Learn and be inspired!
One of the many highlights of SPARK ANIMATION are the Production Sessions. Presented by some of the industry’s top talent, this is your opportunity to go behind the scenes of some of the most innovative and exciting new projects of the year.
Prepare to be wowed!
A quiet evolution has been taking place at WildBrain Studios. In this roundtable discussion, some of WildBrain’s leading 2D and 3D animators will discuss the technology, workflows, tools, and industry trends that have contributed to a new age for the studio’s animation work. Projects like The Snoopy Show, Snoopy in Space, Johnny Test, Go, Dog. Go!, and Dorg Van Dango are building on the innovations of previous projects, and laying the groundwork for a new wave of advancement on premium-quality 2D and 3D productions just getting underway.
Moderated by WildBrain Studios EVP & GM Amir Nasrabadi, come hear from these leaders in animation:
• Mélanie Daigle, Animation Director
• Daniela Fischer, Animation Supervisor
• Shawn Harper, Episode Director
• Ryan MacNeil, Animation Director
• Jon Mead, Animation Director
• Matthew Shepherd, Creative Director, Animation
SPEAKER BIOS
AMIR NASRABADI
Executive Vice President and General Manager
Amir Nasrabadi has over 20 years’ experience in production, operations, finance and strategy in the animation and visual effects industry, having held senior roles with some of the world’s top production companies and studios. At WildBrain’s Vancouver animation studio, Mr. Nasrabadi oversees all animation production, leading the Vancouver animation team in working closely with WildBrain’s creative, content and brands teams.
Prior to WildBrain, Mr. Nasrabadi was EVP of Finance and Operations for Illumination, producers of such global hits as Despicable Me, Minions, The Grinch and Sing. Prior to Illumination, Mr. Nasrabadi was SVP of Production at Paramount Animation, and before Paramount, Mr. Nasrabadi worked for 15 years with The Walt Disney Studios, where he was VP Finance and Operations for DisneyToon Studios, and then in 2009, launched and ran Pixar Canada in Vancouver.
DANIELA FISCHER
Animation Supervisor
Daniela Fischer is a Brazilian/Canadian artist work as an animator and storyboard artist. She has been part of several 2D animation productions, including Jake and the Neverland Pirates, My Little Pony: The Movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Dorg Van Dango, Green Eggs and Ham, and multiple other series as well as TV advertisements.
Currently Daniela is an animation supervisor on WildBrain’s new seasons of Johnny Test for Netflix.
JON MEAD
Animation Director
A well regarded and coveted leader in the Vancouver industry, Jon Mead is classically trained animator and animation director with over 20 years of experience working on some of the most iconic projects in the field.
Currently an animation director on WildBrain’s Go, Dog. Go!, Jon has animated beloved characters for Pixar, Rainmaker, Industrial Light & Magic, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, as well as demonstrating strong, inspiring leadership as Animation Lead at Pixar Canada, and as Animation Director at Atomic Cartoons and WildBrain.
Over the span of his career, Jon has worked on acclaimed, award-winning feature films including A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2 (on which he storyboarded as well as animated), Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, and Ratatouille, along with multiple short films for Toy Story and Cars, and even Disneyland rides. Prior to joining WildBrain, Jon lent his talents to Atomic Cartoons as animation director on Hello Ninja and the Daytime Emmy-winning series Beat Bugs.
MATTHEW SHEPHERD
Creative Director, Animation
Matthew Shepherd is the Creative Director of Animation for WildBrain Studios, bringing 18 years of animation experience that includes 2D and 3D projects in both TV and film.
Matt’s leadership experience spans across a diverse collection of films, including roles as Supervising Animator for Sony Pictures Imageworks on Smurfs The Lost Village, Hotel Transylvania 3 and Connected, Lead Animator on The Lego Movie 2 with Animal Logic, and most recently contributing to Space Jam 2 as an Animation Lead with Industrial Light & Magic.
MÉLANIE DAIGLE
Animation Director
Classically trained and with 10 years of digital 2D animation experience under her belt, Mélanie is a character animator with a passion for acting and an eye for design.
Originally from a small Acadian village on the shores of New Brunswick's East coast, she moved to the Toronto area to study and graduated from Sheridan's classical animation program (Bachelor of Applied Arts - Animation.)
Since then, she has provided quality character animation on a wide range of TV series, supervised animation on The My Little Pony Movie, and served as animation director on the Snoopy in Space shorts. Over the years, she's had the opportunity to dabble throughout the animation pipeline, from concept art and R+D work to producing complete animated promos. She’s currently finding her legs as a director and gets to draw all day long at WildBrain Studios. Mélanie is also a published children's book illustrator and a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.
RYAN MACNEIL
Animation Director
Ryan is a Nova Scotia-born Animation Director with fifteen years of industry experience working on projects for Disney, Dreamworks, Nickleodeon, and now Apple with The Snoopy Show.
He was a 2016 Annie nominee for TV character animation and the 2017 Startoon winner. He lives in Vancouver with his wonderful wife and a passable cat.
SHAWN HARPER
Episode Director
Shawn Harper was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario. It was there he studied animation at Algonquin College, and took his first animation job at Mercury Filmworks on the series Wayside. Shawn continued working in the Ottawa animation industry for almost three years, then moved to Vancouver to work at WildBrain (formally known as DHX) as a Layout Artist on Littlest Pet Shop. Since then, Shawn has held increasingly senior roles on award-winning series and global brands, such as being Lead Animator on the first season of Rick and Morty, Animation Supervisor on seasons one and two of the Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs series, and most recently Animation Supervisor on The Snoopy Show. Shawn now has the great pleasure of being Episodic Director on an exciting new project at WildBrain Studios.
Learn and be inspired!
