Visual effects and animation company DNEG has appointed digital technology innovator and real-time workflow expert Roy C. Anthony as global head of research.
Anthony’s primary focus will be on emerging technologies, driving innovation within the domains of real-time technology and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the artist experience across visual effects and animation. As a former Conference chair of SIGGRAPH (2018), Anthony will also continue to develop and nurture close relationships with the communities of SIGGRAPH, the Visual Effects Society, and other industry organizations and third-party companies focusing on real-time technology and AI.
DNEG Global CTO Paul Salvini said of Anthony, “His expertise in real-time technology and his passion for the art and science of filmmaking will help us to design and develop new tools and workflows that will fundamentally shape our industry.”
For over 20 years Anthony has been driving innovation across a range of related fields, including real-time, AI, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), projection mapping, film, interactive immersive displays, and future technologies for both film and live event/staging environments. He spent 13 years as a sr. solutions architect in the research & innovation division at Christie Digital Systems and was most recently VP of creative development and operations at Ventuz Technology. Anthony holds patents in Stereoscopy, VR/AR display systems and calibration, and is a co-author of three academic publications on high frame-rate film.
Commenting on his new role, Roy C. Anthony said: “DNEG’s global scope provides access to an incredible pool of talent, refreshing new perspectives and limitless potential. It is clear from the industry honors and recognition the company has received that DNEG is a technological and creative powerhouse. As the industry continues to evolve, and new emerging technology paradigms manifest including the exciting innovations in real-time technology and application of AI to production, I feel DNEG is uniquely positioned to capture and apply that positive energy at a global scale.”
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More