O BROTHER WHERE ART THOU, X-MEN, THE LORD OF THE RINGS, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW, I ROBOT and many, many others. Ross has worked with the who’s who of film directors such as Cameron, Bay, Fincher, Howard, Scorsese, Coppola, The Coen Brothers, Spielberg, Kurosawa, Jackson, Salles and generally, has nice things to say about them.
In 2006 as Digital Domain’s CEO and Chairman, he successfully sold Digital Domain to director Michael Bay and a group of private equity investors.
Prior to forming Digital Domain he led George Lucas’ vast entertainment empire, running ILM, Skywalker Sound, LucasFilm Commercial Productions and DroidWorks. Ross first joined LucasFilm as General Manager of Industrial Light and Magic and under his leadership, ILM won five Academy Awards for Best Visual Effects (WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT; INNERSPACE; TERMINATOR 2; THE ABYSS; DEATH BECOMES HER). The company re-organized in the 90’s and Ross was named Sr. VP of the LucasArts Entertainment Group, which was comprised of Skywalker Sound, LucasArts Commercial Productions, LucasArts Attractions, Editdroid/Soundroid and ILM.
Ross has played a significant role in the worldwide advertising industry as well. Having started commercial production companies whilst at LucasFilm (ILM and LCP) as well as Digital Domain’s Commercials Division, he has led two of the largest VFX commercial production companies on the planet. Digital Domain has continually established itself as the premiere visual effects studio in the advertising industry. With Fortune 500 clients such as Nike, American Express, Gatorade, Anheuser-Busch, Coca-Cola and Mercedes Benz, the DD Commercials Division has garnered dozens of Clio Awards and numerous Cannes Golden Lions.
In addition to the visual effects divisions, Mr. Ross launched Digital Domain Films, a feature film production division. The first feature film produced by Mr. Ross was the New Line Cinema release SECONDHAND LIONS which achieved both critical and box office success.
Prior to his celebrated career in film and advertising, Ross was a sound engineer touring with bands such as Miles Davis, The Allman Brothers and Johnny Winter.
A native of New York City, Ross began his career in Media Studies at Hofstra University where he graduated with a BS in Communication Arts. He returned to Hofstra to receive an honorary doctorate degree from his alma mater.
Mr. Ross is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (OSCARS); The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (EMMYS). He has worked on over 100 of the world’s largest special effects films and has lectured extensively about the creative process, content and technology in over 30 countries around the world.
Gaston Bitar (2012) — Senior Vice President, People & Organization, Sony Pictures Entertainment
Mr. Bitar has been an HR professional and thought leader in the entertainment industry for over 20 years, with experience at studios including MGM, the Samuel Goldwyn Co., Warner Bros., as well as the Eastman Kodak Co. With responsibility for overseeing company-wide compensation and benefits, organization design, talent recruitment, employee relations, and management development for visual effects and production entities such as Warner Digital, Cinesite, Imageworks, Sony Pictures Animation, Colorworks and the various Sony Pictures production and marketing entities, his specialty lies within the field of managing and motivating highly creative and technical talent.
Mr. Bitar is a native of California, born and raised in Hollywood, and holds a degree in economics and international areas studies from the University of California at Los Angeles. He currently resides in Calabasas, CA with his wife and two young children.
Ruth Hauer (2012) — VFX Production Executive, The Walt Disney Company
Ruth Hauer has worked at the Walt Disney Company in the Feature Film VFX department for the past ten years.
She is responsible for the management of visual effects from inception through delivery on half of the feature films at The Walt Disney Studios.
She feels very fortunate to work for such a prestigious brand.
Buzz Hays (2012) — Former Senior Vice President of 3D Production, Sony Corporation
Experience:
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF 3D PRODUCTION, SONY CORPORATION – CULVER CITY, NEW YORK, TOKYO (2009-2012)
3D Technology Center – Designed, built, staffed and managed company-wide division.
Sony Consumer and Broadcast Electronics – Consultant to technology R&D teams throughout Sony worldwide.
3D Storytelling Consultant – Consultant to leading film and television directors, producers and editors working in 3D production.
SENIOR PRODUCER – 3D FEATURE FILMS, SONY PICTURES IMAGEWORKS, CULVER CITY, CA (2006-2009)
Alice In Wonderland (Disney) – Consulting 3D Producer (2009)
Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs (Sony Pictures Animation) – Consulting 3D Producer (2009)
G-Force 3D (Bruckheimer Films/Disney) – Senior 3D Producer (2009)
Jonas Bros. 3D Concert Experience (Disney) – Senior 3D VFX Producer (2009)
Beowulf (Paramount Pictures/Warner Bros.) – Senior 3D Producer (2007)
Open Season (Sony Pictures Animation) – Senior 3D Producer (2006)
Monster House (Columbia Pictures) – Senior 3D Producer (2006)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER – COMMERCIALS & MUSIC VIDEOS, RADIUM, SANTA MONICA, CA (2005)
Missy Elliot “Lose Control” – Award-winning music video – Executive Producer (2005)
Spider Man 2.5 (Columbia Pictures) – European DVD release VFX – Executive Producer (2005)
Warm Springs (HBO) – VFX Producer/Executive Producer (2005)
Commercial Production:
Coca-Cola, Budweiser, Bud Light, Oracle, Texas Instruments/DLP, and VW Polo – Executive Producer (2005)
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER//PRODUCER – MAIN TITLE SEQUENCES & VFX, YU+CO, HOLLYWOOD, CA (2003-2004)
NOVA (WGBH) – Series Intro – Producer/Executive Producer (2004)
Beijing Summer Olympics (Int’l Olympics Committee) – Inaugural film – Producer (2004)
Catwoman (Warner Bros.) – Main Titles – Producer/Executive Producer (2004)
The Terminal (Dreamworks) – Main Titles – Producer/Executive Producer (2004)
Chronicles of Riddick (Universal Pictures) – Main Titles – Producer/Executive Producer (2004)
Taking Lives (Warner Bros.) – Main Titles – Producer/Executive Producer (2004)
Van Helsing (Universal) – VFX – Producer/Executive Producer (2004)
Iron Jawed Angels (HBO) – Main Titles – Producer/Executive Producer (2003)
Sobini Films Logo – Motion Logo Design – Producer/Executive Producer (2003)
Sex and the City (TBS) – Series Launch Campaign – Producer/Executive Producer (2003)
The Last Shot (Touchstone Pictures) – Main Titles – Producer/Executive Producer (2003)
HBO Summer Films Campaign (HBO) – Producer/Executive Producer (2003)
David Stump, ASC (2012) — Cinematographer
David is a member of the AMPAS, ATAS, ASC, PGA, IATSE, SOC, SMPTE and numerous other industry associations. He is currently engaged in volunteer work for the SMPTE as co chair of a study group on the subject of High Frame Rate for digital cinema. He is also participating in the AMPAS Academy Color Encoding System (ACES) file format project where he has contributed significantly in the area of metadata.
In 2001 David was accepted for full membership into the American Society of Cinematographers, where he is currently chairman of the Camera Subcommittee of the ASC Technical Committee. Under his guidance, the combined efforts of the Producer’s Guild of America and the American Society of Cinematographers recently completed production of both the ASC / PGA Camera Assessment Series, and the ASC / PGA Image Control Assessment Series, side by side comparisons of virtually all of the high end digital cinema cameras against film, run through industry standard 10 bit log and ACES workflows, and taken all the way out to film print and Digital Cinema Package.
Stan Szymanski (2012) — Owner/Resource Strategist, StanleyVision, Inc.
Stan is an experienced digital media production executive with a 30 year career in artist management, talent development, recruiting, facility management and resource strategy. As SVP of Creative Resources for Sony Pictures Imageworks and Head of Digital Operations for Digital Domain / Florida, he recruited and managed the careers of hundreds of creative and technical artists. Stan founded StanleyVision, Inc. in 2009, a consulting, recruiting, career mentoring and resource management firm for today’s global production environment.
Vincent Brisebois (2012) — Fusion-io Director of Visual Computing
As Fusion-io Director of Visual Computing, Vincent Brisebois works closely with entertainment production studios on implementing solutions that facilitate new levels of creativity, productivity and worldwide collaboration. Vincent has designed technology solutions for 2D and 3D production in the visual effects, video game and design industries for over 15 years. Before joining Fusion-io, Vincent spent 11 years at AutodeskMedia & Entertainment, working with leading Hollywood studios both as aProduct Specialist for 3dsmax and as Product Designer on Autodesk’s desktop compositing tool, Toxik (now Composite). At Autodesk, Vincent was a key member of the stereoscopic advisory board, where he helped to establishinnovative S3D conversion pipelines with major studio clients. In addition working as a VFX supervisor and artist with four-time Academy Award nomineeDavid Lynch, Vincent is a member of the Visual Effects Society (VES) Technology Council and has been a member of the VES since its founding year.
Erika W. Burton (2012) — Co- President, Film Division- Rhythm & Hues Studios
As co-president of Rhythm & Hues’ Film division, Erika shares leadership duties with Lee Berger, the division’s president. Together, they are responsible for the extensive client relations and production management associated with the studio’s core animation and vfx production service work, in tandem with the division’s senior management team. In addition, Erika utilizes her vast experience and network of relationships within the entertainment industry to facilitate the studio’s emphasis on the development of new original content.
Prior to her current position, Erika served as vice president of production for Disney Animation. She was the executive producer for R&H Films from 2006 to early 2011, overseeing teams whose work included the Academy Award-winning “The Golden Compass,” (for Achievement in Visual Effects, 2008), and the highly successful “Alvin & Chipmunks” and “Night at the Museum” franchises. Erika was the vfx producer for R&H on the Oscar-nominated “The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” and vfx produced “Evan Almighty” and “Dr. Seuss’ ‘The Cat in the Hat’ for the studio.
Before joining R&H in 2002, Erika produced effects at The Secret Lab/Dream Quest Images on such films as “Reign of Fire,” “The Kid,” “Bicentennial Man,” “Instinct” and “Deep Rising.” At Industrial Light + Magic she moved up through the ranks working on “Mission: Impossible,” “Men in Black” and other projects. Erika’s early career featured stints at Jim Henson Productions, Showtime Networks and Triad Artists.
Erika is a graduate of UCLA, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in History
Mary Ann Hughes (2012) — Vice President, Film and Television Production Planning, The Walt Disney Company
As a result of the growth and focus on production incentives and film finance opportunities, Mary Ann transferred from Corporate Tax to the Studio Finance Group in 2006 as Vice President, Film and Television Production Planning. She now devotes 100% of her time looking for opportunities to reduce production costs through film and television production incentives and structured film financing deals. She supports Disney’s feature film groups (Walt Disney Pictures and Marvel) as well as Disney’s television groups (ABC Studios and ABC Cable Network).
Mary Ann holds a BS in Accounting from Cal Poly Pomona.
Mary Ann Hughes (2012) — Vice President, Film and Television Production Planning, The Walt Disney Company
Stephanie Ito (2012) — Executive Vice President, Post Production, Paramount Pictures
Most notably, Ito oversaw post on the hit films “TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON,” Michael Bay’s first film in stereo, for which they developed a hybrid 3D post process to achieve the incredible experience he was after; J.J. Abrams’ “STAR TREK,” which was nominated for Academy Awards in both Sound Editing and Sound Mixing; “SUPER 8,” directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Steven Spielberg; and “MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – GHOST PROTOCOL,” the latest installment in the Tom Cruise action franchise.
Ito has recently completed post on “FLIGHT,” Robert Zemeckis’ return to live-action filmmaking, starring Denzel Washington; and Christopher McQuarrie’s action-thriller “JACK REACHER,” starring Tom Cruise. She is currently at work on Michael Bay’s “PAIN AND GAIN” and “STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS,” among others.
Prior to joining Paramount, Ito served as a Post Production Supervisor at DreamWorks, where she worked on the following titles from legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg: “WAR OF THE WORLDS,” “MUNICH” and “INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL.” Before that, Ito worked as a Digital Intermediate Producer at Technicolor Digital Intermediates and in Post at National Geographic Television, Specials.
Albert Cheng (2012) — EVP of Digital Media, and Chief Product Officer, Disney-ABC Television Group
With the release of the ABC Player in 2010, Cheng and the Disney/ABC Television Group added an important first to their array of technical innovations, becoming the first network to offer ad-supported full episodes on the iPad. The player was recently named the sixth most downloaded free iPad app of all time, and has now expanded to iPhone and iPod touch. Other DATG firsts include being the 1st to offer full episodes on iTunes (October 2005); 1st to stream ad-supported full episodes online (May 2006); 1st to offer full episodes on demand on a mobile platform (w/Sprint, May 2007); the 1st to stream episodes online in true 720p HD (Fall 2007); and the 1st to offer expert and user commentary with full episodes online (Fall 2009). Most recently, Cheng’s team was nominated for two 2011 Creative Arts Emmy’s, which they won for “Oscar Digital Experience.”
Thomas A. Walsh (2012) — Production Designer & President, Art Directors Guild (Local 800)
Production Designer Thomas A. Walsh has been serving as President of the Art Directors Guild since January 1, 2003. The union was then also known as IATSE, Local 876. He succeeded Jack De Govia, who served from 1999 through 2002. Walsh previously was a member of the Guild’s Executive Board and Co-Chairman of its Film Society. In September of 2003, following a merger with Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists (IATSE Local 816), Walsh was elected President of the newly re-named Art Directors Guild & Scenic, Title and Graphic Artists as well as Chair of the Art Directors Guild Council. The merged unions became IATSE Local 800. In 2008, IATSE Locals 790 and 847, representing Set Designers, Model Makers, Illustrators and Matte Artists, merged into the Guild. In December 2009, the membership voted to change the name of the Guild to Art Director’s Guild. The total ADG membership now numbers 1,800.
Walsh was born in Los Angeles in 1955 to a show-business family. His father, Arthur Walsh, appeared in many musicals, comedies, dramas and shorts while under contract to MGM Studios. Later his father was a successful nightclub comedian on the Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe, Reno circuit.
Walsh’s interest in narrative design developed at Hollywood High School, where he designed and staged plays and musicals. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Design from California Institute of the Arts.
He has designed for feature films, Imax/Omnimax, television movies and series, documentaries, Broadway dramas and musicals, and regional theatre.
Walsh is the winner of a Primetime Emmy for Art Direction and an ADG Award nomination for Buddy Faro (1998). He is also winner of the 2004 ADG Excellence in Production Design Award for a Single Camera Series for the hit ABC-TV show, Desperate Housewives.
His work on In Search of Dr. Seuss (1993) garnered another Emmy nomination as well as a Cable Ace Award. Walsh also did production design work on MGM: When the Lion Roars (1992), which won an Emmy for Best Informational Special.
Walsh is a leader in designing for Imax and one of his projects, The Living Sea (1995), received a Documentary Academy Award nomination. He designed the Tony Award winning Best Production of 1980 (Children of A Lesser God) and was associated with three other Tony Award wins for Best Production from his work as an associate designer with famed Production Designer Tony Walton (I’m Not Rappaport, 1986; The Real Thing, 1984; My One and Only, 1984).
In addition, Walsh was nominated for a second Cable Ace Award for Kingfish, A Story of Huey P. Long (1994). He most recently was the production designer on ABC-TV’s hit series, Desperate Housewives for four seasons. Walsh is Co-Chairman of the Art Directors Guild Film Society and has been a member of United Scenic Artists in New York for 28 years.
Walsh is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Center For Film & TV Design, a non-profit organization of prominent motion picture and television production designers, illustrators, set designers, costume designers, library professionals, business executives and other industry creative artists. The Center’s mission is to preserve outstanding design achievements and advance understanding of design through publications, activities, exhibitions and special events; support scholarly research; rescue endangered film and television design history; and explore new design technologies.
George Whitesides (2012) — CEO, Virgin Galactic
Prior to Virgin Galactic, Whitesides served as Chief of Staff for NASA, where he provided policy and staff support to the agency’s Administrator. Upon departure from the agency he was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal, the highest award the agency confers.
Prior to his role at NASA, Whitesides served as Executive Director of the National Space Society (NSS). NSS is a space policy and advocacy group that was founded by Apollo program leader Wernher von Braun and the journalist Hugh Downs.
Whitesides currently serves on the board of Virgin Unite USA, the philanthropic organization of Virgin Group; the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Space Security; and the advisory board of the Rotary National Award for Space Achievement Foundation. He is a fellow of the UK’s Royal Aeronautical Society.
He has previously served as Chairman of the Reusable Launch Vehicle Working Group for the FAA’s Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee. He served for a limited period as a member of the National Research Council Space Studies Board’s Committee on the Rationale and Goals of the US Civil Space Program. He served for four years on the Board of Trustees of Princeton University.
Whitesides began his career at Orbital Sciences Corporation as executive intern and subsequently special assistant to the president. He served as Vice President of Marketing for Zero Gravity Corporation, a private space-tourism company, during its launch period, and Director of Marketing for Blastoff Corporation, a space-experience company funded by film and technology leaders.
With his wife Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides, Whitesides co-founded Yuri’s Night, an annual global celebration of space that has been celebrated in over 50 countries. Mr. Whitesides co-founded Permission to Dream, a global space education program that donated telescopes to underprivileged children.
Whitesides has testified on American space policy before the United States Senate and the President’s Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy. Whitesides maintains an active speaking and media schedule. Whitesides was selected by Space News as one of twelve ‘People to Watch.’
Mr. Whitesides received his undergraduate degree in public and international affairs with honors from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School, a master’s degree in geographic information systems and remote sensing from the University of Cambridge in England, and was a Fulbright Scholar to Tunisia. Whitesides is a licensed private pilot and certified parabolic flight coach.
Andrew Orloff (2012) — Executive CreativeDirector / VFX Supervisor, Zoic Studios
A graduate of UCLA’s school of Theatre, Film and Television, Orloff was also on the Advisory Board at Gnomon School of Visual Effects, and has created numerous instructional DVDs on visual effects and CG production. He has also been a featured speaker at various conferences and industry events including VES and motion. His work as VFX Supervisor on on TNT’s “Falling Skies” and ABC’s “Once Upon a Time” was recently nominated for 2012 Emmy Awards.
Bob Coleman (2012) — President, Digital Artists Agency, Inc (DAA)
Robin Alan Linn (2012) — Artist Manager / Recruiting & Academic Relations
Foregoing a formal college education for a lucrative career as a convenience store night clerk, bank teller, bar bouncer, life drawing model, floral delivery man and costumed cartoon character Robin started sculpting as a way to stay sane. Through a series of events that decry any career path logic Robin found himself employed at Hanna-Barbera Cartoons as a sculptor. For years he spent his days there sculpting kiddy meal toys and animator’s maquettes and in short time rose up to become an Art Director with their licensing and marketing division, Orbit City Art Company. With the digital world dawning, Robin left H&B and went to work for Sony Pictures Imageworks arriving there as a digital character modeler before “going over to the dark side” of artist management. He eventually achieved the rank of Director of Animation Production and college outreach chair for the Imageworks Professional Academic Excellence (IPAX) program. As chair, Robin found himself being invited to speak on various college campuses and conferences around the globe about his experiences and his passion for the animation industry.
Robin joined Reel FX as their artist manager, recruiter and resident lecturer in the summer of 2009 where he continues to speak about the various career opportunities that the world of animation has to offer. It should be noted, that while Robin has now reached middle age, he still spends his Saturday mornings, cereal bowl in hand, watching hour upon hour (upon hour) of Warner Brother’s and Hanna-Barbera cartoons.
Ed Ulbrich (2012,2013) — CEO, Digital Domain and Mothership
While at Digital Domain, Ed executive produced the Academy Award-winning visual effects for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Titanic, and What Dreams May Come, as well as Tron Legacy, Fight Club, and Zodiac among others; music videos for Lady Gaga, Rolling Stones, and Michael Jackson, and more; 500+ commercials and the computer-generated “hologram” of the late rap star Tupac Shakur for the Coachella Valley Music Festival. He was also named one of the 100 most creative people in business by “Fast Company” magazine and has spoken about creativity and innovation at top worldwide conferences including TED, Sundance, SXSW, Google Creative Sandbox, PICNIC, NASA and others. Prior to Digital Domain, Ed was a producer at the Leo Burnett Company. Ed holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Illinois.
Rohin Aggarwal (2013) — Founder & CEO Scarecrow Visual Effects
Max Michael (2013) — Head of Business Development, Asia - Agent, Motion Picture Literary Department, UTA
Originally from the New York City area, Michael joined UTA in 2008 after graduating from Colgate University with a B.A. in Environmental Ethics and Public Policy and a minor in Film and Media Studies. As head of UTA’s China initiative, Max is responsible for growing the agency’s regional presence in talent and literary representation, online and social media, licensing, branding, endorsements, film financing and production.
In addition to spearheading UTA’s business development in Asia, Michael is an agent in the motion picture literary department, representing both established and emerging feature writers and directors. His clients include Michael Katleman, executive producer of basic cable’s most-watched scripted series “Rizzoli and Isles,” and Robert Stromberg, director of Disney’s upcoming film MALEFICENT, starring Angelina Jolie.
