Schedule

Animex Game day one

11 November 24

Middlesbrough Town Hall | TS1 2QJ

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8:50AM

Registration

Middlesbrough Town Hall Foyer.

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9:15AM

Welcome talk

A talk to open Animex 2024.

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9:30AM

Portfolio tips and tricks for game artists

Jeff Parrott | Blizzard Entertainment

Develop a clear understanding of expectations with regards to your art portfolio as you enter the video game industry. This talk covers networking, interviewing, and working as a professional in the video game industry.

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10:30AM

Designing levels with dyslexia

Raphael Kidd | Ubisoft

Raphael Kidd talks about how he designed levels with dyslexia. Covering open world design and linear level design, he discusses dyslexia and its challenges, how it can be used as a tool to your advantage and explaining his experiences and practices with VR, having worked on The Persistence (PS4 VR).

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11:30AM

Lunch break

1:00PM

An insight into the role of a technical artist

Nigel Middleman | TT Games

Technical artists have become a critical part of many development studios and are often required to be able to work on animations, tools development and art creation. This talk is aimed at people who may be interested in getting into the field of technical art or for people who may not know about the role of technical artist and the types of skills that a technical artist may require. This will not be a tech talk, it will cover some of what the role and responsibilities of a technical artist is.

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2:00PM

From programming to marketing – a gaming industry story

Opal Cadman | Team17 Digital

This talk shows the range of careers available in the games industry, and the journey your career can take. This talk shows how much you can grow, and how fun the publishing and marketing careers in the games industry can be.

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3:00PM

Break

3:30PM

The perilous 9ft journey: taking RimWorld from desk to couch, an adventure in UI

Kevin Mann | Double Eleven

Kevin Mann delves into the details of converting a complex and much loved PC game, RimWorld, to a console game from a UI/UX perspective. The task of converting a game from PC to console is never easy, but in the case of RimWorld, it was particularly challenging. The game's complex mechanics and user interface made the transition to consoles a daunting task. During the session, Kevin will share Double Eleven’s experiences of the challenges they faced during the conversion process and how they overcame them, to receive 5 star reviews and praise from the players.

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4:30PM

Designing key game moments

Daniel Arriaga | Hundred Star Games

Daniel Arriaga discusses why specific video game moments have persisted in time as iconic and memorable. You learn how the human memory works and how certain patterns and features make spaces, actions and experiences easily recallable, recognisable and relatable to your target demographic. Daniel shares insights on how game mechanics can establish a strong product identity. The talk closes with a Q&A.

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5:30PM

Close

Animex Game day two

12 November 24

Middlesbrough Town Hall | TS1 2QJ

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9:00AM

Registration

Middlesbrough Town Hall Foyer.

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9:30AM

How I designed Cyberpunk 2077 levels

Max Pears | Hangar 13

Max Pears discusses the creative minds - who was involved with making the level and the team dynamics, his design process - how he approached a level when starting, working with brands, and mistakes and growth.

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10:30AM

The Tanglewood Games optimisation playbook

Adam Capon | Tanglewood Games

Rodrigo Roldan-Romero | Tanglewood Games

The Tanglewood games team take a look at an introduction to game performance optimisation, efficient coding practices and algorithm optimisation, rendering and world optimisation, memory management, platform-specific optimisation, tips and best practice and finish off with a Q&A session.

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11:30AM

Lunch break

1:00PM

Animating characters across the Sword Coast: cinematic challenges in Baldur's Gate 3

Adam Smith | Larian Studios

Logan Prové | Larian Studios

Adam Smith and Logan Prové highlight some of the challenges faced making animations for Larian Studio’s largest cinematic game, Baldur’s Gate 3.

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2:00PM

Video game structural layers for narrative design

Eoghain Meakin | Ulster University and Can You Eat It?

Eoghain Meakin discusses the structural layers present in many video games that impose and motivate the shape of any narrative within them. By outlining and understanding these layers it should help designers create effective narratives in games.

