WRAPPING UP BEYOND IMAGINATION FESTIVAL

Beyond Imagination: The Future of Creative Technology – a virtual week of insights, inspiration, and discussion at the intersection of creativity and technology – took place last week.

Streaming our six tracks – Filmmaking, Gaming, Advertising, Animation, Innovation, and Talent – panel discussions and podcasts offered users an opportunity to discover more about the technologies and trends that are evolving content production.

The Beyond Animation track provided insights of the world where imagination has no boundary, from those at the forefront of crafting the world’s most iconic animated stories. Retrieve all content on Technicolor Creative Studios YouTube.

Here’s past week’s summary:

Animation, a story of collaboration

Dan Sarto from Animation World Network discussed with Sandra Rabins, Producer of The Tiger’s Apprentice for Paramount Feature Animation, Adrianna Cohen, SVP, Global Head of Production at Mikros Animation and Julien Meesters, SVP, Head of Creative at Mikros Animation about how creative ideas are born, the essential role of collaboration to bring a story in this art form to the screen and how this collaboration has developed along with the evolution of the animation industry.

Managing new animation trends

The animation industry has consistently proven how unyielding it can be in the face of adversity. Even in the toughest situations, animation is constantly evolving to deliver stories to the screen. Dan Sarto, editor-in-chief of Animation World Network, brings together Mikros Animation experts Sandrine Nguyen, SVP, Episodic and IP, Joanna Ruer, Head of Production, Episodic and IP, and Sarankumar Nadamuni, Head of Production, Episodic who share their views on the latest trends in the animation industry and how studios and productions have kept up with the increasing demand for content.

From toddler toons to Sci-Fi classics, bringing diverse animation styles to life

At Mikros Animation, an average of 30 hours of episodic content is in the work every week at the Bangalore studio alone. The team there work for a great variety of shows, from Minnie’s Bow-Toons to Star Trek : Prodigy. In this panel discussion, AWN’s Dan Sarto is joined by Mikros Animation heads of departments, pipeline and production managers to discuss what is required to crafting stories in highly stylized animation for different productions, in different creative directions, in different formats and thus the connection between art and technology to offer the highest content quality.

Making animated characters act

The art of animation brings to life the most fantastic, unique stories, with characters and worlds only possible in our imaginations. And when it comes to the wonders of animated storytelling, nothing is more compelling and mesmerizing than a well-designed and animated character.

In this round table discussion, Dan Sarto from Animation World Network discusses with animation directors and heads of creative operations about the art of making characters act, the special relationship that animators have with directors, what it takes from rigging to animation to bring believable and enjoyable emotional performances to an audience.

Leading women in animation

The industry organization, Women in Animation, notes that although more than 60% of animation and art school students are women, only 20% of the creative jobs are held by women. However, at Mikros Animation, 40% of the leadership positions are held by women – an outlier in this industry. In this podcast, Adrianna Cohen, SVP, Global Head of Production, Sabine Heller, Global Head of Character Rigging & Animation, and Aurelia Abate, Executive Producer at Mikros Animation talk about what drew them to the animation industry and what evolutions they see taking place (or not taking place).