AnimfxNZ

CALABASAS, Calif. and WELLINGTON, New Zealand – October 1, 2008 – AnimfxNZ, the world’s leading conference for digital animation, effects, animation and games, today announced additional speakers in a line-up that already includes Academy Award Winners® and leading visionaries from the creative digital industries. The addition of Joshua Greer, Harrison Ellenshaw, David Scammell, and Patrick von Sychowski gives the conference specialists in the latest cinematic technologies including 3D cinema, digital film and effects.

“The speakers for this year’s show are at the forefront of digital creation, developing technology and techniques that will further the visions of tomorrow’s filmmakers, game developers and visual artists,” said Jos Ruffell, Chairman of the New Zealand Games, Animation and Visual Effects Trust (NZGAV), the organizing body behind Animfx. “AnimfxNZ is the event for anyone interested in the state of the art and convergence of VFX, games and digital film.”

Under the theme, “Where Creative Convergence Begins,” AnimfxNZ is bringing together leaders from the four major creative digital mediums to share ideas and further the creation of digital entertainment. AnimfxNZ will take place November 14-16th, in Wellington New Zealand and present a line-up of keynotes and panels that feature the brightest minds in digital media today. Registration is now open with early bird pricing set at NZ $675 until October 14th, after which the price goes to NZ $790.

About The Speakers

Joshua Greer brings more than 20 years of experience architecting groundbreaking digital technologies to his position as co-founder and president of REAL D, which is creating the platinum-standard for the delivery of premium 3D visual experiences for entertainment and other industries. Greer’s passion for 3D was ignited while working with Academy Award® winner James Cameron on Ghosts of the Abyss when Greer designed the first all-digital 3D projection system for WALDEN MEDIA, an entertainment studio co-founded by Greer and backed by Phil Anschutz. Based on the audience’s enthusiastic response to the film, he decided to focus his career on stereoscopic digital projection, ultimately leading to the creation of REAL D. Prior to his work with WALDEN MEDIA, Greer served as president of Digital Domain New Media, and co-founder of Digital Planet in 1994. Under Mr. Greer’s leadership as chairman and CEO, Digital Planet launched the first-ever web-based movie site for MGM’s feature film Stargate. Greer is currently working with the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers studying issues facing deployment of 3D in the digital cinema universe.

Harrison Ellenshaw joined Walt Disney Studios as a matte artist, moonlighted to render a number of paintings for Star Wars, and then oversaw the matte department on The Empire Strikes Back at George Lucas' premier effects facility, Industrial Light and Magic (ILM). Later, upon his return to Disney in 1989 for Dick Tracy, Harrison headed Disney Studios' own highly regarded effects facility: Buena Vista Visual Effects (BVVE). He has been nominated for an Academy Award® along with his father, Peter Ellenshaw, for special visual effects work on The Black Hole.

David Scammell is the president & CEO, Sohonet. Throughout his career he has been responsible for introducing innovative technology to the film and television industry. During his tenure at Quantel Dave was responsible for introducing the first digital effects products and Animation tools such as Harry and Henry. He was also responsible for the first digital products for the film industry, and spent considerable time internationally exploring the development and future opportunities in this arena. In 2003, Dave successfully led a management buyout of Sohonet, and since then has dramatically expanded the operation into a true global operation with offices in Sydney, Los Angeles, London and Pinewood Studios, providing clients with access to the world’s most extensive global media community. Dave is a member of the VES, BAFTA, and a Fellow of the BKSTS. He was responsible for the successful BKSTS VFX seminars in London, and spent 1998 on secondment to the UK Government setting up the British Film Office in Los Angeles.

Patrick von Sychowski is COO of Adlabs Digital Cinema, which is the first to roll out DCI-grade digital cinema in the world's largest film and cinema market. Patrick has been covering and working in the digital cinema industry for close to ten years, starting as a Senior Analyst for UK-based media research company Screen Digest, where he pioneered coverage of the nascent field. As a consultant he was involved in the setting up of several pioneering efforts, such as the UK Film Council's Digital Screen Network, the Digital Test Bed in London and NORDIC (Norway's Digital Interoperability in Cinemas). He founded and edited the popular E-Cinema Alert newsletter for several years. More recently Patrick worked as director of business development for Unique Digital and Deluxe Europe, where he set up both companies' European digital cinema operations. Patrick is a frequent public speaker and writer who also blogs on mydigitalcinema.blogspot.com and celluloidjunkie.com.

AnimfxNZ 2008 has already announced Barrie Osborne, Carolyn Soper, Howard Postley, Jeff Okun, Habib Zargarpour, Joseph Olin, Tim Willits, Henry LaBounta and Mario Wynands as speakers at this year’s conference.

About AnimfxNZ

AnimfxNZ was founded in 2006, to provide a global platform for the creative content community to exchange ideas across the various disciplines of digital media. Since its inception, the conference has presented leading speakers on the topics of animation, digital entertainment, digital effects and games, and has served as the crossroads of collaboration for creative media convergence. The 2008 conference is organized under the theme, “Where Creative Convergence Begins,” and is focused on the current and future states of creative digital content creation, worldwide.

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Sean Kauppinen

International Digital Entertainment Agency

+1-415-299-2156

sean@ide-agency.com