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3:00PM

Break

3:30PM

Cinematic design for games

David Pumpa | Playground Games

David Pumpa talks about what you need to consider when you’re creating and implementing cinematics into games.

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4:30PM

From concept to controller: inside the game design process

Karolina Latka | Behaviour Interactive

How do you recognise a successful development cycle? What can help your game stand out? What should be at the core of your game design? In this talk, Karolina Latka dives into game design and also how it impacts the game development holistically.

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5:30PM

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Animex AVFX day one

14 November 24

Middlesbrough Town Hall | TS1 2QJ

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8:50AM

Registration

Middlesbrough Town Hall Foyer.

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9:15AM

Welcome talk

9:30AM

A dragon ride: the texturing journey of House of the Dragon

Claudia Marvisi | Pixomondo

Join Claudia Marvisi, Head of Texturing at Pixomondo, for an immersive journey into the world of visual effects as she unveils the secrets behind bringing awe-inspiring dragons to life in HBO’s acclaimed "Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon". Claudia will dive deep into the creative process and technical wizardry that made these mythical creatures a reality and the pivotal role played by Mari Foundry in crafting intricate textures that gave the dragons their distinctive look and feel.

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10:30AM

Hermit crabs to hermite curves: rigging Under the Boardwalk

Elliot Stammers | DNEG Animation

Elliot Stammers walks through the challenges of rigging on an all-singing crab cast, in Paramount's Under the Boardwalk. Elliot will cover how they approached facial expressions, translated graphic 2D notes to 3D solutions as well as the battle for rig speed. Get your claws sunk into what it was like managing the variety and complexity of a huge cast of musical crustaceans.

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11:30AM

Lunch break

12:45PM

Kate Bush - "Little Shrew" screening

Little Shrew | Meet Little Shrew @ Kate Bush.com

"In 2022, with war breaking out in Ukraine, I decided I wanted to make an anti-war animation. In particular, I hoped to draw attention to the children caught up in war. This little shrew would take a journey on a moonlit, winter’s night through a war-torn city, initially unaware of what was going on around her in this land of the giants. She can sense that she’s being called by a kind of spiritual presence… HOPE. She starts to search for HOPE. Sometimes hope is all there is to hang on to." Kate Bush

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1:00PM

A visual clash: VFX in films and games

Dee Kariyawasam | TT Games

Piotr Czternasty | TT Games

This talk looks at the differences and similarities between VFX in games and in movies to paint a picture of where the main points of divergence lie, where the difficulties lie on both sides and how they cause a transition between the industries.

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2:00PM

Enter the world of a TV creator

David Neumann | NEWMATION

Whether you’re an Emmy winning TV creator or a university student, both have something in common, both must first create a TV series bible. Any TV creator with a new idea, must develop their show from scratch. Like an architect, they must blueprint their story and series into a compelling series bible which includes several preliminary elements including characters, artwork, storylines, season arcs and more. David Neumann talks about how to make your own series bible.

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3:00PM

Break

3:30PM

MPC - Animation & TechAnim

Chris McKenna | MPC

Ben Krolick | MPC

In this presentation, MPC’s Head of Creative Operations Chris McKenna and Head of Animation Ben Krolick join us to discuss the various processes used at the studio in the Animation, CFX and TechAnim department. They will break down the animation work on the Lion King, the Technical animation and creature effects used in Dumbo and the creation of Digital Doubles for Ghostbusters.

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4:30PM

Shelley's "Eye Candy Show" + "That Christmas"

Shelley Page | Locksmith Animation

Shelley sits on many international festival and graduation juries every year and, in the course of these events, she collects her personal favourites into a series of special screenings, known as 'The Eye Candy Show'. This personal selection represents some of the brightest young talents emerging on the international animation scene as well as award-winning work from renowned independent studios and directors around the world.
Shelley's selection is constantly evolving as she discovers wonderful new films during the year's festivals and other events.

