The Visual Effects Society (VES) has selected the State of Texas for its newest regional Section. The VES Board of Directors formally authorized the Section’s creation at its January 2024 Board meeting. The VES Texas Section joins the dynamic worldwide community, which has Sections in Australia, San Francisco’s Bay Area, France, Georgia (U.S.), Germany, India, London, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, New Zealand, Oregon, Toronto, Vancouver and Washington state. Now in its 27th year, the Society is thriving with almost 5,000 members in more than 45 countries worldwide.
“We are thrilled to welcome our newest Visual Effects Society Section in the State of Texas,” said Nancy Ward, VES executive director. “The Society’s presence gets stronger every year–due in large part to our local leadership who gather and connect our members around the world. Our determination to reach all corners of the globe and to all of the disciplines across the VFX spectrum has yielded us a very rich, talented membership, and that commitment to diversity and inclusion will continue to be a driving force of the organization.”
“VES members in Texas are excited to be recognized as an official Section of the Visual Effects Society,” said Colin Campbell, veteran VES Board member who was instrumental in forming the new Section. “Texas has a long history of filmmaking distinction dating back almost 100 years with Wings, filmed in the heart of Texas and honored as the first film to win the Academy Awards for both Best Picture and Best Effects. Continuing with this legacy of excellence, our members are comprised of professionals with experience working with some of the biggest names in the industry, including ILM, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Digital Domain and Blizzard/Activision, among others. They represent a diverse cross-section of moving image artistry: feature film and television visual effects, game development, cinematic production, animation, architectural visualization and educators. With the creation of VES Texas, it’s an exciting time to be a Texan in the VFX-related moving image industry!”
As a group, VES Texas members share a common vision in their goals for the Section: outreach to partner with professional industry organizations; working with educational institutions within the state to train and mentor future generations of Texas artists; membership growth to increase its presence within the entertainment community; and social gatherings to promote community and camaraderie.
The new VES Texas Section is gearing up quickly to offer benefits and opportunities to all VES members in Texas. Once it holds its first meeting, the Section will elect officers and begin its outreach to grow and support the VES presence in the region.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More