Jon Peddie Research has hosted its annual Siggraph luncheon for press and analysts since 2002. The luncheon brings together the people who are advancing computer graphics through, art, content creation, software development, and new products with the press and analysts following the industry. It’s a tight-knit community build of long relationships on all sides.
This year, the luncheon topic is Open Source Software. Open Source Software development is a transformative approach to development that gives end-users the ability to define exactly what they need. Open Source licensing structures enable collaborators to contribute code and improve the end product. It’s free to share, as long as everyone plays by the rules: changes and improvements are for everyone.
Companies working in the content creation industries have found they’re better off sharing the tools they all need to get their jobs done and fostering interoperability.
We’re seeing the next step in the formation of the Academy Software Foundation, ASWF, which was founded to foster open software development and to provide a neutral forum for cross-project efforts and also to provide a consistent test and build infrastructure.
The Foundation has the support of industry professionals, vendors, and studios.
The Panel
Open software tools have proliferated in the film and video industry. So much so, that the list is bewildering. Now that there is a central repository for the code and the promise of coordinated development, we want to know how, or if all the disparate tools work together and what’s on the agenda for the future. Our panelists will address these issues as well as tell the audience what they see as the major issues for open software development.
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Hank Driskill – CTO, Blue Sky Studios Hank Driskill joined Blue Sky Studios as Chief Technology Officer in January 2018, and has been evolving the studio’s pipeline process through the introduction of new systems, software as well as leveraging open source technologies. Hank also led the charge for Blue Sky to become a founding member of the Academy Software Foundation. Prior to Blue Sky Studios, he spent 20 years at Walt Disney Animation Studios as part of the studio's leadership, serving as Technical Supervisor on films such as Bolt, Big Hero 6 and Moana. Hank holds bachelor degrees in Computer Science and Astronomy from the University of Kansas and a Ph.D. in Computer Science from the University of Utah. He embarked on his professional career at Digital Domain, where he helped bring films such as Apollo 13, Dante’s Peak, Fifth Element and Titanic to life. |
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Danielle Costa – VP Visual Effects, Marvel Danielle Costa is the VP of Visual Effects at Marvel Studios and has been with Marvel Studios since 2009 working on 20 of their films. She has over 18 years of experience in visual effects, production, and post-production. Besides spending long hours on set and in visual effects reviews, Danielle has spearheaded the creation of multiple studio-side pipelines for streamlining visual effects, stereo, post-production and the digital intermediate process at Marvel. She is also involved in new technologies, including virtual reality. |
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Jon Wadelton – CTO, The Foundry Jon Wadelton joined Foundry in 2007 and has been instrumental in driving the engineering and product development of NUKE. Since becoming CTO, Jon’s remit has expanded to include all IP at Foundry, including both existing products and long-term R&D. Jon has over 20 years of experience in software leadership roles within the media production and telecom industries and holds a bachelor’s degree from La Trobe University. Jon was recently appointed to the BAFTA VR advisory group. |
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Guy Martin Director of Open Source Strategy, Autodesk Guy Martin is Director of Open Source Strategy at Autodesk, responsible for overseeing the company’s open-source strategy, execution, and collaborative projects, as well as representing the company in open source communities and organizations. He has over two decades of experience in the software industry as an engineer and community manager, where he has consistently focused on helping companies understand, contribute to, and better leverage open-source software. He has held senior open source roles with Samsung Research, Red Hat and the US DoD. |
Members of the press can register for the luncheon on our EVENT PAGE.