October 2025
Tuesday, October 28 at 9am Pacific Time
Data Analytics at Image Engine: How Do We Measure “Normal”?
Video will be uploaded to YouTube
Speakers
- Greg Massie, Image Engine / Cinesite
Executive Host
- Sarah Haynes, Director of Production, Production Management, Autodesk
Bios
Greg Massie
As Head of CG at Image Engine, Greg Massie brings nearly 25 years of visual effects experience to his role overseeing cross-departmental workflows and guiding strategic technology decisions. He works closely with both creative and technical teams to help supervisors and project leads deliver world-class content efficiently.
Before taking on this leadership role in 2020, Greg served as Lighting Supervisor at Image Engine on The Mandalorian Season 2, Venom: Let There Be Carnage, The Twilight Zone, Bloodshot, The Old Guard, and Birds of Prey. Prior to that, he contributed to Lost in Space, Kin, Power Rangers, Detroit, and more. Back in 2007, he began his career at Image Engine as an FX artist, with a focus on crowd simulation and procedural effects for films like District 9, Elysium, Zero Dark Thirty, and Chappie, where he helped build the bling system for the hero droid.
Greg’s experience also includes working as a Senior Lighter at ILM Vancouver on Aquaman, Captain Marvel, and Terminator: Dark Fate. He also held roles at MPC, Framestore, and The Mill in both London and New York across commercials and feature films.
Originally from the UK, Greg earned a BSc in Computer Communications from the University of Northampton and a Master’s in Computer Animation from Bournemouth University. He later studied photography at VanArts in Vancouver to deepen his understanding of cinematography, an ongoing passion that continues to shape his approach to visual storytelling.
Sarah Haynes
Sarah Haynes brings a unique perspective to production management, combining extensive hands-on experience with strategic leadership expertise. Currently serving as Director of Product, Production Management at Autodesk, she leads product development for Flow Production Tracking, Flow Generative Scheduling, and RV.
Sarah began her career as a visual effects producer, spending many years working on film sets and collaborating with world-class digital artists in Los Angeles. Through this hands-on experience, she developed deep insights into the complexities of VFX production workflows and data management challenges.
She transitioned into technology leadership as Chief Operating Officer of Shotgun Software, an early-stage startup serving the film production industry. Sarah successfully guided the company through its acquisition by Autodesk before pursuing an MBA at the University of Washington.
Her career then expanded through leadership roles at SAP Concur and Amazon Video, where she specialized in strategic portfolio planning and enterprise program management. This unique progression from hands-on VFX production to strategic product leadership provides Sarah with deep insights into both the operational challenges and technological innovations shaping the future of media and entertainment production.
Wednesday, October 1 at 10am Pacific Time
Part 2: Integrating AI / ML into VFX, Animation & Games Studio Pipelines
Video will be uploaded to YouTube
Speakers
- Kristine Middlemiss, Senior Technology Leader
- Ishrat Badami, Senior CTV Computer Vision & Machine Learning Engineer, Triplelift
Executive Host
- Eric W. Shamlin, Stealth Mode AI Startup, Board of Governors Academy of Television Arts & Sciences
Bios
Kristine Middlemiss
With over 20 years in innovation and software development, Kristine Middlemiss specializes in AI, Python, and C++.
She has held key roles at IBM, Autodesk, Rockstar Games, and DreamWorks Animation, advancing technologies in motion capture, production pipelines, and emerging fields such as AR/VR and Generative AI. She has also led early-stage AI initiatives and served as a technical advisor on cutting-edge AI projects. During her tenure as CTO at Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies (MARZ VFX), she drove major advancements in cloud infrastructure, microservices, IT, and rendering pipelines, and led the creation of two groundbreaking generative AI products, Vanity AI and LipDub AI.
Kristine currently serves as Manager of Software Development at Info-Tech Research Group, leading development teams and data-driven platforms.
Ishrat Badami
Ishrat Badami is a highly accomplished professional with a master’s degree in computer vision and machine learning from the University of Bonn, Germany.
She began her career as a full-time researcher at the University of Aachen, contributing to the European Union project STRADS on mobile assistive robots. Following this, Ishrat transitioned to the healthcare industry, where she developed automatic fall detection systems for elderly care centers.
As an early member of the Vanity AI product at MARX VFX, Ishrat played a pivotal role in advancing AI-driven solutions in visual effects. Currently, she is leveraging her expertise at Triplelift, specializing in ad tech for post-production ads in CTV.
Eric W. Shamlin
September 2025
Monday, September 29 at 6pm Pacific Time
Unlocking Production Efficiency with LAIKA
Video was not recorded
Speakers
- Ryan Bottriell, Staff Production Engineer (Platform) at Industrial Light & Magic
- Oliver Dunn – Netflix Animation Studio
- Melissa Cell – DD
- Dan Ziegler – Sony Pictures Imageworks
- Will Muto – Industrial Light & Magic
August 2025
Wednesday, August 13 at 2pm Pacific Time
Pipeline BoF Session
Video not recorded – In person BoF at SIGGRAPH 2025
Tuesday, August 12 at 9am – 4:30pm Pacific Time
Pipeline BoF Sessions
Video not recorded – In person BoF at SIGGRAPH 2025
9am VFX Reference Platform
10am Renderfarming
11am Going Cloud Native
1pm MLOps in the Pipeline
2pm Studio Storage
3pm Global CG Pipelines
July 2025
Tuesday, July 15 at 9am Pacific Time
Unlocking Production Efficiency with LAIKA
Video
Speaker
- Michael Romey, Manager of Business Intelligence, LAIKA Studios
Executive Host
- Aaron Thibault, Director of Games & Esports at Texas A&M
Bio
Mike Romey is a seasoned technology leader with over 25 years of experience building
scalable platforms and leading high impact engineering teams across the media and
entertainment industry. He currently serves as Manager of Business Intelligence
Software Development at LAIKA Studios, where he oversees cross functional systems
that connect production, finance, HR, and more.
Previously, Mike held key leadership roles at Walt Disney Imagineering, FuseFX, and
ZOIC Studios, where he led the design of global production pipelines, business
intelligence platforms, and cloud-based integrations. His expertise spans API
architecture, cloud services, data governance, and creative technologies, with a
consistent focus on driving innovation and operational excellence.
May 2025
Thursday, May 8 at 1pm Pacific Time
Industry Crossroads: An Open Forum on the Future of Pipelines
Video not recorded
Host
- Ryan Bottriell, Staff Production Engineer (Platform) at Industrial Light & Magic