Jacqui Barcos (2013) — Writer/Director
Stacy Burstin (2013) — Founder and President, Eevolver Inc.
As the President of Eevolver, Mr. Burstin develops properties for all media and has integrated new pipelines to distribute content. Eevolver is a serves as both a creative consulting company for feature film, advertising and special venue films as well as an international co-production company.
Prior to spinning of her division from Rhythm & Hues Studios to Eevolver, Stacy was the Executive Producer at the Academy Award winning animation and Visual Effects studio, in El Segundo. Stacy founded the Design Division in 1998. Since it’s inception, she has generated new areas of revenue and expanded R&H into emerging markets for content development.
During her tenure at R&H, Ms. Burstin produced and managed the senior creative staff and directors who were helping to develop and oversee the aesthetic continuity for the studio’s feature films, commercials and new media productions. Rhythm & Hues Studios is one of the world’s leading producers of quality character animation and visual effects for the entertainment industry, winning awards such as; two Academy Awards for Achievement in Visual Effects, in 2013 for, “Life of Pi”, 2008 for “The Golden Compass and Babe,” BAFTA award for Special Visual Effects, three Scientific and Technical Academy Awards, and over 50 Clio’s.
Stacy has also served as a strategic consultant for an array of companies from venture-backed high tech start-ups to fund raising institutions. Stacy has also consulted with a number of entertainment companies and product, sample clients include; Blockade Entertainment: A production company using game engines and assets to create television shows and films. Projects include; Lego Star wars, Heavenly Sword, Little Angel, Hollywood Film Awards, Lucie Awards, Handgear.com, Anet.net and Focus on Aids.
Chris Kubsch (2013) — President Method Studios
Christian Kubsch is president of Method Studios, the visual-effects unit of Deluxe Entertainment Services Group, with bases in Los Angeles, London, Vancouver, Sydney, Melbourne, New York, Chicago, Detroit, and Atlanta. Method’s credits include the commercials DirecTV “Troll” (AICP Award for Animation), Super Bowl hit Kia “Space Babies,” Chevy “2012 Silverado” (VES Award and HPA Award winner); and recent films “Iron Man 3,” “Cloud Atlas,” “Argo,” “Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter,” “Wrath of the Titans.” ” The Wolverine,” “White House Down,” and “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.”
Prior to joining Method, Kubsch served as President of Prana Studios, a visual effects & animation studio with operations in Los Angeles and Mumbai. Prana’s VFX credits include “Hitchcock,” “John Carter,” “Transformers: Dark Of The Moon.” “Thor.” and “Tron: Legacy.” Prana also provided exclusive digital animation services for “Disney’s Secret Of The Wings,” and “Planes.”
Kubsch joined Prana from ImageMovers Digital (IMD), a joint venture between Academy Award® winning director Robert Zemeckis and The Walt Disney Studios. As IMD’s EVP and General Manager, Kubsch was in charge of Digital Production for “Disney’s A Christmas Carol,” “Mars Needs Moms,” and pre-production for “The Beatles’ Yellow Submarine.”
Previously Kubsch served as the first Managing Director of Lucasfilm in Singapore. He was responsible for start-up, initial build out, and talent acquisition for the studio’s first slate of animation, vfx, and interactive entertainment titles, including “Star Wars: The Clone Wars.”
Kubsch also enjoyed a stint as a production executive at DreamWorks Animation and served as VFX and Animation producer for several other Hollywood studios. His production credits include “Over The Hedge,” “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets,” “The Matrix: Revolutions & Reloaded,” “Mars Attacks!,” “Titanic,” and “The Mask.”
Earlier Mr. Kubsch joined Douglas Trumbull and his team at IMAX Corporation as Executive Producer and Vice President, where he was responsible for the development and production of special venue films in the company’s 70mm/15perf and Vista Vision formats.
He began his career with Universal Studios in Hollywood, where he coordinated and later production managed and produced several film-based attractions, including “2010,” “Star Trek,” “Back To the Future The Ride,” “T23D,” and “Jurassic Park.”
A native of West-Berlin, Germany, Kubsch graduated from John F. Kennedy International School prior to studying film and theater production at New York’s Long Island University.
Kubsch is an active member of the Producers Guild of America and a founding member of the Visual Effects Society.
Richard Crudo, ASC (2013) — Cinematographer
In 2009 he directed the action\horror film Against the Dark for Sony Home Entertainment. During 2012, he wrote, directed and photographed the contemporary crime feature Dirty People. Additionally, for the past five seasons he has contributed photography to the popular FX Network series, Justified.
Mr. Crudo is currently President of the American Society of Cinematographers (having served in the same capacity from 2003 through 2006). He is also serving as a Governor of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He is a frequent guest lecturer at universities across the United States and is a regular contributor to American Cinematographer magazine and other industry publications. He is also a leading proponent in the industry’s drive to establish standards for digital imaging workflow.
Other professional affiliations include memberships in the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Society of Cinematographers, the National Film Preservation Board for the Library of Congress, the International Cinematographers Guild and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. In 2007 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society. In May of 2012, he was invited to become a Canon Camera Explorer of Light.
Arnon Manor (2013) — VFX Production Executive, Columbia Pictures
Arnon started his career in visual effects as an artist at Buf in Paris, working on the feature film The City of Lost Children. He then spent several years at Framestore and Double Negative in London, working on both commercials and features including Lost in Space, A Life Less Ordinary and Pitch Black, before moving Los Angeles to be a Senior Technical Director at Imageworks (credits include Hollow Man, Stuart Little 2, Charlie’s Angels). He continued on to be a CG Supervisor at Cinesite Hollywood on X-Men 2 and followed that as the Digital Supervisor on Garfield at R&H.
Arnon then took a break from Visual Effects to produce several independent movies, but was quickly lured back as a Visual Effects Producer for the movie The Warrior’s Way. His subsequent VFX Producing credits include Project X and Man on a Ledge.
Arnon Manor joined Columbia Pictures as a Visual Effects Production Executive in August 2011, and has overseen titles such as 21 Jump Street, This is the End and Captain Phillips, amongst others.
He was born in Israel but grew up in England. He has a BA in Graphic Design and a Graduate Degree in Computer Graphics.
David Danesi (2013) — Founder, Digital District
Paris native Danesi began his career as an editor and became fascinated with Visual Effects, studying the Flame when it arrived in Paris in the early 90’s.
As a Flame Artist and Visual Effects Supervisor working in commercials, his strong artistic eye and common language with directors brought him so much success that he decided to build his own company.
In 2001 he founded Def2Shoot, starting with 2 partners, a Flame machine and an assistant. Within 2 years he had over 70 employees and was working in commercials, features and children’s animation for television for the French market.
In 2008 he created Digital District with new partners and his creative team followed him, giving the company a core group who have been together for 13 years, with work expanding beyond France to all corners of the world.
David’s desire to provide a nimble and reactive culture for his clients has resulted in offices in Paris, Brussels, Montreal and Shanghai. Recent awards include the Gold Clio for Best Visual Effects, The Cannes Lion, and The New York Advertising Award amongst many others.
Tim Sarnoff (2013) — President of Technicolor Digital Productions
Technicolor’s internationally‐renowned creative post house, MPC (The Moving Picture Company), offers visual effects and post production to the advertising, feature film, music, broadcast and digital industries. Services range from color correction to 2D compositing and 3D animation. MPC helps directors realize their vision in the most efficient way thanks to its strong R&D department. Some of the feature films completed are Prince of Persia, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, Robin Hood, Clash of the Titans, Narnia: The Voyage of Dawn Treader, all of the Harry Potter films, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Prometheus, Life of Pi (2013 Visual Effects Academy Award®), World War Z, and Man of Steel.
From 1997 to 2009, Tim was President of Sony Pictures Imageworks, an Academy Award® winning, innovative digital production studio dedicated to the art and artistry of visual effects and character creation. As president of Imageworks, Tim was responsible for the direction and management of the facility, which has been recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences with Oscars® for its work on SPIDER‐MANTM 2 and the CG animated short film THE CHUBBCHUBBS!, as well as 10 additional nominations.
Prior to his affiliation with Imageworks, Tim created and was Senior Vice President of Warner Digital Studios, which was established as a division of Warner Bros. in 1995. Tim originally joined Warner Bros. in 1989 to set up Steven Spielberg’s animated series “Tiny Toon Adventures.”
Tim is a graduate of Stanford University with Bachelor of Arts (BA) degrees in Psychology and in Communications (Journalism).
Patrick Davenport (2013) — SVP, Global Operations, Method Studios
Prior to joining Method, Patrick served as Executive Producer at Image Metrics, where he worked on features such as The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and introduced the company’s proprietary performance-driven facial animation into VFX and animation markets globally. Originally from the UK, Patrick’s VFX experience in the US started with Digital Domain, where he was initially hired as Director of Digital Operations before being promoted to Executive Producer of Digital Domain’s commercial division in 2001. Patrick began his visual effects career at The Moving Picture Company in London, where he first joined the VFX department as a producer before being promoted to Director of VFX in 1995.
Chris Edwards (2013) — CEO & Creative Director, The Third Floor, Inc.
As CEO and Creative Director, Edwards has helped design many feature films, commercials, and video game cinematics. Theatrical credits include Avatar, Alice in Wonderland, War Horse, Iron Man 2, Thor & The Avengers. Cinematic credits include Resident Evil 5, Lost Planet 2, Starcraft II & Diablo III.
Chris Edwards has established a branch of THE THIRD FLOOR in London and Montreal and he is one of the founders of the Previsualization Society, an international non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the artform of previs. In 2011 Edwards co-founded HYDRA Entertainment to develop original content and produce strong, story-driven franchises.
Mimi Gramatky (2013) — President, Art Directors Guild (IATSE Local 800)
Gramatky is a former member of the Board of Governors of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco State University and is a Bush Fellow in theatre design, having interned at the Guthrie Theatre, Minneapolis. In a parallel career, Mimi has developed and taught Production Design curriculum for more than two decades. She has been married for 27 years to Composer/Arranger/Orchestrator Geoff Stradling.
Payam Shohadai (2013) — Executive Supervisor / Co Founder, Luma Pictures
Luma’s steady growth under Shohadai’s leadership is a testament to the quality of work—and life—that he espouses. An advocate of the “work hard, play hard” attitude, Shohadai provides Luma with ample opportunities for team-building activities, cultural excursions and enjoyable events. This attitude permeates the Luma world and fosters a feeling of family within the studio, not only in their “extracurricular” activities but also throughout production.
Shohadai has led Luma’s visual effects team on more than 75 film projects, ranging from blockbusters such as Marvel’s The Avengers and X-Men: First Class, to creature genre films such as the Underworld franchise, to dramatic Oscar-nominated films such as the Coen brothers’ True Grit.
Jason Garber (2013) — Production / Effects Agent, Paradigm
Greg Chou (2013) — COO FilmEngine Entertainment
Gregory Chou is the COO of FilmEngine Entertainment, helping lead the creative, strategic, and business efforts of the Beverly Hills-based production company. FilmEngine has produced over fifteen films such as LUCKY NUMBER SLEVIN, THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, THE RUM DIARY, and KILLING SEASON. Prior to joining FilmEngine, Greg spent several years at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and Paradigm, focused on the packaging and financing of feature films, as well as the structuring of film production funds and film finance companies. Previously, he was a senior executive at Sony where he was involved in licensing, M&A, and corporate initiatives including the launch of VEVO.com, the #1 most visited music website in the U.S. Earlier, Greg was an investment professional at Norwest Venture Partners, a $4 billion dollar private equity firm, where he led investments in the technology and entertainment industries. Greg began his career in investment banking for Morgan Stanley. On the entrepreneurial front, he is the founder of Delofted.com, a popular website covering the latest equipment and apparel in golf. Greg is a dual-degree graduate of the Wharton School and the School of Engineering & Applied Science, both at the University of Pennsylvania. He also holds an MBA from Northwestern University.
Chris Meledandri (2013) — Founder, CEO, Producer, Illumination Entertainment
In April 2011, Illumination released Hop, which starred Russell Brand and James Marsden and became the No. 1 film in North America for two consecutive weeks. Illumination followed this up in March 2012, when it released its next fully animated feature film, Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, which had the highest three-day opening for an animated film that year ($70.2 million) and also had the eighth-highest domestic opening for an animated film of all time. The Lorax continued the successful collaboration between Meledandri and Theodor “Dr. Seuss” Geisel’s widow, Audrey Geisel.
Universal and Illumination’s Despicable Me 2, which was released this year to critical acclaim, recently became the 5th highest-grossing animated film of all time worldwide, opening No. 1 in 67 territories across the globe and earning more than $885 million.
Meledandri is currently in production on Minions, an original animated film starring Oscar® winner Sandra Bullock and Jon Hamm that will be released on July 10, 2015, as well as an untitled project that will be released on February 12, 2016.
Meledandri was previously an executive at 20th Century Fox for 13 years. While there, he became founding president of 20th Century Fox Animation, which he headed for eight years, amassing more than $2 billion in global box-office revenue.
During his tenure, he helped 20th Century Fox become a major player in the world of animated feature films and in 1998, he led 20th Century Fox’s acquisition of fledgling visual effects/commercial house Blue Sky Studios, which he built into a successful producer of animated features. He oversaw the creative and business operations of Blue Sky Studios, now 20th Century Fox’s wholly owned CGI studio. While at the studio, Meledandri supervised and/or executive produced movies including Ice Age, Ice Age: The Meltdown, Robots, Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Simpsons Movie and Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who!.
Before joining 20th Century Fox, Meledandri was president of Dawn Steel Pictures at Walt Disney Pictures, where he served as an executive producer of Cool Runnings.
Nagin Cox (2013) — System Engineer, NASA/JPL
After leaving the Air Force to pursue more civilian space applications, she joined JPL in 1993 and has since served as a systems engineer and manager on multiple interplanetary robotic missions including NASA/JPL’s Galileo mission to Jupiter, the Mars Exploration Rover Missions and the Kepler telescope mission to search for earth‐like planets around other stars. Her roles have included the Deputy Team Chief of the engineering spacecraft flight team for NASA/JPL’s Galileo mission to Jupiter, the Deputy Team Chief of the Spacecraft/Rover Engineering Flight Team on the JPL Mars Exploration Rover Missions and the Deputy Project System Engineer on Kepler as well as the Supervisor for the Surface Systems –Systems Engineering Group at JPL. She also led the first phase of the proposal that has since become NASA’s 2016 Mars Mission‐ InSight. She is currently working on Mars Science Laboratory (MSL)‐ NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover that landed in August of 2012. On this mission, she has served in the past as the Assistant Flight System Engineering Manager and is now part of the mission operations team operating the rover on Mars. Nagin has spoken to audiences around the US, in Europe, and the Middle East on the stories of the people behind the missions.
In her spare time, Nagin races with her dragonboating team, competes in sprint triathlons and sings with a Sweet Adelines barbershop chorus. She is part of the assistant staff with a women’s self‐defense program and is involved with the Women’s Rights Committee of Human Rights Watch. She also enjoys exploring this planet with her husband.
Cheryl Boone Isaacs (2013) — Pres, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
Boone Isaacs was elected president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on July 30, 2013 by the organization’s Board of Governors. She is beginning her 21st year as a governor representing the Public Relations Branch. Boone Isaacs served as first vice president during the past year. She also produced the 2012 Governors Awards.
Boone Isaacs currently heads CBI Enterprises, Inc., where she has consulted on marketing efforts on such films as “The Call,” “The Artist,” “The King’s Speech,” “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire,” “Spider‐Man 2” and “Tupac: Resurrection.” Boone Isaacs previously served as president of theatrical marketing for New Line Cinema, where she oversaw numerous box office successes, including “Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me” and “Rush Hour.” Prior to joining New Line in 1997, she was executive vice president of worldwide publicity for Paramount Pictures, where she orchestrated publicity campaigns for the Best Picture winners “Forrest Gump” and “Braveheart.” Boone Isaacs earned a B.A. in Political Science from Whittier College.
Sid Ganis (2013) — Producer, Out of the Blue... Entertainment
Sid Ganis founded Out of the Blue… Entertainment in 1996, following a distinguished career as an executive at several major studios.
In 2005, Ganis was elected President of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and completed the maximum of four, one-year terms. He now serves as a Past President and active advisor to the Academy.
Out of the Blue Entertainment found box office success with its first two productions: Columbia’s Big Daddy, starring Adam Sandler, and Touchstone’s Deuce Bigalow. Then came Mr. Deeds, starring Sandler and Winona Ryder, and The Master of Disguise, starring Dana Carvey. Ganis and his wife, Nancy Hult Ganis, produced the critical success Akeelah and the Bee, staring Laurence Fishburne, Angela Bassett, and Keke Palmer.
Prior to founding Out of the Blue…, Ganis held various positions at Sony Pictures, including Vice Chairman of Columbia Pictures and President of Worldwide Marketing for Columbia/Tristar.
Before joining Sony, Ganis served for five years at Paramount Pictures. As President of the Motion Picture Group he green-lit the box-office hit Ghost and purchased the rights to Winston Groom’s novel Forrest Gump, which would go on to win six Academy Awards including Best Picture. Previously, Ganis served as Senior Vice President of Lucasfilm, Ltd., working closely with George Lucas on the production and marketing of The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders Of The Lost Ark, and other films. Ganis won an Emmy for producing the behind-the-scenes documentary The Making Of Raiders….
Recently, he Co–Executive Produced the ABC series PAN AM on which Nancy was Exec Producer.
Currently he is involved in a number of ventures in China including as a partner in Jiaflix Enterprises which, together with M1905 (China’s movie website), provides films via the Internet. He is also honorary Chairman of China’s Wuxi Studios.
He is also honorary Chariman of Wuxi Studio. In addition, Ganis also serves as an advisor to Dolby Laboratories.
Ganis is on the boards of FIND (Film Independent), the University of California, Berkeley Art Museum/Pacific Film Archive, and the San Francisco Film Society. In addition, Ganis served on the board of Marvel Entertainment for 10 years until its sale to Disney.
Hawk Koch (2013) — Producer, President of the Producers Guild of America
“In the years that I’ve been associated with the Academy, no president has been as bold and foresighted as Hawk Koch. One after another, his achievements were incredible. In the shortest time possible, he made the biggest impact.”
~Harvey Weinstein
Koch’s tenure at the Academy was distinguished by a sharpened focus on both member engagement and the future of filmmaking. Koch committed the Academy to a process of enlightened change that ensured the institution would continue to lead the film industry from the front rather than respond belatedly to tectonic shifts in the entertainment business. At a time of very rapid technological, creative, and economic transition, the Academy continues to set artistic standards which reflect the current state-of-the-art. Director Michael Mann (The Insider, Heat, Miami Vice) who is a Governor of the Academy, said of Koch that he “has finally brought the Academy into the 21st Century.”
The 85th Academy Awards, which took place on February 24th, 2013 and were overseen by Koch, showed significant increases in both total viewers and elusive younger and male viewers from previous years. Of the 85th Oscars, Academy Award winning director James L. Brooks (Terms of Endearment, Broadcast News, As Good As It Gets) said, “Thanks to Hawk, the Oscars are alive again.”
As President of the Producers Guild with Mark Gordon, Koch and Gordon led the fight to preserve the producer’s credit, which had been diluted, for real, working producers. With their leadership, Koch & Gordon have done the impossible. Recently, all six major studios have signed on to implement the Producers Mark certification, “p.g.a” which indicates who did the majority of the producing work on a film while also establishing an authentic seal of approval.
Koch also serves on the boards of the Motion Picture and Television Fund and the National Film Preservation Foundation.
Starting as a production assistant in 1965 and working his way all the way to the top, Hawk has been intimately involved with the making of over 60 major motion pictures,
Bill Kroyer (2013) — Director of Digital Arts, Chapman University
Andrew Merkin (2013) — Head of Special Projects and Transmedia, Mirada Studios
Andy holds an MS from MIT in transmedia production management, an MBA from HEC-Paris in creativity management, and an AB with Honors from Rollins College in anthropology/ international business. A true believer that interesting storytellers (hopefully) have led interesting lives, Andy’s previous work experience includes development and production for Sony Pictures Television, training teachers and entrepreneurs in the Peace Corps in Bangladesh, performing improv, and educating students in zoo keeping for Busch Gardens.
David Johnson (2014) — Lead Visual Effects Artist, Infinity Ward Studio
David Johnson is the Lead Visual Effects Artist at Activision/Blizzard’s Infinity Ward Studio. David has 16 years of computer graphics experience, of which 14 has been dedicated to video games. David has shipped a remarkable 15+ video games and has contributed to some of the largest names in video game history including the Call of Duty and Halo franchises. The combined revenue of games David has worked on exceeds 3 Billion Dollars, and have broken multiple records for units sold and revenue. David has been the recipient of two VES awards. David is an active VES member, on the Board of Directors, and member of the education, membership and awards committees. David is a published author, having contributed to book “Introduction to Game Development”, and is a regular speaker at universities and conferences.
