Sound Arts, 10 am – 12 pm (noon)

East End

Sound Arts – Guest Speaker
Mike PinderSinger, Songwriter, & Storyteller

The Moody BluesPinder, Thomas, and members of other successful Birmingham bands formed The Moody Blues. After their chart hit Go Now in 1965, Pinder obtained a Mellotron from Streetly and used it on numerous Moody Blues recordings, beginning with the single Love and Beauty. He introduced the Mellotron to The Beatles, and subsequently they used the instrument on Strawberry Fields Forever and toured with the Beatles on the last Beatles tour of England.

As a Singer Songwriter Mike wrote many of the Moody Blues songs and won the Ivor Novello award for Social Content for his song Simple Game.  After 8 successful albums, the Moody Blues took a break from recording in 1974 and Pinder relocated to California.

Later LifeMike Pinder has charmed children and parents alike with a series of albums that contain ‘stories from around the world for the child within us all.’ His captivating narration is set in a background of magical music and effects. Stories were chosen with deeper meanings or, as Mike puts it: “We didn’t want to use traditional stories about a mouse who went to a rabbit’s house for a cup of tea. We looked for the story about a mouse who went to a rabbit’s house and discussed the Zen of tea making.” And regarding the music: “This series gives me the perfect opportunity to convey to the listener a sense of the beauty in the music of all people.” A PLANET WITH ONE MIND 1996 Benjamin Franklin Award for Excellence (Publishers Marketing Association) 1996 Parent Choice Approval Award (Parents Choice Foundation) 1997 NAPPA Silver Award (Natl. Association of Parenting Publications of America) 1996 Notable Recordings Award (American Library Association) A PEOPLE WITH ONE HEART 1996 INDIE Award Finalist 1997 Benjamin Franklin Award for Excellence 1997 Parents Choice Gold Award 1997 NAPPA Silver Award.

AVE & MGD, 9 am – 11 am

Meyer Hall

Animation & Visual Effects
& Motion Graphic Design – Guest Speaker
Mark ChristiansenFreelance Artist, Author

Mark Christiansen is the author of After Effects Studio Techniques (Adobe Press), the definitive book about visual effects using the world’s most popular compositing applidation. He has created visual effects and animations for feature films including Pirates of the Caribbean 3, The Day After Tomorrow and films by Robert Rodriguez. Clients of his company, Flowseeker LLC, include Sony, Adobe, Cisco, Sun, Cadence, Seagate, Intel and Medtronic, and his broadcast motion graphics work has appeared on HBO and the History Channel. Mark’s roles have included producing, directing, designing and effects supervision.

Mark is a founding author at ProVideoCoalition and an instructor at fxPhd.com, as well as a guest host on podcasts including the VFX Show (Pixel Corps). His career began at LucasArts Entertainment and he is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Pomona College. He shares a studio space with Kontent Films in a stylish old building in downtown San Francisco.

AVE & MGD, 1 pm – 3 pm

Meyer Hall

SIGGRAPH Animation Festival ScreeningMost of you were not able to attend SIGGRAPH this year, or if you did could not afford a pass to the Animation Festival. The Computer Animation Festival Competition Screenings present the best of this year’s computer animation, including visual effects, animated shorts, excerpts from motion pictures, student work, scientific visualization, abstract art, and so much more. As in the storied past of this event, these screenings represent the finest submitted entries from around the world. We encourage you to join us for this one-time only screening in Meyer Hall on Insider’s Day.

GAD, 4 pm – 6 pm

Meyer Hall

Game Art & Design – Guest Speaker
Brett PascalSenior Animator, Propaganda Games

Brett Pascal has been working in animation for the last 9 years. He got his start working on an animated television pilot, but the majority of his career experience is in the games industry, where his time has been split almost evenly between Electronic Arts and his current employer, Propaganda Games.

Propaganda Games is a world-class game studio in downtown Vancouver, Canada. As a Center of Creative Excellence for Disney Interactive Studios—an affiliate of The Walt Disney Company—they make action/adventure titles with gripping storylines, stunning visuals and innovative game play.

Their latest title is Turok, the epic, sci-fi first person shooter, which provides an opportunity to interact with dinosaurs like never before.