How Real-Time Production Is Changing The Industry

Kate Swanborg is SVP of Technology Communications and Strategic Alliances for DreamWorks Animation. She is responsible for setting the strategic direction of the studio’s worldwide technology communications and business-to-business alliance efforts on behalf of the studio’s technology partners.

In her role, Kate promotes DreamWorks’ dedication to leveraging innovative technologies that enable the studio’s filmmakers and artists and provide the foundation for new technology business initiatives. She is responsible for identifying and managing technology alliances and integrated co-marketing and branding campaigns with the studio’s technology partners. Collaborating closely with the studio and strategic alliance partner executive leadership teams, Kate ensures that DreamWorks delivers consistent and compelling technology messages through a variety of mediums including presentations, press collateral, and studio showcases. A practiced public speaker, Kate is frequently requested to provide keynote addresses to further DreamWorks’ business messaging.

Prior to her current role, Kate served as the studio’s Technology Production Manager where she helped develop strategies and action plans for producing animated feature films. She also managed the integration of major production technology solutions, such as stereoscopic 3D and a full re-architecture of the studio’s proprietary toolsets.

Kate earned an MFA from the University of California, San Diego, and a BA from Western Michigan University.

Shawn Dunn has been involved in the 3D industry for 27 years. During that time he spent 5 years at Alias|Wavefront on the software side of the business and 13 years at Weta Digital on both the art and technical side, which have given him a unique perspective on how technology serves the creative and artistic process and enables him to produce consistently high-quality work. Dunn has also worked as a Professor of 3D Digital Animation at Seneca and Sheridan college. From 2016 Dunn was CTO for Original Force for 3.5 years, helping improve their technological footprint, quality, and capacity of work. Since October 2019 he has been a Senior Product Manager with Epic Games focusing on the Film and Television industry. Shawn has worked on over 30 feature films during this time such as Steven Spielberg's "The BFG", "The Jungle Book", James Cameron’s "Avatar", Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy, "Rise of The Planet of The Apes", "Iron Man 3", "Man Of Steel", "The Adventures of Tintin", "Dawn of the Planets of the Apes", "The Avengers", "X-Men: First Class", “King Kong” and one of his favorites "The Lord Of The Rings: The Return of the King."

Perry Nightingale is the SVP for Creative AI, managing groundbreaking research and furthering WPP’s market-leading combination of creativity and advanced data science. Perry is a passionate software engineer, currently specializing in artificial intelligence and computational creativity, but is also a leading figure in the traditional communication industry - sitting on innovation juries for Cannes and D&AD, identified by Creativity magazine in the US as one of the pioneers in the new industry genre of Creative Technologists and listed in AdAges's annual 50 most influential people in media. He works with WPP creative agencies around the world on groundbreaking new campaigns and advises major clients on digital disruption and brand-led innovation, winning many awards for his work, as well as lecturing regularly on topics such as ethics & AI for the University of Oxford. More broadly he works with their Said Business School on new curriculum for teaching innovation and creativity to businesses and MBA students. Outside of work, and through his partnership with Oxford, Perry runs education programs encouraging young people to learn to code and take up creative skills - as well as conducting original research into the challenge of measuring creative development in schools.

Kat Sullivan is a Brooklyn-based artist, technologist, and educator. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and Dance at Skidmore College, then worked as a software engineer and freelance dancer in the Boston area. While earning her Master's at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program (ITP), she developed a practice around creative coding, live performance, machine learning, motion capture, and other emerging technologies. Sullivan has presented works at Lincoln Center, National Sawdust, SXSW, and the Liberty Science Center, and was selected for residencies by Yale, Pioneer Works, RLab, and Ponderosa Dance. She also worked on video design for Broadway and off-Broadway productions and has had the privilege of working with American Ballet Theatre, Parsons Dance, Zullo/RawMovement, and numerous independent choreographers. She has lectured at Brown University, Complutense University of Madrid, and The Center for Ballet and the Arts. She is currently an adjunct instructor at Johns Hopkins University, NYU Tandon School of Engineering, and Tisch School of the Arts teaching courses on motion capture, live performance, virtual production, and programming.

Jeff Wood is a veteran of the workstation business. During his 25-year career at HP, he spent the majority of his time driving the product strategy to lead the industry as the #1 workstation OEM. He developed the HP Z workstation branding strategy and the design language for the platform along with BMW Designworks based on key customer input.

Jeff retired from HP in 2016 as the GM/VP of the workstation business. He then created his own executive consulting business and partnered with the Lenovo workstation team to analyze the strategy, product portfolio, and organizational structure. After completing the assessment Jeff joined Lenovo in a permanent position as the Chief Strategy Officer for workstations driving strategy and product management for workstations and client AI.

Jeff, his wife, and his family make their home in the US in the state of Colorado with four grown children and seven grandchildren.

As Education Lead, Beau is responsible for developing the curriculum for Gnomon’s VFX courses. Beau makes a continuous assessment of the visual effects industry and ensures that Gnomon’s scholastic pursuits are meeting these technical and artistic standards. Through exposure to industry professionals as well as a decade creating curriculum for postsecondary technological art-making institutions, Beau helps foster a high-level specialty skill-sets, while still providing a broad view of the production pipeline so students understand their own integration into a visual effects team. Beau also provides mentorship to students and works with Gnomon’s faculty to foster communication across all programs. He has over twenty-five years of experience as a CG Supervisor, artist, and instructor. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design from Ball State University and a Master's degree from the University of Kentucky in Instructional Systems Design.