Don Parker (2014) — CEO and Co-founder, Shotgun Software
Marc E. Hankin, Esq (2014) — Hankin Patent Law, APC
Marc advises owners and managers of all sized businesses on how best to protect their valuable technology and creative works, through patent prosecution, trademark and copyright registration, licensing agreements, and trade secret protection. For a quarter of a century, Marc has counseled clients, including manufacturers and distributors in many different industries, including: visual effects, home theater, optical, dental, and medical devices, footwear, garments, jewelry, food, nutraceuticals, and dietary supplements. Marc is quite knowledgeable about a wide variety of issues in the mechanical, chemical, and electrical arts.
Marc earned a B.S. in 1984 from Boston University (Medical Science; Biology, Chemistry, and Physics; Psychology); an M.S. in 1987 from Iona College (Biology; Scanning Electron Microscopy; Education); and a J.D. from The Law School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1992. After Law School, Marc served as a Law Clerk to the Honorable Charles L. Brieant, Jr., Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Marc may be reached at: Marc@HankinPatentLaw.com.
Bill Taylor, ASC (2014) — VFX Supervisor / Cinematographer
Bill Taylor, ASC (2014) — VFX Supervisor / Cinematographer
George Bloom (2014) — Executive Producer, CBS Digital
George has a passion for art and science. He is executive producer at CBS Digital the visual effects team responsible for movies and television series. He and his colleagues develop disruptive tools for production and custom content for the Oculus Rift. George previously served as Vice President of creative content at Disney/Pixar Studios and V.P. of Special Ops at 20th Century Fox Film Studios.
He built strategic marketing plans for all media platforms and produced original animation for the movies: Ratatouille, Walle, Toy Story 3, Tangled, Ice Age 2, Alice in Wonderland, Cars 2, Tron, Xmen 3 and Reel Steel. In 2005 he sold an original sci-fi thriller screenplay titled “The Savior” to The Weinstein Company. Prior to executive work George spent 14 years as a director of music videos, commercials, movie trailers and episodic television. His first big break was in the mid 80’s at the advent of MTV as creative director in the newly formed video division at Capitol Records. His first college summer job was imaging technician at Jet Propulsion Lab/NASA.
If not busy with work and family he enjoys novel writing, Kitesurfing, investing and is an avid Astrophotographer. George attended Pepperdine University, Brooks Institute of Photography and the University of Southern California.
Guild Memberships
Writers Guild of America
Producers Guild of America
Visual Effects Society
Twitter @AstroBloom
Websites www.cbsdvfx.com
www.TheMetaverseChannel
Bo Welch (2014) — Production Designer
Armed with a Bachelor of Architecture degree, Bo Welch began his design career in Los Angeles at a large architectural firm. After 6 mind numbing months he was lured into the world of movie design. From LOST BOYS, BEETLEJUICE, EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, BATMAN RETURNS, to MEN IN BLACK I,II,and III (Memorial Day 2012) and many films in between, Bo Welch has designs spanning 3 decades. He’s a 4 time Oscar nominee. He won a BAFTA .
His wide range of work also includes A LITTLE PRINCESS,THE BIRDCAGE, and THOR.
Bo Welch directed THE CAT IN THE HAT as well episodes of THE TICK.
Victoria Alonso (2014) — Executive Vice President of Visual Effects and Post Production, Marvel Studios
Executive Producer Victoria Alonso is currently executive producing writer/director Joss Whedon’s Avengers: Age of Ultron and Peyton Reed’s Antman for Marvel Studios, where she serves as Executive Vice President of Visual Effects and Post Production. She executive produced James Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy, Joe and Anthony Russo’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Alan Taylor’s Thor: The Dark World, Shane Black’s Iron Man 3, as well as Marvel’s The Avengers for Joss Whedon. She also co-produced Iron Man and Iron Man 2 with director Jon Favreau, Kenneth Branagh’s Thor, and Joe Johnston’s Captain America: The First Avenger. Alonso’s career began at the nascency of the visual effects industry, when she served as a commercial VFX producer. From there, she VFX-produced numerous feature films, working with such directors as Ridley Scott (Kingdom of Heaven), Tim Burton (Big Fish) and Andrew Adamson (Shrek), to name a few.
Jon Goldman (2015) — Venture Partner, Greycroft
Based in Los Angeles, Jon complements his Greycroft work through his continued involvement as Managing Partner for Skybound, the IP holder of The Walking Dead and other top IPs. Jon focuses on new businesses, including videogames and experiential entertainment. Previously, Jon served as board member and CEO for two portfolio companies at Jerusalem Venture Partners in videogames and online video. Jon was a founder, Chairman and CEO of Foundation 9 Entertainment, the largest independent videogame developer in the world at the time with 11 studios and 1000 employees and sold the company in 2006. Foundation 9’s studios created hundreds of videogames based on top tier global brands such as Star Wars, The Matrix, The Simpsons and Lord of the Rings. Jon started his career at a boutique investment bank focused on US-Asia strategic deals.
Jon attended Harvard, magma cum laude in Asian Studies, Phi Beta Kappa, as well as the University of Kyoto and the entrepreneurial management program at UCLA Anderson School. Jon is an advisor to Youtube channel Machinima, female-focused video network Deca, language learning venture Jamtok, and real money casual gaming start up, Oddz, was an investor in mobile developer Quark Games. Jon is a board member of Common Cents, the largest children’s participatory philanthropy program in the US.
Melissa Schneider (2015) — SVP Development and Production, New Form Digital
Melissa Schneider oversees all production and creative for New Form Digital’s projects. With an extensive background in both digital and traditional media, Schneider seeks out and cultivates emerging digital talent and works with them to make their ideas a reality in the form of short films, series and specials for the social media generation. Her unique approach to development and production deliver engaging stories that are unique to New Form.
Before joining New Form, she was part of the creative development team at the Collective Digital Studios, and previously oversaw production for the launch of YouTube Nation for DreamWorks Animation. Before that, she was the executive producer and showrunner of My Damn Channel Live, the first daily live comedy series on the internet, hosted by Grace Helbig. Additionally she’s produced dozens of original series for TeenNick, MSN, Vuguru, XBOX, and numerous other top-tier brands.
Schneider is an alum of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. She currently resides in Los Angeles.
Matthew DiPietro (2015) — Twitch | VP of Marketing
Matthew is VP of Marketing and Communications at Twitch (www.twitch.tv), the world’s leading social video platform and community for gamers. Prior to Twitch, Matt launched and managed marketing for Socialcam, a stand-out social mobile video application acquired for $60 Million in July 2012. From 2007 to 2010, Matt was Director of Marketing and Communications at Federated Media, which he helped become one of the leading voices in new media. He joined Justin.tv in 2010 and continued to oversee the marketing department when Twitch launched in 2011.
John Kuhn (2015) — Founder at P360
John Kuhn served twenty years in the U.S. Army special operations community before transitioning to the civilian sector in early 2014. In 1999, he was selected for assignment to a special mission unit. He subsequently served in operational roles in Bosnia, Afghanistan, Iraq, the Arabian peninsula, Egypt, and the Horn of Africa.
During combat tours, he was awarded the Silver Star; six Bronze Stars, including one for valor; an Army Commendation Medal for valor; and two Purple Hearts. He has served as the operations officer for an operational squadron and as the executive officer for a selection and training squadron. He is familiar with the various federal departments and agencies, having worked extensively overseas with members of the U.S. interagency.
John holds a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Arizona and a graduate business degree from Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business. He recently co-founded with David Dozoretz of Persistence of Vision a visualization business that caters to the needs of the U.S. military.
John currently lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Al Lopez (2015) — VP of Creative Services, Stargate Studios
Al Lopez has worked in the VFX industry for nearly 20 years, however he began his career as an Industrial Designer. With a Bachelors of Science from Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, he worked as an Industrial Designer at Textron Industries in Georgia for several years. His transition into VFX came when, by a stroke of fortune, he was hired as a 3D generalist at Encore Hollywood where he worked on such popular TV shows as Ally McBeal and feature films such as Disturbing Behavior and Disney’s Angels in the Endzone.
The opportunity of a lifetime presented itself not soon after, and he became co-owner of his own studio, Creative Logik Universe in Glendale, California. At Creative Logik, he worked with James Cameron on Ghosts of the Abyss and Aliens of the Deep, Cameron’s foray into 3D stereo movies. In 2004, Stargate Studios offered him the chance to oversee the 3D department and he’s been with the company ever since. In 2007, Al won an Emmy for his work on the television mini-seriesNightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King. Although now he manages over 80 artists in the 2D, 3D, and Matte Painting departments of all 10 Stargate facilities across the globe, he continues to help create high quality visual effects for television and film.
Today, Stargate is an Emmy Award winning visual effects company and has 10 domestic and international studios with over 150 artists, supervisors, and producers covering all areas of digital production and visual effects.Current projects include The Walking Dead, Grey’s Anatomy, Ray Donovan, 12 Monkeys and House of Lies to name a few. Stargate Studios provides a turnkey solution to high concept film and television production and is the only independent entity which blends all the available production technologies into one fully integrated production and editorial service.
Warren Franklin (2015) — Producer
Warren Franklin, Producer, is a global leader of the animation and visual effects industry. As a founder and former CEO of Vancouver’s Rainmaker Entertainment he helped to create one of the leading independent CG animation studios in the world. The Weinstein Company released rainmaker’s first original animated feature, Escape from Planet Earth, in 2013. Currently he is executive producing a 4-picture slate of animated features at Cinesite’s Montreal studios.
For 13 years Mr. Franklin was a key member of George Lucas’ creative and management team where he served as Group Vice President, managing six divisions, including Industrial Light & Magic, LucasArts and Skywalker Sound. As the VP and GM of ILM, Mr. Franklin spearheaded its growth and dominance as the industry’s premier visual effects company, which won nine Academy Awards during his tenure.
Ted Schilowitz (2015) — Futurist, 20th Century Fox and CinemaVangelist, Barco
Ted was founding member, first employee, and integral part of the product development team at RED Digital Cinema, that has made a significant impact on the Motion Picture Industry, with many of the worlds biggest movies now being shot with these ultra high resolution digital movie cameras.
Ted currently spends his time in 2 blended worlds; a major Hollywood movie studio and a major technology company in the Digital Cinema projection world. He has a unique role at Barco, the worlds marketshare leader in Digital Cinema projection, as their “CinemaVangelist” spearheading a project that is focused on the future of the cinema experience.
In addition, Ted has a studio deal at 20th Century Fox as their “Futurist”, working directly with senior leadership at the studio on the constantly evolving art and science of the digital age of motion picture creation. He advises and creates strategy on future technology and vision of cinema for the next generation of movie entertainment.
Ted is one of the founders and creators of the G-Tech product line of advanced hard drive storage products, that are implemented worldwide for professional Television and Multimedia content creation, and are the most recognized brand in the space.
Before being part of the founding teams at RED Digital Cinema and G-Tech, Ted was on the team that developed and launched the Macintosh products desktop video division of AJA Video Systems, that created the groundbreaking Kona Cards and IO boxes. These products are used on a massive scale worldwide for video production and post production at the highest levels, including some of the worlds biggest movies, TV shows and sporting events.
Ted has presented on the future of technology and strategy for the media and entertainment industry in many regions of the USA, Europe, China, India, the Middle East, and the Far East. He has consulted worldwide on the technical advances of ultra high resolution digital cinematography and future of advanced next gen. visual experiences for the movie, TV, interactive and gaming industries.
Schilowitz has been featured in Wired, Variety, NY Times, Wall Street Journal, The Hollywood Reporter, NBC, Studio Daily, Videography, Film and Video, DV magazine, TV Technology, HD Video Pro Magazine, Digital Television Magazine, Engadget, Gizmodo, Millimeter, American Cinematographer, MacWorld, Post magazine, Popular Science, LA Times and countless other trade publications and mainstream press, discussing technology advancements in his areas of passion and exploration.
Jacki Morie (2015) — Founder / Chief Scientist, All These Worlds, LLC
Jacquelyn Ford Morie With advanced degrees in both art and computer science, Dr. Morie has 25 years experience in developing innovative techniques for rich, emotionally evocative virtual reality (VR) environments. As part of this pioneering work, she invented a scent collar to bring the emotional power of smell to immersive experiences, and developed new types of functions for VR, such as connections to multiple sensor and feedback systems to make VR more effective. Dr. Morie spent 13 years as a Sr. Research Scientist at USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT), which she helped found. In the mid-1990s, Dr. Morie started comprehensive computer animation training programs at Walt Disney Feature Animation combining art and technology topics, which she later expanded to the special effects industries at studios such as Rhythm and Hues. She is the Founder and Chief Scientist of her VR company All These Worlds, LLC and is hard at work on a new startup focussing on Augmented Reality work.
David Dozoretz (2015) — Director and Co-Founder, Platinum 360
DAVID DOZORETZ started his career in film at age 20 in the Art Department of George Lucas’ famed Industrial Light & Magic, where he contributed to the visual effects work on Jurassic Park (1993), Forrest Gump (1994) and others. Dozoretz then lead the film industry’s adoption of pre-visualization when he was the first digital artist to be hired by Lucas for his highly anticipated Star Wars Prequels. He created Persistence of Vision (POV), a company providing Hollywood with the pre-visualization techniques he had developed. In it’s 15 year history, Dozoretz and POV have worked on over 50 films including the world’s first live action digital stereoscopic movie, Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D (2008), a project on which Dozoretz also served as 2nd Unit Director. His recent work includes J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2010), Mission: Impossible 4 (2011), and Super 8. Most recently, in addition to a number of IP projects in development, Dozoretz is director and co-founder of Platinum 360, a company providing the visualization products to the US Military/Special Forces community.
Jevon Phillips (2015) — Writer, Los Angeles Times
Jevon Phillips started at Variety in 1998, helping create the publication’s website. Once there, he also started a blog called Bags and Boards to cover genre news for the Comic-Con crowd. Moving to the Los Angeles Times in 2004, he is now working as a producer on the website’s Entertainment section, helping maintain and enhance online content. He also writes stories on topics ranging from comic books to hip-hop dance to TV fairy tales. One of his passions is the Times’ Hero Complex site, where he posts news and features on genre shows and movies.
Chris Healer (2015) — CEO / CTO / VFX Supervisor, The Molecule
After finishing his film degree at CU Boulder, having built a 16mm projector out of legos and written a 3d graphics library for DOS, Chris Healer transitioned from web design to motion capture and 3d animation in Denver. He moved to New York in 2002 to complete work on “Below the Belt” (Sundance 2004), and in 2005 founded The Molecule (http://www.themolecule.com). At The Molecule, he is CEO, CTO, Visual Effects Supervisor, VFX Consultant, Creative Designer, Software Developer, Producer, and Scientist. He has worked on a variety of film and television projects, including “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” “Elementary,” “The Following,” “The Affair,” “Happyish,” “Rescue Me,” “Royal Pains,” “A Walk Among the Tombstones,” “The Butler,” “Run All Night,” “Love & Mercy” and many more. The Molecule maintains an office in LA and employs over 50 people. Its specialties include live-action compositing, stereoscopic live-action compositing, motion graphics animation, CG modeling, animation and rendering, as well as traditional film production and second unit VFX production. Many of the tools used at The Molecule were developed by Chris, including its Render Farm, Workflow Automation Tools, Linking and Preview Tools, and Cloud-based Compositing Pipeline. Chris is a regular speaker at Nuke Events and an active member of the New York Visual Effects community.
Andrew Wallenstein (2015) — Co-Editor-in-Chief, Variety
Andrew Wallenstein is Co-Editor-in-Chief of Variety. With the publication since 2011, he oversees daily and weekly coverage of the entertainment industry, with a focus on technology.
Andrew worked at The Hollywood Reporter from 2002 to 2010, where he held various top posts including editor of THR.com. Andrew was also an on-air contributor for NPR’s “All Things Considered” for nearly a decade and in 2006-07 hosted the TV Guide Channel’s “Square Off,” a weekly primetime series about the TV industry.
He has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and has taught undergraduate journalism at several universities. His work has also appeared in the New York Times, Boston Globe and Business Week.
Jon Carnage (2015) — Live Programming Director, Twitch
Jonathan “Carnage” Joyce is the live programming director of Twitch (www.twitch.tv), the world’s leading video platform and community for gamers. His role involves working closely with publishers and developers to determine content for Twitch’s stage presence at major conventions, such as E3 and PAX, while frequently being on-camera as a moderator for these streams. Jon also works closely with developers and publishers of all sizes to help them find their own unique voice on Twitch. He has been working in online digital broadcasting and traditional television media since 2000, including being an online producer at Destructoid for three years. Prior to joining Twitch in early 2012, Jon was co-creator of several successful Twitch channels.
Andres Garza (2015) — Staff Product Designer, Spin Master Ltd
Eric Bergez (2015) — Vice President Intuitive Aerial, Inc
Eric Bergez has two decades of expertise and achievement in the entertainment industry, including 16 years in postproduction leadership positions. He is an expert in workflow supervision, production support, technology consulting, product management, sales, marketing and business development.
His thorough understanding of entertainment technology, which ranges from aerial remote camera heads, image stabilization, digital cinema, DCP mastering and security, KDM logistics, film scanners, projection technology, color science, image restoration, color finishing and a wide range of broadcast solutions has proven invaluable to the engineers, colorists, editors, cinematographers, DITs, sound designers and editors, directors and producers with whom he has worked.
Throughout his career, Mr. Bergez has earned the respect of his peers for his ability to come into ambiguous and unprecedented situations, serving as an innovator to enhance workflow efficiency, set new standards and achieve seemingly impossible goals. He help orchestrate the first fully uncompressed 4:4:4 4K DI suite at Cinelicious in Hollywood, CA and helped create, plan and launch several new products and services throughout his career.
Mr. Bergez has experience working with the latest entertainment technology and techniques. This includes professional cinema drones, remote stabilized camera heads, 3D stereoscopic productions, 4K digital intermediates and high frame rates. He has familiarity with industry standards for both broadcast television and theatrical distribution (i.e. SMPTE and DCI specs) and his solid background with all file formats, codecs and digital workflows.
Mr. Bergez is an alumnus of the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts and has a passion for filmmaking and entertainment technology.
Mark Bolas (2015) — Director, Mixed Reality Lab, ICT / Assoc. Professor, USC School of Cinematic Arts
Mark Bolas, Director of the Mixed Reality Lab at the Institute for Creative Technologies and an Associate Professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, has been exploring presence and immersive experiences for over three decades, putting forward his thoughts on the medium of virtual reality as early as 1989. Bolas’ decision to open-source his seminal work and research has helped to usher in the current VR revolution. The influence of his lab’s DIY VR projects (FOV2GO, VR2GO, MxR Unity Package) can be seen in current commercial products like the Samsung GearVR, the Oculus Rift and Google Cardboard. Emerging VR companies founded by students who have prototyped work at the MxR Lab under the supervision of Bolas, include: Survios, Otherworld Interactive, Oculus VR, and the Emblematic Group.
Bolas leads research projects for the Army Research Office, the Office of Naval Research, and DARPA, as well as a variety of entertainment clients. His efforts include a project seeking to bridge the gap between the language of cinema and the emerging medium of VR, including a project that brings stop motion animation into head mounted displays via light field rendering. Bolas co-founded Fakespace Labs, Inc. in 1988 and developed and sold VR hardware and systems for dozens of major research labs over the decades. He holds more than twenty patents and has been recognized with awards from the Consumer Electronics Association, Popular Science, SIGGRAPH Best Emerging Technology, IEEE’s Industry Excellence, and IEEE’s Virtual Reality Technical Achievement Award.
Andrew Cochrane (2015) — Interactive and New Media Director, DFX Supervisor, Mirada Studios
Andrew Cochrane is a filmmaker currently working at Mirada, Guillermo del Toro’s independent studio. As a Digital Director and Technical Supervisor, Andrew offers a unique blend of creativity and technical savvy. He is also a leader in Mirada’s exciting digital/interactive group, which focuses on combining the company’s passion for storytelling with new forms of immersion and interaction.
Andrew is very involved in the growing virtual reality space, making content for the Oculus Rift, Google Carbdoard, and GearVr platforms. He is experimenting with new techniques for storytelling using these new technologies, and recently completed the first VR app to seamlessly integrate CGI, live-action, and realtime rendering into a single experience for Google.
His credits include directing numerous commercials for clients such as VIZIO, Target, LG, and Disney. He also was a director and creative technical supervisor on the iPad App “Cornelia Funke’s MirrorWorld” which won a Cannes Silver Lion for “Best Visual Design/Aesthetic.” Additionally, he served as a technical lead for many exciting interactive projects that used techniques such as projection mapping, dataviz and the world’s first WebGL interactive music video.
Concurrently, he has worked on numerous independent projects. In 2002, he formed The AV Club Productions, which is a production company and multimedia collaborative for filmmakers that focuses on live experiences and new media projects. The AV Club was featured as one of the first 100 YouTube partners, and were early innovators in the online video space.
Rachid El Guerrab (2015) — Technical Project Lead, Google/ATAP
Rachid El Guerrab is a Technical Project Lead for Google Spotlight Stories at ATAP/Google, where he specializes in immersive and interactive storytelling for mobile. Prior to his company being acquired by Motorola Mobility, he was president of technology and co-founder of Human Engines Inc, focused on graphics engines and tools for mobile. Rachid had spent over 16 years creating award-winning rendering and interactive pipelines for every SONY console since the PlayStation, as well as Nintendo and Microsoft game systems, and has held leadership positions at numerous companies including Qualcomm, Ready at Dawn, Midway and Ubisoft.