One of the many highlights of SPARK ANIMATION are the Production Sessions. Presented by some of the industry’s top talent, this is your opportunity to go behind the scenes of some of the most innovative and exciting new projects of the year.
Prepare to be wowed!
A quiet evolution has been taking place at WildBrain Studios. In this roundtable discussion, some of WildBrain’s leading 2D and 3D animators will discuss the technology, workflows, tools, and industry trends that have contributed to a new age for the studio’s animation work. Projects like The Snoopy Show, Snoopy in Space, Johnny Test, Go, Dog. Go!, and Dorg Van Dango are building on the innovations of previous projects, and laying the groundwork for a new wave of advancement on premium-quality 2D and 3D productions just getting underway.
Moderated by WildBrain Studios EVP & GM Amir Nasrabadi, come hear from these leaders in animation:
• Mélanie Daigle, Animation Director
• Daniela Fischer, Animation Supervisor
• Shawn Harper, Episode Director
• Ryan MacNeil, Animation Director
• Jon Mead, Animation Director
• Matthew Shepherd, Creative Director, Animation
SPEAKER BIOS
AMIR NASRABADI
Executive Vice President and General Manager
Amir Nasrabadi has over 20 years’ experience in production, operations, finance and strategy in the animation and visual effects industry, having held senior roles with some of the world’s top production companies and studios. At WildBrain’s Vancouver animation studio, Mr. Nasrabadi oversees all animation production, leading the Vancouver animation team in working closely with WildBrain’s creative, content and brands teams.
Prior to WildBrain, Mr. Nasrabadi was EVP of Finance and Operations for Illumination, producers of such global hits as Despicable Me, Minions, The Grinch and Sing. Prior to Illumination, Mr. Nasrabadi was SVP of Production at Paramount Animation, and before Paramount, Mr. Nasrabadi worked for 15 years with The Walt Disney Studios, where he was VP Finance and Operations for DisneyToon Studios, and then in 2009, launched and ran Pixar Canada in Vancouver.
DANIELA FISCHER
Animation Supervisor
Daniela Fischer is a Brazilian/Canadian artist work as an animator and storyboard artist. She has been part of several 2D animation productions, including Jake and the Neverland Pirates, My Little Pony: The Movie, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Dorg Van Dango, Green Eggs and Ham, and multiple other series as well as TV advertisements.
Currently Daniela is an animation supervisor on WildBrain’s new seasons of Johnny Test for Netflix.
JON MEAD
Animation Director
A well regarded and coveted leader in the Vancouver industry, Jon Mead is classically trained animator and animation director with over 20 years of experience working on some of the most iconic projects in the field.
Currently an animation director on WildBrain’s Go, Dog. Go!, Jon has animated beloved characters for Pixar, Rainmaker, Industrial Light & Magic, and Sony Pictures Imageworks, as well as demonstrating strong, inspiring leadership as Animation Lead at Pixar Canada, and as Animation Director at Atomic Cartoons and WildBrain.
Over the span of his career, Jon has worked on acclaimed, award-winning feature films including A Bug’s Life, Toy Story 2 (on which he storyboarded as well as animated), Monsters Inc., Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Cars, and Ratatouille, along with multiple short films for Toy Story and Cars, and even Disneyland rides. Prior to joining WildBrain, Jon lent his talents to Atomic Cartoons as animation director on Hello Ninja and the Daytime Emmy-winning series Beat Bugs.
MATTHEW SHEPHERD
Creative Director, Animation
Matthew Shepherd is the Creative Director of Animation for WildBrain Studios, bringing 18 years of animation experience that includes 2D and 3D projects in both TV and film.
Matt’s leadership experience spans across a diverse collection of films, including roles as Supervising Animator for Sony Pictures Imageworks on Smurfs The Lost Village, Hotel Transylvania 3 and Connected, Lead Animator on The Lego Movie 2 with Animal Logic, and most recently contributing to Space Jam 2 as an Animation Lead with Industrial Light & Magic.
MÉLANIE DAIGLE
Animation Director
Classically trained and with 10 years of digital 2D animation experience under her belt, Mélanie is a character animator with a passion for acting and an eye for design.
Originally from a small Acadian village on the shores of New Brunswick's East coast, she moved to the Toronto area to study and graduated from Sheridan's classical animation program (Bachelor of Applied Arts - Animation.)
Since then, she has provided quality character animation on a wide range of TV series, supervised animation on The My Little Pony Movie, and served as animation director on the Snoopy in Space shorts. Over the years, she's had the opportunity to dabble throughout the animation pipeline, from concept art and R+D work to producing complete animated promos. She’s currently finding her legs as a director and gets to draw all day long at WildBrain Studios. Mélanie is also a published children's book illustrator and a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators.
RYAN MACNEIL
Animation Director
Ryan is a Nova Scotia-born Animation Director with fifteen years of industry experience working on projects for Disney, Dreamworks, Nickleodeon, and now Apple with The Snoopy Show.
He was a 2016 Annie nominee for TV character animation and the 2017 Startoon winner. He lives in Vancouver with his wonderful wife and a passable cat.
SHAWN HARPER
Episode Director
Shawn Harper was born and raised in Ottawa, Ontario. It was there he studied animation at Algonquin College, and took his first animation job at Mercury Filmworks on the series Wayside. Shawn continued working in the Ottawa animation industry for almost three years, then moved to Vancouver to work at WildBrain (formally known as DHX) as a Layout Artist on Littlest Pet Shop. Since then, Shawn has held increasingly senior roles on award-winning series and global brands, such as being Lead Animator on the first season of Rick and Morty, Animation Supervisor on seasons one and two of the Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs series, and most recently Animation Supervisor on The Snoopy Show. Shawn now has the great pleasure of being Episodic Director on an exciting new project at WildBrain Studios.