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5:45PM

Close

Animex AVFX day two

15 November 24

Middlesbrough Town Hall | TS1 2QJ

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9:00AM

Registration

9:30AM

Into a new dimension

Martin Bell | Dimension Studios

The talk will go through Martins career from using an Amiga to create animations aged 11, to using a game engine to tell stories at age 15, to Teesside University and on through Hollywood previsualisation.

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10:30AM

Virtual Production: Unlocking Immersive Filmmaking

Christian Frausig | Dimension Studio

Christian Frausig joins us to talk about what Virtual Production is, the underlying Technology, its Use Cases, the Benefits, Challenges and the Process Dimension Studios utilise for Realising Creative Visions.

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11:30AM

Lunch break

1:00PM

Brick by Brick

Simon Brown | Passion Pictures

Simon Brown, PASSION PICTURES’ Head of CG, joins us to discuss the studio’s recent work including on trailers for Lego Horizon Adventures.
Simon will also discuss the PASSION Studio’s capabilities through lookdev, animation, FX, Lighting, render and composting. He’ll look at the challenges of implementing new technologies such as USD into the PASSION pipeline.

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2:00PM

Adventures in Handcrafted Animation with BLINKINK

Bart Yates | BLINKINK

Founder & Executive Producer of London animation studio and production company Blinkink talks through the creative and production process behind a selection of their greatest hits.

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3:00PM

Break

3:30PM

VFX and the World of Fallout

Andreas Giesen | RISE

Join Andreas Giesen on a journey through the post-apocalyptic wasteland of the Fallout TV series for an inside look at RISE Visual Effects Studios' innovative use of the USD pipeline to create large scale simulations and immersive environments. From massive explosions to the tiniest of details, get ready to discover how the visual effects team brought this iconic universe to life on the big screen.

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4:30PM

The VFX of Star Wars: The Acolyte

Julian Foddy | Industrial Light & Magic

A behind the scenes look at the VFX of the show - from early concept, previsualisation and prep, through the shoot challenges, and breakdowns of the work done in post-production, followed by a Q&A.

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5:30PM

Close

Animex Marketplace Seminars

13 November 24

Middlesbrough Town Hall - Main Hall

9:30AM

Charisma uniqueness motion talent: How drag directed my creative Passions

SALLY TM | LeoVegas

SALLY TM hosts a talk on how her journey in motion was rocked by creative restrictions, her passion outside of her aspirations carved a niche for unapologetically queer northern clients, and how loving yourself a little bit more opens up a world of confident client curation.

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10:30AM

Gaming the science of inner experience

Charles Fernyhough | Durham University and InnerScape

The creative industries are in the business of creating experiences. In this talk, Charles will show how attending to the science of inner experience – the thoughts, memories, images and emotions that form such a large part of our mental lives – has the potential to unlock the inner worlds of game characters, and boost the power of gaming to communicate pro-social messages about mental health and neurodiversity.

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3:00PM

Women in Games Roundtable

Fern Griffiths | Maverick Games

Natalie Wicks | Double Eleven

Danni Pratt | Tanglewood Games

Ellie Baldino | Frontier Developments

Andreea Rosu | Radical Forge

A roundtable composed of Women in Games ambassadors, discussing their roles and journeys in the industry. How being a woman in the industry may have impacted their career and provide advice for aspiring graduates who are still unsure of their future path.

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Animex Pro Workshops

13 November 24

9:30AM

Rigging 101: from model validation to rig optimisation

Elliot Stammers | DNEG Animation

Elliot Stammers is a Rigging Technical Supervisor at DNEG Animation. He has led much of the face rigging work on some of DNEG Animation's biggest shows such as Ron's Gone Wrong and Entergalactic. Elliot's work can also be seen on Paramount's Under the Boardwalk, were he served as the Lead Facial Character TD. Join Elliot as he walks us through a variety of key rigging concepts to get your rigs running smoothly.