Dean Devlin (2015) — Founder/ President, Electric Entertainment
Devlin is Founder and President of Electric Entertainment and has forged a storied career as a wildly successful screenwriter, producer and director. His first produced screenplay was Universal Soldier, which was a worldwide hit. He reached prominence as a writer/producer working with Roland Emmerich with whom he teamed after appearing in Emmerich’s film Moon 44. Together they co-wrote and produced Stargate, which became the first movie to have its own website (run by Devlin himself). Devlin co-produced (with Emmerich) sci-fi blockbusters Independence Day and Godzilla, followed by The Patriot. Devlin also produced films including Cellular, Who Killed the Electric Car? and Flyboys. A true multi-hyphenate, he has served as writer, producer and director for the hit TV shows Leverage and The Librarians. He is the director, as well as writer/producer of the forthcoming action sci-fi film Geostorm starring Gerard Butler and is in development with Emmerich on the hotly anticipated sequel to Independence Day – Independence Day: Resurgence.
Interviewed By
Jevon Phillips Writer, Los Angeles Times |
Jevon Phillips started at Variety in 1998, helping create the publication’s website. Once there, he also started a blog called Bags and Boards to cover genre news for the Comic-Con crowd. Moving to the Los Angeles Times in 2004, he is now working as a producer on the website’s Entertainment section, helping maintain and enhance online content. He also writes stories on topics ranging from comic books to hip-hop dance to TV fairy tales. One of his passions is the Times’ Hero Complex site, where he posts news and features on genre shows and movies.
Sarah Malkin (2015) — Vice President of Programming, Maker Studios
Sarah Malkin serves as Vice President of Programming at Maker Studios, overseeing the development and acquisition of original content to be distributed across platforms. She previously held the role of Vice President and General Manager of Life + Style, leading all aspects of programming and partnerships for Maker’s lifestyle business, and prior to that was Vice President and Head of Branded Entertainment, spearheading initiatives with Fortune 500 advertisers and global media brands and creating content that met both brand and talent needs. Before joining Maker, Sarah managed international programs and productions at the New York Film Academy and was Co-Producing Director at the Ensemble Studio Theatre. As a stage producer she also had tenure at the New York Theatre Workshop, Women’s Project, and other off-Broadway and regional institutions. Sarah holds a B.A. from Pomona College and an M.F.A. from Brown University.
Josh Scherr (2015) — Writer, Naughty Dog
Josh Scherr has been a staff writer at Naughty Dog since early 2014 and is currently co-writing UNCHARTED 4: A THIEF’S END.
Prior to his new role, he led the award-winning cinematics team for the first three UNCHARTED games as well as the JAK & DAXTER series. Josh has worn a number of proverbial hats over his 15 years at Naughty Dog, including story development and writing on the first two UNCHARTED games; he also supervised and co-wrote the UNCHARTED comic book with DC Comics.
After receiving his MFA degree in Animation from the USC School of Cinematic Arts in 1995, Josh spent the next six years working in feature film and commercial animation; eventually he came to his senses and joined Naughty Dog in 2001.
In his spare time, Josh enjoys playing with his daughter and wishing he had more spare time.
Robert Stromberg (2015) — Founder / Chief Creative Officer, The Virtual Reality Company (VRC)
Robert is the 2-Time Academy Award winner for the production design on Avatar and Alice in Wonderland, and the Director of Disney’s Maleficent which has passed over $760MM in worldwide box office, the highest grossing directorial debut in history. No one can make a claim to a better track record of creating new and imaginative worlds using the top virtual camera tools. No one is more qualified to tackle the visual challenge of designing specifically for the immersive experience of VR.
Aruna Inversin (2015) — CG/VR Supervisor, Digital Domain
Aruna Inversin has been with Digital Domain for 9 years, and has been working in the visual effects industry for the past 18+ years. Working all over world from Northern California, British Columbia, Australia and currently in Los Angeles, his experience and expertise has contributed to his many accolades, including 2 Emmy nominations for past projects. Most currently he has been supervising cinematic storytelling experiences through virtual reality on multiple formats. Using his extensive skill set and years of experience in the visual effects world he is able venture out into the evolving world of virtual reality. Recent projects include the VR Bjork Stonemilker experience, which debuted at the MOMA in NY, and NIKE’s Neymar Jr. Experience where ‘you’ can score a goal as Neymar Jr. in a virtual world.
Guido Voltolina (2015) — Head of Presence Capture, Nokia
Originally from Milan Italy Guido is currently Head of Presence Capture at Nokia Technologies, the division that announced the OZO camera. A veteran in display technologies Guido worked previously at Dolby where he led the Dolby 3D / Philips joint project and developed the Dolby video strategy. Before that held senior leadership, global marketing positions at Xpand, Intel Capital, Royal Philips Electronics and InFocus.
Jon Karafin (2015) — Head of Light Field Video, Lytro
Jon Karafin is a production executive with expertise in technology innovation for live action cinema, VFX post-production, light field imaging, VR and AR. With a proven track record of new product development increasing profitability through technology and innovation, Jon is responsible for successfully delivering technology and content for several of the all-time highest grossing feature films, including Peter Jackson’s “The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug,” Michael Bay’s “Transformers 3” and Tim Burton’s “Alice in Wonderland.” Now he’s tackling his latest challenge as the Head of Light Field Video at Lytro.
With a strong technical background in live action cinema, VFX and stereoscopic post-production, Jon is leading a team to bring light field cinema technology to market. Lytro’s light field video camera will give directors unprecedented creative control during post-production.
Prior to Lytro, Jon was the Vice President, Production Technology and Senior Scientist at RealD, and Director of Production and Operations at Digital Domain.
David Rosenbaum (2015) — Creative Director, Jaunt
Director David Rosenbaum has an impressive background in visual storytelling. He began his career as an art director and later creative director at Academy Award-winning digital production studio Digital Domain, working on shot design for David Fincher, Joseph Kosinski, Carl Rinsch and other iconic directors, as well as working on features like “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” and “Tron: Legacy.” He moved on to direct, helming multi-award-winning commercials such as Nike “Biomorph” and helming spots and campaigns for Nike, Infiniti, Lincoln, Cisco, Sprint, Con Agra and ESPN. Recognized in 2011 as one of the top up-and-coming directors of the advertising world by SHOOT Magazine, David is equally at ease in the worlds of live action and CGI. Leveraging his experience in digital production, David recently teamed with Jaunt Studios as a consulting creative director and has created ground-breaking, live-action narrative VR shorts for both Nokia and Samsung.
Catherine Stephens (2015) — Director of Marketing and Communications, AwesomenessTV
Catherine Stephens is Director of Marketing and Communications at AwesomenessTV, a multi-platform media company entertaining the most influential generation – Gen Z. Prior to AwesomenessTV, Catherine developed entertainment partnerships for Skype, creating innovative partnerships with MasterChef Junior, Talking Dead, X Games, and more. From 2007 to 2014, Catherine worked at Walt Disney Studios, with responsibilities ranging from special event sponsorships to brand development and marketing strategy for Disneynature, Pixar, Walt Disney Animation Studios, and more. Catherine holds a B.S. and an M.B.A. from the University of Southern California.
Christopher Lockhart (2015) — Story Editor, WME
Christopher Lockhart is a Story Editor at WME. In his role, Lockhart helps find projects that are suited for a variety of the agency’s clients.
An award-winning filmmaker, Lockhart co-produced the cult horror film “The Collector” and its sequel “The Collection.” He also wrote and produced the documentary “Most Valuable Players,” which was acquired by Oprah Winfrey and aired on OWN. Lockhart earned an Los Angeles Emmy nomination for his screenwriting workshop, “The Inside Pitch,” which was filmed for local television.
Lockhart is also an adjunct professor at National University’s Professional Screenwriting Program. He has lectured around the country, published several articles, and read more than 50,000 screenplays. Lockhart is a member of the Television Academy, the Writers Guild of America and the Producers Guild of America.
Before joining the William Morris Agency (WMA) he began his career as a story consultant at ICM working alongside legendary talent agent Ed Limato, advising him on projects for his clients including Robert Downey Jr., Richard Gere, Mel Gibson, Liam Neeson and Michelle Pfeiffer. Lockhart transitioned to WME following Endeavor’s merger with WMA in 2009.
A graduate of New York University, Lockhart earned an MFA in dramatic writing and received the Public Service Prize for his commitment to public education. He currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.
Richard Winn Taylor II, VES (2015) — Creative Director, XLNT FX LLC
RICHARD W. TAYLOR II
Richard has an extensive background in live action direction, production design, special effects, and computer generated images for theatrical films, television commercials, computer games, special venues and new media.
Richard began his career as an artist and holds a BFA in painting and drawing from the University of Utah. He began making short films in 1965 and in 1967 co-created Rainbow Jam, a multi-media light show and graphics company. Rainbow Jam toured with The Grateful Dead and regularly preformed concerts at The Family Dog, The Fillmore, The Winterland and other concert venues with bands such as Santana, Led Zeppelin, Jethro Tull, and Crosby Stills and Nash.
In 1971 Richard received The Cole Porter Fellowship to USC where he earned his Masters Degree in Photography and Printmaking.
In 1973 Richard joined Robert Abel and Associates, the pioneer TV commercial graphics/special effects studio, where he served six years as art director/director. Richard received four Clio awards for his work on the 7UP Bubbles, 7UP Uncola and Levi’s Trademark commercials. He directed promotional films and network graphics for ABC, CBS, and NBC and designed new theatrical logos for CBS and Columbia Pictures. While at the Abel Studio Richard worked for Paramount Pictures on Star Trek: The Motion Picture, where he supervised the storyboarding of the film and designed and supervised the building of the miniatures including The Enterprise.
In 1980 Richard became the Creative Director at Information International Inc. (III) one of the first companies to create computer-generated images for film and television. While at III Richard designed and directed the special effects for Looker, a Michael Crichton feature and became the co-effects director of the innovative special effects and computer-generated images for Walt Disney’s Tron, the film that introduced the world to computer simulation.
In 1983 Richard became Creative Director of Magi-Synthavision’s west coast studio. While at Magi Richard created special effects for Disney’s Something Wicked This Way Comes and John Lasseter’s Where the Wild Things Are. He also directed numerous commercials including Atari’s Worm War One the first commercial to receive a Clio award for computer animation.
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Richard joined with Lee Lacy and Associates in 1985 where he directed award-winning commercials for clients such as Ford, 7UP, RCA, and Duracell.
In 1987, Richard moved to Apogee Production Inc. where he launched the internationally acclaimed 7UP Spot campaign. The 7UP commercial Baseball won the CLIO for Best Live Action/Animation Combination and the spots Teacher Lounge and Christmas both won Best Director at the International Monitor Awards.
From 1989 thru1992, Richard directed at Image Point Productions where he created spots for numerous clients. His Reebok commercial Cowardly Baskets won three Clio Awards.
In 1992, Richard joined with director David Dryer to form Dryer/Taylor Productions, where he directed campaigns for Duracell, McDonalds, Warner Bros., and Disney. Richard won three Clio’s, two Hugo’s and two Mobius Awards while at Dryer/Taylor.
From 1998 to 2000, Richard directed for Rhythm & Hues Commercial Division expanding his clientele to include Disney Cruise Lines, UPS, Honda, Bud Light, Intel, Norwegian Cruise Lines, and Census 2000.
In 2002 Richard moved into the gaming industry. Initially he became Cinematic Director for Indie Studios, a division of Microsoft Gaming Studios. While there he designed and directed the cinematic sequences and the marketing trailers for Top Spin, Amped 2 and Links 2004.
In 2003 Richard became the Cinematic Director at Electronic Arts Los Angeles where he directed the cinematic sequences for Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth, Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II, Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars, Kane’s Wrath, Command & Conquer, Red Alert 3 and Red Alert 3 Uprising. He was nominated four times by the Academy of Interactive Media and The Visual Effects Society for Best Cinematics in a Video Game. Command & Conquer 3 won Strategy Game of the Year in 2008.
Richard has been a member of the DGA (Directors Guild of America) for thirty plus years. He has been the Vice-Chair of the VES (Visual Effects Society) and is on the Presidential Advisory Board of The Academy of Art University of San Francisco.
In 2008 Richard received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from the Academy of Art University of San Francisco.
In 2014 The Visual Effects Society (VES) presented Richard with the 10th Honorary FELLOW Award.
Richard has worked freelance since 2009. He designed and directed multiple projects at Yu+Co including trailers for the Ubisoft games Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Smashup and Call of Juarez, the Cartel. He designed and directed 3D projects including the end title sequence for Shrek 4 and a new 3D logo for 3ality. His Turner Classic Movie 31 Days of Oscars won a Gold and Two Silvers in the 2011 BDA Awards. HIs Showtime Energy Logo won a GOLD for Logo Design/Network Channel at the 2011 BDA awards.
Richard is the Creative Director at his company XLNT FX LLC
Presently Richard is directing and designing media for a new entertainment format, the 3Space Spherical Stereo Theater.
Francesco Grisi (2015) — Founder and Executive Producer, EDI
Francesco Grisi, born in 1971, after scientific studies decides to dedicate himself to his passion: photography. First in Italy, he works with some photographers from Naples, then in 1993 moves to Paris where he begins to collaborate with fashion agency Marilyn Gauthier.
After a little time, thanks to his passion for digital images, Francesco starts working for Buf Compagnie which at that time was a start up company, now it’s a leader company in VFX field. During this experience, started in 1994, he first works as compositor and then as supervisor with directors such as Frederic Planchon, Eric Romer, Michel Gondry, David Fincher, on films such as Fight club, The cell, L’anglais et le duc.
He also contributed to the opening of Buf Inc., the company’s American branch. In 2001, after he married, Francesco and his partner Pasquale Croce decide to focus on the creation of a completely Italian VFX company, trying to boost the limping Italian film market: EDI Effetti Digitali Italiani.
During these 11 years of his Italian enterprise, he collaborated to all the most important Italian films and worked with Academy Award winners and internationally well-known directors such as Gabriele Salvatores, Michelangelo Antonioni, Nanni Moretti or national glories such as Alessandro D’Alatri and Paolo Virzì.
Francesco is also a great wine and food lover, better if sailing his boat with his family. His dream is to export Italian VFX talents around the World.
Michael Jackson (2015) — Postvisualization Supervisor, HALON
Michael Jackson joined the HALON crew with 20 years of experience in the visual effects fields for companies like ILM, EA-LA, Dream Quest Images,Sony Imageworks and Walt Disney Imagineering. With extensive VFX skills in tracking, animation, lighting and compositing, high quality and technically accurate postvisualization comes very naturally to Jackson. While at Disney, Michael did technical previs for rides like Nemo Submarine Voyage, updates to Pirates of the Caribbean, Star Tours: The Adventure Continues and Carsland: Radiator Springs Racers. Starting at HALON back in 2008 as a previs artist on Gulliver’s Travels, Michael came back in 2010 to lead postvis for Gulliver’s Travels. Michael’s recent projects for HALON include: postvis supervisor for Cowboys & Aliens, postvis artist on Peter Berg’s Battleship, postvis supervisor for a Ridley Scott’s Prometheus, Marc Forster’s World War Z and more recently Brad Bird’s Tomorrowland. He supported the postvis team for a highly anticipated film due out in December 2015 and is now on a project with Walt Disney Pictures due out in spring of 2016.
Gilles Gaillard (2016) — CEO, Mikros Image
Grant Anderson (2016) — Head of Studio, Jaunt Studios
Jacki Morie (2016) — Founder and CEO All These Worlds LLC
Jonah Greenberg (2016) — Managing Director, CAA China
Nancy St John (2016) — Visual Effects Producer
Her filmography also includes James & the Giant Peach, Evolution, Life Aquatic, Charlotte’s Web, The Spirit, The Immortals, Limitless, Season of the Witch, Men in Black 3, Total Recall, Resident Evil, Ender’s Game and Ghostbusters.
As a VFX Producer/Consultant she has worked with many Studios including Disney, DreamWorks, Fox, HBO, Paramount, Walden Media, Warner Bros., Relativity Media, Oddlot Entertainment, Lionsgate and Sony Pictures.
Over the last 30+ years St. John has also helped build VFX Facilities around the world and has Produced, Executive Produced and Consulted with a Who’s Who of renowned VFX and Computer Animation facilities. The list includes Robert Abel & Associates, Digital Productions, Pacific Data Images (PDI), Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), Rhythm & Hues, MillFilm London and Prime Focus Vancouver.
St. John has served as Visual Effects Society (VES) Vice Chair for 3 terms. She is also a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS) and the Producers Guild of America (PGA).
Nancy is currently working on the Netflix TV series ‘A Series of Unfortunate Events’ with Showrunner and Director Barry Sonnenfeld.
Outside work you can find her involved in her other passions – enjoying great food & wine, walking her best friend Cooper the Dog on the beach, cheering on her SF Giants and keeping up with the other PGA, pro golf.
Tom Sanocki (2016) — Founder and CEO of Limitless Ltd.
Tom Sanocki is the CEO of Limitless Ltd, a new VR startup that enables content developers to create interactive VR characters that respond to voice, gestures, gaze and more. The technology is being targeted to film and game developers initially, as well as other vertical markets including education, advertising and travel. Previously Tom spent 11 years as a Character Lead at Pixar, where he built characters & technology on films from Finding Nemo through Good Dinosaur, filed 5 patents, and won a VES award for Mater in Cars. Tom also spent 3 1/2 years as a Character & Cinematics Tech Art Lead at Bungie, shipping Destiny (biggest new game IP launch in history). He has published and presented at SIGGRAPH and GDC, and graduated with a Computer Science Engineering degree from Princeton University.
Roy Taylor (2016) — Corporate Vice President / Head of Alliances, Radeon Technologies Group, AMD
Taylor joined AMD in 2013. A 25-year veteran, Taylor has had a multi-faceted career as a technology evangelist, content strategist and entrepreneur in both start-ups and established companies. Taylor was also the founder of NVidia in Europe.
An avid gamer and IT enthusiast, Taylor started his career in the component distribution business.
Thierry Coup (2016) — Senior VP, Universal Creative, Universal Parks & Resorts
Mr. Coup is an innovator and a filmmaker with 25 years expertise in the creation of compelling experiences. He directs the creative development of attractions from concept through opening day. Mr Coup is probably best known for pushing the envelope in the creative design of world-class projects, such as the “Amazing Adventures of Spider-Man”, “Sesame Street 4D movie Magic”, “King Kong 360 3D”, “Transformers the ride” and “the Wizarding World of Harry Potter Harry Potter”.
Tim Alexander (2016) — Visual Effects Supervisor, ILM
Prior to joining ILM, Alexander spent three years at Walt Disney Studios where he worked on the feature film James and the Giant Peach. In 2011, His work as the Visual Effects Supervisor on Gore Verbinski’s and ILM’s first animated feature, Rango, won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2012. The film also won the Visual Effects Society Award and the Annie Award for best animated film. After his foray in animation, Tim supervised the work on the big-screen feature film adaptation of The Lone Ranger. Tim’s work on the film won a Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Feature and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects. Alexander’s work can be seen in the 2015 installment of the mammoth franchise, Jurassic World.
Jack Greasley (2016) — Head Of New Technology, The Foundry
Jack Greasley is The Foundry’s head of new technology and the original developer of MARI, a high-resolution 3D texture painting system used in movies, games and VR.
After graduating from Bristol University in the UK, Jack worked in high-end graphics and visual effects for companies such as Framestore and Weta Digital, contributing to movies like Harry Potter and Avatar.
In 2016 Jack and his team were awarded a Scientific and Technical Achievement Academy Award for the development of MARI.
At The Foundry, Jack and his team continue to research and develop cutting-edge graphics tools and techniques, and are currently focused on toolchains for large-scale VR and AR production.
Mariana Acuna (2016) — Media & Production Creative Manager, The Foundry
Mariana is the Media & Production Creative Manager with The Foundry in the Americas and Development Manager for Australia-New Zealand.
Her focus for the last two years has been specializing in Virtual Reality Post Production workflows and how they relate to the features needed in the software. She leads the Creative Team in the creation and deployment of training, software testing and demo materials, driven by client feedback. She travels globally working with studios to find solutions to streamline their Post Production workflows.
Susan Beth Smith (2016) — Executive Producer, Media Producer
With an extensive knowledge of artistic, cultural and technological trends, Smith views every element with a fresh eye. She is adept at assembling world‐class artistic and technical teams and managing a wide range of approaches, production options, processes and workflows.
In the location‐based entertainment and special venue world, Smith brings the expertise, deft problem-solving, talent sourcing and strategic wizardry deriving from 20+years of successfully producing extraordinary projects, in multiple formats and mediums, throughout the world.
Professional Memberships:
Producers Guild of America (PGA New Media Council) Visual Effects Society (VES)
Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) SIGGRAPH/ ACM (Los Angeles)
Currently working on attractions and projects in Malaysia, Hong Kong and throughout the U.S.
