2020 is a special year for a number of iconic animated films.
Celebrate the talent and legacy of these milestones with the creators who made them happen.
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the landmark animated Pixar classic Toy Story, join Producer Bonnie Arnold in a first-of-its-kind panel including some of today’s top animation talent as they share their untold stories into the making of this landmark film.
An epic line-up of a dozen key women across all levels of production, in the earliest days of Pixar Animation Studios, spotlights the talents and contributions they made on this digitally animated 'first.' Moderated by author/historian Mindy Johnson, explore the other-half of Toy Story with these trailblazing women who navigated production through uncharted digital territory to redefine the course of global animation forever.
SPEAKER BIOS
ALLISON SMITH MURPHY
Allison Smith Murphy is a 40-year veteran in the field of computer graphics. She is also an award winning interior designer, and entrepreneur.
Allison joined Pixar in early 1994 as the Manager for the Technical, Lighting and Rendering Departments on the ground breaking Toy Story, the first full-length feature film to be done entirely using CGI. Following Toy Story, she spent two years as the Producer on Monsters, Inc..
In 1997, she took a giant leap of faith and started her own business and over the next 17 years she established herself as a high-end interior designer and award-winning retailer.
In 2014, she and her family moved to London, UK, where she once again stepped into the world of visual effects, joining the Moving Picture Company as the Lighting Department Manger, overseeing a crew of 80 artists working on the remake of Disney’s, The Jungle Book. Subsequent movies include Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge, Passengers, Alien: Covenant, Transformers: The Last Knight, and The Lion King.
In 2018, she fulfilled a lifelong dream by joining Industrial Light & Magic where she manages the Layout, Lighting and Generalist Departments in addition to the emerging Virtual Production & StageCraft teams for the London studio.
BONNIE ARNOLD
Two-time Academy Award® nominee and Golden Globe winner, Bonnie Arnold is a veteran filmmaker and a leading force in imaginative storytelling. As an accomplished producer in almost every genre, the combined global revenue for her film producing efforts throughout her career reaches more than $2.2 billion at the box office.
Bonnie most recently produced the Academy Award®-nominated animated feature, How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.” Previously, she served as Co-President of Features at DreamWorks Animation, overseeing an impressive slate that included such successes as Kung Fu Panda 3, Trolls, and The Boss Baby.”
Currently, Bonnie is reuniting with “How To Train Your Dragon” author Cressida Cowell to develop the adaptations of two of her book series, “The Wizards of Once” and “Emily Brown. “ Other upcoming projects include producing the animated feature Empty Stocking with Netflix, Locksmith Animation and screenwriter Richard Curtis and developing a series with Nickelodeon.
DEIRDRE WARIN
Deirdre worked at Pixar for 34 years, from 1985 to 2019.
Deirdre joined the Computer Graphics group at Lucasfilm in March 1985 and was part of the group which formed Pixar the following year. She was with the group who worked on the short films and television commercials and the germination of Toy Story from the initial idea of a 30 minute TV special to the eventual feature film.
She was Assistant to Ralph Guggenheim, one of the producers, throughout the film production as well as the coordinator for modeling and shading in the technical department for Toy Story.
Following Toy Story, Deirdre was a manager in the technical department for modeling and shading for A Bugs Life, Monsters Inc., Cars, Up, Brave and Inside Out. She also supported the feature film production staff and created a mentoring program for them.
GALYN SUSMAN
Galyn Susman joined Pixar Animation Studios in November of 1990 to work on Pixar’s television commercial production as technical director, animator, and producer. She soon came to work on Pixar’s first feature film Toy Story, where she contributed as a character technical director and as a lighting supervisor.
Galyn continued to model on A Bug’s Life, then served as supervising technical director on Toy Story 2 and as simulation and effects supervisor for Monster’s Inc. In 2007 she worked as the associate producer for the Academy Award®-winning animated film, Ratatouille.
