'Panel moderated by animator and historian Tom Sito
When "Toy Story" burst onto the scene in 1995, its
computer-generated imagery was, for many, a bold new technique in
animation. However, the development of computer-generated motion picture
animation was a lengthy and meticulous process that had its first
public exposure with the mesmerizing swirls of the opening titles for
"Vertigo" (1958). Of equal importance to the technical developments were
the influential animators and designers who devised artistic uses for
engineering advances. Join our panel of some of the pioneers of digital
animation as they revisit the long path from laboratory to cineplex.'
Scheduled panelists:
Rebecca Allen is a media artist,
designer and director whose groundbreaking animated work ranges from
landmark music videos to dance films, interactive art installations and
Emmy Award-winning opening titles. Her collaborators include
Kraftwerk, Mark Mothersbaugh, Carter Burwell, Peter Gabriel and Twyla
Tharp. She is currently professor of Design|Media Arts at UCLA.
Philippe Bergeron is a CG animator and president of
PaintScaping.com, a 3D projection mapping company. He co-directed and
animated one of the first CG characters in the short "Tony de
Peltrie," the closing film of SIGGRAPH '85. He also worked at Digital
Productions and Whitney/Demos Productions.
David Em began producing digital art in the 1970s
and has worked as an independent artist in research laboratories such as
the Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory
and Apple Computer's Advanced Technology Group. He is the first digital
artist to have his papers collected and preserved by the Smithsonian
Institution's Archives of American Art.
Tim Johnson is a director and
animator who began his career at Chicago's Post Effects. At Pacific Data
Images in the 1980s, he animated the first digital Pillsbury Doughboy.
His feature directing credits include "Antz," "Sinbad: Legend of the
Seven Seas" and "Over the Hedge."
Jeff Kleiser is the co-founder of
Digital Effects, New York's first CG house. He later co-founded both
Kleiser-Walczak Construction Company and Synthespian Studios. His
credits include "Tron," "Honey, I Blew Up the Kid," "Stargate" and
"X-Men: The Last Stand."
Bill Kroyer is an animator and
director whose credits include "Tron," "FernGully: The Last Rainforest"
and "Scooby-Doo." He received an Academy Award nomination for his 1988
short film "Technological Threat." He is currently Director of Digital
Arts at the Dodge College of Film and Media Arts at Chapman University.
John Lasseter is Chief Creative
Officer of Walt Disney Feature Animation and Pixar Studios. His
directing credits include Pixar's first short, the Academy Award-winning
"Luxo Jr.," and the feature films "Toy Story," "A Bug's Life," "Toy
Story 2," "Cars" and "Cars 2."
Tom Sito is a veteran Hollywood
animator and historian. His screen credits include "Who Framed Roger
Rabbit," "The Little Mermaid," "Beauty and the Beast," "The Lion King,"
"Shrek" and "Hop."
Phil Tippett is an Academy
Award-winning visual effects animation director whose creditsinclude
“Star Wars,” “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom,” “Jurassic Park,”
“The Spiderwick Chronicles” and several of the films in the “Twilight
Saga.”
Diana Walczak is a CG animator and director who
co-founded Kleiser-Walczak Construction Company and Synthespian Studios.
With Jeff Kleiser, she created the first female Synthespian performer,
Dozo, for the 1989 music video "Don't Touch Me." Her credits include the
digital opera "Monsters of Grace" and the feature films "X-Men" and
"Surrogates."