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Home » New York’s First Ever VFX Town Hall Debuting at COLLIDER Conference

New York’s First Ever VFX Town Hall Debuting at COLLIDER Conference

Now its New York’s turn to weigh in on the VFX crisis. COLLIDER (www.colliderevents.com), the new Manhattan-based digital production event for the visual effects, animation, and interactive industries, announced that a VFX Town Hall will be streamed live from the conference.

The event marks the first New York City-based town hall gathering of professionals and artists from the visual effects industry. 

Dubbed VFX Town Hall: COLLIDER 2013, the event will be staged live at the COLLIDER conference venue, the Hotel Pennsylvania.  It starts at 6 PM EDT on Monday, June 10.

The event will feature a distinguished panel of industry experts discussing the current state of the visual effects industry. Viewers can join the live broadcast of the VFX Town Hall: COLLIDER 2013 by visiting http://collider.circles.io.

In addition to a panel of experts on stage in New York, VFX Town Hall: COLLIDER 2013 will also feature a Google+ Hangout session with representatives from major VFX production centers around the world taking part, including Sydney, London, Berlin, Mexico City and others.

Moderated by veteran 2D compositor and visual effects artist Mariana Acuña – known to many as @vfxchick on Twitter and moderator of an earlier VFX town hall held this last Pi Day (March 14) – the discussion will provide a forum for all viewpoints and will include the following panelists:

·      Scott Ross, Co-Founder, Digital Domain

·      Eric Robertson, EP/Owner,  Mr. X Gotham

·      Yana Lehman, Founder, Post New York Alliance (PNYA)

·      Cecilia Fredericks, National Business Agent, IATSE 829

·      Robin Shenfield, CEO, The Mill

·      Michelle Higa Fox, Founder/CD Slanted Studio

As part of the event, viewers from around the world will have the opportunity to vote on the topics discussed. On-site visitors can use their smart phones to register their votes on key issues, while those watching online can vote from whatever device they’re using.  The results of these polls will be available for commentary and observation instantly, and will be archived along with the entire content of the Town Hall discussion.

“The VFX Town Hall at COLLIDER promises to be a unique experience,” says Acuña. “There are so many vital issues at stake in our industry right now, and so many different opinions on the subject, that no two town hall gatherings are ever going to be exactly alike. Basing this discussion in New York will provide a distinctly East Coast perspective to the rest of the country and the world. This is an ideal opportunity to keep the conversation moving in the right direction.”

“COLLIDER is happy to be able to provide this opportunity for visual effects professionals from around the world to share opinions and ideas,” adds Stephen Price, Creator and Executive Producer of COLLIDER. “The VFX Town Hall at Collider will broaden and amplify the conversation about the state of the industry and, more importantly, where it is going.”

The backend for both the VFX Town Hall and Google+ Hangout streams will be handled by Circles.io.  The COLLIDER Conference is presented and produced by Stash Media, Inc. (www.stashmedia.tv), and runs June 9 to 11. For a full rundown of COLLIDER speakers, presentations, panels and master classes, check out: colliderevents.com/portfolio/speakers/

ABOUT STASH

Stash Magazine curates the world’s largest online library of animation, VFX, and motion design, keeping creative professionals in over 80 countries inspired and informed with monthly issues and a daily news site since 2004.

–STASH Press Release

About Dan Ochiva

New York City-based journalist and NYCPPNEWS founder Dan Ochiva writes and consults on film, video, and digital media technology.

Community & Partner Links

How Sony’s New Virtual Sound Technology Can Change How We Hear Films

Kami Asgar and Jessica Parks are post-production heavyweights who work with major studios, namely Sony. As a sound designer (Asgar) and as a post executive (Parks), their collective resume touches on everything from Apocalypto to Grandma’s Boy to Venom.

Parks has recently shifted her focus from supervisor to hands-on sound design, and we talk about how it’s never too late to pivot on your career path and find the thing you love doing wherever you are in life.

Click on this link to read the rest of the article on No Film School’s site.