Galyn continued on to become the producer for Pixar’s DVD-Promo Department, and oversaw the production of the DVD and Blu-ray bonus features and original animation promotional content for 5 years. Most recently, she produced two of Pixar’s first ever television specials, Toy Story OF TERROR! which debuted on ABC in Fall 2013, and Toy Story That Time Forgot, which premiered on ABC in December 2014.
Currently Susman is producing an upcoming feature film for Pixar.
Before arriving at Pixar, Susman was conducting graphics research and development at Apple, where she was a part of the team that made a short film entirely on Macintosh computers.
JILL CULTON
Jill Culton is an American filmmaker and a 29-year veteran of animated feature films. She has made a career as an animator in both 2D and CG formats, a character designer, visual development artist, story board artist, head of story development, writer, director and executive producer. Jill is considered to be among the first female pioneers who helped to further the medium of computer feature animation.
The first decade of Jill’s CG career was spent at Pixar Animation Studios where she was an animator and storyboard artist on Toy Story, A Bug’s Life and Toy Story 2 in which she also designed the beloved cow girl, ‘Jessie.’ Culton was the Head of Story development and credited with “Original Story by” on Monsters Inc., which continues to be one of the most popular films in Pixar’s history.
Jill made her directorial debut on Sony Picture’s first animated feature, Open Season (2006). During her tenure at Sony Pictures Animation, Jill executive produced Open Season 2. She was also integral to the development of Hotel Transylvania.
Recently, Jill was both the writer and director of the feature Abominable (2019). Jill is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and has served on the executive board of her branch for two years.
JULIE MCDONALD
Currently Managing Director for Feature Films at ZERO VFX, (Boston) Julie joined ZERO in 2019 after producing visual effects for Murder Mystery for Cinesite (Montreal)/Netflix/Happy Madison. She has produced visual effects for Netflix's The Sleepover, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, supported concurrent delivery for Wonderland, Hubie Halloween, Midway, as well as leading ZERO in its transition to an all-cloud based remote work configuration during the Covid-19 global pandemic.
She was Engineering Program Manager for the Silicon Valley start-up: Nimble Collective, (animation in the cloud via a web based platform). As Producer at Pixar, PDI, DreamWorks, Viz Media, and American Zoetrope she has led large teams and brought films and series to market via traditional and emerging cloud based models on or under budget. From 2012 through 2014, as Director of Animation Production Operations, she led the animation production business unit at Viz Media, launching hundreds of animé episodes on Hulu, CRACKLE, Netflix and XBox, as well as releasing over 50 multi-disc DVDs and BDs per year, and negotiating ADR in Latin America.
An early team member at Pixar Animation Studios (Toy Story, a Bug's Life, Monster's Inc., Geri's Game) she created the digital editorial and film out work flows, initiated Pixar's digital backlot, broke ground on its archive efforts, contributed to the shot tracking system.
KAREN ROBERT JACKSON
Karen Robert Jackson joined Pixar in 1991 as Producer for the Commercial Animation division. From 1991-1993 Karen worked with national and international accounts on award winning spots for clients including Volkswagen, Kelloggs, IBM, Lifesavers and Listerine.
In 1993, Karen moved over to full time duties on Pixar’s first feature film as Production Supervisor for Toy Story. As the manager of the production process her responsibilities included creation of master show schedules and individual department goals, weekly reporting, participating in screenings and responding to studio creative review processes.
Karen took a leave a brief leave to celebrate the birth of her first child after the release of Toy Story, returning to to take on production responsibilities for Toy Story 2, and served as Producer of this Golden Globe award winning film.
Karen left Pixar in 2000. She now is working in health and business technology with Kaiser Permanente, where she mediates business and technical concerns to deliver new features to members.
KATHERINE SARAFIAN
Katherine Sarafian is the Senior Vice President, Talent, at Pixar Animation Studios.
A Pixar veteran, Katherine produced the Academy Award®-winning feature film Brave and the Academy Award®-nominated short film Lifted. She joined the studio in 1994 as a coordinator on Toy Story and held a variety of key production roles, including production supervisor on the Academy Award®-nominated Monsters, Inc. and production manager on the Academy Award®-winning The Incredibles, before beginning her tenure as a producer.
