Sessions focused on the people of visual effects, their experience and how they continue to promote and support a happy, healthy and thriving industry.
Blockbuster films with stunning visual effects are one way to draw audiences back to movie theatres. But how many women are responsible for the imagery on screen? According to a new report, the number is very low. The report, titled “Invisible in Visual Effects,” is the second in a partnership between Stacy L. Smith, the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and Women in Animation to explore women’s participation across industries.
After a short presentation of the report from Dr. Katherine Pieper, join us as our panelists discuss the impact the report had on them personally and professionally. The surprises and the disbelief that came along the way and most importantly how we can implement the changes needed for lasting results.
SPEAKERS
Audrea Topps Harjo
COO // A44 Games
(Raised by Wolves, The Wolverine, Man of Steel, The Hobbit)
Audrea Topps Harjo has worked in the entertainment industry for over twenty-five years. With an undergraduate degree in Theatre Arts from The College of William and Mary and a Master's Degree in Fine Arts from Howard University, she first launched her film career by producing, directing, and writing two short films (Raw Intensity and Hard Candy) in her student years which garnered numerous awards including a Student Academy Award nomination in 1993.
Shortly thereafter, she moved to Los Angeles, where she worked behind-the-scenes on various films to acquire a broad spectrum of experience in movie production. She has worked as a Digital Producer for Sony Pictures Imageworks (Contact), Cinesite (X-Men 2), Rhythm and Hues (Garfield), Development Director at Electronic Arts, (Medal of Honor), Creatures Production Manager at WETA Digital (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Coordinating Producer for James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment (Avatar sequels). She produced three independent films (Secrets, All In, and The Available Wife).
She served as Mind & Machine’s VFX Producer on Ridley Scott’s (Raised by Wolves). She is currently Chief Operating Officer at A44 Games and founder of InclusionFX, which is a platform designed to support and amplify underrepresented voices in the VFX for features, television and games industries in Wellington, NZ.
Website // IMDb // Facebook // Instagram // Twitter // LinkedIn
Emma Clifton Perry
VFX Supervisor/VFX Consultant & Compositor // Independent
Emma Clifton Perry is 1st Vice-Chair globally of the Visual Effects Society. She is a Freelance VFX Supervisor/VFX Consultant & Compositor, with over 16 years of industry experience in Feature Film, TV Series, Commercials and over 35 artistic film credits including The Hobbit series, Children of Men and Australia. As a VFX Supe & Consultant, Emma advises on smaller-scale feature and vfx projects around the world, managing the VFX throughput, overseas vendors, studio/director liaising as well as mentoring artists.
For almost a decade Emma has been an active part of the VES leadership team joining the global Board of Directors in 2016. She was elected 2nd Vice-Chair globally in 2020 and has served as 1st Vice-chair since Jan 2021. Prior to joining the executive team she has served as Chair, Co-Chair and Secretary/Treasurer of the New Zealand section.
As a tireless advocate of Visual Effects around the world, Emma founded the VES Health & Wellbeing Committee, which she currently Co-Chairs.
Emma is dedicated to improving & strategising developments for better work-life balance, mental health and general wellbeing for the vfx industry.
She strives to improve the overall industry experience for VFX professionals, vendors and studios worldwide through her work at VES and their initiatives.
Genevieve Camilleri
Visual Effects Supervisor // Cumulus Visual Effects
(Lost in Space, Love and Monsters, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Mad Max: Fury Road)
Genevieve Camilleri is a Visual Effects Supervisor with over 12 years of industry experience.
Her career began back in 2009 in Melbourne, Australia where she was granted an internship after graduating from University to work as a motion graphics designer for a small TV commercial studio. After completing the one-year internship she then swiftly made her way into the film industry specialising as a Compositor. Camilleri has spent many years working in Canada as well as Australia and worked her way up from Junior Compositor to Visual Effects Supervisor. She has worked on over 38 high-end feature films at various studios such as Love and Monsters (Mill Film), Peter Rabbit (Animal Logic), Doctor Strange (Industrial Light and Magic), Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Industrial Light and Magic) and Mad Max: Fury Road (Method Studios). In addition to the above, she has also spent several years working as a Compositing Mentor for CG Spectrum College of Digital Art and Animation as well as an Academic Sessional Staff member for Victoria University.
In 2021, Camilleri was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for her work as the Visual Effects Supervisor on the feature film Love and Monsters.
Camilleri currently resides in Australia working as a Visual Effects Supervisor.
Katherine Pieper
Program Director, Annenberg Inclusion Initiative // University of Southern California
Katherine Pieper, PhD is the Program Director at the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, where she oversees the day-to-day operations of the Initiative’s research and advocacy efforts. As the leading global think tank studying inclusion in media, the Initiative examines the prevalence and portrayal of girls/women, people of color, the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, and mental health conditions on screen across film, episodic, and short film content. Behind the camera, the Initiative has examined the barriers and opportunities facing women and people of color behind the camera in film, the animation and visual effects industries, and the music business
In her work with the Initiative, Dr. Pieper has co-authored and contributed to more than 40 studies on diversity and inclusion across entertainment and media industries, including quantitative and qualitative investigations. Dr. Pieper graduated with a BA in communication from Michigan State University and completed her MA and PhD at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Between 2007 and 2011, she worked in communication and resource development, including proposal writing, reporting, and design of monitoring and evaluation activities for a non-governmental organization based in Phnom Penh. She joined the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative in 2012.
Website // Instagram // Twitter
Peter Bowmar
Senior Pipeline Developer // Quixel
(Dune, Jungle Cruise, Wonder Woman 1984, The New Mutants)
Peter has had the good fortune to combine his love of movies and games with a passion for technology over a 30+ year career.
Starting off in live-action special FX, he quickly discovered he hated being on set but loved sitting in front of a computer. Originally from Vancouver, BC, various twists and turns resulted in him living and working in Toronto, Singapore, Los Angeles, London and then back to Vancouver.
He’s worked variously for SideFX Software, Rhythm and Hues, Framestore, Method Studios, DNEG, and now Quixel.
For fun he enjoys movies, games and travelling, ideally with his family.
MODERATOR
Zoe Cranley
Head of CG, Canada // beloFX
(Wonder Woman, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Godzilla)
Zoe currently is the Head of CG, Canada for beloFX. She started her career in 2005 at Double Negative London, subsequently working in the Singapore and Vancouver studios. She was in Artist roles such as Generalist TD, Lighting TD, Sequence Lead & Supervisor before taking on the role of CG Supervisor.
From then, at DNEG, Zoe took the role of Head of Department: Assets, followed by Head of CG.
Sessions focused on the people of visual effects, their experience and how they continue to promote and support a happy, healthy and thriving industry.
Blockbuster films with stunning visual effects are one way to draw audiences back to movie theatres. But how many women are responsible for the imagery on screen? According to a new report, the number is very low. The report, titled “Invisible in Visual Effects,” is the second in a partnership between Stacy L. Smith, the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative and Women in Animation to explore women’s participation across industries.
After a short presentation of the report from Dr. Katherine Pieper, join us as our panelists discuss the impact the report had on them personally and professionally. The surprises and the disbelief that came along the way and most importantly how we can implement the changes needed for lasting results.
SPEAKERS
Audrea Topps Harjo
COO // A44 Games
(Raised by Wolves, The Wolverine, Man of Steel, The Hobbit)
Audrea Topps Harjo has worked in the entertainment industry for over twenty-five years. With an undergraduate degree in Theatre Arts from The College of William and Mary and a Master's Degree in Fine Arts from Howard University, she first launched her film career by producing, directing, and writing two short films (Raw Intensity and Hard Candy) in her student years which garnered numerous awards including a Student Academy Award nomination in 1993.
Shortly thereafter, she moved to Los Angeles, where she worked behind-the-scenes on various films to acquire a broad spectrum of experience in movie production. She has worked as a Digital Producer for Sony Pictures Imageworks (Contact), Cinesite (X-Men 2), Rhythm and Hues (Garfield), Development Director at Electronic Arts, (Medal of Honor), Creatures Production Manager at WETA Digital (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), Coordinating Producer for James Cameron’s Lightstorm Entertainment (Avatar sequels). She produced three independent films (Secrets, All In, and The Available Wife).
She served as Mind & Machine’s VFX Producer on Ridley Scott’s (Raised by Wolves). She is currently Chief Operating Officer at A44 Games and founder of InclusionFX, which is a platform designed to support and amplify underrepresented voices in the VFX for features, television and games industries in Wellington, NZ.