Select Previous Projects (for various companies and production entities):
Ocean Park, Hong Kong
Wanda Wuhan Movie Park, Wuhan China Kennedy Space Center, Space Shuttle Atlantis Disney Parks & Resorts
Writers Guild America West Paramount Park, Murcia, Spain
Expo 2012: USA Pavilion, Yeosu, Korea Warner Bros. Harry Potter Studio Tour
Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay, Live Theater, Media Show Fort Edmonton Park, Northern Lights
The White House Halloween
The National World War II Museum Universal Studios, Japan
Ferrari World, Abu Dhabi MGM/Movie Park Germany
MGM/ Canadian Niagara Action! MGM’s Great Movie Journey MGM/ Mad Science Touring Science Show with The Pink Panther
Commercials, Footage, Broadcast, Event and Special Venue Films:
Production of automotive location and stage shoots covering terrain from the most remote back roads of Florida, Idaho and Oregon, to the mountains and canyons of Utah, Colorado and Washington, throughout much of California; to racetracks, rooftops and tunnels of downtown Los Angeles, the streets of Montreal, New York and Arizona. Including post producing and editing, graphics, compositing, color grading; stock footage selection and procurement; legal liaison and clearance management.
Location and stage shoots, Events & select Documentary special subjects: major artists, writers, photographers, financiers, television showrunners, professors, politicians and experts in many fields, including: Barack Obama, Ray Bradbury, Gregory Crewdson, Michael Eisner, Frank Gehry; Paul Goldberger, Greg Gorman, Henry Kravis, John Lasseter, James Nachtwey, Vincent Scully, Rudolph Giuliani, Richard Riordan, Rupert Neve: Show Runners: Alan Ball, Jeff Melvoin, Vince Gilligan, John Wells, Shawn Ryan.
Sharon Calahan (2016) — Cinematographer
She studied graphic design, illustration and photography. Following art school, she began her career as an art director for broadcast television and video production. Prior to joining Pixar, she was a lighting director at Pacific Data Images completing commercial work, longer format television, and graphics packages. She is a member of the cinematography branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and a member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC).
Edward Grogan (2016) — Technical Director for Advanced Counter-terrorism Technologies, Department of Defense
Edward T. Grogan is in his 40th year of service in the Department of Defense. His eclectic career has evolved from engineering of civil and military tactical and strategic voice systems to his current role as the Technical Director for Advanced Counter-terrorism Technologies. He is currently collaborating with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) on the Media Forensics (MEDIFOR) program. Mr. Grogan earned a BSEE and an MSEE from Drexel University. He participated in a Defense Senior Technical Development Program, and is a member of SMPTE and the Visual Effects Society.
Mike Sanders (2016) — Senior Visual Director, Activision’s Central Studios
Mike Sanders is the Senior Visual Director for Activision’s Central Studios overseeing innovation in art, animation and production across Activision’s game franchises, most notably Call of Duty. Mike is focusing on bringing film vfx quality to game development and emerging AR/VR markets.
He was previously Director of Virtual Production for Industrial Light & Magic, collaborating with Disney divisions such as Lucasfilm, Pixar, Marvel and Imagineering and built much of the foundational creative technology of the ILMxLAB. He has many patents awarded for digital production and virtual cinematography. In 2009, Michael was recognized by the Producer’s Guild of America as a member of their inaugural Digital 25 list for the most notable contributors to digital story telling.
Mike is one of the entertainment industry’s leading experts in advanced technologies for realism in computer graphics for films and games. He has 20 years of experience in creating cutting edge imagery for more than 80 major motion pictures and AAA game titles. Mike has worked with most top directors and every major studio, including such memorable projects as the digital cast in Titanic, many of the effects in the Star Wars prequels and sequels, the behind-the-scenes tech that launched Avatar, and the believable characters in Pirates of the Caribbean.
Kevin Bruner (2016) — Co-Founder, Telltale, Inc.
Since 1990, Kevin has been creating entertainment technology for video games, television game shows, museum installations, and more. Prior to founding Telltale, Kevin applied his talents at LucasArts, working on cutting edge projects such as the classic Grim Fandango noir adventure, and epic Star Wars titles, as well as crafting core company technology strategies.
Thad Beier (2016) — Director of Image Platform Workflow, Dolby Laboratories
He started his career in ’78, hired by Ed Catmull at NYIT Computer Graphics Lab, doing research and early production in CG. He went on to work at Pacific Data Images, starting his own company Hammerhead Productions, and then at Digital Domain. From 1995 to 2014 he led the technical and artistic VFX effort in fifty Hollywood films. Thad has been at Dolby now for almost four years, using that artistic and technical experience every day to help Dolby drive this new visual experience.
Sam Richards (2016) — Visual Effects Design Manager, Walt Disney Imagineering
Since joining Imagineering in 2014, Sam has been involved with the creation and installation of media into recent attractions such as Tron, Voyage to the Crystal Grotto, Soarin’ Around the World, Peter Pan and Pirates of the Caribbean in Shanghai Disneyland and Frozen Ever After in Epcot Florida.
Prior to WDI, Sam spent 17 years at Sony Pictures Imageworks as a CG Supervisor and later Pipeline Architect supervising numerous projects, one of which earned him a Sci-Tech Academy Award in 2016. His filmography includes Spider-Man, The Polar Express, Contact and Joe’s Apartment.
Richards received a master’s in Photogrammetry and a bachelor’s in Computer Science and Electronic Engineering at University College London. He is currently serving as secretary for the VES Technology Committee, which he has been a member since 2009.
Walt Disney Imagineering is the unique innovative organization that creates – from concept through construction – all Disney theme parks, resorts, attractions, cruise ships, real estate developments, and regional entertainment venues worldwide. Imagineering’s unique strength comes from the teamwork and syntheses of creative and technical professionals representing more than 140 diverse disciplines
Tom Kennedy (2016) — Head of Production, California Academy of Sciences Visualization Studio
In 2008, Tom transitioned back to his first love, creating science-driven films, including five award-winning full dome programs for the California Academy of Sciences that are now licensed in 15 countries. As Head of Production for the Academy’s Visualization Studio he leads a small team that creates scientific visualizations and animations for planetarium, web, VR, exhibits and theatrical venues.
Prior to his commercial and feature film work, Tom’s first extensive video project was for the environmental impact report that led to the first re-purposing of federal highway funds to urban mass transit, and helped Portland, Oregon, remain the neighborhood-oriented city that it is today, and inspired Tom to nurture the hope that VFX and animation could be used for social good.
Dan Hammond (2016) — Business Development, Production Resource Group
Dan was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Columbia College in 1996 and holds memberships in the American Society of Cinematography, International 3D Society, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and Association of Independent Commercial Producers. Dan currently sits on the Professional Advisory Committee for ITT Technical Institute.
Past projects:
Concert Touring: Beyonce, Rolling Stones, U2, Zeds Dead, Keith Urban, Coachella, Corporate Events: Bud Light Digital Dreams, NBA All Star Technical Conference, A Capitol Forth, E League Inaugural Championship, Whatever, USA, Airbus-H160-Reveal, Live Television: Academy Awards, Emmys, Billboards Awards, America’s Got Talent, Dancing With The Stars, Republican National Convention, MTV Music Awards, NBA Draft, Scripted Film, Television & Commercials: Jungle Book, Tupac – All Eyes On Me, Ghostbusters, Iron Man, Hunger Games, Insurgent, Star, House Of Cards, Oblivion, Apple, Pepsi, Nissan, Fujitsu.
Miles Perkins (2016) — VP of Marketing Communications, JauntVR
Craig Barron (2016) — Creative Director for Magnopus
Craig began his career at Industrial Light + Magic, where he worked on such classic films as The Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. Barron’s visual effects company, Matte World Digital, conjured environments for such films as Titanic, Zodiac, Alice in Wonderland, and Hugo. Barron also received an Oscar nomination for his work on Batman Returns.
Craig is a member of the Science and Technology Council of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, as well as the Museum Planning Committee, and is one of 3 Academy Governor representing the Visual Effects branch.
At Magnopus, Craig supervises projects created in-house or with global vendors, crafting the aesthetics and technology of visual storytelling in new ways. Facilitating the creation of memorable experiences in a variety of contexts across retail, educational, industrial, and entertainment-oriented spaces. Magnopus (a consolidation of “Magnum Opus”–“Great Work” in Latin), is a visual research and development company based in downtown Los Angeles.
Cliff Plumer (2016) — President, Jaunt VR
As President of Jaunt Studio, Cliff Plumer is responsible for the development of content and production at Jaunt. Prior to joining Jaunt, Cliff was an angel investor and advisor to Oculus Rift, a Board of Director to Telltale Games, and a Producer of VR content for the launch of the Samsung GearVR. As CEO of Digital Domain, the company won an Academy Award for visual effects on the movie The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, in addition to receiving Technical Achievement awards from the Academy for innovation. At Digital Domain, Cliff established a studio in Vancouver and a Virtual Production Studio in Los Angeles. As CTO of Lucasfilm, Cliff directed the construction of the technical infrastructure of The Letterman Digital Arts Center in San Francisco, and the Lucasfilm Studio in Singapore. He worked closely with George Lucas on the development of the first Digital Cinema production for the Star Wars Trilogy. Cliff has worked on over 100 Hollywood feature films and television series. He began his career at NBC.
Paul Cameron, ASC (2016) — Cinematographer
Paul Cameron, ASC has worked on some of the most visually groundbreaking feature films of the past decade.
He is currently shooting The Commuter starring Liam Neeson for director Jaume Collet-Serra. Cameron also shot the pilot for the critically acclaimed HBO’s series Westworld, written and directed by Jonathan Nolan, produced by J.J. Abrams. The series premiere was one of HBO’s most-watched premieres, drawing in 3.3 million viewers.
Cameron also lensed Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales. The trailer has fans thrilled for the film’s release, which is set to be May 26, 2017.
Other films Cameron has shot include Dead Man Down, starring Colin Farrell and Noomi Repace, directed by Niels Arden Oplev (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo). He has lensed for directors Len Wiseman (Total Recall), Tony Scott (Man on Fire, Déjà Vu), Dominic Sena (Swordfish, Gone in Sixty Seconds) and Michael Mann (Collateral), among many others.
His cinematography for Collateral confirmed the capabilities of the still-young digital medium, immortalized now as one of the first major studio films to embrace digital cinematography. The film earned Cameron a British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award and the Los Angeles Critics Award for Best Cinematography.
In 2003, his masterful lensing caught the eye of the Clio and AICP awards. His photography on the BMW featurette “Beat the Devil” with director Scott took top cinematography honors at both events and is now part of the NYC Museum of Modern Art’s permanent collection. He won another Clio in 2008 for the VW Golf Night Drive spot with director Noam Murro – his third Clio to date.
Cameron currently resides in Los Angeles. He is represented by Dattner Dispoto and Associates (DDA).
Chris Anderson (2016) — CEO, 3D Robotics
Awards include: Editor of the Year by Ad Age (2005). Named to the Time 100, the news magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world (2007).
Anderson founded GeekDad, BookTour and a few other companies now lost in the mists of time.
His background is in science, starting with studying physics and doing research at Los Alamos and culminating in six years at the two leading scientific journals, Nature and Science.
Naida Albright (2016) — Owner-Producer, Conshimfee Productions Inc.
In 2007, Naida Albright opened up her own production and consulting company Conshimfee Productions Inc..
Naida acts as a Filmmaker Liaison and Advisor for Canon USA and their ad agency 360i for the Cinema EOS System. Feature Films, Docs & TV Series that Naida has been involved in that have since used the Canon EOS line include Netflix’s in production Our Souls at Night, Fast 8, Jason Bourne, Nightcrawler, Eli Roth’s The Green Inferno, Divided America, Years of Living Dangerously series 1 & 2, Get on Up, and Sebastian Junger’s recent HBO doc The Last Patrol(among many others).
Naida works as a live moderator for the studios’ strategy and marketing teams, specializing in conversations around the craft sector of the industry and the technology that is involved. She has interviewed every type of filmmaker from actors, directors and producers…to cinematographers, costume designers, art directors, visual effects supervisors, composers, make-up artists, sound designers, sound mixers and film editors.
Naida has interviewed many above and below-the line filmmakers, recently on Warner Bros. hit Sully. Some notable past panelists include, DP John Seale, ASC, for his work on Mad Max Fury Road, Director Scott Cooper and his Department Heads on Black Mass, Producer/Director of Showtime’s Homeland series Lesli Linka Glatter and DP David Klein, ASC. Costume Designer/Production Designer Catherine Martin for The Great Gatsby, Ben Affleck and his creative team for ARGO, Film Editor, William Goldenberg, siblings Lilly & Lana Wachowski for Cloud Atlas, the craft team geniuses, including Wally Pfister, ASC behind The Dark Knight Rises and Inception, Joe Letteri for The Hobbit and David Yates, director of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, to name a few.
As an award consultant Naida worked on Paramount’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, The Weinstein Company’s Inglorius Basterds and the Oscar-winning The King’s Speech with their award campaigns outreach.
Naida was co-founder and co-publisher of the industry trade magazine, Below the Line where she ran the international trade magazine, and created the Below the Line Filmmaker Screening Series. She is currently developing a TV Series called Captain Kid, and recently optioned the property Guiltless to be developed into a TV Series.
Henry LaBounta (2016) — Chief Visual Officer, Zynga
Henry recently joined Zynga as Chief Visual Officer bringing together his 25+ years of entertainment experience in games, film visual effects, feature animation and television. Most recently Henry was at Microsoft Studios working with the Xbox One launch team and multiple internal game teams. Henry started in games as a Senior Art Director on “SSX3″ and wrapped up his work at EA art directing “Need for Speed Hot Pursuit” at Criterion Games. Henry’s game contribution credits include many EA Sports games. Henry has been an active contributor to many conferences worldwide including GDC, SIGGRAPH and FMX and is currently serving on the board of San Francisco ACM SIGGRAPH chapter.
Henry began his career in New York doing animation work for commercials and network television before moving to film visual effects and feature animation. At PDI/DreamWorks Henry was Visual Effects Supervisor for the Steven Spielberg films “Minority Report” and “A.I.” His filmography includes “Mission Impossible 2″, “The Prince of Egypt” and at Industrial Light & Magic “Star Trek VII: Generations,” “Casper.” and “Twister” for which he won a BAFTA and was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects.
Wally Pfister, ASC (2016) — Director / Cinematographer
Wally Pfister is an accomplished Director/Cinematographer who has spent more than two-thirds of his life behind the camera. Before focusing on a directing career he collaborated on seven films with Director Christopher Nolan and was nominated for Academy Awards for his work on Batman Begins, The Prestige, and The Dark Knight. He won the Oscar for Best Cinematography in 2011 for his work on Inception. Pfister’s distinctive visual style can also be seen in Memento, The Italian Job, Laurel Canyon and Moneyball. He made his feature film directing debut in 2014 with Transcendence, starring Johnny Depp and Morgan Freeman. Most recently he Directed and Executive Produced pilots for Netflix and Amazon, both of which were picked up for series. Much of his time is spent Directing high profile commercial campaigns for Apple, Microsoft, Under Armour, Michelob, Chase Bank, and recent Lincoln ads featuring Matthew McConaughey. His experience with VFX in both Features and Television is extensive.
Rex Grignon (2016) — Co-Founder and CCO of Nimble Collective
Co-Founder and CCO of Nimble Collective, Rex has animated on some of the top grossing animated films of all time: Toy Story, Shrek, and the Madagascars. With Nimble Collective, he is working hard to liberate the animation community to create, collaborate, and prosper from their hard work and creativity.
Rich McBride (2016) — Visual Effects Supervisor
Rich McBride first joined Industrial Light & Magic in 2009 as a digital compositor on Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Prior to ILM, he worked as an in-house visual effects supervisor for Bay Area effects studios, Giant Killer Robots and The Orphanage on projects such as Fantastic Four, World Trade Center, The Spirit, and Red Cliff II. His love for movies and working in visual effects stems from a creative background in painting and playing music in San Francisco.
McBride received his BA from San Francisco State University where he studied film and animation. He learned his computer skills while working for bay area game company Rocket Science Games. Working on games led him to working in the advertising world with a small visual effects team based in San Francisco called Western Images. There he worked as a generalist and refined his industry skills in all disciplines of computer graphics.
McBride spent two years at Framestore London working as the visual effects supervisor on Alfonso Cuarón’s Academy Award® winning film, Gravity. After, he returned stateside to rejoin the ILM team, working as a digital compositor on films such as Pacific Rim, The Lone Ranger, and Lucy. His first role as the studio visual effects supervisor and as an ILM visual effects supervisor came on Alejandro González Iñárritu’s 2015 epic, The Revenant. McBride was honored with two Visual Effects Society (VES) awards for his work on Gravity and a VES Award for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects for The Revenant.
ILM CREDITS
Feature Films:
2015 THE REVENANT – Visual Effects Supervisor
Academy Award Nomination – Outstanding Visual Effects
Visual Effects Society Award – Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Photoreal Feature
2014 TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES – Digital Artist
2014 LUCY – Digital Artist
2013 GRAVITY – Visual Effects Supervisor
Visual Effects Society Award – Outstanding Visual Effects in a Visual Effects-Driven Feature
Visual Effects Society Award – Outstanding Virtual Cinematography in a Live Action Feature
2013 THE LONE RANGER– Digital Artist
2013 PACIFIC RIM – Digital Artist
2009 TRANSFORMERS REVENGE OF THE FALLEN – Digital Artist
2009 RED CLIFF II – Visual Effects Supervisor
2009 AVATAR – Digital Artist
2009 A CHRISTMAS CAROL – Digital Artist
2007 FANTASTIC FOUR: RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER – Visual Effects Supervisor
2006 HAPPY FEET – Digital Artist
2006 WORLD TRADE CENTER – Visual Effects Supervisor
2006 POSEIDON – Senior Technical Director
2005 THE PRODUCERS – Digital Artist
2005 FANTASTIC FOUR – Visual Effects Supervisor
2004 BLADE: TRINITY – Technical Supervisor
2003 THE MATRIX REVOLUTIONS – Digital Artist
2003 TERMINATOR 3: RISE OF THE MACHINES – Visual Effects Supervisor
2003 THE MATRIX RELOADED – Digital Artist
2002 THE SPIRIT – Visual Effects Supervisor
Jason Schleifer (2016) — Animator, Leader, Character Technical Director and Workflow
Animator, leader, character technical director and workflow guy, Jason and his mad scientist eyebrows have been pushing the boundaries of CG Animation and sharing his knowledge for nearly 20 years. He is currently Co-Founder and Head of Content for Nimble Collective.
Larry Fong, ASC (2016) — Director of Photography
Soon after Fong launched his career by shooting music videos, including several MTV Music Award winners (REM, Van Halen, Goo Goo Dolls). He then built a thriving TV commercial career plus assignments on independent films and several TV pilots.
In 2004 he shot the pilot for ‘Lost’ with JJ Abrams which earned an ASC Outstanding Achievement nomination, and he went on to shoot several episodes of the series before moving on to work on ‘300’, directed by Zack Snyder. ‘Watchmen’, also directed by Snyder, followed soon after.
2011 saw the release of two films: ‘Sucker Punch’, with Snyder again at the helm; and the Steven Spielberg-produced ‘Super 8’ which reunited Fong with Abrams.
In 2011 he was accepted into the American Society of Cinematographers, and in 2012 he became a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
This year saw the release of his latest project, ’Batman v Superman’, and ‘Kong: Skull Island’, starring Tom Hiddleston and Brie Larson, will be released by Legendary Pictures in 2017.
Karen Dufilho (2016) — Executive Producer, Google ATAP
Dufilho, Executive Producer at Google ATAP, has been developing and producing animation for renowned directors, studios and start-ups for more than 18 years. She is the producer of Academy Award® and Annie Award-winning short films for PIXAR Animation Studios, where she helmed the Shorts Division overseeing and producing franchise work for A Bugs Life, Toy Story 2, and Monsters Inc. With a global network of animation talent, Dufilho launched house of k, a niche consulting business focused on garnering best of industry voices for studios and emerging platforms. Clients include Google, Paramount, Dneg, ON Entertainment, Disney, Rovio, Marza and Lucasfilm. Reuniting with Ratatouille co-creator Jan Pinkava, Doug Sweetland and Caldecott Award recipient Jon Klassen, she produced a first-of-its-kind, immersive VR short for Google, Windy Day. This launched Google Spotlight Stories and led to the creation, distribution and scaling of a new storytelling platform for VR. As Executive Producer, Dufilho oversaw Justin Lin’s Help, Glen Keane’s Duet, Aardman Animations Special Delivery and is in production on Patrick Osborne’s VR and theatrical short Pearl.
Bruno Sargeant (2016) — Virtual Production Producer, Halon Entertainment
Bruno Sargeant is a Virtual Production Producer for Halon Entertainment and a founding member of the Virtual Production Committee. He started working in the field of Virtual Production in 2009 while at Autodesk, leading a technology partnership with Lightstorm Entertainment and Weta Digital. He has subsequently worked on a number of film and games productions including one of the most challenging virtual production feature films to date, Warcraft. His experience encompasses virtual production in the broader context, from story development, Previs and performance capture, through to on set visualization, Postvis and VFX.
