Speakers | CG Summit

Dani Bellar Pilukas

Director of Physical Production

Kino Scialabba

VFX Art Director, 2/3D Concept Designer, Senior Matte Painter

Eric Bear

Actor | Inventor | Realm Bender

Eric Bear is an actor, writer and producer who most recently played a recurring role in Taylor Sheridan’s acclaimed Yellowstone prequel 1883 on Paramount+. Bear began as a child actor, with a memorable line in Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall.”

In addition to filmmaking, Bear is a tech entrepreneur known for creating award-winning interactive media; hailed as “one of the most thoughtful and provocative interface and interaction designers working in the field.” Bear is a former Fortune 500 executive, university professor and founder of multiple award-winning startups; with experience establishing product design and intellectual property strategies for many well-known corporations. Bear's patents have been licensed by all major movie studios in the USA, and products based on other of his 100+ inventions are used every day by millions of people and thousands of companies.

Bear combined a love of storytelling with a background in tech to create and executive produce Belonging, a series of journeys into the emotional lives of MetaHumans. Isolated during quarantine and searching for creative collaboration, Bear assembled a team of animators and filmmakers from around the world to explore what might be possible using remote performance capture. They embarked on an experiment aimed at answering the question: Can virtual people effectively convey authentic emotions to audiences? The result is an innovative 10-episode drama series that sits at the intersection of live action and animation. Bear portrays a different character in each of the episodes.

Born in New York City, Bear grew up performing in theater and dance. This early training in embodied movement established a foundation as a kinesthetic artist, tapping emotion and relational awareness to inform inventions, performances and ways of being in the world.

Kristin Turnipseed

Virtual Production Supervisor at Lux Machina

John Waynick

Creative Art Director (Film, Game, Virtual Production)

Alex Pearce

PARTNER | SENIOR CREATIVE TECHNOLOGIST

Peter Hyoguchi

CEO Roninfilm

Tamara Abas

Unreal Engine Authorized Instructor

Dani Morrow

Layout, Postvis, Previs and VFX professional at Halon

Evo Heyning

Author of Promptcraft, Creator/Founder at Realitycraft. Live, Immersive, Features, XR & Media Strategy. Interactive Executive Producer. Prompt Engineering cypher

Franco Vilanova

Unreal Authorized Instructor for Epic Games and CG Pro

Erick Geisler

Jess Loren

HaZ Dulull

Founder of HaZimation / Director / Producer

Shish Aikat

Global Head of Training - VFX at DNEG

Saraswathi “Vani” Balgam

Director - Writer - Creative Producer

Vani, aka Saraswathi Balgam is a creative director and entrepreneur who has made significant contributions to the animation and entertainment industry. She is the founder of Dancing Atoms, a content and creative development company based in LA and Mumbai. Vani's expertise lies in art direction, character development, storytelling, and creative production.

She is currently involved in the development of two original preschool shows, one in collaboration with a Canadian development production company and the other with a Thai Animation studio. She is working on an animated short film with an American studio and a Malaysian animation company.

Apart from her creative endeavors, Vani is also dedicated to fostering and inspiring the next generation of creators and artists. She has mentored and supported numerous Unreal artists through the Unreal Fellowship. She has been a mentor for the Sony Talent League for three consecutive years. She crafted the Women Creators Program in partnership with Epic Games, which has gained significant attention. She is working on telling short film using Virtual production, she was a fellow of the ICVFX fellowship in 2022.

Vani's career includes notable positions such as the founding director of Rhythm & Hues Studios, Asia, and Head of Creative Management and Training at DreamWorks Animation, Shanghai. She has been part of forty plus tenth pole films, Including the academy award films, "Life of pi" and The Golden Compass. She actively promotes community building in the animation industry and is currently heading the Women in Animation India Collective, and serves as the President Emeritus of Asifa India.

Felix Jorge

CEO + Co-Founder | Narwhal Studios (formerly Happy Mushroom)
CCO | Arctic7

As a thought leader in the world of virtual production, Felix Jorge serves as the CEO and Co-Founder of Narwhal Studios, and CCO at Arctic 7. With over 16 years of experience in the entertainment industry, Felix has led teams of experts who specialize in providing Virtual Art Department (VAD) services to some of the biggest films, TV shows, and video games, including The Mandalorian, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Black Adam, and Ant Man and The Wasp: Quantumania.

Felix's passion for innovation and education has pushed him to expand his reach even further. He is now leading Narwhal studios to develop an innovative platform and Virtual Production tools to empower students and partners, and bridge the gap between leadership's needs in the Virtual Art Department and the global market of artists. Through his deep understanding of visual storytelling and unwavering commitment to innovation, Felix’s influence as a thought leader continues to evolve, as he thrives to help fellow creatives and entrepreneurs flourish in this rapidly evolving industry.