The 2017 edition of the World Animation & VFX Summit has announced this year's recipient of the Hall of Fame awards and panelist lineup. This year's honorees are:
The awards ceremony will be hosted by one of the top voice-over artists working in the business today, Tom Kenny (SpongeBob SquarePants).
The gala event will be followed by two packed Summit days in the intimate surrounds of the California Yacht Club in Marina del Rey. All-inclusive networking breakfasts, lunches and cocktail parties anchor the all-day panels of industry luminaries. The focus is on easy access, face-to-face interactions. Speakers will discuss inspiring information about their experience, the future of the animation and vfx industry, its best practices, new ideas and the technologies that will make life in 2018 easier for producers, studio owners and talent.
The final day of the summit will feature Master Classes for the Masters: Alison Norrington, Archita Ghosh, Fred Seibert and Butch Hartman on Wednesday November 1. Breakfast, lunch, an afternoon break snack and cocktails with appetizers will be served. Attendees can purchase these classes individually or as a full-day pass on the Summit website.
The World Animation and VFX Summit is a way to travel the world's geography of the animation and vfx industry, all while relaxing in the ambiance of a private club overlooking the Marina. For more info, visit www.animationmagazine.net/summit.
Must-See Panels
The eclectic lineup of this year's summit explore many different faces to the animation and vfx industries, from behind-the-scenes tips on how to produce a successful international co-pro, to the nuts and bolts of creating content for VR, to informative talks with the directors and producers of this year's feature and short films that are contenders for Academy Awards. Here is a list of some of the top industry professionals who were confirmed to appear on the panels at press time:
Agnes Augustin, CEO/president, Shaw Rocket Fund
Chrstine Brendle, CEO, FUN Union
Kobe Bryant, CEO, Kobe Inc.
Vanessa Chapman, managing director, VCJ Media
Lawson Deming, owner/vfx supervisor, Barnstorm VFX
Mo Davoudian, creative director/CEO, Brain Zoo Studios
Peter Denomme, CEO/exec producer, Switch VFX & Animation
Joel Douek, composer, sound designer
Ruth Fielding, producer/partner, Lupus Films
Archita Ghosh, exec producer/partner, E*D Films
Jorge Gutierrez, director, Son of Jaguar
Michaela Hart, animation exec, production specialist
Michael Hefferon, president, Rainmaker & Mainframe Studios
Guillaume Hellouin, chairman/cofounder/producer, TeamTO
Max Howard, producer and animation consultant
Kevin Tod Haug, vfx designer
Terry Kalagian, VP creative, Gaumont Animation
Ken Katsumoto, EVP family entertainment, Lions Gate Entertainment
Glen Keane, director, Dear Basketball
Dorota Kobiela, writer/director, Loving Vincent
Iryna Kostyuk, producer/creator/media expert
David Kwok, founder/CEO, Tiny Island Productions
Peter McHugh, manager, The Gotham Group
Chris McKay, director, The LEGO Batman Movie
Alison Norrington, writer/producer/founder, storycentral
Chris O'Reilly, co-founder/ECD, Nexus Studios
Sascha Paladino, creator/executive producer, Miles from Tomorrowland
Sandra Rabins, producer/animation executive
John Robson, managing director, Wildbrain
Adam Rumanek, founder, Aux Mode
Richard Scott, CEO, Axis Studios
David L. Simon, animation producer and executive
Carlos Saldanha, director, Ferdinand
Philippe Soutter, co-founder, PGS
Irene Sparre, exec producer, Wil Film
Mark Taylor, exec VP, physical production, Dreamworks Animation TV
Toper Taylor, president, Network of One
Nicolas Trout, co-head of animation/exec producer, Mikros Image
Tom van Waveren, CEO/creative director, Cake
Lin Zhang, CEO, DeZerlin Media
"We are thrilled to be presenting awards this year to some of the key game-changers in the animation industry," adds Thoren. "Our industry is poised for enormous and exciting changes in the next few years, and we are very pleased to have some of the biggest innovators and thought leaders in our field sharing their vision for the future with us at our event."
The 2017 Summit will showcase panels on the making of some of the year's top animated features such as Captain Underpants, Boss Baby, Loving Vincent, Despicable Me 3, LEGO Batman Movie, The Star and Ferdinand. It will also bring to focus some of the innovations in new media, co-production opportunities, the future of streaming and the changes in the TV animation landscape and the promise of the VR universe. The summit will also present a must-see panel on the making of the acclaimed short Dear Basketball, with animation icon Glen Keane and basketball legend Kobe Bryant.
To learn more about the event and secure tickets, visit www.animationmagazine.net/summit.
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