Maxwell Planck (2016) — Co-Founder, Oculus Story Studio
Having started his career at Pixar as a technical director helping make computer animated films like Cars, Wall•e, Up, and Brave, Maxwell Planck left to seek out and develop the next generation of story telling technology. Discovering the power of immersive virtual reality, Max co-founded Oculus Story Studio to inspire story tellers and their audience that immersive virtual reality was not only a great medium for games, but a great medium for story. Since its founding, Oculus Story Studio has premiered “Lost,” a short experience about a magical encounter in a forest, and “Henry,” a family friendly short about a hedgehog who just wants a friend on his birthday.
James Knight (2016) — Virtual Production Director, AMD
James Knight is a Virtual Production Director working for AMD, based in Los Angeles, CA. In addition to being Performance Capture Supervisor on Columbia Pictures’ The Amazing Spiderman, he spent four years managing the motion capture for James Cameron’s Avatar. Additionally he has done Performance Capture and Virtual Production for films including I Am Legend, 2012, Hulk and Prince Caspian and various video games including, Batman Arkham City, Scene It, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Gotham Racing. He is a member of the Visual Effects Society (VES) and on the Board of Directors at the British Academy’s Los Angeles chapter (BAFTA-LA).
Shannon Jeffries (2016) — Production Designer
As an Art Director and Production Designer in film, I am tasked with the job of designing the visual story. Because the story is not a single moment, it is a sequential experience, I create the visual language that best communicates the intent of that experience. With a visual plan in hand, I am responsible for communicating and inspiring each stage of the film making process, from story to post production, and everything in between. As the artistic lead, it is important to me that the joy that is put into the design is shared through collaboration.
John Root (2016) — Co-Founder, VRLA
John Root has been specializing in motion capture, virtual production and digital humans for 25 years. He’s worked for such companies as Digital Domain, Image Movers Digital, Magic Leap, iD Software and Epic Games. He is also the Co-Founder of VRLA. (Virtual Reality Los Angeles) When he’s not messing around with computer vision stuff, he’s playing eSports.
Habib Zargarpour (2016) — Director of Visuals Microsoft Studios Global Publishing
Habib joined Microsoft Studios in 2010 and is the Director of Visuals for Global Publishing. He has over 12 years of experience in visual effects for film and 13 years in the games industry. His recent projects at Microsoft include RYSE: Son of Rome and Quantum Break, with upcoming titles ReCore, Scalebound and Crackdown 3. He has also overseen three Hololens projects which bring the realm of AR to reality. Zargarpour is very passionate about promoting the use of real time techniques in film making. To this end, he led a project known as Photon in collaboration with Digital Domain to enable real time Previs using a game engine, deployed on Jon Favreau’s Jungle Book.
Nominated for two Academy Awards and winner of two BAFTAs in Visual Effects for his work on Twister and The Perfect Storm while at Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), some of his other film projects include 2 Star Trek films, Star Wars Episode I, The Bourne Identity, Spawn, and Signs. Habib served as a Senior Art Director at Electronic Arts (EA) from 2003 – 2010 where he worked on Need for Speed Underground, 007 Bond Everything or Nothing, and Need for Speed Most Wanted for which he received a Visual Effects Society (VES) Award in 2006. Habib is an active member of AMPAS, BAFTA, and a founding member of the Visual Effects Society and the 5D-Conference.
Jill Smolin (2016) — Production Manager, Nokia Technologies
As a production manager at Nokia, Jill serves OZO, working with creators around the world of both live and offline productions, as well as the engineers who create OZO’s hardware and software ecosystem. She’s also serving as the technical consultant for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s forthcoming exhibition of stereoscopic history (early 2018).
Before Nokia, Jill worked at 3ality Technica, creating curriculum and educating scores of camera assistants, cinematographers, producers, technicians and creative content makers interested in the Tao of well-balanced, technically accurate and artistically compelling stereoscopic 3D. Her previous incarnations include: teaching at Otis School of Art and Design, producing education for a couple awesome visual effects companies, serving on the education, awards and Summit committees for the VES, and sitting on the VES board a long long time ago. She has also chaired multiple venues at SIGGRAPH, including the Computer Animation Festival, (where the content was projected at LA Live), and which included a program of stereoscopic content way back in 2008.
Jill’s work continues to take her around the world, where she’s become pretty adept at teaching complicated concepts to people who speak lots of different languages.
Jimmy Maidens (2016) — Supervising Technical Director, Penrose Studios
Jimmy is a veteran CG filmmaker, having served as a technical lead and artist at Dreamworks for over 12 years on films such as the Shrek and Madagascar series. As a true CG generalist, Jimmy has wide expertise in multiple areas including lighting, modeling, animation, FX, coding, scripting rendering and concept art. Jimmy has been a VR enthusiast for most of his life, and has amassed a large VR headset collection over several decades.
Bruna Berford (2016) — Lead Animator, Penrose Studios
Bruna Berford is a VR Animator working for Penrose Studios, a startup based in San Francisco. At Penrose, Bruna helped bring to life the beautiful and unique Allumette, a VR film which held its World Premiere at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. Before joining Penrose, Bruna worked as an animator at Oculus Story Studio (Henry) and as a cinematic artist at Telltale Games (Minecraft Story Mode and Game of Thrones). She is also the creator and director of “Occupation: Animator”, considered an inspiration among the animation community. Originally from Brazil, Bruna holds degrees from the Academy of Art, Animation Mentor and Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio).
Devin Sterling (2016) — VP Global Operations, Long Form, Deluxe Creative Services
Devin Sterling designs and continually improves operational processes and maintains quality control for all of Deluxe Creative Services’ long form finishing work. This includes guiding technical staff to ensure that the highest quality product is delivered from all of Deluxe’s creative teams to clients, while adhering to all client security concerns. He focuses on identifying advancements in technology, workflows, industry trends and competitive offerings and evaluates new approaches to long-form post workflow that can improve quality and increase efficiencies. Sterling began his career, originally focused on television production, interning in the KNBC newsroom. This led to production assistant work on several NBC TV shows and his first experience with post production, which soon led to freelance post production management and supervising work and then three years doing similar work on staff at ABC. He moved to Technicolor’s then-new digital finishing division as a DI producer, where he worked until joining Company 3 in 2007 to help build out the Features DI operation.
Brett Ineson (2016) — President and CTO, Animatrik Film Design
Brett Ineson has close to 20 years’ experience in visual effects, 15 of which has been spent in the field of performance capture. Brett sits on the board of the Motion Capture Society. He has worked in production with industry leaders such as Weta Digital and in technology development with Vicon, Lightstorm Entertainment and Autodesk. In 2004 he founded Animatrik Film Design to specialize in performance capture for film, games and television.
James Hattin (2016) — President, Creative Director, VFX Legion
James has over two decades of experience in the visual effects industry and has over a hundred visual effects credits, including: The Purge: Election Year, Hardcore Henry, Scandal, and How to Get Away With Murder. He was an Emmy Award honoree for the California Channel’s The Three Branches of Government and has received several VES and Emmy nominations for his work in episodic television.
He founded VFX Legion in May 2013. As the president of the company, he oversees all aspects of the Legion pipeline, from bidding work to checking the quality of the final product. His meticulous attention to detail has seen Legion grow exponentially year over year.
Christopher Nichols (2016) — Director of Chaos Group Labs
CG Industry veteran Christopher Nichols is the Director of Chaos Group Labs. He can also be heard regularly as the host of the CG Garage podcast. With a background in both VFX and Design, Chris has worked for Gensler, Digital Domain, Imageworks and Method Studios. His credits include Maleficent, Oblivion and Tron: Legacy. Chris was a producer on Kevin Margo’s short film CONSTRUCT, which pushed the boundaries of virtual production. His passion for design, lighting and technology drives him to push the art form and enable artists and designers worldwide. Chaos Group Labs is the research arm of Chaos Group and is a think tank for artists, developers, academic researchers, and industry leaders. Through collaboration, CG Labs seeks to help solve key computer graphics challenges.
Albert “Skip” Rizzo, Ph.D. (2016) — Director, Medical Virtual Reality - Institute for Creative Technologies
Albert “Skip” Rizzo is a clinical psychologist/neuropsychologist and Director of Medical Virtual Reality at the University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies. He is also a Research Professor with the USC Dept. of Psychiatry and at the USC Davis School of Gerontology. Skip conducts research on the design, development and evaluation of Virtual Reality systems targeting the areas of clinical assessment, treatment and rehabilitation across the domains of psychological, cognitive and motor functioning in both healthy and clinical populations. This work has focused on PTSD, TBI, Autism, ADHD, Alzheimer’s disease, stroke and other clinical conditions. In spite of the diversity of these clinical R&D areas, the common thread that drives all of his work with digital technologies involves the study of how interactive and immersive Virtual Reality simulations can be usefully applied to address human healthcare needs beyond what is possible with traditional 20th Century tools and methods. In 2010 he received the “American Psychological Association Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Practice of Trauma Psychology” and in 2012, the MMVR Satava Award for excellence in the use of VR for therapeutic applications. In 2015 he received the Society for Brain Mapping and Therapeutics “Pioneer in Medicine” award presented to individuals who have significantly contributed to the scientific advancement in the fields of medicine through a multidisciplinary approach.
Gawain Liddiard (2016) — Visual Effects Supervisor, The Mill
Gawain has led a variety of high-profile projects including acclaimed Super Bowl 2014 spot Audi ‘Doberhuahua’, Visa ‘A Very High Dive’ and Taco Bell ‘Play the Future First’. He also supervised the double Gold Cannes Lion-winning Google Spotlight Stories ‘HELP’, an immersive 360-degree short film directed by Justin Lin.
With over 14 years of experience in the industry and a keen eye for technical and creative detail, Gawain continues to strengthen The Mill’s visual effects capabilities technically and creatively. His work has been recognized by numerous awards including Cannes Lions, the SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards, The Webby Awards and AICP.
Eve M. Cohen (2016) — Cinematographer
Eve M. Cohen is a cinematographer whose work ranges from independent feature films to television series, documentaries, and most recently cinematic virtual reality. She entered into the world of filmmaking through fine art—specifically painting and photography—and holds a bachelor’s degree in fine art photography and an masters degree in cinematography, both from UCLA. Eve was the first cinematographer to use the Canon C300MKii with PL mount lenses in December 2015 on her most recent feature film “Be Somebody” (dir. Joshua Caldwell), which was released by Paramount in June 2016. She has also filmed a variety of projects for VICE, CNN and ESPN, as well as A+E, MTV, Sundance, Lifetime, History and more. Her most well known Cinematic Virtual Reality project “The Visitor” (dir. James Kaelan) is still appearing at select film festivals around the world. Eve was the director of photography of the truly independent film “Like The Water” (dir. Caroline von Kuhn) which was the catalyst for the creation of crowdfunding and distribution platform Seed&Spark. Eve is a co-founder at Seed&Spark where they believe the art of storytelling is about expanding imagination, shining a light on a world inside and deepening empathy for the world outside.
Storytelling in VR (2017) — Moderator: Annmarie Koeing, Digital Supervisor, Penrose Studios
Annmarie Koenig is a Digital Supervisor with over 25 years experience bringing animated stories to life on 12 feature films at Dreamworks Animation Studios and most recently on the epic Virtual Reality experience Arden’s Wake at Penrose Studios.
Annmarie’s expertise includes all artistic aspects of animated film production, from visual development to final experience creation and delivery.
Annmarie earned her BFA at College of Art and Design in Detroit, Michigan.
Interactive Characters in AR/VR (2017) — Tom Sanocki, Founder / CEO, Limitless Ltd
Tom Sanocki is the Founder and CEO of Limitless Ltd, a new VR startup that enables content developers to create interactive VR characters that respond to voice, gestures, gaze and more, and edit characters in the VR environment. The technology is being targeted to film and game developers initially, as well as other vertical markets including education, advertising and travel.
Previously Tom spent 11 years as a Character Lead at Pixar, where he built characters and technology on films from “Finding Nemo” through to “Good Dinosaur,” filed 5 patents, and won a VES award for Mater in “Cars.” Tom also spent 3 1/2 years as a Character and Cinematics Tech Art Lead at Bungie, shipping Destiny (biggest new game IP launch in history). He has published and presented at SIGGRAPH and GDC, among others.
Tom graduated with a Computer Science Engineering degree from Princeton University.
Storytelling in VR (2017) — Moderator: Bruna Berford, VR Lead Animator, Penrose Studios
More and more people are using the capabilities of VR to let the viewer experiment with something new. However, films and VFX companies may see this as an opportunity to expand the experience of their existing titles, but how exactly do you create content “made for VR”? How do you transition from flat movies to VR? How do you engage your viewer in your experience? How do storytellers entice empathy, immersion, presence? Ultimately, what is the future of storytelling in VR?
Bruna Berford is a VR Lead Animator working for Penrose Studios, a startup based in San Francisco. At Penrose, Bruna is the Animation Supervisor for Arden’s Wake (2017 Tribeca Film Festival), the company’s third project that continues the elegant evolution of storytelling for Virtual Reality. She also helped bring to life the beautiful and unique Allumette, a VR film that Premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. Before joining Penrose, Bruna worked as an animator at Oculus Story Studio on the EMMY Awarded experience Henry, and as a cinematic artist at Telltale Games (Minecraft Story Mode and Game of Thrones). She is also the creator of “Occupation: Animator”, a stop motion short film describing the truth about being an animator and is used as an inspiration for a new generation of animators. As a storyteller, Bruna likes to see the world as potential ideas for future narratives. Originally from Brazil, Bruna holds degrees from the Academy of Art, Animation Mentor and Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro (PUC-Rio).
Photoreal Digital Actors in Movies, Games, and Virtual Reality (2017) — Moderator: Paul Debevec, Senior Staff Engineer, Google VR
In less than a decade, the ability to render a photorealistic animated human face has gone from being an unfathomable challenge to an enabling technology in feature films from Benjamin Button to Rogue One. What will it take to bring this same level of realism to games and virtual reality? And how can we make the process less expensive and more reliable? In the future, will it be more effective to record real actors performing holographically, or to use performance capture to drive virtual versions of themselves?
Paul Debevec is a Senior Staff Engineer at Google VR and an Adjunct Research Professor at the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies. Since his 1996 Ph.D. at the University of California at Berkeley, Debevec’s publications and animations have focused on techniques for photogrammetry, image‐based rendering, high dynamic range imaging, image‐based lighting, appearance measurement, facial animation, 3D displays, and virtual reality. Paul received SIGGRAPH’s first Significant New Researcher Award in 2001 for his contributions to image-based modeling and rendering and a Scientific and Engineering Academy Award® in 2010 for his contributions to the Light Stage facial capture systems, now used in over 30 major motion pictures. He recently served as Vice President for ACM SIGGRAPH and co-chairs the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Science and Technology Council.
Robert Legato (2017) — Visual Effects Supervisor
After a career in Television for Paramount Pictures, Rob Legato joined the newly formed Digital Domain, a visual effects company founded by James Cameron, Stan Winston and Scott Ross. For Rob’s first feature assignment, he became the Visual Effects Supervisor, 2nd Unit Director and VFX Director of Photography for Neil Jordan’s “Interview with the Vampire.” This first feature led to Ron Howard’s “Apollo 13″ with Legato serving as the film’s Visual Effects Supervisor and Director of Photography for the VFX unit. Mr. Legato earned his first Academy Award nomination and won the British Academy Award’s BAFTA for his effects work in “Apollo 13.”
His next feature assignment, James Cameron’s “Titanic,” spanned the next several years and proved ultimately to be one of the most successful films ever made. Besides earning Mr. Legato his first Academy Award®, the film went on to win a total of 11 Oscars® (including Best Picture and Best Visual Effects) and became the highest grossing movie of all time. Mr. Legato also offered some last minute assistance to Martin Scorsese’s production of “Kundun” and Michael Bay’s film “Armageddon.”
Legato left Digital Domain to join Sony Pictures Imageworks where he served as Visual Effects Supervisor on two Robert Zemeckis films, “What Lies Beneath” and “Cast Away.”
Legato was senior Visual Effects Supervisor on “Bad Boys II,” which was nominated for a VES (Visual Effects Society) Award for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Motion Picture. Rob’s next picture was the international phenomenon “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” based on the best selling book by J.K. Rowling. Rob was the Co 2nd Unit Director/Cameraman and Visual Effects Supervisor on Martin Scorsese’s “The Aviator.” Besides being nominated for 11 Academy awards and receiving 5 Oscars® “The Aviator” garnered 3 VES awards and the International Press Academy’s Satellite award for Best Visual Effects.
Rob then completed Martin Scorsese’s feature “The Departed” as the 2nd Unit Director/Cameraman and VFX Supervisor. The film won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture. During the same time frame, Legato created and conceived the Virtual Cinematography Pipeline for James Cameron’s next feature production, “Avatar,” which went on to surpass “Titanic” as the highest grossing film of all time with $2.8 billion in worldwide receipts.
Rob had the fortunate opportunity to work on Robert DeNiro’s second directorial effort, “The Good Shepherd”, serving as both the 2nd unit Director/Cameraman and Visual Effects Supervisor. The very next projects included Martin Scorsese’s Clio award winning “Freixenet: The Key to Reserva,” a 10 minute commercial project, as well as the feature documentary on the Rolling Stones entitled “Shine a Light.” Legato also served as the VFX Consultant on Errol Morris’ documentary film “Standard Operating Procedure”. Legato’s next feature film was Martin Scorsese’s “Shutter Island” upon which he served as both Visual Effects Supervisor and 2nd Unit Director/Cameraman. Rob’s next assignment as VFX Supervisor and 2nd Unit Director/Cameraman was on Martin Scorsese’s epic 3D film “Hugo.” “Hugo” was nominated for 11 Oscars® and 11 BAFTAS, including Best Picture and Best Visual Effects. “Hugo” was ultimately awarded the Oscar® for best Visual Effects, as well as three VES Society Awards and an International Satellite Award.
Rob’s last assignment for Martin Scorsese was the Leonardo DiCaprio starring “The Wolf of Wall Street”. Rob served as both the film’s 2nd Unit Director/Cameraman and Visual Effects Supervisor. Rob’s latest film is Disney’s Jungle Book and he also served as the 2nd Unit Director/Cinematographer and Visual Effects Supervisor. “The Jungle Book” received an Academy Award, British Academy Award, five VES Awards as well as the Critics Choice Award, among several others, for Best Visual Effects for 2016. Rob is currently in pre-production on Disney’s “The Lion King.” Rob’s union and Guild affiliations include the DGA, A.M.P.A.S, A.S.C., Local 600, Local 700 and the VES.
Crossover from Live Action VFX Films to AR/VR/Multi-Media (2017) — Moderator: Wayne Billheimer, ILM Executive Producer
The VFX World is the perfect training ground for the new (and not-so-new) kinds of screens and experiences people are craving: VR/AR/XR/Multi-Media/etc. This roundtable will explore where and how those crossover skills are, can, and should be applied in a world that has evolved from “a over b” compositing to include real-time-interactive-360-immersive-branching narratives. Also ripe for discussion: how can traditional assets and IP from film/game/VFX properties be leveraged for use in immersive-world building?
Wayne Billheimer joined Industrial Light & Magic in 1999 and worked his way through the production ranks before he was promoted to Visual Effects Producer on Jon Favreau’s blockbuster Iron Man. As VFX Producer, Wayne is responsible for the budgeting, scheduling, and staffing of shows and, together with the ILM Visual Effects Supervisor, communication with the picture’s Director, Producer, and Visual Effects team.
In 2011, Wayne was promoted to ILM Executive Producer. In this capacity, Wayne has worked on Oscar-nominated films Avengers and Deepwater Horizon, as well as Martin Scorsese’s Silence and Noah. In 2015, he was also made an Executive Creative Producer for ILMxLAB, where he was instrumental in bringing Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s virtual reality installation ‘Carne y Arena’ to life.
