Would you love to know how Toothless is created in How to Train Your Dragon? Are you curious about the animation production behind Kung Fu Panda? In June, CIE Speaker Series will introduce you to the secrets behind great animation industry. We will be talking to three experienced creators and executives to learn about various insightful stories behind how the amazing animation productions such as “Wish Dragon”, “DC League of Super Pets” are created and marketed. If you are interested in animation or animation industry, please join our virtual discussion and discover the alchemy of animation production.
Date: June 26th at 7 PM (PST)
Location: Zoom (Register to get Zoom link!)
About the Speakers
Hock Wong—
Previs Supervisor at Magic Island Studios
Originally from Singapore, Hock came to the United States to work in Animation. He started in games development at Sony Playstation, where he worked on many AAA titles. He then moved to feature films productions at places such as Dreamworks Animation, Sony Animations, Digital Domain, Halon, Third Floor, etc, working on animated films such as: How To Train Your Dragon, Shrek Forever After, Kung Fu Panda 2, Puss In Boots, Home, Croods, Hotel Transylvania 2, as well as live-action movies such as: Transformers 2, Alice, Through the Looking Glass, Thor Ragnarok, etc.
Hock has worked as a Storyboard Artist, Animator, CG generalist and Previs Artist. In 2016, Hock started Previs Supervising in China and worked on some of the biggest shows coming out of China, including The Captain《中国机长》，Soul Snatcher《赤狐书生》, the yet to be released: 《封神三部曲》，Deep Sea《深海》, Project Xtraction, etc.
Hock started directing in 2017, and most recently, he is working on directing an animated film, based on a popular Tencent comic. Now based in LA, Hock runs a production company in Qingdao and Beijing, producing and developing serial and feature projects.
Nancy Wu—
Head of Development, Base Media
Nancy Wu is the Head of Development at Base Media, the world class China-based animation studio. Nancy developed the company’s first original feature animation, “Wish Dragon” (directed by Chris Appelhans, starring Jackie Chan and John Cho). The movie had a nation-wide theatrical release in China on January 15, 2021. It was released worldwide on Netflix June 11; as of June 13, the movie ranked #1 in over 19 countries and territories, including United States, and received a “fresh” rating of 77% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Base Media is the animation studio built from the multi-Emmy-winning Base FX founded by Chris Bremble. Sunac Culture, an offshoot of Sunac China, one of the largest property groups, is the company’s majority owner, supporting its vision to develop, produce and own its own IP.
Nancy joined Base in 2015 and has been instrumental in its original content endeavors. She oversees a slate of animated and live-action projects, working with global talent to tell stories for Chinese and international audiences. Previously, Nancy worked at EntGroup N. America and Orb Media Group in Los Angeles. She holds a Masters’ Degree in Communication Management from University of Southern California.
WINSOR YUAN—Vice President, Film & TV – A Stern Talking To Productions
Winsor Yuan was born in Taipei, Taiwan and his family moved to Brandon, Mississippi the following year. He graduated from the University of Mississippi with a BBA and a BA in English in 2009 and an MBA in 2010. He graduated with an MFA in Producing from Chapman in 2012. After school, he worked as an Agent Trainee at UTA in the MP Lit Department until 2015. He then moved to work with Writer/Producer/Director Jared Stern and his company A Stern Talking To, where he is currently VP, Film & TV.
Community Partners
Sponsor
This event is sponsored by CIE partner DX-LAB (https://www.dramxla.com/), a restaurant from Chengdu with a heritage of artisanal food. If you participate in the event, you will have the chance to win a permanent 10% discount coupon in DX-LAB's restaurant with a complimentary dessert.
ABOUT CIE SPEAKER SERIES
CIE Speaker Series offers volunteers and our community an opportunity to experience and learn from remarkable individuals working in the entertainment industry. Speaker Series invites industry professionals to share their stories and insights. We intend to create dynamic conversations between remarkable industry leaders who are making an impact to shape the entertainment world, and the audience who are eager to learn more about the industry.