NJ – Governor Murphy signs $14B Incentive Program Bill – the NJ Economic Recovery Act of 2020

 Film tax credits — amending existing programs to include provisions for so-called New Jersey film partners and New Jersey film-lease partners and allowing an additional $200 million of tax credits annually over 13 years.

Click this link if you want to read the full article on the Lexology site. http://bit.ly/35NtDx6

Film Commish announces date for production restart

In her December 18, 2020 news update, MOME Commissioner Anne del Castillo announced that the Film Office is now accepting permit applications for production activity that begins on July 27th.

She also announced awards now (Awkwafina) and more. To read all of the Film Commish’s bloggy sort of news column, click here.

Stimulus Offers $15 Billion in Relief for Struggling Arts Venues

The coronavirus relief package that Congressional leaders agreed to this week includes grant money that many small proprietors described as a last hope for survival.

For the music venue owners, theater producers and cultural institutions that have suffered through the pandemic with no business, the coronavirus relief package that Congress passed on Monday night offers the prospect of aid at last.

To read the full article on The New York Times’ site, click here.

If you want to start production, here’s the latest news from the Mayor’s Office

Phase 4 production guidance is available on the Film Permit website. All production activity, whether it requires a Film Permit or not, must comply with New York Forward Industry Guidance.

For more information see, please refer to the State Department of Health’s Interim Guidance for Media Production During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. Please review the guidelines and FAQ before submitting permit applications. The Film Office is operating remotely, so please allow additional time for Film Permit processing.

The above paragraphs contain links to the various FAQ – just mouse over the relevant words.

Nikon to Stop Making Cameras in Japan

Nikon has fallen on hard times as of late as its camera sales have cratered, and now there’s a new indicator of how dire its financial situation is: the company is reportedly pulling the plug on making cameras in Japan after over 70 years of doing so.

To read the full article on Petapixel’s site, click here.

NVIDIA Uses AI to Slash Bandwidth on Video Calls

NVIDIA Research has invented a way to use AI to dramatically reduce video call bandwidth while simultaneously improving quality

What the researchers have achieved has remarkable results: by replacing the traditional h.264 video codec with a neural network, they have managed to reduce the required bandwidth for a video call by an order of magnitude. In one example, the required data rate fell from 97.28 KB/frame to a measly 0.1165 KB/frame – a reduction to 0.1% of required bandwidth.

To read the rest of this article on Petapixel, click this link.

 

 

 

Union Health Plan Dodges Film Workers’ Suit Over Virus Relief

Law360 (October 9, 2020, 5:22 PM EDT) — The Motion Picture Industry Health Plan’s board can’t be sued under ERISA for allegedly flouting its duties when it relaxed plan rules in response to COVID-19, a California federal judge has ruled, nixing a proposed class action filed by two cinematographers who still couldn’t qualify for benefits.

In an order entered Thursday, U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner granted the board of directors’ motion to dismiss Greg Endries and Dee Nichols’ Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit accusing board members of breaching their duty to treat all plan participants fairly.

Endries and Nichols, members of Local 600 of the International Cinematographers Guild, said in July that the board left them and others “out in the cold” in its attempts to address the problems COVID-19 caused for plan participants.

But Judge Klausner agreed with the board’s contention that the case, which alleged a fiduciary breach, should be tossed because plan administrators don’t act as fiduciaries when they amend health care plans.

Read the full article on the Law360 site by clicking here.

Russo Brothers Received Close to $50 Million From Saudi Bank

Anthony Russo and Joseph Russo photographed at the PMC Studio in Los Angeles for the Variety Playback Podcast.

The Russo brothers, directors of the all-time top grossing film “Avengers: Endgame,” quietly secured a roughly $50 million cash infusion for their production company AGBO from Saudi Arabia earlier this year, multiple sources tell Variety.

In a deal brokered and closed at the beginning of the pandemic, the Russos received the investment from an undisclosed Saudi bank in exchange for a minority stake in the brothers’ Los Angeles-based shop.

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