Don’t miss the celebration! Join us as we reminisce movies that sparked the imagination in us, whether it was the thrill of speed, adventurous discoveries, or creatures that became friends. Another special feature includes Blizzard Entertainment who celebrates 30 years, a milestone anniversary. Presenters journey down memory lane with untold stories, the challenges, pioneering techniques not yet discovered, and the passion that propelled VFX forward.
Included in this stream:
- Space Jam: The Tech Behind the Classic
- Space Jam at 25: The Animators Behind the Classic
- 40th Anniversary: Raiders of the Lost Ark Through the Lens of Richard Edlund
- Blizzard Animation: Celebrating 30 Years of Epic Entertainment
- Celebrating 25 Years of DragonHeart
- Celebrating 20 Years of The Fast and the Furious
- Moulin Rouge! 20th Anniversary Panel
Blizzard Entertainment was born, 30 years ago, when a small group of gamers set out to create the kinds of game experiences they loved. From that moment on, the team at Blizzard has transported millions of people to incredible realms of fantasy and science fiction with genre-defining immersive gaming. While Blizzard is renowned for its critically-acclaimed gameplay, the company also blazed new trails in incorporating high-quality cinematics into its games. Since the studio’s earliest days, Blizzard cinematics have been a part of expanding stories and building the beloved worlds and characters for legendary franchises such as World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Starcraft, Diablo, and Hearthstone.
In this retrospective presentation, watch an exclusive reel of the most iconic cinematic work from Blizzard’s past to present. Then, join the Blizzard Story & Franchise Development team as they reflect on the rich history of epic storytelling at the studio and celebrate the creativity and innovations that will take it into the future.
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
Ben Dai
Cinematic Director // Blizzard Entertainment
(Overwatch 2 "Zero Hour", Overwatch "The Last Bastion", Overwatch "Honor & Glory", Overwatch "Dragons")
Benjamin Dai is a Cinematic Director with almost 20 years of industry experience in both games and short films, who help shape the cinematic narrative universe of many beloved Blizzard’s intellectual properties including Starcraft, Diablo, Warcraft, and Overwatch.
Blizzard Entertainment // Personal Website // Facebook // Instagram // Twitter // LinkedIn // IMDb.com
James McCoy
Principal Animation Artist // Blizzard Entertainment
(Diablo IV Trailer By Three They Come, WOW Old Soldier, Battle for Azeroth, Overwatch Honor and Glory, Shooting Star)
James McCoy started at Blizzard 20 years ago in 2001 – a time when the cinematics crew was completely comprised of generalists. Not long after, the team began to split into specialties and James chose to focus his time in animation. As Animation Supervisor, James built the team and honed its facial animation pipeline from the ground up. Around 2006, Blizzard went through a period of massive growth and the team rapidly tripled in size. The Blizzard Animation team has been growing ever since, and now animates pieces in styles ranging from hyper-real to stylized and real-time in-game. In 2014, James also started directing some of the 2.5D motion story pieces. Most recently, as a Principal Animator, James supports not only Story & Franchise Development but also helps game teams across all of Blizzard Entertainment.
Blizzard Entertainment // LinkedIn // IMDb
Matthew Mead
Motion Story Supervisor // Blizzard Entertainment
Matthew has been a staple at Blizzard Entertainment since 1999, when he started working on Diablo II in the Cinematics department as a generalist. Matthew was a Lighter and Finisher, Editor, and worked in the Previz department during his many years at Blizzard. In the last 6 years, he has led the Motion Story department, a group specializing in 2.5D animated shorts. He is proud of the work produced by the department, which includes content for all of Blizzards IPs, including Overwatch, Hearthstone, Diablo and World of Warcraft. Matthew’s work days are typically spent inside and in front of a computer, so in his spare time he loves the great outdoors. He can be found camping and hiking with his wife, Shelly, and boys Ian and Ronan, who are among his great loves.
Blizzard Entertainment // IMDb
Wendy Campbell
Sr Project Producer // Blizzard Entertainment
(Diablo 4 Announcement "By Three They Come"; Hearthstone's "Win or Lose" Short, StarCraft "Legacy of the Void" Opening Game Cinematic, Shrek 2)
Wendy Campbell is a Senior Cinematic Producer at Blizzard Entertainment. Wendy brings a wealth of production experience having worked in both advertising and commercial houses to larger animation studios, such as Lucasfilm, Disney, and PDI/DreamWorks on multiple feature films and shorts including Shrek 2 and Madagascar. She most recently produced the award-winning Diablo 4 Announcement Cinematic and Hearthstone’s Win or Lose Animated short.