Sarafian received her BA in Communication Studies and MA in Film and Television Critical Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Producers Guild of America.
SHARON CALAHAN
Sharon Calahan joined Pixar Animation Studios in 1994 as lighting supervisor on the studio’s first feature film, Toy Story. She then served as director of photography on A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, and the Academy Award®-winning features Ratatouille and Finding Nemo. She worked in the same role on Disney•Pixar’s Golden Globe®-nominated feature, Cars 2. In 2015 she was the visual designer, and director of photography for lighting on Disney and Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur and she is currently the director of photography on Disney and Pixar’s 2020 release, Onward.
Sharon studied graphic design, illustration and photography. Following art school, she began her career as an art director for broadcast television and video production. Prior to joining Pixar, she was a lighting director at Pacific Data Images completing commercial work, longer format television, and graphics packages. She is a member of the cinematography branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and a member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC).
TERRY MCQUEEN
Terry McQueen began her career at Showtime Networks in Los Angeles in film acquisitions, facilitating global planning of film content for the nascent cable television channel. Moving on to Viacom, she joined a writer/producer team developing sitcoms, feature films, talk and game shows. She later held positions as a producer’s assistant and post production coordinator on several network television series
In early 1995 she joined Pixar and the crew of Toy Story as the first Art Department Manager on a fully computer-animated feature film. After celebrating Toy Story’s success, Terry went on to manage the development and conceptual art phase of A Bug’s Life before transitioning to Toy Story 2 as Technical Manager. She was soon promoted to Production Manager, later finishing out her tenure on Toy Story 2 as Lighting Manager. Terry completed her Pixar career as Production Resources Manager for all Technical artists studio-wide - part of a small team responsible for deploying 300 TDs on multiple projects.
Terry now works as a freelance writer, having contributed to the award-winning anthology “She’s Got This! Essays on Standing Strong and Moving On.” She is at work on a memoir about her late husband, Pixar animator Glenn McQueen. Terry received her BFA from University of California, Los Angeles in Film and Television Production. She lives in the Bay Area with her daughter Kate, a recent college graduate.
TIA KRATTER
Tia joined Pixar Animation Studios in 1993 as a Digital Painter during production of the studio’s first feature film, Toy Story. She has subsequently held the Shading Art Director role on five other films, including Pixar’s release, Brave.
As Pixar’s Manager of Art & Film Education, Tia teaches Pixar employees a wide variety of art classes from Drawing to Painting to Photoshop, with the goal to enhance the eye in order to produce more beautiful films.
As a Shader Art Director at Pixar, Tia was responsible for specifying the color and texture of every object modeled for a film.
Prior to Pixar, Tia was a background painter at Disney Feature Animation from 1980 to 1994, where she worked on a variety of acclaimed animated films including The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Tron, and others.
TRIVA VON KLARK
Triva Von Klark started her career in feature animation at Pixar Animation Studio on their first animated feature, Toy Story as the Animation Department Coordinator but was quickly promoted to Animation Department Supervisor at Pixar.
In 1996,Triva was recruited by DreamWorks Animation Studios to work on their first computer- animated feature film, Antz. Triva was integral in setting up the CG animation pipeline at PDI / DreamWorks and went on to be to be the Production Manager for Shrek, the first feature animated film to win an Academy Award. Triva continued her passion for animation and working with artists and was a Production Manager on Shrek 2 and Madagascar. In addition to her feature animation credits, Triva has produced a number of commercials, television spots, and a THX animation for Lucas Films. Triva was also an Associate Producer for the Shrek 4D ride at Universal Studios.
