Award-Winning Filmmakers To Appear In Person At VIEW Conference 2023: Stop-Motion Legend Henry Selick, Lucasfilm’s Doug Chiang and ILM’s Hal Hickel
Skwigly
VIEW Conference is delighted to announce the participation of three award-winning legends from the world of filmmaking at its prestigious international conference this October. Appearing in person to deliver an inspirational suite of talks and workshops are stop-motion film director Henry Selick, Lucasfilm’s Doug Chiang, and ILM’s Hal Hickel.
VIEW Conference 2023, an English-speaking event, takes place 15-20 October, 2023, in the beautiful baroque city of Turin, Italy. Tickets are now available from the official VIEW Conference website:
Register for VIEW Conference 2023: https://www.viewconference.it/pages/registration
Henry Selick is the Academy Award-nominated director of stop-motion animated films including Laika’s BAFTA Award-winning Coraline, which he wrote, directed and co-produced. Attending in person, he will share his wealth of talent and experience at VIEW Conference 2023. Not only will Selick give an unmissable on-stage presentation, but he will also deliver a special workshop giving attendees a once-in-a-lifetime chance to interact with and learn from a true master of his craft.
As Vice President and Executive Creative Director of Lucasfilm, Academy Award-winner Doug Chiang oversees designs for the Star Wars franchise, including films, theme parks, games, and new media. He will be attending VIEW Conference 2023 in person, appearing live on stage to deliver a special presentation on his inspiring work. In addition, Chiang will lead a hands-on workshop giving attendees an unrivaled opportunity to learn from and work with an authentic design genius.
Hal Hickel is one of Industrial Light & Magic’s most experienced Animation Supervisors. He will appear live on stage at VIEW Conference with an eye-popping presentation on the extraordinary animation and visual effects of the award-winning Disney+ Star Wars streaming series The Mandalorian – Season 3. Hickel will also bring to the event his unique skills as a mentor, inviting the VIEW Conference audience to ‘ask him anything’ about the world of animation and VFX.
“I am thrilled to reveal our first trio of speakers confirmed for VIEW Conference 2023,” says Conference Director Dr. Maria Elena Gutierrez, “and even more excited to announce that they will all be attending this year’s event in person. With their incredible suite of presentations and workshops, Henry Selick, Doug Chiang and Hal Hickel will bring a special magic to VIEW Conference, and give everyone who attends the event a unique opportunity to meet their heroes. And this is just the beginning! I cannot wait to announce some of the other legendary masters who will be speaking this October in beautiful Turin.”
Momentum is already building for VIEW Conference 2023, fueled by the astonishing success of its online “PreVIEW” events, traditionally held during the months preceding the conference itself. For example, in March, VIEW Conference hosted an exclusive one-hour panel with the directors of all five films competing for the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, including Guillermo del Toro and Mark Gustafson with “Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio,” Domee Shi with “Turning Red,” Joel Crawford with “Puss in Boots: The Last Wish,” Chris Williams with “The Sea Beast,” and Dean Fleischer Camp with “Marcel the Shell with Shoes On.” The panel was sold out, attracting a global audience of over 5,000 people.
About the Speakers
Henry Selick
In addition to the award-winning Coraline, Henry Selick directed Disney’s The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach, both produced by Tim Burton. In 2022, Selick made a triumphant return to stop-motion feature animation as director of Netflix Animation’s Wendell & Wild. Based on an original story by Selick, the film was co-written and co-produced with Jordan Peel.
Fascinated with animation from a young age, Selick studied animation at CalArts. He received Student Academy Award nominations for his student films Phases and Tube Tales, both of which are now preserved in the Academy Film Archive. Selick began his professional career at Walt Disney Studios working on films including Pete’s Dragon and The Fox and the Hound. In addition to his BAFTA for Coraline, he has received two Annie Awards and multiple awards from a number of festivals including the Annecy International Animated Film Festival.
Doug Chiang
Doug Chiang’s Star Wars experience spans over 25 years, beginning in 1995 when George Lucas selected him as Head of the Lucasfilm art department for the Star Wars prequel films. Since then he has been Lucasfilm’s principal designer for Disney World Resort’s Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, and Production Designer on Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. Chiang is currently Vice President and Executive Creative Director of Lucasfilm, and Production Designer for Star Wars live-action series including The Mandalorian, The Book of Boba Fett, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Ahsoka, and Skeleton Crew.
Chiang began his career as a stop-motion animator on the TV series Pee Wee’s Playhouse, before working as a commercial TV Director for Rhythm and Hues, then Creative Director at Industrial Light & Magic. In 2006 he partnered with the Walt Disney Company and Robert Zemeckis to form ImageMovers Digital, a new digital film studio built around IceBlink Studios, the design studio he formed in 2002. During this period he was Production Designer for a number of Robert Zemeckis films including The Polar Express, Beowulf, and Disney’s A Christmas Carol. He recently reunited with the director as Production Designer on Disney’s Pinocchio (2022).
Working with the award-winning author Orson Scott Card, Chiang co-wrote the illustrated novel Robota. His artwork has been exhibited worldwide, and he has received awards including an Academy Award, two British Academy Awards, two Clio Awards, a Theo Award, a VES Award, a Webby, The Genie Visionary Award, and an Art Directors Guild Award.
Hal Hickel
Hal Hickel joined Industrial Light & Magic in 1996 as an Animator on The Lost World: Jurassic Park, he graduated to Lead Animator on Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace, then Animation Supervisor on Steven Spielberg’s A.I. Artificial Intelligence.
Hickel has since worked on multiple award-winning films including Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story. He also served as Animation Director on the Academy Award-winning Rango, ILM’s first animated feature. Most recently, Hickel has been Production Animation Supervisor on all three seasons of The Mandalorian, and Consulting Animation Supervisor on The Book of Boba Fett.
Hickel began his professional career as a clay animator and motion-control operator at Will Vinton Studios, after studying Film Graphics at CalArts. He received both an Oscar and a BAFTA Award for his work on Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest. He has also received two Primetime Emmy Awards, both for The Mandalorian, plus multiple other award wins and nominations.
About VIEW Conference
An English speaking event, VIEW Conference 2023 takes place from October 15-20 in the beautiful baroque city of Torino, Italy. Attending the event in person guarantees an unrivaled opportunity for people to soak up the atmosphere and meet their heroes and mentors. Meanwhile, full online access enables a global audience to enjoy the conference via exclusive livestream.
The international VIEW Conference brings together industry professionals, thought leaders, students and enthusiasts not only to share and celebrate the latest achievements in Animation, VFX and Games, but also to share their visions of the future. The conference’s vibrant and inclusive atmosphere is designed to enlighten and inspire, with an extensive live program of talks, presentations, workshops and masterclasses embracing cutting-edge thinking on such diverse topics as Storytelling, Virtual Production, Computer Graphics, Interactive & Immersive Media, VR/AR/Mixed Reality and the Metaverse, Artificial Intelligence, Real-Time Rendering and much, much more.