‘Kung Fu Panda 3’ co-director Alessandro Carloni to present a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the next installment in the DreamWorks Animation franchise at Italy’s leading computer graphics conference.
TURIN, ITALY -- Organizers of the VIEW Conference announced a special presentation to be delivered by Alessandro Carloni, co-director of DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 3, at the 2015 edition of Italy’s largest international confab spotlighting Computer Graphics, Interactive Techniques, Digital Cinema, 2D and 3D Animation, Gaming and Visual Effects. Celebrating its 16th year of bringing top talent and remarkable visionaries to Turin, the 2015 VEW Conference will be held October 19-23, preceded by the annual VIEW FEST digital film festival running October 16-18.
“We are utterly excited about presenting a very special ‘Sneak Peek’ at the making of Kung Fu Panda 3,” said VIEW Conference director Maria Elena Gutierrez. “This presentation will mark the second year in a row that gifted director Alessandro Carloni will be sharing his amazing work with our VIEW audience. Last year, we enjoyed his talk about the Making of How to Train Your Dragon 2, and I’m sure this year’s talk will be even more fun!”
Alessandro Carloni is currently co-directing DreamWorks Animation’s Kung Fu Panda 3, the follow-up to the Academy Award-nominated feature films Kung Fu Panda and Kung Fu Panda 2 to be released in 2016. While at DreamWorks Animation, Carloni has worked on a slew of feature films including 2014’s How to Train Your Dragon 2 (as co-head of story), 2011’s Kung Fu Panda 2 (as story artist), 2010’s How to Train Your Dragon (as head of story), 2008’s Kung Fu Panda (as supervising animator and story artist), 2006’s Over the Hedge (as story artist and animator) and 2003’s Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (as animator).
Also unveiled today are the 2015 Master Class Workshops, which include talks by Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 director Kris Pearn, Sony Pictures Animation production designer Michael Kurinsky, and more. Presented by a remarkable group of award-winning creative professionals, The 2015 Master Class Workshops offer a limited number of attendees a rare opportunity to learn from the top professionals in their fields in an interactive setting. This year’s workshops include:
- Kris Pearn, Director, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2
Storyboard Artist: “The Scribble Pond – Fishing for a Story” 9:30-12:30 Monday
In this fun workshop, Pearn will break down the mechanics of feature storyboarding and show how storyboards allow filmmakers to tell their story. He’ll look at tool sets real and virtual, analyze visual storytelling through performance and character development, discuss the creative process, and, working interactively with workshop participants, will draw a scene live and in person. Most recently, Pearn was a storyboard consultant on Shaun the Sheep Movie, and a storyboard artist on Home. He has received a BAFTA nomination (Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs) and two Annie nominations (Arthur Christmas and Open Season). - Henry LaBounta, Chief Visual Officer, Zynga
“Art on the Operating Table” 9:00-10:00 Thursday
Using principles from his presentation earlier during the conference, LaBounta will help participants diagnose and improve game visuals. Attendees can bring their own game or animation screenshots on a USB key for discussion during this interactive workshop. LaBounta brings 25 years’ experience as an artist working on games, film visual effects, feature animation and television. He was on Microsoft Studios’ Xbox One launch team and was a Senior Art Director at Electronic Arts where his credits include Need for Speed titles and many sports games. Prior to working on games, LaBounta was a visual effects supervisor at PDI/DreamWorks and at Industrial Light & Magic. He has an Oscar nomination and a BAFTA award for his work on the feature film Twister, a BAFTA nomination for Minority Report, and a VES nomination for Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit. - David Misch, Author, Screenwriter & Comedian
“Comedy and Morality”14:00-15:00 Wednesday
Is there a relationship between comedy and morality? Should there be? Misch looks at professional humor’s role in defining and defying society’s moral boundaries. From forbidden farts in Afghanistan to Monty Python, and from the Russian Orthodox Church to Saturday Night Live, Misch’s clips and commentary will challenge people to examine their assumptions and presumptions. Among Misch’s TV credits are the Emmy-nominated Mork & Mindy and Saturday Night Live. He is the author of “Funny: The Book -- Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Comedy,” a frequent lecturer, and a multiple Primetime Emmy nominee. - Michael Rubin, Senior Innovator in Adobe Systems’ Creative Technologies Lab
“Master Class – NeoModernism: A Photo Walk with Rubin” 14:30-17:30 Monday
Fine-art photographer and historian Michael Rubin considers light, time, frame, and focus within the stylistic constraints of Modernism, sends workshop photographers into the streets for a photo shoot, and then helps them use digital darkroom techniques to make striking photos. Author of numerous textbooks on digital filmmaking and a history of Pixar and Lucasfilm, Rubin has been a photographer for 35 years. - Michael Kurinsky, Production Designer, Sony Pictures Animation
“The Art of Creating a Color Script: Every Picture Tells a Story” 10:30-12:30 Monday
Using examples from Sony Pictures Animation’s feature films, Kurinsky will help workshop attendees understand how to use color to tell stories. Kurinsky has worked on feature films for Disney (The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, and others) as a background painter, was a visual development artist on Sony Pictures Animation’s Open Season, and art director on Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Most recently, he was production designer on Hotel Transylvania 2, which releases in Italy on October 15. - Simon Fenton, Head of Games at Escape Studios
“Introduction to Texturing with Substance Painter for Games and 3D” 9:30-17:30 Monday
Fenton will introduce 3D texturing with Substance Painter in two sessions that run all day, Monday, October 19. A professional artist for 22 years, Simon designed and created environments and characters at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe for 10 years, and has lectured at Escape Studios since 2007. - Marco Mazzaglia, IT manager at Ovosonico
“Let’s Play Together: The Culture of Multiplayer in Video Games” 14:00 – Thursday
This video game evangelist will introduce participants to unique and different ways for gamers to play together outside the bounds of usual controller devices. Currently the IT Manager at Ovosonico, Mazzaglia was a technical director and videogame evangelist for 3-Mentor, a user interface designer for Synesthesia, an IT manager at Milestone, a charter member of La Bussola, and a system architect at Divitech.
Online registration is required for these limited-seating Master Class Workshops, and is now open. Prices range from €20 to €100 (€10 to €80 for students). In addition to these master classes, several software companies plan to send trainers who will offer tutorials in popular 3D computer graphics programs. Look for more information about these workshops online at www.viewfest.it.
There’s also still time to submit work to this year’s VIEW FEST, running October 16-18. The deadline for submissions for the VIEW Award is September 15. First prize is €2,000. To submit work to this year’s VIEW FEST, visit www.viewconference.it/awards; to submit projects for consideration for the VIEW Social Contest, visit www.viewconference.it/view-social-contest.