DNEG Animation at ANNECY 2022

Last month, our team travelled to France to attend Annecy Festival 2022!

The world’s largest event for animation was a resounding success, with thousands of industry professionals and enthusiasts coming together to celebrate the industry and art form.

We were thrilled to join in on the fun this year, hosting a series of presentations and participating in panels exploring DNEG Animation’s latest innovations and upcoming projects.

Of course, we couldn’t all jet-set to France for the week, so here’s a peek at what our teams got up to!

DNEG Animation VFX Supervisor Taylor Moll joined a panel to discuss our use of real-time on director Bill Joyce’s upcoming short film, Mr. Spam Gets a New Hat during a panel on real-time and AI in animation.

We also welcomed DNEG Animation’s Bridget Dash (Senior Talent Acquisition Partner) and Dara McGarry (Director of Outreach), as well as Johan Prytz (Talent Acquisition Partner, DNEG) to the stage for our Recruitment Session, Pathways to DNEG.

Next to take the stage, our DNEG Animation leadership team: Erika Burton (President, DNEG Animation), David Prescott (SVP, Creative), Markus Kurtz (VP, Animation Technology), Kara Oropallo (VP, Training, Outreach and Artistic Development), Crosby Clyse (Head of Production), and Ted Ty (Global Head of Character Animation) gave audiences a proper hello to DNEG Animation during our Studio Focus session.

Throughout the event, our Recruitment Booth was the place to be for talented and passionate professionals — and mega-sized pencils.

Fresh air, sunshine and live music marked our DNEG Animation Mixer, which saw friends old and new join us to unwind after another exciting day.

And here’s a selection of some of our other favourite photos from the trip!

Now that our teams are home, we caught up with them to see what the event was like. Here’s what they had to say!

David Prescott SVP, Creative DNEG Animation “Annecy is always such an amazing event and this year was special for us with our crew being involved in various events and talks. The amount of interest from students and studios alike was fantastic! Our studio has been growing immensely these last few years and it was so satisfying to finally share a small piece of what we are up to and the incredible work we are putting out there.”	Erika Burton President DNEG Animation “Annecy was a great opportunity for DNEG Animation as it showcased to the industry – students and professionals alike – our incredibly beautiful and diverse slate of animated content.”
Kara Oropallo VP Training, Outreach and Artistic Development DNEG Animation “It was lovely to be back in person – in such a lovely setting! – with our industry peers. It was such an incredible experience to see our team come together to support our growing studio.”	Crosby Clyse Head of Production DNEG Animation “It was incredible to see all the students and filmmakers, as well as our studio partners again. The festival highlighted how vibrant the global Animation community is today, and we’re so excited to be a part of it!”

	Dara McGarry Director of Outreach DNEG Animation “After two years, it was remarkable to once again engage in conversations in person. The energy and general vibe of Annecy was off the charts this year, making for a truly memorable experience.”