Triva joined Atomic Fiction Studios in 2017 as the Production Manager on the Robert Zemeckis film Welcome to MARWEN. Triva went into a global role at Atomic Fiction as the Department Manager for Rigging, CFX and Animation across both Atomic studios in Oakland and Montreal. In September 2018, Method Studios acquired Atomic Fiction and Triva continued her role as a Department Manager. While at Atomic and Method, she worked on numerous VFX feature films and television shows including: The Predator, The OA, Velvet Buzzsaw, Bloodshot, Men in Black International, Ad Astra and Top Gun: Maverick.
Triva Von Klark is currently a freelance Animation/ VFX Producer, and is on the leadership team of the Women in Animation SF Bay Area chapter.
MINDY JOHNSON
Award-winning author, historian, filmmaker, educator, musician and more, Mindy Johnson is a leading expert on women’s roles in animation and film history. A frequent writer and speaker on early cinema, animation, women’s history, and creativity, Mindy's groundbreaking volume Ink & Paint - The Women of Walt Disney's Animation, and her young-reader follow-up Pencils, Pens & Brushes - A Great Girls Guide to Disney Animation, have transformed the animation industry. She was recently honored with the 2020 ASIFA–Hollywood Animation Educators Forum Faculty Grant and the 2019 Academy Film Scholar Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Grant Foundation, for continued research and writing on the contributions of the earliest women within our collective animated past. Her groundbreaking discoveries continue to cast light on the invisible narrative of women’s presence within the first century of the motion picture industry.
Mindy has produced record-breaking global campaigns, creative content, exhibitions and events for a growing list of clients including: The Walt Disney Company, AMPAS/Oscars.org, WNET/American Masters, The Walt Disney Family Museum, Stage Nine Productions, SiriusXM Radio, and Horipro Entertainment.
In addition to her film expertise, literary efforts and consulting, Mindy is also a Grammy-nominated songwriter and contributing artist on several internationally acclaimed recordings and published compositions. Mindy teaches film and animation history, aesthetics and intercultural film within the Los Angeles area, including a first-of-its-kind course on the history of women in animation, based on her continued ground-breaking research, at CalArts and other campuses.
2020 is a special year for a number of iconic animated films.
Celebrate the talent and legacy of these milestones with the creators who made them happen.
In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the landmark animated Pixar classic Toy Story, join Producer Bonnie Arnold in a first-of-its-kind panel including some of today’s top animation talent as they share their untold stories into the making of this landmark film.
An epic line-up of a dozen key women across all levels of production, in the earliest days of Pixar Animation Studios, spotlights the talents and contributions they made on this digitally animated 'first.' Moderated by author/historian Mindy Johnson, explore the other-half of Toy Story with these trailblazing women who navigated production through uncharted digital territory to redefine the course of global animation forever.
SPEAKER BIOS
ALLISON SMITH MURPHY
Allison Smith Murphy is a 40-year veteran in the field of computer graphics. She is also an award winning interior designer, and entrepreneur.
Allison joined Pixar in early 1994 as the Manager for the Technical, Lighting and Rendering Departments on the ground breaking Toy Story, the first full-length feature film to be done entirely using CGI. Following Toy Story, she spent two years as the Producer on Monsters, Inc..
In 1997, she took a giant leap of faith and started her own business and over the next 17 years she established herself as a high-end interior designer and award-winning retailer.
In 2014, she and her family moved to London, UK, where she once again stepped into the world of visual effects, joining the Moving Picture Company as the Lighting Department Manger, overseeing a crew of 80 artists working on the remake of Disney’s, The Jungle Book. Subsequent movies include Pirates of the Caribbean: Salazar’s Revenge, Passengers, Alien: Covenant, Transformers: The Last Knight, and The Lion King.
In 2018, she fulfilled a lifelong dream by joining Industrial Light & Magic where she manages the Layout, Lighting and Generalist Departments in addition to the emerging Virtual Production & StageCraft teams for the London studio.
BONNIE ARNOLD
Two-time Academy Award® nominee and Golden Globe winner, Bonnie Arnold is a veteran filmmaker and a leading force in imaginative storytelling. As an accomplished producer in almost every genre, the combined global revenue for her film producing efforts throughout her career reaches more than $2.2 billion at the box office.
