Creative Futures

Co-Founder and Creative Director, Wētā Workshop

A Special video message from Sir Richard Taylor.

With 30 years of experience working in the creative industries, five-time Oscar® winner Sir Richard Taylor is the creative locomotive of Wētā Workshop.

Richard engages with, and injects his unbridled enthusiasm into, the projects that enter the Wētā Workshop design and manufacture pipeline. This extends to a range of new creative technologies, including Mixed Reality gaming, 3D printing, computer-controlled animatronics, digital modelling software, and the innovative pipelines he and his colleagues have developed for the Workshop.

Richard will share his experience with these technologies, and how they are transforming the creative process and bringing extraordinary characters and imaginary worlds to life.

Associate Professor, Syracuse University College of Visual and Performing Arts

Heath Hanlin started working with virtual reality in 1996. His practice has been concerned with data utilisation and combining multiple media with a special emphasis on 3D computer animation since the early 1990s.

His animations, virtual realities, interactive media, music, and installations have been shown and performed in New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Prague, Tokyo, Kobe, and many, many other places.

He served as Chair for the Department of Transmedia at Syracuse University from 2008-2017. He stepped down in 2017 to pursue research opportunities in the revived field of VR.

Executive Director Innovation and Entrepreneurship, University Of Technology, Sydney

Margaret has served in a series of academic leadership roles in the United States, New Zealand and Australia, where she has developed and managed a wide spectrum of impactful programmes and initiatives primarily focused on design and innovation.

This focus has also allowed Margaret to develop and explore new approaches to the creation and scaling of student entrepreneurship, and the role of universities in supporting and driving innovation ecosystems.

Originally trained as a design historian, Margaret continues to research, speak and publish on topics broadly investigating the politics and production of the modern built environment.

Digital Innovation Producer, Walt Disney Parks, Experience and Products

As a 25-year veteran producer and innovator at the Walt Disney Company, Jason’s career journey began in production leadership roles on 12 Disney Animated films, and went on to implement secret new technologies at Walt Disney Imagineering. He now leads emerging digital innovation development for Disney theme parks, resorts, and cruise ships worldwide with Walt Disney World.

Through “Pocahontas”, “Tarzan”, “Bolt”, “Princess and the Frog”, “Tangled” and many other films, Jason produced and pushed the envelope of computer graphics at the Walt Disney Animation Studios.

His work on film production and theme park innovations enhanced attractions at Hong Kong and Shanghai Disneyland and implemented new technologies on a number of films, including Disney’s “The Jungle Book,” Marvel’s “Avengers: End Game” and Lucasfilm’s “Star Wars: Rogue One”.

Executive Director & Co-Founder, Anagram

ANAGRAM are an award-winning female-led creative company specialising in interactive storytelling and immersive experience design. Winners of the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival Storyscapes award for best interactive work and one of the #Createch100 for 2018, their work typically combines expertly crafted experiential storytelling that blends fiction and documentary, rigorous and painstaking research, and an ingenious approach to integrating recently possible technologies into the heart of an experience.

Recent projects include ‘Make Noise’, a voice-activated VR piece celebrating the Suffragettes, which premiered at Venice VR and was nominated for the FoST Bridging the Gap prize and the Amnesty Media Award for Innovation. Their latest project 'The Collider’ premiered at Tribeca Film Festival Storyscapes, won the Best Immersive Art Award at Sandbox Festival in China, and was selected for the Best of VR category at Venice Film Festival in 2019.

Associate Professor, Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Design

Leon's research covers areas of convergence between art and science, design and technology, collaborative and cross-disciplinary projects with a focus on Digital Simulation and Imaging Industries.

His research breaks down traditional boundaries between art and science, and spans everything from space art (with photographs of his that highlight the beauty of the galaxy being included in a 2016 touring exhibition in the United Kingdom) to eco-media, to the global migration of digital technology industry workers.

Partner & Producer, Court Five

Mark Ordesky is an American film and television producer and former Hollywood studio executive.

He’s probably best known for executive producing the Oscar-winning The Lord of the Rings trilogy – during which Mark spent the better part of five years in New Zealand supporting his friend Peter Jackson’s historic vision. But Mark was already no stranger to championing New Zealand filmmakers, having acquired US distribution rights to Once Were Warriors at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.

Currently, Mark co-runs his independent production company, Court Five, with fellow New Line veteran Jane Fleming – fashioning independent film and TV content for Hollywood studios and broadcasters, as well as global streamers like Netflix, Disney+ and Amazon.

Professor, Computer Graphics, Victoria University of Wellington

Neil Dodgson is Professor of Computer Graphics and Dean of the Faculty of Graduate Research at Victoria University of Wellington. He was, for twenty years, head of the Graphics & Interaction Research Group at the University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory.

He is one of the leaders of the largest computer graphics research groups in the Southern Hemisphere, comprising the graphics research teams in the School of Engineering and Computer Science and the Computational Media Innovation Centre (headed by Ken Anjyo and TJ Rhee).

Professor Dodgson chairs the pan-University Digital Futures research theme, which considers how technology will affect society in all its aspects. His research includes exploring 3DTV, 3D modelling techniques, and the aesthetics of imaging.

Creative Director & Co-Founder, Anagram

ANAGRAM are an award-winning female-led creative company specialising in interactive storytelling and immersive experience design. Winners of the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival Storyscapes award for best interactive work and one of the #Createch100 for 2018, their work typically combines expertly crafted experiential storytelling that blends fiction and documentary, rigorous and painstaking research, and an ingenious approach to integrating recently possible technologies into the heart of an experience.

Recent projects include ‘Make Noise’, a voice-activated VR piece celebrating the Suffragettes, which premiered at Venice VR and was nominated for the FoST Bridging the Gap prize and the Amnesty Media Award for Innovation. Their latest project 'The Collider’ premiered at Tribeca Film Festival Storyscapes, won the Best Immersive Art Award at Sandbox Festival in China, and was selected for the Best of VR category at Venice Film Festival in 2019.

Lead Game Designer, Magic Leap

James Everett is a lead game designer and producer at Magic Leap and Weta Workshop.

The team released the world’s first long-form mixed reality action game, Dr. Grordbort’s Invaders, for Magic Leap One.

He started his career over 17 years ago as a game designer in Vancouver, and has since worked in Montreal, Toronto, and Wellington for companies such as Ubisoft and PikPok.

James has worked on titles ranging from award-winning brick breaker Shatter, to AAA blockbuster Splinter Cell Blacklist.

Director Of Creative Strategy, Wētā Workshop

Erik works at Wētā Workshop as the Director of creative strategy.

Erik has two decades working as a creative director, copywriter, video director, art director, graphic designer, brand strategist, communications director, and senior manager for world-leading ad agencies and film companies.

Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Dean of Commerce, Victoria University of Wellington

Director, Victoria University of Wellington's New Zealand School of Music – Te Kōkī

Innovation Officer, Ngāti Whātua Ōrakei

CEO & Founder, Wrestler

Associate Professor, Victoria University Of Wellington, Founder / Director - Victoria Computer Graphics Research Lab

Co-Founder and Creative Director, Wētā Workshop

Associate Professor, Victoria University of Wellington’s School of Design

Managing Director, Game Producer and Designer, Metia Interactive