ILM’s Rob Bredow to Present ‘Solo: A Star Wars Story’ at FMX 2019

Studio’s head and executive creative director will share inner workings of their visual and physical effects work on Disney's BAFTA and VES-nominated sci-fi adventure.

LUDWIGSBURG, GERMANY -- FMX 2019 – Conference on Animation, Effects, Games and Immersive Media has announced that Rob Bredow, executive creative director and head of Industrial Light & Magic, will present the studio’s visual and physical effects work on Solo: A Star Wars Story, as well as speak about the business side of the industry at the Studio Insights track. The upcoming event, set for April 30 – May 3, 2019, also announced another creative focus - Deep Learning and Artificial Intelligence - covering everything from basic concepts to the latest practical developments.

Rob Bredow – Solo: A Star Wars Story and Studio Insights

Bredow is responsible for the company’s overall creative strategy and global operations. At FMX 2019 he will give a presentation about the BAFTA and VES-nominated Solo: A Star Wars Story on which he most recently worked as visual effects supervisor and co-producer. He served as a creative partner to the filmmakers throughout the production, from the earliest story meetings to the final frames of visual effects.

Furthermore, he is also the first formally announced speaker at the Studio Insights track, being curated by Dave Gouge, head of marketing & publicity at Weta Digital. The track is focused on the business side of the industry where topics ranging from production, changing business models and new forms of content creation are discussed in an “in conversation” format.

Andrew Glassner – Deep Learning

FMX 2019 will present a special Highlights of SIGGRAPH session with a focus on Deep Learning for computer graphics. Deep Learning methods are suddenly making significant impacts across all areas of computer graphics. The topic is fast becoming an essential part of any technologist's intellectual toolkit, and is fueling computer graphics advances for such diverse tasks as cleaning up noisy images, generating texture, and creating lifelike and directable animation. A tutorial presented by computer graphics pioneer Andrew Glassner (The Imaginary Institute) will cover a broad overview of the basic concepts, great ideas, and overall language of Deep Learning.

FMX Forum – Confirmations

New confirmations for the FMX Forum keep coming in daily. KeenTools, Avid and Chaos Group will have booths at the Marketplace, whereas Animal Logic, Axis Studios, Illumination Mac Guff, Recom and Scanline VFX will be part of the Recruiting Hub. Furthermore, Chaos Group will give a workshop. Autodesk and SideFX have booked Company Suites. School of Visual Arts MFA Computer Arts, Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts, University of Applied Sciences Upper Austria (Hagenberg), Hochschule der Medien and ifs internationale filmschule köln will welcome prospective students at the School Campus.

Animation Production Days 2019 – APD Talent Program

Young producers and animation and film production graduates can apply to participate free of charge in Animation Production Days 2019, which are hosted by FMX and Stuttgart Festival of Animated Film. The Program’s goal is to connect newcomers, who want to develop and realize their own project ideas, with established experts and decision-makers in the animation industry. Animation projects from the areas of feature film, TV series, short film, games, cross-media and transmedia with potential for the European or international market can all be submitted. Hybrid formats that mix live action with animation are also eligible. A total of 14 places will be awarded for the Talent Program. The application deadline is February 21, 2019. More information

Jan Pinkava and FMX

Listen to Academy Award-winning director Jan Pinkava, Creative Director of Google Spotlight Stories who will deliver an FMX 2019 keynote on “Bridging the Gap between Art and Technology,” share insights on why FMX is an important and worthwhile event to attend.