The Pulse

Jerome Chen’s credits include some of Hollywood’s earliest work with digital humans, such as The Polar Express, as well as The Amazing Spider-Man, Suicide Squad, Fury, and Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle. Jerome also directed “Lucky 13,” an episode of the Netflix animated series Love, Death & Robots.

A 30-year veteran of the game industry, Amy Hennig has served as Creative Director and Lead Writer on numerous titles, including Naughty Dog’s acclaimed Uncharted series and Crystal Dynamics’ groundbreaking Soul Reaver / Legacy of Kain franchise. She recently joined Skydance Media to explore new frontiers in interactive storytelling.

Isaac Bratzel, a longtime creator of photoreal CG characters, holds a Masters Degree in Visual Effects Animation. He’s currently Chief Design and Innovation Officer at Brud, an entertainment and technology company that realizes virtual characters for storytelling and inspiration. Brud’s characters include Miquela, a virtual pop star with over three million followers on Instagram.

Davide entered Ferrari as the Head of IT Security for the Racing division. He brought the team’s “win the race” approach to Ferrari GT, where he extended his work into the use of computer graphics and Unreal Engine to develop dealership car configurators and AR/VR experiences.

With over a decade of experience working as a previs artist on dozens of blockbuster films including Mad Max: Fury Road and Avengers: Age of Ultron, Felix Jorge recently supervised the Virtual Art Department on season one of The Mandalorian. He is now leading a team at Happy Mushroom Studios that is shaking up Hollywood’s status quo through game-changing virtual production techniques.

With over 12 years of experience working on blockbuster titles such as BioShock Infinite and indie video game hits such as The Flame in The Flood, Gwen Bond recently founded Chump Squad and launched multi-platform puzzler Kine. She is now looking to the future of gaming technology as she leads a team on their next gen title, Lab Rat.

Responsible for Ember Lab’s creative vision, Mike leads a multinational team of artists who craft the compelling artwork and animations driving the success of Kena, Bridge of Spirits. His primary goal is to meld different artistic disciplines and technical backgrounds into an authentic experience with a cohesive visual aesthetic. A talented film director, Mike’s captivating style is reflected in the studio’s commercial portfolio and independent projects.  

Jan Bunge is a trained landscape architect with a background in urban design. At Squint/Opera, he oversees creative excellence and technology. An expert in virtual design and communication tools, Jan has contributed to Propmodo magazine and Voices from McKinsey & Co about the impact of technology on the built environment.

Sam Nicholson, ASC, is CEO and Founder of Stargate Studios, an award-winning international production company that specializes in visual effects and virtual production. Sam has been involved in film and television production for over 40 years, with credits that include Star Trek: The Motion Picture; The Walking Dead; and Grey’s Anatomy.

Cobus Bothma has over 25 years’ experience in design within the construction and automotive industry, developing bespoke products for commercial, hospitality, and leisure use. His key skills include the generation of complex architectural 3D geometry, data generation, and visualization.

Based in Munich, Germany, Burak has over seven years of experience in 3D real-time technologies for large-scale industries. He is now leading the enterprise-wide VR/AR platform and making 3D accessible to everyone at BMW Group.

Based in Sydney, Australia, Mike Seymour is a researcher, lecturer, writer, media-tech specialist, and the co-founder of fxguide. Mike has previously worked in film and TV R&D and in production, winning an AFI and being nominated for an American Emmy Award. He is well known for his work on digital humans.