Bonnie most recently produced the Academy Award®-nominated animated feature, How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World.” Previously, she served as Co-President of Features at DreamWorks Animation, overseeing an impressive slate that included such successes as Kung Fu Panda 3, Trolls, and The Boss Baby.”
Currently, Bonnie is reuniting with “How To Train Your Dragon” author Cressida Cowell to develop the adaptations of two of her book series, “The Wizards of Once” and “Emily Brown. “ Other upcoming projects include producing the animated feature Empty Stocking with Netflix, Locksmith Animation and screenwriter Richard Curtis and developing a series with Nickelodeon.
DEIRDRE WARIN
Deirdre worked at Pixar for 34 years, from 1985 to 2019.
Deirdre joined the Computer Graphics group at Lucasfilm in March 1985 and was part of the group which formed Pixar the following year. She was with the group who worked on the short films and television commercials and the germination of Toy Story from the initial idea of a 30 minute TV special to the eventual feature film.
She was Assistant to Ralph Guggenheim, one of the producers, throughout the film production as well as the coordinator for modeling and shading in the technical department for Toy Story.
Following Toy Story, Deirdre was a manager in the technical department for modeling and shading for A Bugs Life, Monsters Inc., Cars, Up, Brave and Inside Out. She also supported the feature film production staff and created a mentoring program for them.
GALYN SUSMAN
Galyn Susman joined Pixar Animation Studios in November of 1990 to work on Pixar’s television commercial production as technical director, animator, and producer. She soon came to work on Pixar’s first feature film Toy Story, where she contributed as a character technical director and as a lighting supervisor.
Galyn continued to model on A Bug’s Life, then served as supervising technical director on Toy Story 2 and as simulation and effects supervisor for Monster’s Inc. In 2007 she worked as the associate producer for the Academy Award®-winning animated film, Ratatouille.
Galyn continued on to become the producer for Pixar’s DVD-Promo Department, and oversaw the production of the DVD and Blu-ray bonus features and original animation promotional content for 5 years. Most recently, she produced two of Pixar’s first ever television specials, Toy Story OF TERROR! which debuted on ABC in Fall 2013, and Toy Story That Time Forgot, which premiered on ABC in December 2014.
Currently Susman is producing an upcoming feature film for Pixar.
Before arriving at Pixar, Susman was conducting graphics research and development at Apple, where she was a part of the team that made a short film entirely on Macintosh computers.
JILL CULTON
Jill Culton is an American filmmaker and a 29-year veteran of animated feature films. She has made a career as an animator in both 2D and CG formats, a character designer, visual development artist, story board artist, head of story development, writer, director and executive producer. Jill is considered to be among the first female pioneers who helped to further the medium of computer feature animation.
The first decade of Jill’s CG career was spent at Pixar Animation Studios where she was an animator and storyboard artist on Toy Story, A Bug’s Life and Toy Story 2 in which she also designed the beloved cow girl, ‘Jessie.’ Culton was the Head of Story development and credited with “Original Story by” on Monsters Inc., which continues to be one of the most popular films in Pixar’s history.
Jill made her directorial debut on Sony Picture’s first animated feature, Open Season (2006). During her tenure at Sony Pictures Animation, Jill executive produced Open Season 2. She was also integral to the development of Hotel Transylvania.
Recently, Jill was both the writer and director of the feature Abominable (2019). Jill is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences and has served on the executive board of her branch for two years.
JULIE MCDONALD
Currently Managing Director for Feature Films at ZERO VFX, (Boston) Julie joined ZERO in 2019 after producing visual effects for Murder Mystery for Cinesite (Montreal)/Netflix/Happy Madison. She has produced visual effects for Netflix's The Sleepover, Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, supported concurrent delivery for Wonderland, Hubie Halloween, Midway, as well as leading ZERO in its transition to an all-cloud based remote work configuration during the Covid-19 global pandemic.
