Instructor Spotlight: Virtual Production with Dane Smith

Dane Smith has built a career as a producer and innovator in visual effects and digital entertainment production. Smith has successfully delivered hundreds of studio and independent projects ranging from live-action and animated features to television series and innovative media techniques and platforms.

An early adopter of emerging technology, Dane has a proven track record for monetizing new technology. He currently serves as Vice President at THE THIRD FLOOR and oversees the development of projects where previs, virtual production, and real-time rendering are making significant in-roads. He manages the deployment of technology that can render high-quality visuals in real-time and works really well with real-world input devices such as mocap and cameras.

His hybrid Maya/Unreal approach offers a lot of great advantages and allows his team to more easily provide tools like a virtual camera (Vcam), VR scouting, and AR on-set apps. In addition, he educates and inspires the next generation of digital artists as a faculty member at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects. Dane serves on the VES, TElevision Academy, BAFTA, and the Producers Guild of America boards.

As a Recruiter, Adam travels to high schools, community colleges, and trade shows to educate prospective students about Gnomon’s academic options and provide information about careers in the entertainment industry. With over two decades of experience working in nonprofits, Adam has used his skills in visual art, photography, and design to create socially conscious initiatives in collaboration with art students and professionals. He has lived and worked abroad in Norway and the Netherlands while traveling Europe as a community developer and public speaker. Adam holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Theology from LIFE Pacific University.