Computer Animation Festival

Speaker(s):
Osnat Shurer, Walt Disney Animation Studios, United States of America
Kyle Odermatt, Walt Disney Animation Studios, United States of America
Kelsey Hurley, Walt Disney Animation Studios, United States of America

Speaker:

Abstract: Join host Dan Sarto for a live conversation with the filmmakers of Disney Animation’s highly-anticipated feature film, Raya and the Last Dragon, as they discuss the visual complexities of the movie and the intricacies of making the film from home during the pandemic. Osnat Shurer (Producer), Kyle Odermatt (VFX Supervisor) and Kelsey Hurley (Technical Supervisor) will be sharing their experiences and answering your questions.

Speaker(s) Bio:
Osnat Shurer (Producer) previously produced the 2016 Academy Award-nominated Moana. Shurer joined Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2012 as vice president of development, working with filmmakers to move features and shorts through the creative process. As producer of Moana, Shurer helped manage the film through story, script, music, and casting and led the film’s partnership with publicity, marketing, and consumer products. Shurer also created the film’s Oceanic Story Trust, a team of Pacific Islander consultants from the islands with whom production collaborated closely throughout the making of Moana. Her next film, Raya and the Last Dragon, will release in theaters March 12, 2021. Previously, Shurer served as the executive producer of the shorts group at Pixar Animation Studios, responsible for Pixar's short films. While at Pixar, Shurer produced or executive produced a host of hit shorts, including the Oscar-nominated Lifted (2006), One Man Band (2005) and Boundin (2003). Her credits at Pixar also include video shorts like Jack-Jack Attack and The Adventures of Mr. Incredible. Shurer’s duties at Pixar also included training production management, creating and supervising an in-house documentary department to produce DVD bonus material content and other archival materials, as well as overseeing the development of commercials and theme park attractions. For The Incredibles, Shurer produced and directed Vowellet: An Essay by Sara Vowell and executive produced The Making of The Incredibles. She also produced Exploring the Reef with Jean-Michael Costeau for director Andrew Stanton, in conjunction with the release of Finding Nemo. At Pixar, Shurer was also responsible for helping to create several cutting-edge multi-media shows, including MoMA's impressive Pixar: 20 Years of Animation, which opened in 2006 and went on travel the world. The exhibit featured "Artscape," a widescreen projection space that provided viewers with a unique digital artistic experience, and "Zoetrope," a dynamic 3D installation, modeled on pre-cinema technology, which used dimensional character sculptures to simulate continuous motion. Shurer was consulting producer on the 2011 Golden Globe-nominated feature Arthur Christmas. Prior to joining Pixar in 2002, Shurer produced and directed film and television in various mediums - live action, animation, live television, and various interactive presentations for museums. She worked on documentaries and narrative films throughout the world, in such places as India, China, Tibet, Japan, Africa and Europe, with directors ranging from Michelangelo Antonioni to Alfonso Cuarón. Shurer was born in Israel, and as the child of an airline executive, she grew up in many parts of the world. She received a degree in film from New York University in 1983. She resides in Los Angeles, Calif.

Kyle Odermatt (Visual Effects Supervisor) oversees the entire image production pipeline, from early visualization of story ideas right through to delivery of final imagery in stereoscopic 3D. Odermatt began his career at Walt Disney Animation Studios in 1996 as a model development technical supervisor. His responsibilities included overseeing modeling, rigging, layout and EFX development for all current shows in production. Odermatt went on to become the artistic supervisor of computer graphics on Treasure Planet. He served as a CG Supervisor on Chicken Little, Meet the Robinsons, and a VFX Supervisor on Princess and the Frog, Winnie the Pooh and 2012’s Oscar-winning short Paperman. Odermatt was Visual Effects Supervisor for 2014’s Oscar-winning feature film Big Hero 6 and 2016’s Oscar-nominated Moana. Before joining Disney, Odermatt worked for Industrial Light & Magic as a character supervisor/modeler. His background also includes working for Gingko Design as an industrial designer and as a CAD manager for a Los Angeles architectural firm. His professional affiliations include Asifa, Siggraph, VES and AMPAS. Odermatt was born in Berkeley, Calif. He received a Bachelor of Art in visual development from Dartmouth College, and did his postgraduate studies in architecture at Harvard Graduate School of Design and also in transportation design at the Art Center College of Design.

Kelsey Hurley (Technical Supervisor) began her career at Walt Disney Animation Studios in 2011. She has been Technical Supervisor on the short film, Inner Workings, as well as a number of other short films as part of Disney Animation’s Short Circuit Experimental Films program. She was also Associate Technical Supervisor on Ralph Breaks the Internet as well as Technical Director on the Oscar-winning Big Hero 6. Prior to these films, she was Assistant Technical Director on Wreck-It Ralph and the Oscar-winning Frozen. Hurley grew up in Hillsborough, New Jersey, and earned her BA in Computer Science from George Washington University. In her role at Disney Animation, she loves combining art and technology to help create amazing films. Hurley currently resides in Glendale, Calif., with her two cats, Saki and Momo.

Speaker: