Turning cardboard and plastic into pixelsMaking apps that children love

From 10:00 to 11:00 at St. James Church

Emmet takes us through the process of bringing characters from books, toys and animated content to life in interactive apps. He will discuss translating the beloved children’s book The Very Hungry Caterpillar to the interactive screen, highlighting the challenges of creating an experience that stays true to the original content while also making it engaging for children. Emmet will also walk through the process of animating LEGO bricks in their DUPLO apps and making inanimate toys feel alive in the hands of a child.

Emmet speaks candidly about lessons learned along the way that are applicable to translating any content from one medium to another, or to anyone working with licensed characters. It may EVEN be worth shaking off your hangover on a Saturday morning to attend.

CEO, Story Toys

Emmet O’Neill is the CEO of StoryToys - A multi-award winning developer and publisher of apps and games for children. Emmet has produced apps with many leading children’s brands including The LEGO Group, The Walt Disney Company, Marvel Entertainment, Penguin Random House, Warner/DC and Sesame Workshop.

With a career in digital product design that spans over 25 years, Emmet has worked across a broad spectrum of industries including publishing, advertising and film /TV. He specialises in leading highly creative teams and content oriented businesses.

Emmet has led StoryToys through a period of exceptional growth and the successful acquisition by the games label Team17 PLC in 2021.

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Women in Animation

From 10:00 to 11:00 at Beehive Theatre

In this fourth edition of our crucial panel, we are committed to continuing the dialogue. Hear from these outstanding female animators as they share their experiences within the industry and discuss the role of women in animation. Let’s keep this important discussion alive!

Image credit: Synchrony screening in St.James Church on Friday at 10am

Chair: Cécile Blondel

Director of International Development and Head of Master of Arts in Character Animation and Animated Filmmaking

After spending 5 years in the audiovisual industry as a special effects artist specialised in prosthetics for cinema and theatre, Cécile studied and worked in the field of history of art. From 1989 to 1995 she was a lecturer in Cultural History and associate researcher. She taught at La Sorbonne and Science Po, Paris. From 1995 she taught as a lecturer in French and European Art and Cultural History at the University of St Andrews in Scotland and then for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London. She has been the Head of International Relations at Gobelins since 2012, where she is in charge of the International Programmes: Summer Schools and Master of Arts in Character Animation.

Jo Allen

Head of Commissioning & Acquisitions 7+ BBC

Jo has 30 years experience in the animation industry across a variety of Producing roles on TV commercials, Idents, TV series and short films. Credits include Producer on ‘Morph’, ‘Angry Kid’ the Bafta nominated ‘Go Jetters’, Bafta winning ‘Pearce Sisters’ and Oscar nominated ‘Wat’s Pig’. She is currently Exec Producer for CBBC on ‘BoyGirlDogCatMouseCheese’ and the forthcoming suite of TV specials based on books by Quentin Blake.

Nicky Gogan

Piranha Bar

Nicky Gogan has had a highly prolific career across many roles in the creative industries and cultural innovation over the past 25 years. In 1999 she founded the Darklight festival and in 2008 she established Still Films where she has produced and directed a large slate of award-winning documentaries, animations and artist films. Nicky is currently executive producer and head of R&D at Piranha Bar across a slate of animation and hybrid series, where she combines her ongoing passion for storytelling and innovation in creative technology. In this regard the studio has developed a bespoke real-time animation pipeline AniMotion using Epic Games Unreal Engine technology and performance capture.

Nancy Xu

Epic Games, Unreal Engine

Nancy Xu is a virtual production producer at Epic’s London Innovation Lab, with a focus on empowering filmmakers to tell their stories using real time technology. Nancy also produced on shows such as The Lion King, Jungle Book and Alien Covenant.

Mikai Geronimo

Mikai Geronimo is an Irish-Filipino animation filmmaker. She graduated from The National Film School at IADT in 2020. Her graduation film ‘Fall of the Ibis King’ has received a world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, qualified for the 2023 Academy Awards and won the 2022 IFTA for Best Animation. She has also worked as a posing artist on Cartoon Saloon’s ‘My Father’s Dragon’ and as a director and animator at And Maps And Plans where she is currently developing a limited series.

Gillian Comerford

Boulder Media

Gillian joined Boulder Media after finishing college in BCFE. She was one of the first Animators to start in the studio 23 years ago!! She has worked as an Animator, Animation Director and Director on a considerable number of award-winning series and shorts including works for Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Disney, Hasbro and Netflix. Her most recent project is supervising production on a prime-time animated series called “Grimsburg”. Gillian’s dedication, drive and love for what she does has been a major part of her creative evolution over the years. Gillian is now one of the Creative Directors within Boulder Media.

Courtney Arumugam

Lego

Based in London, Courtney Arumugam is responsible for the creative development of LEGO content, as part of the company’s hugely successful global slate. Before joining LEGO, Courtney served as Vice President at Gaumont, overseeing development for their Animation & Family division. Prior to this, Courtney has held positions in development, production and commissioning, for companies including Mattel, Fremantle, Channel 4 and the BBC.

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