Prior to joining ILM, Wayne was a freelance coordinator on features shot in San Francisco such as What Dreams May Come and Flubber. He was also an assistant to director Barry Levinson while he was living in Northern California. A Northern California native, he received a Bachelor of Arts in English at Saint Mary’s College of California. He lives in Berkeley with his wife Sally
ILM CREDITS
Feature Films
2017 TRANSFORMERS 5: THE LAST KNIGHT – ILM Executive Producer
DOWNSIZING – ILM Executive Producer
THE MUMMY – ILM Executive Producer
MOTHER – ILM Executive Producer
CARNE Y ARENA – ILMxLAB Executive Creative Producer
2016 SILENCE – ILM Executive Producer
DEEPWATER HORIZON – ILM Executive Producer
TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES: OUT OF THE SHADOWS – ILM Executive Producer
13 HOURS – ILM Executive Producer
2015 THE BIG SHORT – ILM Executive Producer
TERMINATOR GENISYS – ILM Executive Producer
PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: GHOST DIMENSION – ILM Executive Producer
2014 TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES – ILM Executive Producer
TRANSFORMERS 4: AGE OF EXTINCTION – ILM Executive Producer
NOAH – ILM Executive Producer
SELMA – ILM Executive Producer
2013 WORLD WAR Z – ILM Executive Producer
PAIN & GAIN – ILM Executive Producer
2012 AVENGERS – ILM Executive Producer
2011 TRANSFORMERS: DARK OF THE MOON – Visual Effects Producer
Visual Effects Society Nomination – Outstanding Visual Effects
2010 IRON MAN 2 (currently in production) – Visual Effects Producer
2009 TRANSFORMERS: REVENGE OF THE FALLEN – Visual Effects Producer
Visual Effects Society Nomination – Outstanding Visual Effects
2008 IRON MAN – Visual Effects Producer
Visual Effects Society Nomination – Best Single Effect
2006 ERAGON – Visual Effects Production Manager
2005 CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN 2 – Visual Effect Producer
2005 THE ADVENTURES OF SHARK BOY AND LAVA GIRL – Visual Effects Coordinator
2005 XXX: STATE OF THE UNION – Visual Effects Location Coordinator
2004 VAN HELSING – Visual Effects Location Coordinator
2002 MEN IN BLACK II – Visual Effects Coordinator
2002 STAR WARS: EPISODE II – Visual Effects Coordinator
2002 BIG TROUBLE – Visual Effects Coordinator
Telling Stories using Virtual Light, the Beauty & Challenges (2017) — Moderator: Danielle Feinberg, Director of Photography, Pixar
As a Director of Photography, working in the computer gives us so many options that the real world doesn’t have, but this power can be a great boon and sometimes a bust…sometimes in the moment, one doesn’t know which it is. Intersecting with Camera, Production Design, Animation, etc. is vital. We will talk about various experiences using virtual light to tell stories — the good, the bad and the…both!
Danielle Feinberg began her career at Pixar Animation Studios in February 1997. As she worked her way from an entry level, technical job to one of the top creative positions, she crewed many of Pixar’s feature films including Toy Story2, Monsters, Inc., Finding Nemo and The Incredibles. Feinberg rose to be the Director of Photography for Lighting on Disney•Pixar’s Academy Award®-winning films WALL•E and Brave and is now working on Pixar’s upcoming fall 2017 film Coco.
Feinberg’s love of combining computers and art began she was eight years old, and first programmed a Logo turtle to create images. This eventually led her to a degree in Computer Science from Harvard University. In addition to her Pixar work, she works with teenage girls, encouraging them to pursue code, math and science by demonstrating to them this same magic found by combining art and technology. She was able to bring that message to a broader audience with her TED talk that was part of the PBS “Science and Wonder” presentation
Ava DuVernay (2017) — Director/Producer/Writer
DuVernay previously wrote, produced and directed the dramatic feature, Middle of Nowhere, which earned her the 2012 Sundance Film Festival Best Director Award. In 2010, she wrote, financed, produced and directed her first narrative feature, I Will Follow. The family drama was hailed by critic Roger Ebert as “one of the best films I’ve seen about the loss of a loved one.” DuVernay made her directorial debut with the critically acclaimed 2008 hip hop documentary, This Is The Life and has directed several network documentaries, including Venus Vs. for ESPN. She has directed significant short form work including August 28: A Day in the Life of a People, commissioned by The Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture, as well as acclaimed fashion and beauty films for Prada and Apple.
In 2017, DuVernay was named one of Fortune Magazine’s 50 Greatest World Leaders and TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People. She also distributes and amplifies the work of people of color and women directors through her film collective ARRAY, named one of Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies.
Jason Brenek (2017) — President, IMAX Home Entertainment
Immediately prior to joining IMAX, Mr. Brenek spent more than a decade in senior management at The Walt Disney Studios. Beginning in 2010, Mr. Brenek served as Senior Vice President of International In- Home. In this role, Jason led Disney’s international teams and sub-distributors in the commercialization of Disney, Pixar, and Marvel movies in New Media/Digital, Television and Retail channels (i.e., all channels after initial Theatrical release: on DVD, Blu-ray disc, Electronic-Sell-Through, and licensed to Pay TV and Free-to-Air / Broadcast TV channels, as well as to Video-On-Demand and OTT Subscription Video-on- Demand platforms). His teams have led the industry in the launch of innovative and lucrative partnerships and products around the world.
In early 2014, Mr. Brenek added the concurrent role of Head of Global Business Development and Strategic Partnerships. In this role, Jason was responsible for sourcing new revenue opportunities, business models, investments, establishing strategic partnerships, and digital product strategy and incubation for the Studio’s multi-billion dollar Global In-Home Distribution segment.
Prior to these roles, Mr. Brenek worked in Disney’s Global Theatrical Distribution division as Senior Vice President, Worldwide Digital Cinema and Cinema Programming. In his Digital Cinema role, he was responsible for setting and executing Disney’s global cinema strategy, overseeing Digital Cinema Operations, negotiating Digital Cinema deployment and digital 3D deals around the world, as well as developing and overseeing 3D and Cinema Programming (any non-movie content, including 3D or live events, delivered to theatres enables by Digital Cinema). Brenek was instrumental in Disney’s emergence to the forefront of the Digital Cinema and Digital 3D world with the Studio’s first 3D release in 2005, “Chicken Little”, which was followed by the theatrical exhibition of the first live, true HD and 3D D-Cinema sporting events in theaters. In February 2008, Brenek once again brought Disney to the forefront of Digital 3D by conceiving and overseeing the release of the highest grossing concert film of all time. Later in 2009, he Co-Produced and oversaw distribution and marketing for ESPN with the industry’s first 3D sports documentary film. In 2015, the International 3D & Advanced Imaging Society awarded Mr. Brenek with their first Founders Award. Brenek joined Disney in 2003 as Vice President, Distribution Strategy.
Prior to joining Disney, Brenek worked at 20th Century Fox and in the Los Angeles office of strategy consulting firm, Bain & Company. He is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and Harvard Business School.
Nonny de la Peña (2017) — Founder / CEO, Emblematic Group
One of the most influential pioneers in VR, Nonny created walk around virtual reality with the first-ever VR documentary Hunger in Los Angeles at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.
An award-winning filmmaker, journalist and former correspondent for Newsweek, she is known for inventing the genre of immersive journalism and has more than 20 years of directing and producing multimedia content in collaboration with world-class organizations including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Google, BBC, CBS, Sony, Universal, The World Economic Forum, PBS Frontline, Cartier and Standard Chartered Bank.
Nonny was named the “Godmother of Virtual Reality” by The Guardian and Engadget while Fast Company named her “One of the People Who Made the World More Creative” for her pioneering work in immersive storytelling.
A Yale Poynter Media Fellow, she is a Harvard graduate with a Masters degree from USC School of Cinematic Arts and Annenberg. In 2016, the White House honored Nonny for her work to create media that cultivates empathy.
Syd Mead (2017) — Visual Futurist and Conceptual Artist
Mead’s career began as he created characters and backgrounds for animated cinema intermission trailers just out of high school. After serving in the U.S. Army and receiving his education at the Art Center School in Los Angeles, Ford Motor Company’s Advanced Styling Studio recruited Mead. After Ford, he took on high-profile design assignments for blue chip companies including U.S. Steel, Philips Electronics and Intercontinental Hotels.
In 1979, Mead’s projects expanded to designing for Hollywood as he began to work with most major studios. His cinema entrée was legendary, starting with the creation of the V’ger entity for Star Trek: The Motion Picture, followed by two cult classics – Bladerunner and Tron. Mead’s designs for robots, vehicles and other-worldly environments have also been featured in films including 2010, Short Circuit, Aliens, Time Cop, Johnny Mnemonic, Mission Impossible-3 and Elysium. With transportation design as his first love, Mead seldom misses an opportunity to provide his unique blend of futurism and believability to designing vehicles – from concept cars, cruise ships and hypervans to interplanetary cinematic spacecrafts that transport audiences to new worlds.
In the 1980’s, Mead established close working relationships with a number of major Japanese companies including Sony, Minolta, Dentsu, Dyflex, Tiger, Seibu, Mitsukoshi, Bandai, NHK and Honda as well as contributing to Japanese film projects, Yamato 2520 and Solar Crisis. In the 1990s, he supplied designs for all eight robot characters in the Turn A Gundam mobile suit series and TV show.
Extensive collections of Mead’s work have been exhibited worldwide, drawing record crowds. In 1993, a digital gallery of his art became one of the first CD ROMs released in Japan and in 2004 he cooperated with the Gnomon School of Visual Effects to produce a 4-volume, “How To” DVD series entitled, Techniques of Syd Mead, which continues to be sought after by designers around the world. A documentary of his career, Visual Futurist, was released in 2007 and Mead continues an active schedule of one-man shows and presentations.
Hemanshu (Hemu) Nigam (2017) — CEO, SSP Blue
Hemu served as the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of News Corporation and Fox Interactive Media’s digital properties, as CSO of MySpace, and as a security executive in Microsoft. He was also the Vice President of Worldwide Internet Enforcement at the Motion Picture Association of America. He began his career as Los Angeles County prosecutor specializing in sex crimes and child abuse before serving as a federal prosecutor against online crimes against children and computer crimes in the US DOJ.
Today, he is the founder of SSP Blue (www.sspblue.com), a cyber security advisory company that has helped companies like Participant Media, SnapChat, Microsoft/Xbox, Disney, AT&T, Microsoft, JustFab, and others deal with challenges in cyber security, privacy, and safety. His company conducts cyber assessments, crisis public relations, and legal and government affairs work for clients. Hemu’s been a keynote speaker at the United Nations on stopping cyber hate, and has been a member of the White House’s cyber stalking task force, and co-chair of President Obama’s Online Safety Technology Working Group.
Hemu’s clients also include television producers, actresses, and news producers and anchors. Today, he’s seeking justice for a real estate agent to Hollywood stars who is being cyber stalked, for an executive producer of a national news outlet who’s had his identity stolen, for a Beverly Hills client who had nearly half a million dollars stolen through an online dating site to scammers, and an attorney who is being victimized by revenge porn.
Hemu’s spent a career chasing bad guys online and offline bringing them to justice. He was one of U.S. DOJ’s first online crimes prosecutors who took down an international child sex trafficking ring as well as prosecuted online child predators and hackers.
Hemu’s insightful expert commentary on cyber security offers an insider’s view of the dark online underworld. His personable style coupled with his unique ability to simplify cyber security for viewers to understand makes him a frequent guest on CNN, FOX, NBC, CBS, and other national news outlets. He’s also often interviewed by Variety, Deadline, The Hollywood Reporter, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Los Angeles Times. He’s also got his own video blog at www.InsideCyberCrime.com where he breaks down cyber security, privacy, and safety topics in short, easy news you can use video segments.
He earned his juris doctorate from Boston University School of Law and his bachelor’s degree in government and political theory from Wesleyan University. Hemu is bar licensed in the states of California and Washington.
Gavin Miller (2017) — Head of Adobe Research & VP, Creative Intelligence Lab
As the Vice President of the Creative Intelligence Lab, Dr. Gavin Miller aims to create a world-class research organization by attracting and retaining some of the best talent breaking grounds on innovative research across the creative fields. The Creative Intelligence Lab’s research is focused on computer graphics, computer vision, imaging, media intelligence and NLP, as well as explorations of new creativity media, such as VR, AR, AI and robots, to invent the creative landscape of tomorrow. The Creative Intelligence Lab publishes novel technical papers at major technical conferences, and contributes a significant number of features to Photoshop and other desktop and mobile creative products produced by Adobe.
Dr. Miller’s own research interests are in computer vision, imaging and the convergence of creativity and technology. Dr. Miller has twice been a keynote speaker at Graphics Interface, and once at Computer Graphics International, and has presented papers at SIGGRAPH, Eurographics and other major conferences. He is also the executive co-sponsor of the Adobe Tech Summit, an internal Adobe conference for 2,500 Adobe technical staff.
Dr. Miller is well known for creating a series of experimental snake robots, one of which was the usher at his wedding. The robots were presented at a DARPA-sponsored conference, and featured on the cover of the book of the conference – Neurotechnology for Biomimetic Robots. The robots were also displayed at the Cité des Sciences et de l’Industrie in Paris, The Tech Museum of Innovation in San Jose, and in the International Spy Museum in Washington D.C. His other interests include writing fairytales, science fiction, poetry, plays and developing experimental software to create highly ornamental decorative objects for 3D printing.
Dr. Gavin Miller graduated from Cambridge University with First Class Honors, and holds a Ph.D. in Computer Aided Manufacture and Computer Graphics.
Karin Joy (2017) — VFX Producer
She is currently working as the VFX Producer for Crazy Alien, a film currently shooting in Qingdao, China. Last year she was the VFX Producer on Okja, which shot mostly in Korea. Prior to that she was the LA based Executive Producer for EDI Effetti Digitali Italiani, one of the top visual effects companies in Italy.
Karin has served as the Production side VFX producer for Academy Award nominee I-Robot, VES Nominated Charlotte’s Web. Other projects she has worked on are: X-Men, Species, Drop Zone, Waterworld, True Lies, Multiplicity, Air Force One, Armageddon, Thirteen Days, Rat Race, Windtalkers, Message in a Bottle, Michael Jackson’s This Is it, The Forbidden Kingdom, and Thunder Run, to name a few.
She has had the opportunity to work at some of the top facilities in the world, starting with Boss Film Studios, Cinesite, Station X, Rezn8, Complete Post, Dreamworks Animation, Entity FX, Digital Sandbox, and was Head of Production at Animal Logic in Sydney, Australia.
Karin is a member of the Visual Effects Society and the Producers Guild of America. When not working, she is an avid tennis player, world traveler and admitted wine and food enthusiast. Karin has enjoyed her many collaborations over the years and is always amazed and impressed with what her colleagues in the visual effects industry are able to accomplish.
Christopher Lockhart (2017) — Story Editor at WME
Christopher Lockhart is Hollywood’s foremost story professional. As Story Editor at WME, the world’s largest diversified talent agency, Chris curates projects for A-list actors such as Denzel Washington, reading and exploring through piles of screenplays, magazines, books, old movies, TV shows, and pitches in search of potential film projects.
Chris began his career at International Creative Management (ICM), where he worked as script consultant to legendary talent agent Ed Limato, who represented industry giants such as Mel Gibson, Richard Gere, Michelle Pfeiffer, Liam Neeson, and Robert Downey, Jr. Chris later moved to the venerable William Morris Agency, which eventually merged with Endeavor to form WME.
As an educator and consultant, Chris has lectured around the world on the craft and business of screenwriting, and he has advised on countless feature films. Chris graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with an MFA in dramatic writing and was awarded the school’s Public Service Prize for his dedication to public education. He is an adjunct professor at National University’s Professional Screenwriting Program. He has also taught at LA Valley College and UCLA. His writing workshop The Inside Pitch was filmed for Los Angeles television, earning him an Emmy Award nomination. Chris’s creative counsel has been used on many hit films such as the 2016 Sundance Film Festival sensation The Birth of a Nation.
Chris crossed over into film producing with the cult horror hit The Collector (2009) and its sequel The Collection (2012), which opened in the top ten box-office. He also wrote and produced the award winning documentary Most Valuable Players (2010) which was acquired by OWN (Oprah Winfrey Network), and that Matt Roush of TV Guide reviewed as the “Sleeper of the week…Charming and disarming…A genuine treat.” Chris has set up several other projects, including A Rhinestone Alibi at Paramount, and Crooked Creek, a modern noir thriller.
Chris is a member of the Writers Guild, the Producers Guild, and the Television Academy. He lives in Beverly Hills, CA and has an eight-year-old son.
Vince Baertsoen (2017) — Group CG Director, The Mill
Vince Baertsoen is Group CG Director at The Mill, where he is responsible for overseeing the communication and development of the CG pipeline across all offices, working closely with The Mill’s Heads of 3D and all Supervisors, covering all disciplines, which include Rigging, Animation, Lighting, FX, Modeling/Texturing and Previs. His mission is to improve and unify the pipeline and workflow across the group, and he is helping implement emerging technologies, such as VR, AR, realtime and interactive in the process.
Vince was previously Head of CG in NY, and supervised the animation and VFX on the VES Awarded and Gold Cannes Lion-winning PETA ‘98% Human,’ the VES-nominated Johnny Walker ‘Rock Giant,’ Hallmark’s ‘Motherbird,’ as well as other high-profile jobs over the past 10 years.
He has collaborated with filmmakers and directors such as Fredrik Bond, Peter Thwaites, Chris Cunningham, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, and Pleix, to name a few, along with agencies including Droga5, BBDO, Ogilvy, Havas, Leo Burnett, BBH and TBWA. Vince has been the Board Member of VES New York and has helped strengthen the VFX community in the New York area since 2013.
D’nardo Colucci (2017) — President and Co-Founder of The Elumenati, LLC
D’nardo Colucci is President and co-founder of The Elumenati, LLC (2003). Aside from business related responsibilities, he is responsible for overall system design matching immersive projection hardware and software solutions to customer needs, He has a PhD in Optical Sciences from the University of Arizona Optical Sciences Center.
D’nardo has over 20 years experience designing optical systems including adaptive optics for telescopes, laser scanning systems, custom lenses for theme park rides, head-mounted displays for virtual and augmented reality applications, optical tracking systems and of course spherical projection systems. D’nardo has been awarded 10 patents.
Previous positions include Staff Scientist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Computer Sciences Department, Director of Optical Engineering at Elumens Corporation and Industrial Liaison at the University of Minnesota Digital Design Consortium.
Kevin Baillie (2017) — Conductor Technologies and Atomic Fiction
Kevin is a co-founder and VFX Supervisor at Atomic Fiction, an effects company with studios in San Francisco, Los Angeles and Montreal. In the 7 years since co-founding Atomic Fiction, he has supervised visuals for two Star Trek movies, two Transformers franchise installments, and the award-winning effects for Robert Zemeckis’s live action films, Flight and The Walk. He most recently wrapped production on Zemeckis’s film Allied.
Prior to launching Atomic Fiction, Baillie supervised at ImageMovers Digital on cutting-edge motion capture feature films, and helmed VFX at The Orphanage on critically-acclaimed movies such as Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, Night at the Museum, Superman Returns, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and Hellboy.
Kevin is also CEO of Conductor Technologies, a company breaking new ground by offering high-capacity, on-demand rendering to the masses using cloud computing technologies.
Baillie’s film career began very early on, when he joined Lucasfilm’s JAK Films division as a pre-visualization artist on Star Wars Episode I at the age of 18.
Dominik Tarolli (2017) — Esri, Director, Global Business Development 3D Geodesign
Dominik is the Director for Global Business Development 3D Geodesign at Esri Inc. in Redlands (CA), where innovative 3D solutions for Esri’s customers are developed. He is instrumental in Esri’s efforts for the entertainment industry and works with entertainment companies all over the world (Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Double Negative, Dreamworks, Scanline VFX, etc.). Previous he was a co-founder of Procedural Inc., the maker of the modeling software for 3D urban environments CityEngine, which was acquired in 2011 by Esri.
Darren Hendler (2017) — Director Digital Human Group, Digital Domain
Darren Hendler is a 20-year veteran of the visual effects industry, where he has contributed his talents to more than 15 feature films and scores of commercials. In his current role at Digital Domain, Darren is responsible for spearheading new technology to create photo-real creatures and digital humans across all platforms. A few of the feature films that Darren has contributed to include Beauty and the Beast, FF7, Maleficent, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, The Golden Compass, Percy Jackson & The Olympians and I-Robot.Darren is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences and hold a B.S. degree in Electrical Engineering from the University Of the Witwatersrand in South Africa.
Evan Atherton (2017) — Sr. Research Engineer, Office of the CTO - Autodesk
Evan received his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, and has been with Autodesk ever since. He currently serves as a Senior Research Engineer for the Office of the CTO, tasked with exploring five to one hundred years into the future to identify technologies, trends, and stories that may impact the way things will be designed and made. Evan’s current work occurs at the intersection of advanced robotics, digital fabrication, and storytelling.
Evan is also an amateur filmmaker. His debut short film, Artoo In Love, was the runner up for 3D World’s CG Awards, in the best VFX Short category, and was screened in numerous film festivals and at Industrial Light and Magic. The film was also featured by many online publications, including TIME, Mashable, and Huffington Post.
Merging Realms: Art, Science & Social Awareness (2017) — Moderator: Drue Kataoka, Technology Artist
At this roundtable we’ll discuss current Virtual Reality tools for artists and creators. Participants are welcome to bring examples of their VR artwork or experiments in this space. What are some cool ways that VR can be blended with other traditional art forms? How can some of these VR art tools be used in new workflows? How will the art world be transformed and disrupted by VR in the next 5 to 10 years?
Technology Artist Drue Kataoka is known for creating interactive and engaging artworks with significant social impact using cutting edge technologies like virtual reality, brainwaves(EEG), and mobile platforms. Drue’s painting Up! has been featured in the first zero gravity art exhibit at the International Space Station. Drue’s reflectivity-based artistic vocabulary also includes mirror-polished steel sculptures and magic boxes.
