Stepping behind the scenes and into the innovative world of visual effects and game design, the fifth annual event, Industry Giants 2006: Giant Steps Forward, included a distinctive lineup of speakers working in all areas of animation and special effects for film, television and games. Ed Hooks, visiting for the second time, led a sold-out Masterclass highlighting his Acting for Animators approach. Conceptual Art Director Christian Lorenz Scheurer and Digital Anvil/Microsoft Game Studios’ Scott Peterson discussed their creative solutions for game development and films.
Other presentations featured Zoic Studios co-founder Loni Peristere who discussed his work on Serenity, and T. Dan Hofstedt, who discussed his work on Sony Pictures Animation’s Monster House. DNA Productions co-founder John Davis (and 2005 alumnus), gave a presentation on his studio’s 2006 film, The Ant Bully.
Master Class 2006
Ed Hooks
Veteran screen actor and author, Ed Hooks will lead a presentation on acting for animation. A distinction will be drawn between acting as it is taught to stage actors and acting as it is taught to animators. Copies of his book, Acting for Animators and Acting in Animation, will available at the presentation.
Christian Lorenz Scheurer
will take the audience through the different stages of story-driven visual creation, reflecting influences of architecture, fashion and design. Scheurer’s game credits include Final Fantasy, Spore and LOTR Return of the King. His feature film work includes The Fifth Element, Titanic and The Matrix. Copies of his book, Entropia, were available at the event.
Loni Peristere
Co-Founder of Zoic Studios, Loni Peristere is Creative Director for commercial, episodic and feature animation projects. He will lead a p resentation discussing his work as Visual Effects Supervisor on the filmSerenity. Peristere’s credits include Battlestar Galactica,CS Iand Buffy The Vampire Slayer. He received a 2003 Emmy Award for his visual effects work on the series Firefly.
T. Dan Hofstedt
T. Dan Hofstedt is Animation Supervisor with Sony Pictures Imageworks on the animated performance capture featureMonster House, due for release this summer. Hofstedt served as Senior Character Animator onThe Polar
Express from Director Robert Zemeckis. Hofstedt is a twelve year veteran of Walt Disney Feature Animation, where The Lion King, Aladdin and Pocahontas are among his many credits.
Scott Peterson
Game Designer, Scott Peterson, with Digital Anvil/Microsoft Game Studios, will discuss game console improvements and how design
ers are using increased power to create more visually compelling game environments. Peterson countsFreelancer,Brute Force and Enworare among his game credits and Spawn,The Nutty Professor and Spy Kids among his film credentials.
John Davis
Dallas-based DNA Productions will discuss their production and development work on the animated feature,The Ant Bully, to be released this summer in standard and IMAX versions.DNA also produced the Oscar-nominatedJimmy Neutron Boy Geniusas well as the cable series of the same name.
Rita Street, Moderator
Rita Street will lead a panel discussion with the presenters to constyle=”text-align: justify;”clude the event. She is managing director of Radar Cartoons, co-producer of The Nicktoons Film Festival, vice president of development for Mike Young Productions and has authored several books on the graphic arts including Computer Animation: A Whole New World.
2006 Sponsors
