2020 CONFERENCE
Virtual production
Filming in alternate universes
Bill Desowitz – IndieWire
We will discuss the innovative virtual shoot of Jon Favreau’s “The Lion King,” which advanced the use of VR tools and real-time filmmaking. Visual Effects Supervisor Rob Legato, Virtual Production Supervisor Ben Grossmann, and six-time Oscar-nominated cinematographer Caleb Deschanel shot on a VR stage with the Unity game engine, working like a live-action crew to achieve an alternate, photoreal universe.
Personal Profile
Bill Desowitz
Crafts Editor – IndieWire
Linkedin
Bill Desowitz is Crafts and Animation Editor at the online entertainment publication, IndieWire, specializing in below-the-line crafts and animation coverage, with an emphasis on Oscar and Emmy Awards season reporting/analysis. He is the owner of the former Immersed in Movies blog and author of “James Bond Unmasked” (Spies Publishing), featuring interviews with all six Bond actors and analysis of their personas as 007. He previously served as editor of Animation World Network and VFXWorld, managing editor of Animation Magazine, and was a staff reporter at The Hollywood Reporter. Desowitz has also contributed to the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, Wired, Premier, Film Comment, and Variety, among others.
Company Presentation
IndieWire
IndieWire, part of the Penske Media Corp. (PMC), a leading digital media and information services company, was originally conceived as an online forum and newsletter for filmmakers and festivals, IndieWire has grown over the last two decades into a preeminent source for film and television news, reviews, interviews, global festival coverage, and more.
Panelists
Rob Legato
Visual Effects Supervisor and Director/Cameraman
Caleb Deschanel
ASC – Cinematographer(NYC)
Ben Grossmann
Founder & CEO – Magnopus