She was Engineering Program Manager for the Silicon Valley start-up: Nimble Collective, (animation in the cloud via a web based platform). As Producer at Pixar, PDI, DreamWorks, Viz Media, and American Zoetrope she has led large teams and brought films and series to market via traditional and emerging cloud based models on or under budget. From 2012 through 2014, as Director of Animation Production Operations, she led the animation production business unit at Viz Media, launching hundreds of animé episodes on Hulu, CRACKLE, Netflix and XBox, as well as releasing over 50 multi-disc DVDs and BDs per year, and negotiating ADR in Latin America.
An early team member at Pixar Animation Studios (Toy Story, a Bug's Life, Monster's Inc., Geri's Game) she created the digital editorial and film out work flows, initiated Pixar's digital backlot, broke ground on its archive efforts, contributed to the shot tracking system.
KAREN ROBERT JACKSON
Karen Robert Jackson joined Pixar in 1991 as Producer for the Commercial Animation division. From 1991-1993 Karen worked with national and international accounts on award winning spots for clients including Volkswagen, Kelloggs, IBM, Lifesavers and Listerine.
In 1993, Karen moved over to full time duties on Pixar’s first feature film as Production Supervisor for Toy Story. As the manager of the production process her responsibilities included creation of master show schedules and individual department goals, weekly reporting, participating in screenings and responding to studio creative review processes.
Karen took a leave a brief leave to celebrate the birth of her first child after the release of Toy Story, returning to to take on production responsibilities for Toy Story 2, and served as Producer of this Golden Globe award winning film.
Karen left Pixar in 2000. She now is working in health and business technology with Kaiser Permanente, where she mediates business and technical concerns to deliver new features to members.
KATHERINE SARAFIAN
Katherine Sarafian is the Senior Vice President, Talent, at Pixar Animation Studios.
A Pixar veteran, Katherine produced the Academy Award®-winning feature film Brave and the Academy Award®-nominated short film Lifted. She joined the studio in 1994 as a coordinator on Toy Story and held a variety of key production roles, including production supervisor on the Academy Award®-nominated Monsters, Inc. and production manager on the Academy Award®-winning The Incredibles, before beginning her tenure as a producer.
Sarafian received her BA in Communication Studies and MA in Film and Television Critical Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the Producers Guild of America.
SHARON CALAHAN
Sharon Calahan joined Pixar Animation Studios in 1994 as lighting supervisor on the studio’s first feature film, Toy Story. She then served as director of photography on A Bug's Life, Toy Story 2, and the Academy Award®-winning features Ratatouille and Finding Nemo. She worked in the same role on Disney•Pixar’s Golden Globe®-nominated feature, Cars 2. In 2015 she was the visual designer, and director of photography for lighting on Disney and Pixar’s The Good Dinosaur and she is currently the director of photography on Disney and Pixar’s 2020 release, Onward.
Sharon studied graphic design, illustration and photography. Following art school, she began her career as an art director for broadcast television and video production. Prior to joining Pixar, she was a lighting director at Pacific Data Images completing commercial work, longer format television, and graphics packages. She is a member of the cinematography branch of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and a member of the American Society of Cinematographers (ASC).
TERRY MCQUEEN
Terry McQueen began her career at Showtime Networks in Los Angeles in film acquisitions, facilitating global planning of film content for the nascent cable television channel. Moving on to Viacom, she joined a writer/producer team developing sitcoms, feature films, talk and game shows. She later held positions as a producer’s assistant and post production coordinator on several network television series
In early 1995 she joined Pixar and the crew of Toy Story as the first Art Department Manager on a fully computer-animated feature film. After celebrating Toy Story’s success, Terry went on to manage the development and conceptual art phase of A Bug’s Life before transitioning to Toy Story 2 as Technical Manager. She was soon promoted to Production Manager, later finishing out her tenure on Toy Story 2 as Lighting Manager. Terry completed her Pixar career as Production Resources Manager for all Technical artists studio-wide - part of a small team responsible for deploying 300 TDs on multiple projects.
