Newly confirmed speakers include the famed director, plus Raymond Zibach and Jeff Budsberg, the top creatives behind DreamWorks Animation’s upcoming feature; Italy’s premier animation and VFX event runs October 14-19 in the beautiful baroque city of Turin.
VIEW Conference, Italy’s premier animation and visual effects event, announced it will highlight creative talent behind DreamWorks Animation’s upcoming animated feature The Wild Robot. Speakers include the film’s Oscar-nominated writer and director Chris Sanders, production designer Raymond Zibach, and VFX supervisor Jeff Budsberg.
The conference takes place October 14-19 in the beautiful baroque city of Turin, Italy, bringing together industry professionals, students, and enthusiasts in a celebration of the latest achievements in animation, VFX, and games.
Register for VIEW 2024 here.
The Wild Robot, based on the New York Times best-selling novel of the same name by Peter Brown, “is an epic adventure following the journey of a robot — ROZZUM unit 7134, “Roz” for short — that is shipwrecked on an uninhabited island and must learn to adapt to the harsh surroundings, gradually building relationships with the animals on the island and becoming the adoptive parent of an orphaned gosling. The animated adventure, starring Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o, comes to North American theaters September 27, 2024.
- Sanders, a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, ASIFA-Hollywood, and the Visual Effects Society, began his career at Marvel Productions, and later Disney Studios before joining DreamWorks Animation. His credits on animated features include Rescuers Down Under, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, The Lion King, Mulan, Lilo & Stitch, the Shrek and Madagascar franchises, Kung Fu Panda, How to Train Your Dragon, and The Croods. He has received two Academy Award nominations, two BAFTA nominations, a Golden Globe nomination, ten Annie Awards, and three Visual Effects Society Awards.
- Zibach, a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Science and ASIFA-Hollywood, began his animation career in episodic television working on animated series, before going into feature animation. His feature credits include Rover Dangerfield, Aladdin and the King of Thieves, and Space Jam. He joined DreamWorks Animation in 1996 and worked on The Road to El Dorado. Other credits include Megamind, Bee Movie, Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, The Boss Baby: Family Business, and The Boss Baby. He was production designer on short films To: Gerard, which earned him an Annie Award Nomination, Marooned, and Bird Karma. His work on the first three Kung Fu Panda films earned him an Annie Award, a VES Award, and an Academy Award nomination. During his career, he has received five additional Annie Award nominations and a VES award.
- Budsberg is a 17-year DreamWorks Animation veteran with credits on The Bad Guys, Abominable, The Croods: A New Age,” How to Train Your Dragon 2, Mr. Peabody & Sherman, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Kung Fu Panda 3, The Croods, and Shrek Forever After. His work has earned him an Annie Award and nomination, and two Visual Effects Society (VES) Award nominations. Budsberg also received an Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Technical Achievement/Sci-Tech Award for his groundbreaking work on the development and implementation of DreamWorks Animation’s foliage toolset. In addition, he has been involved with OpenVDB (an open-source software library developed at DreamWorks Animation), that is recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture & Sciences.
Also announced:
Oscar-winning director Josh Cooley, director of Paramount Animation and Hasbro’s Transformers One will present an in-depth masterclass on story. Cooley’s credits include Pixar’s The Incredibles, Ratatouille, Up, and Inside Out. He also directed the Academy Award-winning Toy Story 4.
Sessions featuring creators of animated short films:
- Beurk! directed by Loïc Espuche
- NUBE, directed by Christian Arredondo Narvaez and Diego Alonso Sánchez de la Barquera.
- Joseph Wallace, the BAFTA Cymru-nominated animator, and director known for his 2022 animated short film Salvation Has No Name, will present “Handmade Fantasies: The Stop Motion Worlds of Joseph Wallace.”
“I am thrilled to welcome Chris Sanders and his creative team to VIEW Conference 2024,” said Conference Director Dr. Maria Elena Gutierrez. “Chris’s reputation is nothing short of spectacular and I know his new animated feature ‘The Wild Robot’ is going to blow us all away. I am equally excited to have so many talented animated short film directors on the VIEW Conference program, including the legendary Joseph Wallace and many more. Without question, 2024 is shaping up to be a stellar year for animation and I am proud that VIEW Conference will be at the heart of it.”
Source: VIEW 2024
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