Book here.

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9:30AM

Creating Expressive Faces for Games, VFX and Animation

Jahirul Amin | CAVE ACADEMY

Jahirul Amin of CAVE Academy introduces FACS, (Facial Action Coding System) to create expressive faces. You'll study the anatomy of the human face, the universal expressions and micro expressions. Following on from this, you work in Maya and ZBrush to take a neutral head and create a more expressive face.

Book here.

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10:00AM

Bringing characters to life

Craig Caldwell | University of Utah

Whether it is animation, VFX, or immersive media… character development in storytelling is tough to get right. It can seem like an impossible task to create engaging characters that your audience can emotionally connect to. No matter what genre you prefer, fantasy, medieval, comedy, drama... the characters must be complex, knowable, and feel real. In this workshop, Craig Caldwell covers how to flesh out characters, beginning with their motivations, backstories, psychology, and external relationships.

Book here.

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11:30AM

Wayfinding 101: cognitive mapping as a tool for level design

Fern Griffiths | Maverick Games

In this workshop you will explore how you can use cognitive mapping as a methodology for guiding players in a non-intrusive way. Looking at what cognitive maps are, how they are formed and the different techniques we can use to help players understand and navigate the spaces we create for them.

Book here.

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12:00PM

Nanite, Lumen and PCG. Fun with rapid development in Unreal Engine 5.

Cris Robson | Epic Games

This workshop introduces you to the three systems with some easy to follow hands on sessions - you create a mega-assembly using Nanita meshes, then use instances in order to populate your level quickly. You set up Lumen and a few self illuminated meshes to bring life to your scene and will fast populate it with some handy PCG scripts. As long as you can understand the basics of using Unreal Engine 5 then come along, and if you are not sure, pop on by anyway.

Book here.

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1:00PM

Benchmarking cinematic and gameplay character animation in Baldur's Gate 3

Gerry Jacobs | Larian Studios

This specialist masterclass delves into the creative process of benchmarking the character animation seen in Baldur’s Gate 3. Interwoven in this presentation, Gerry Jacobs will speak about her career originating from a traditional background and spanning multiple industries and explain how those fundamental skills apply to her job today and how they can adapt to different job roles for a career with longevity.

Book here.

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2:00PM

Things I don’t want to see in your game design portfolio

Zaid Shaikh | Firesprite

Potential employers don't have time to read through a massive game design document to understand someone's game, and would much prefer to see a voiced explanation of the game and the design process. This workshop offers insight on how to help your portfolio stand out amidst a sea of others.

Book here.

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3:00PM

X-Pitch Factor

David Neumann | NEWMATION

Welcome to X-PITCH FACTOR, a workshop to be led by Hollywood manager and producer, David Neumann. David has been on both sides of the table, a seller of projects to studios and streamers and a buyer of new projects for his own company. In this workshop, you learn how the industry works behind the scenes, and how to pitch your next big animation project.

Book here.

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3:00PM

Tips and trick of how to prepare your portfolio with TT Games

Dee Kariyawasam | TT Games

Alexandra Jaeschke | TT Games

In this workshop 2 members of the team from TT Games, Dee Kariyawasam and Alexandra Jaeschke, will guide you through some tips and tricks of how to prepare your portfolio, along with covering preparation for applying for jobs all the way through to how to prepare for the interview. The workshop gives you some helpful information to land that your dream job in games development.

Book here.

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3:00PM

From gameplay to cinematics: the animation of LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga

Richard Desmond | TT Games

Explore the world of animation in LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga, and gain an insight into the workings of the animation team at TT Games. Whether it’s creating dynamic gameplay animations, or crafting engaging cinematic sequences, discover the process of how LEGO was brought to life through both in-game animation and cutscene animation, and delve into the key similarities and differences between the two.

Book here.

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