Terry now works as a freelance writer, having contributed to the award-winning anthology “She’s Got This! Essays on Standing Strong and Moving On.” She is at work on a memoir about her late husband, Pixar animator Glenn McQueen. Terry received her BFA from University of California, Los Angeles in Film and Television Production. She lives in the Bay Area with her daughter Kate, a recent college graduate.
TIA KRATTER
Tia joined Pixar Animation Studios in 1993 as a Digital Painter during production of the studio’s first feature film, Toy Story. She has subsequently held the Shading Art Director role on five other films, including Pixar’s release, Brave.
As Pixar’s Manager of Art & Film Education, Tia teaches Pixar employees a wide variety of art classes from Drawing to Painting to Photoshop, with the goal to enhance the eye in order to produce more beautiful films.
As a Shader Art Director at Pixar, Tia was responsible for specifying the color and texture of every object modeled for a film.
Prior to Pixar, Tia was a background painter at Disney Feature Animation from 1980 to 1994, where she worked on a variety of acclaimed animated films including The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Tron, and others.
TRIVA VON KLARK
Triva Von Klark started her career in feature animation at Pixar Animation Studio on their first animated feature, Toy Story as the Animation Department Coordinator but was quickly promoted to Animation Department Supervisor at Pixar.
In 1996,Triva was recruited by DreamWorks Animation Studios to work on their first computer- animated feature film, Antz. Triva was integral in setting up the CG animation pipeline at PDI / DreamWorks and went on to be to be the Production Manager for Shrek, the first feature animated film to win an Academy Award. Triva continued her passion for animation and working with artists and was a Production Manager on Shrek 2 and Madagascar. In addition to her feature animation credits, Triva has produced a number of commercials, television spots, and a THX animation for Lucas Films. Triva was also an Associate Producer for the Shrek 4D ride at Universal Studios.
Triva joined Atomic Fiction Studios in 2017 as the Production Manager on the Robert Zemeckis film Welcome to MARWEN. Triva went into a global role at Atomic Fiction as the Department Manager for Rigging, CFX and Animation across both Atomic studios in Oakland and Montreal. In September 2018, Method Studios acquired Atomic Fiction and Triva continued her role as a Department Manager. While at Atomic and Method, she worked on numerous VFX feature films and television shows including: The Predator, The OA, Velvet Buzzsaw, Bloodshot, Men in Black International, Ad Astra and Top Gun: Maverick.
Triva Von Klark is currently a freelance Animation/ VFX Producer, and is on the leadership team of the Women in Animation SF Bay Area chapter.
MINDY JOHNSON
Award-winning author, historian, filmmaker, educator, musician and more, Mindy Johnson is a leading expert on women’s roles in animation and film history. A frequent writer and speaker on early cinema, animation, women’s history, and creativity, Mindy's groundbreaking volume Ink & Paint - The Women of Walt Disney's Animation, and her young-reader follow-up Pencils, Pens & Brushes - A Great Girls Guide to Disney Animation, have transformed the animation industry. She was recently honored with the 2020 ASIFA–Hollywood Animation Educators Forum Faculty Grant and the 2019 Academy Film Scholar Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences Grant Foundation, for continued research and writing on the contributions of the earliest women within our collective animated past. Her groundbreaking discoveries continue to cast light on the invisible narrative of women’s presence within the first century of the motion picture industry.
Mindy has produced record-breaking global campaigns, creative content, exhibitions and events for a growing list of clients including: The Walt Disney Company, AMPAS/Oscars.org, WNET/American Masters, The Walt Disney Family Museum, Stage Nine Productions, SiriusXM Radio, and Horipro Entertainment.
In addition to her film expertise, literary efforts and consulting, Mindy is also a Grammy-nominated songwriter and contributing artist on several internationally acclaimed recordings and published compositions. Mindy teaches film and animation history, aesthetics and intercultural film within the Los Angeles area, including a first-of-its-kind course on the history of women in animation, based on her continued ground-breaking research, at CalArts and other campuses.