Website // IMDb // Facebook // Instagram // Twitter // LinkedIn
Emma Clifton Perry
VFX Supervisor/VFX Consultant & Compositor // Independent
Emma Clifton Perry is 1st Vice-Chair globally of the Visual Effects Society. She is a Freelance VFX Supervisor/VFX Consultant & Compositor, with over 16 years of industry experience in Feature Film, TV Series, Commercials and over 35 artistic film credits including The Hobbit series, Children of Men and Australia. As a VFX Supe & Consultant, Emma advises on smaller-scale feature and vfx projects around the world, managing the VFX throughput, overseas vendors, studio/director liaising as well as mentoring artists.
For almost a decade Emma has been an active part of the VES leadership team joining the global Board of Directors in 2016. She was elected 2nd Vice-Chair globally in 2020 and has served as 1st Vice-chair since Jan 2021. Prior to joining the executive team she has served as Chair, Co-Chair and Secretary/Treasurer of the New Zealand section.
As a tireless advocate of Visual Effects around the world, Emma founded the VES Health & Wellbeing Committee, which she currently Co-Chairs.
Emma is dedicated to improving & strategising developments for better work-life balance, mental health and general wellbeing for the vfx industry.
She strives to improve the overall industry experience for VFX professionals, vendors and studios worldwide through her work at VES and their initiatives.
Genevieve Camilleri
Visual Effects Supervisor // Cumulus Visual Effects
(Lost in Space, Love and Monsters, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Mad Max: Fury Road)
Genevieve Camilleri is a Visual Effects Supervisor with over 12 years of industry experience.
Her career began back in 2009 in Melbourne, Australia where she was granted an internship after graduating from University to work as a motion graphics designer for a small TV commercial studio. After completing the one-year internship she then swiftly made her way into the film industry specialising as a Compositor. Camilleri has spent many years working in Canada as well as Australia and worked her way up from Junior Compositor to Visual Effects Supervisor. She has worked on over 38 high-end feature films at various studios such as Love and Monsters (Mill Film), Peter Rabbit (Animal Logic), Doctor Strange (Industrial Light and Magic), Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Industrial Light and Magic) and Mad Max: Fury Road (Method Studios). In addition to the above, she has also spent several years working as a Compositing Mentor for CG Spectrum College of Digital Art and Animation as well as an Academic Sessional Staff member for Victoria University.
In 2021, Camilleri was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Visual Effects for her work as the Visual Effects Supervisor on the feature film Love and Monsters.
Camilleri currently resides in Australia working as a Visual Effects Supervisor.
Katherine Pieper
Program Director, Annenberg Inclusion Initiative // University of Southern California
Katherine Pieper, PhD is the Program Director at the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative, where she oversees the day-to-day operations of the Initiative’s research and advocacy efforts. As the leading global think tank studying inclusion in media, the Initiative examines the prevalence and portrayal of girls/women, people of color, the LGBTQ community, people with disabilities, and mental health conditions on screen across film, episodic, and short film content. Behind the camera, the Initiative has examined the barriers and opportunities facing women and people of color behind the camera in film, the animation and visual effects industries, and the music business
In her work with the Initiative, Dr. Pieper has co-authored and contributed to more than 40 studies on diversity and inclusion across entertainment and media industries, including quantitative and qualitative investigations. Dr. Pieper graduated with a BA in communication from Michigan State University and completed her MA and PhD at the University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. Between 2007 and 2011, she worked in communication and resource development, including proposal writing, reporting, and design of monitoring and evaluation activities for a non-governmental organization based in Phnom Penh. She joined the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative in 2012.
Website // Instagram // Twitter
Peter Bowmar
Senior Pipeline Developer // Quixel
(Dune, Jungle Cruise, Wonder Woman 1984, The New Mutants)
Peter has had the good fortune to combine his love of movies and games with a passion for technology over a 30+ year career.
Starting off in live-action special FX, he quickly discovered he hated being on set but loved sitting in front of a computer. Originally from Vancouver, BC, various twists and turns resulted in him living and working in Toronto, Singapore, Los Angeles, London and then back to Vancouver.
He’s worked variously for SideFX Software, Rhythm and Hues, Framestore, Method Studios, DNEG, and now Quixel.
For fun he enjoys movies, games and travelling, ideally with his family.
MODERATOR
Zoe Cranley
Head of CG, Canada // beloFX
(Wonder Woman, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Godzilla)
Zoe currently is the Head of CG, Canada for beloFX. She started her career in 2005 at Double Negative London, subsequently working in the Singapore and Vancouver studios. She was in Artist roles such as Generalist TD, Lighting TD, Sequence Lead & Supervisor before taking on the role of CG Supervisor.
From then, at DNEG, Zoe took the role of Head of Department: Assets, followed by Head of CG.