Only 24 hours after its creation, Drue’s portrait of British M.P. and humanitarian Jo Cox flooded social media, newswires and TV. Drue’s posters were carried by tens of thousands of people in Trafalgar Square, Batley, Dublin, Buenos Aires, New York, Washington DC, and many other cities, as a symbol of our shared humanity.
Drue’s piece “400,000 Is Not a Number” helped shine a light on the backlog of 400,000 untested rape kits waiting for justice, and her “Touch Our Future” digital tapestry drew the attention & participation of dozens of Nobel Laureates and heads of state to help reduceinfant mortality.
Named a Young Global Leader & Cultural Leader of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Drue was invited to give a solo exhibition at the WEF in Davos. Drue was also a featured speaker at the WEF Annual Meeting in Davos in 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2016.
Celebrating American women’s “firsts,” Drue’s iconic image Now Is The Time was launched around the Hillary Clinton Presidential Campaign. The only artwork officially unveiled at the 2016 Democratic National Convention, it was featured in Forbes, Huff Po, US Weekly, TIME Motto, CNBC and others. In 2017, she debuted a virtual reality artwork and social VR experience inspired by Now Is The Time.
Graduate of Stanford University. Recipient of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Research & Education Institute Award for her extensive community service along with Secretary George Shultz.
See some of her artworks under the Artworks menu above.
Filming for VR: Hallelujah VR Music Experience (2017) — Moderator: Ariel Braunstein, Chief Product Officer, Lytro
Ariel Braunstein, Chief Product Officer, sets Lytro’s product direction and leads the company’s end-to-end product management process.
Ariel has a long track record of building successful software and hardware businesses. Prior to joining Lytro, Ariel Founded and served as CEO of Knowmia, a video platform for education. Ariel was also Co-Founder and Head of Products at Pure Digital Technologies, which developed the iconic Flip Video line of pocket camcorders that won IDSA’s Design of the Decade Award for “Most Appealing Consumer Solution.” When Pure Digital was acquired by Cisco in 2009, Ariel headed all products for Cisco’s Consumer Products Division and oversaw Flip Video as well as networking devices and software from Linksys, Pure Networks and other consumer brands. Previously Ariel ran Interact Inc., a gaming platform startup out of Israel and led product development for FamilyWonder.com which was later sold to Sega of Japan.
Lytro Immerge Behind the Scenes, Here is a preview: https://vimeo.com/206480546
The Future of Machine Learning in Entertainment (2017) — Moderator: Kamal Mistry, Netflix Product Executive focused on Art & Technology
Machine Learning and Computer Vision algorithms are seeing greater adoption in Media & Entertainment. Researchers are developing automatic Green Screen and Wire Removal algorithms, Tagging algorithms to mark videos to identify and classify content e.g. object, face, nudity detection. Where is this heading? Can we use AI, ML and Computer Vision algorithms in new ways for VFX and Media & Entertainment ? How would you use this technology in your company? Are you adopting this technology today?
Kamal works at Netflix as a Senior Product Manager focused on Machine Learning, Computer Vision and Content Algorithms. Kamal has had a long 20 year career in Art & Technology from being an Artist and Technical Director at Pixar to being Group Head of Product at Autodesk in charge of flagship products such as Maya, Mudbox, and Motionbuilder. Whilst at Autodesk Kamal was also involved with numerous acquisitions such as Arnold, Exotic Matter & Shotgun as well as kicking off numerous VR/AR initiatives. Kamal brings a unique background and skill set to his professional career and enjoys the challenge of creating products at the cutting edge of Business, Art & Technology for the Media & Entertainment space.
Lynwen Brennan (2017) — EVP & General Manager | Lucasfilm, ILM & Skywalker Sound
As President of ILM, Brennan guided the company through one of its most successful periods. Under her leadership, ILM expanded its global footprint, opening offices in Vancouver, British Columbia, and London; grew its San Francisco studio; and significantly expanded its highly successful Singapore studio.
Prior to her role as President of ILM, Brennan was Executive in Charge of Production at ILM, a position she held for four years. In this role, she oversaw all artistic and production talent at ILM and was responsible for ensuring that productions were efficiently staffed for on-time, on-budget delivery. She played a driving role in the company’s overall portfolio management and was a key member of ILM’s executive staff.
Her career with Lucasfilm started in 1999 with her role as Technical Area Leader for the Computer Graphics Technical Directors. She was promoted a year later to Manager of Production Technical Directors, where she supervised technical directors, sequence supervisors, and assistant technical directors. In April 2002, Brennan was promoted to Director of Digital Artists, a role she held until her promotion to Executive in Charge of Production in 2006.
Prior to joining Lucasfilm, Brennan had 10 years of experience in visual effects software development at companies such as Parallax Software, Avid Technology, and Alias Wavefront.
Brennan holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of London. In 2016, she was made a Commander of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.
Lynwen Brennan (2017) — EVP & General Manager | Lucasfilm, ILM & Skywalker Sound
As General Manager of Lucasfilm, Lynwen Brennan oversees all operational matters for Lucasfilm, Industrial Light & Magic, and Skywalker Sound, as well as the development and execution of Lucasfilm’s business strategy and implementation of the company vision. Prior to her appointment to General Manager in February 2015, Brennan served as President of ILM for seven years, where she was responsible for all production and business aspects of the company.
As President of ILM, Brennan guided the company through one of its most successful periods. Under her leadership, ILM expanded its global footprint, opening offices in Vancouver, British Columbia, and London; grew its San Francisco studio; and significantly expanded its highly successful Singapore studio.
Prior to her role as President of ILM, Brennan was Executive in Charge of Production at ILM, a position she held for four years. In this role, she oversaw all artistic and production talent at ILM and was responsible for ensuring that productions were efficiently staffed for on-time, on-budget delivery. She played a driving role in the company’s overall portfolio management and was a key member of ILM’s executive staff.
Her career with Lucasfilm started in 1999 with her role as Technical Area Leader for the Computer Graphics Technical Directors. She was promoted a year later to Manager of Production Technical Directors, where she supervised technical directors, sequence supervisors, and assistant technical directors. In April 2002, Brennan was promoted to Director of Digital Artists, a role she held until her promotion to Executive in Charge of Production in 2006.
Prior to joining Lucasfilm, Brennan had 10 years of experience in visual effects software development at companies such as Parallax Software, Avid Technology, and Alias Wavefront.
Brennan holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of London. In 2016, she was made a Commander of the British Empire by Queen Elizabeth II.
Physical sets, RAPTURE Gear, Social Experience (2017) — Morderator: Cliff Plumer, CEO, THE VOID
Cliff Plumer is an entertainment industry veteran and CEO of THE VOID, the critically acclaimed immersive entertainment company. He has more than 30 years of experience spanning production, creative and technology. Prior to joining THE VOID, he was President of Jaunt Studios, a leading virtual reality media company. Plumer also served as CEO of visual effects studio, Digital Domain and CTO of Lucasfilm and Industrial Light & Magic where he worked closely with founder and filmmaker George Lucas in the development of new computer graphic technology and a digital cinema production and distribution system for the Star Wars trilogy, along with leading the R&D team honored with a dozen Scientific Achievement Awards from the Motion Picture Academy. Plumer has worked on more than 60 films, including the Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Transformer franchises, with an Academy Award for the VFX on The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.
As an early adopter and investor in virtual reality, Plumer sees the power of providing global audiences the ability transcend the limitations of reality. At THE VOID, he and his team layer virtual worlds over physical spaces to create immersive entertainment experiences that engage the senses, bringing consumers closer to stories, characters and places than ever before. To learn more, visit: www.thevoid.com.
Modern VFX Production in the Cloud (2017) — Morderator: Kevin Baillie, Co-founder and VFX Supervisor, Atomic Fiction
“What AI Designers are learning from Film & Storytelling!
Apurva’s mission is enhancing consumer engagement and understanding of finances and money for millennials though story, play and innovation. As a creative technologist, he brings over two decades of animation, visual effects, games and computer graphics experiences to this daunting but socially critical product challenge. He leads a multi-disciplinary innovation team in design that explores emerging technologies like immersive realities, artificial intelligence, internet of things and 3D game engines from a human centered focus. In terms of his enterprise responsibilities, he manages One Design System that ensures consistent customer experiences across Capital One’s products and services, surfaces accessibility concerns, and improves fidelity of design intent communication with engineering.
He is the founder of and advisor at Whamix, an equal part creative studio and technology lab for VR, AR and interactive media that has consulted on diverse applications ranging from financial services to entertainment for Fortune 500 clients. Prior to these endeavors, Apurva served as Chief Visual Officer at Prana and Rhythm & Hues, Visual Effects Supervisor at Pixar and Sequences Supervisor at PDI/Dreamworks. His film credits include Ratatouille, Shrek, Finding Nemo, Toy Story 3, Cars2, Brave, Planes: Fire & Rescue, Antz, Batman Forever, The Arrival, The Wisdom Tree and Broken Arrow.
He holds several innovative patents in simulation, rendering and digital color that led to fundamental workflow changes in modern animation production. He was a member of Pixar’s technical brain trust and has done frequent rotations in the creative tools and R&D departments at Pixar and Dreamworks.
He has served on the Siggraph committee and lectured at Academy of Art and the Art Institute of San Francisco. He is currently serving on the Visual Effects Society Bay Area Section Board.
“What AI Designers are learning from Film & Storytelling!
In leading the development and management of Leo Villareal’s largest artwork to date THE BAY LIGHTS, Amy built community, grew international awareness and assembled a world-class team to fund, permit and produce this complex and highly creative now permanent work of public art. Other International installations are underway. Visual Effects is what visual artists do. Art feeds the soul – hungry? There is as much art as there are ideas. Big and public to personal and collectable, immersive and amorphous. Artist’s visions are articulated by the tools and canvases they choose. In and around your world, regardless if you make it, engage with it or appreciate it – always Expect it.
Amy has lives and works and plays in the intersection of art, technology, culture and media.
Currently she is Leo Villareal’s Executive Producer of Public Artworks. Together they are working on projects around the world including Current, a project commissioned by the Illuminated River Foundation that will include the lighting of the many of London’s iconic bridges on the River Thames.
In leading the development and management of Leo Villareal’s largest artwork to date THE BAY LIGHTS, Amy built community, grew international awareness and assembled a world-class team to fund, permit and produce this complex and highly creative now permanent work of public art. She is also the Founding Executive Director of THE BAY LIGHTS presenting organization Illuminate the Arts, and was Co-Director of the launch of ZeroOne: The Art and Technology Network which led to its biannual international arts festival.
Amy was part of the initial team that launched and built WIRED Magazine, later holding Executive Producer posts at cutting-edge convergence cable startups ZDTV and Oxygen Media, followed by roles as Director of Marketing for online leaders One Economy and Uth TV.
As Principal of AC Eclectic Creative Services Worldwide, her clients include Treasure8,The Lexicon of Sustainability, LiteracyWorks!, Chip Conley, the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management, Linden Labs, NASA and Woolsey For Congress, WIRED Next Fest, ABC Sports, SGI, NIKE and The Webby Awards.
She is married to the robotics performance art pioneer Mark Pauline, who runs Survival Research Laboratories in Petaluma where he and Amy are raising their son.
David Altenau (2017) — FuseFX CEO
Altenau has led the growth of FuseFX from start-up to approximately 300 employees in three locations worldwide. His leadership and vision has enabled extraordinary growth and success of the company over the course of 10 years. FuseFX has become an industry leader and highly respected entity in the field of Visual Effects.
Altenau, a native of Ohio, began his career in San Francisco 1989, becoming a pioneer in the field of computer animation. After working on commercials at Editel for a period of time, in 1996 he moved to Los Angeles to become a senior CGI artist for Warner Digital Studios, where he worked on such films as Mars Attacks and Batman & Robin. Altenau continued his career with both Pacific Title/Mirage and Cinesite Hollywood, receiving an Emmy nomination for his work on “From the Earth to the Moon” and working on such Hollywood blockbusters as X-men, X-Men II, Thirteen Days and Sixth Day. After focusing on feature films early on, Altenau broadened his focus to become the visual effects supervisor on such episodic shows as Carnivale, Deadwood, K-Ville, The Unit, Lie To Me, United States of Tara, and Criminal Minds. In 2006, he founded FuseFX and has led the organization since that time.
Douglas Trumbull, VES (2017) — Visionary Filmmaker, Innovator and Entrepreneur
Trumbull directed Silent Running and Brainstorm, and he has also directed numerous Expo and special venue films, videos and attractions. Along the way he has been awarded more than twenty patents, including one for the first entertainment simulator ride (Back To The Future – The Ride at Universal Studios) and another for the Academy Award-winning Showscan® process for high speed 70 mm cinematography. He was recently awarded the coveted Gordon E. Sawyer Academy Award for his contributions to cinema technology.
In 1994 Trumbull merged his company Ridefilm Corporation with IMAX and helped launch the successful IMAX IPO that brought IMAX into the commercial feature film marketplace around the world.
While continuing to write and direct, Trumbull has continued to be fascinated with the challenges of making movies using advanced production technologies, while also developing an immersive cinematic language. He has set up Trumbull Studios in Western Massachusetts and continues to experiment and push the boundaries of giant screen, high frame-rate, extreme brightness 3D and virtual digital production, recently producing an experimental demonstration movie titled UFOTOG, shot and projected in his new MAGI process of 4K 3D at 120 frames per second.
Trumbull’s most recent developments include a new Magi screening concept, called the Magi Pod. It offers an extremely immersive “Giant Screen” experience in a small 70-seat prefabricated theater at a fraction of conventional theater costs. The Magi process allows unlimited camera movement and fast action, and is the first time in cinema history that virtually everything that occurs before the camera is captured and delivered to the ultra-wide screen in perfect clarity and deep 3D without any strobing, judder, or blur. This “hyper-reality” effect is now being explored creatively by Trumbull to create a new form of immersive cinema that uses a single-camera/single projector “lens-to-lens” system. Applications include cinemas, theme parks, location based entertainment centers, destination attractions, educational and training applications, and Mixed Reality.
Trumbull is developing several feature projects for production at Trumbull Studios, where he has been installing advanced virtual production technologies, now fully developed via the UFOTOG demo movie. He plans to direct one of these projects soon, and do so at his studio and in the Magi process.
Joe Letteri (2017) — Senior Visual Effects Supervisor
Joe joined Weta Digital as Visual Effects Supervisor on The Two Towers and has since led the company as its Director to become one of the world’s premiere visual effects studios.
Joe has developed many techniques that have become standards for bringing photographic quality to digital visual effects. He specializes in the creation of realistic creatures, from the dinosaurs of Jurassic Park, to Gollum, King Kong, the Na’vi in Avatar and Caesar from The Planet of the Apes.
As Senior Visual Effects Supervisor on Avatar, Joe oversaw a programme of research and development over four years that produced shots larger and more complex than ever attempted before. This involved shooting on a virtual stage with a new camera system, along with the development of a full pipeline of tools that effectively launched a new approach to filmmaking called virtual production.
Under Joe’s leadership, Weta Digital has continued to expand and improve these techniques through films like The Adventures of Tintin, The Hobbit trilogy and The Planet of the Apes trilogy. Joe has recently been focused on Luc Besson’s sci-fi epic, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, War for the Planet of the Apes and the Avatar sequels.
John Mariella (2017) — Senior Production Consultant – SideFX
A visual effects and animation veteran of over 25 years, John has worn many hats in a broad range of film and TV productions as a VFX artist, animation director, technical director, producer, and software developer. Currently, John is a working as Senior Production Consultant with the R&D team at SideFX in Toronto focused on the development of Character and Animation tools. In 1994, John co-founded C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures in Toronto with the intent of establishing a world class visual effects facility in Canada servicing the feature film and television series markets. John’s dedication to the craft, vision, and leadership were instrumental in growing a small VFX studio with a total staff of six, to a key player in the industry employing over 300 people at its peak while producing Disney’s The Wild. Until it shuttered in 2010, C.O.R.E. was revered as one of Canada’s highest ranked animation and visual effects studios recognized around the world. John graduated from the University of Waterloo with an honors degree in Fine Arts, and completed his studies in Computer Animation at Sheridan College in 1986.
John’s many feature film credits include CG Supervisor for Disney’s The Wild, and Animator and Technical Director for X-Men, and Doctor Dolittle, and Fly Away Home, and Animation Director on Cats & Dogs II: The Revenge of Kitty Galore, and Nutty Professor II: The Klumps. Television credits include VFX work on The Expanse, and The Outer Limits: Sandkings. John also won a Gemini Award as Co-Producer for Best Animated Series for Angela Anaconda.
Marc Petit (2017) — General Manager, Unreal Enterprise (Epic Games)
As General Manager of the Enterprise business, Marc oversees growth of Epic Games’ Unreal Engine business into markets outside of game development. Prior to joining Epic Games in mid-2016, Marc was a partner and Entrepreneur-In-Residence at XPND Capital, a Montreal-based investment fund where he co-founded and launched Taxelco, a sustainable urban transportation company. Between 2002 and 2013, Marc ran Autodesk’s Media & Entertainment business unit steering development and marketing of the industry’s leading 3D animation and VFX software products 3ds Max, Maya, MotionBuilder and Flame. Marc started his career at TDI in 1988, and joined Softimage in 1991 where he ran 3D Products and oversaw the design and development of Softimage XSI.
Scott Farrar, ASC (2017) — Visual Effects Supervisor / Second Unit Director - ILM
Prior to coming to ILM, Farrar worked as a freelance cameraman in Los Angeles. In 1975, he was invited to visit the set of the then unknown Star Wars and saw the first motion control system in action. Inspired by what he saw, he began work for Robert Abel and Associates, and eventually for Doug Trumbull working on Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
A California native, Farrar received his Bachelor of Arts and Masters of Fine Arts in Theater Design with an emphasis in Film from the University of California at Los Angeles.
Todd Masters (2017) — President/Founder/Chief Monster Maker - MASTERSFX
Masters, a two time Emmy Award winner, is a veteran of the “Golden Era” of rubber monster making FX. Early in his career, he worked on such iconic projects as “Big Trouble in Little China, “Night of the Creeps,” “Predator,” “Poltergeist II,” “Nightmare on Elm Street 5,” “Tales from the Crypt,” and dozens more.
Among the first to integrate Makeup FX & Practical FX with Digital VFX – Masters remains a leader in his field, and continues innovating and blending FX methodologies, while consistently creating dazzling FX. Today, MASTERSFX is the only studio in the world that offers a complete range of practical/digital options through a unique process called “dMFX,” a blend of practical and digital makeup, special FX, prosthetics and animatronics.
Creators of the cadavers for “Six Feet Under,” the vampires from “True Blood,” the Borg FX for “Star Trek,” and the baby makers from “Look Who’s Talking,” the work of Todd Masters and his company also includes contributions to “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “This is Us,” “The Good Doctor,” “The Magicians,” “Future Man,” “Six Feet Under,” “Prison Break,” “The Expanse,” “The 100,” “iZombie,” “Fringe,” “RoboCop,” “The Day the Earth Stood Still,” “The Haunting in Connecticut,” “Star Trek: First Contact,” “The Horse Whisperer,” “Slither,” “Snakes on a Plane,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” and countless more.
Masters and his company also supply dummies and detailed FX props for studios to rent, and custom and stock temporary tattoos, as well as their unique, fast-apply prosthetic system, ProGASH.
A founding member of The Visual Effects Society, Masters is also an award-winning director; a successful toy designer and entrepreneur; has toured with Better Midler and Spinal Tap; helped “disguise” Michael Jackson; and was one of the first artists to create prosthetics digitally – thirteen years before the release of the hit film “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”
Todd Masters is the winner of 2016 Leo and Daytime Emmy Awards for “Outstanding Makeup” for the Netflix series, “Monsterville.” He is also the winner of an Emmy Award in 2003 for the 2001/2002 Season of “Six Feet Under” in the category “Best Special Effects Makeup.” And in 2006, Masters and his company won a “Saturn Award” for “Best Make-Up FX” for their work on the film “Slither.”
Todd Masters (2017) — President/Founder/Chief Monster Maker - MASTERSFX
Recently joining NVIDIA, Vincent oversees developer marketing for Design, Visualization and Professional VR. Previously VP of Product Development at DAZ3D, he spearheaded integrating physically based rendering and improving compatibility with professional applications. Vincent spent five years at Fusion-io where he was Director of Visual Computing working closely with entertainment software developers and production studios on implementing solutions that facilitate new levels of creativity, productivity and worldwide collaboration. He helped pioneer interactive 4K and 6K production pipelines as well as new workflows that leverage the latest innovations in ultra-fast storage. Vincent has designed technology solutions for 2D and 3D production in the visual effects, video game and design industries for over 18 years. Before joining Fusion-io, Vincent spent 11 years at Autodesk Media & Entertainment, working with leading Hollywood studios both as a Product Specialist for 3dsmax and as Product Designer on Autodesk’s desktop compositing tool, Toxik (now Composite). At Autodesk, Vincent was a key member of the stereoscopic advisory board, where he helped to establish innovative S3D conversion pipelines with major studio clients. In addition, working as a VFX supervisor and artist on films, games and architectural/engineering projects for Clients including Disney Feature Animation, Paramount Pictures, Electronic Arts, Bungie and four-time Academy Award nominee David Lynch.