VFX and animation industry veteran brings vast experience from biz dev at cloud-based animation platform Nimble Collective to editorial and post-supervision at Pixar Animation; in her new role she will assist studios and artists in quick and easy transitions to pop-up render capacity.
Multi-cloud rendering platform, Conductor Technologies has welcomed VFX and animation industry veteran Julie McDonald as head of business development. McDonald brings an extensive background in production, having guided teams using cloud-based computer resources to create feature films and TV series. She also led business development for cloud-based animation platform Nimble Collective. In her new role she will help studios and artists gain pop-up render capacity quickly and easily.
“I’m excited about the transformational time we’re now entering with cloud technology,” noted McDonald. “Using the cloud in production is not only viable, but in many cases essential, and Conductor has been strategic about empowering users to scale with cloud-based rendering in a way that’s transparent, straightforward, and flexible. I love being able to support artists with great, accessible tools that move the industry forward in an effective way and am thrilled to join a company that aligns with that vision.”
“Julie really is the dream hire for us,” shared Conductor CEO Mac Moore. “She has faced the same challenges as our customers and has firsthand experience navigating technology demands in the production trenches. She was there early-on in cloud tech at Nimble, and her more recent on-the-ground production insight will help us shape future developments and ensure that Conductor continues bringing the flexibility and power of the cloud to studios quickly.”
Prior to joining Conductor, McDonald served as a VFX executive at Netflix, overseeing work for multiple projects simultaneously. In 2020, she held concurrent VFX producer and managing director roles at Zero VFX, where she was a cloud transition leader on Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. At Cinesite, she was VFX producer on Murder Mystery and Lost in Space Season 2. At Nimble Collective, which was acquired by Amazon Web Services (AWS) in 2019, McDonald helped manage the engineering team before transitioning to director of business development where she onboarded the company’s first commercial platform users.
Her career in entertainment includes a near-decade long stint at Pixar Animation Studios, starting as editorial and film out department supervisor for Toy Story before shifting to post-production supervision for Monsters, Inc, Finding Nemo, and the Academy Award-winning short film Geri’s Game. McDonald also supervised final editorial for Shrek 2 at DreamWorks Animation and spent several years leading Viz Media’s anime streaming and on-demand production business unit. Currently based in Boston, MA, McDonald earned an MBA in International Finance from Mills College, and a bachelor’s degree from University of California San Diego.
Source: Conductor Technologies
Debbie Diamond Sarto is news editor at Animation World Network.