Don’t miss the celebration! Join us as we reminisce movies that sparked the imagination in us, whether it was the thrill of speed, adventurous discoveries, or creatures that became friends. Another special feature includes Blizzard Entertainment who celebrates 30 years, a milestone anniversary. Presenters journey down memory lane with untold stories, the challenges, pioneering techniques not yet discovered, and the passion that propelled VFX forward.
Included in this stream:
- Space Jam: The Tech Behind the Classic
- Space Jam at 25: The Animators Behind the Classic
- 40th Anniversary: Raiders of the Lost Ark Through the Lens of Richard Edlund
- Blizzard Animation: Celebrating 30 Years of Epic Entertainment
- Celebrating 25 Years of DragonHeart
- Celebrating 20 Years of The Fast and the Furious
- Moulin Rouge! 20th Anniversary Panel
Blizzard Entertainment was born, 30 years ago, when a small group of gamers set out to create the kinds of game experiences they loved. From that moment on, the team at Blizzard has transported millions of people to incredible realms of fantasy and science fiction with genre-defining immersive gaming. While Blizzard is renowned for its critically-acclaimed gameplay, the company also blazed new trails in incorporating high-quality cinematics into its games. Since the studio’s earliest days, Blizzard cinematics have been a part of expanding stories and building the beloved worlds and characters for legendary franchises such as World of Warcraft, Overwatch, Starcraft, Diablo, and Hearthstone.
In this retrospective presentation, watch an exclusive reel of the most iconic cinematic work from Blizzard’s past to present. Then, join the Blizzard Story & Franchise Development team as they reflect on the rich history of epic storytelling at the studio and celebrate the creativity and innovations that will take it into the future.
SPEAKER BIOGRAPHIES
Ben Dai
Cinematic Director // Blizzard Entertainment
(Overwatch 2 "Zero Hour", Overwatch "The Last Bastion", Overwatch "Honor & Glory", Overwatch "Dragons")
Benjamin Dai is a Cinematic Director with almost 20 years of industry experience in both games and short films, who help shape the cinematic narrative universe of many beloved Blizzard’s intellectual properties including Starcraft, Diablo, Warcraft, and Overwatch.
Blizzard Entertainment // Personal Website // Facebook // Instagram // Twitter // LinkedIn // IMDb.com
James McCoy
Principal Animation Artist // Blizzard Entertainment
(Diablo IV Trailer By Three They Come, WOW Old Soldier, Battle for Azeroth, Overwatch Honor and Glory, Shooting Star)
James McCoy started at Blizzard 20 years ago in 2001 – a time when the cinematics crew was completely comprised of generalists. Not long after, the team began to split into specialties and James chose to focus his time in animation. As Animation Supervisor, James built the team and honed its facial animation pipeline from the ground up. Around 2006, Blizzard went through a period of massive growth and the team rapidly tripled in size. The Blizzard Animation team has been growing ever since, and now animates pieces in styles ranging from hyper-real to stylized and real-time in-game. In 2014, James also started directing some of the 2.5D motion story pieces. Most recently, as a Principal Animator, James supports not only Story & Franchise Development but also helps game teams across all of Blizzard Entertainment.
Blizzard Entertainment // LinkedIn // IMDb
Matthew Mead
Motion Story Supervisor // Blizzard Entertainment
Matthew has been a staple at Blizzard Entertainment since 1999, when he started working on Diablo II in the Cinematics department as a generalist. Matthew was a Lighter and Finisher, Editor, and worked in the Previz department during his many years at Blizzard. In the last 6 years, he has led the Motion Story department, a group specializing in 2.5D animated shorts. He is proud of the work produced by the department, which includes content for all of Blizzards IPs, including Overwatch, Hearthstone, Diablo and World of Warcraft. Matthew’s work days are typically spent inside and in front of a computer, so in his spare time he loves the great outdoors. He can be found camping and hiking with his wife, Shelly, and boys Ian and Ronan, who are among his great loves.
Blizzard Entertainment // IMDb
Wendy Campbell
Sr Project Producer // Blizzard Entertainment
(Diablo 4 Announcement "By Three They Come"; Hearthstone's "Win or Lose" Short, StarCraft "Legacy of the Void" Opening Game Cinematic, Shrek 2)
Wendy Campbell is a Senior Cinematic Producer at Blizzard Entertainment. Wendy brings a wealth of production experience having worked in both advertising and commercial houses to larger animation studios, such as Lucasfilm, Disney, and PDI/DreamWorks on multiple feature films and shorts including Shrek 2 and Madagascar. She most recently produced the award-winning Diablo 4 Announcement Cinematic and Hearthstone’s Win or Lose Animated short.
