MOVE Summit 2025 Programme Revealed
Skwigly
MOVE Summit, Scotland’s animation and VFX gathering, returns this year to the historic Pleasance Courtyard from 19th – 21st February 2025. The conference brings local industry leaders, international creatives, students, and educators to Edinburgh to celebrate industry successes and inspire the next generation of artists.
MOVE Summit boasts three days of talks, workshops, creative reviews, screenings, recruitment, networking, and business development. The Emerging Talent Day (Wednesday 19th February) is dedicated to students, with a programme focused on industry-ready skill development. MOVE’s Industry Days (Thursday 20th and Friday 21st February) bring together practitioners from all over the UK and beyond, highlighting Scotland’s work to a global audience.
This year’s Industry schedule features keynote presentations from:
- Chris McDonald (Visualisation Supervisor, Framestore), delving into the craft of previs, techvis and postvis and demonstrating how these techniques were instrumental in developing iconic scenes from Jon M. Chu’s critically acclaimed film
- Director Mike Mitchell, taking the audience on a journey through his illustrious career, including his work on many major IP’s including Shrek, Madagascar, Lego, Spongebob Squarepants, and many more.
- Renfrewshire-born James Hodgart (Environmental Model Supervisor, Walt Disney Animation Studios), will speak about his work in 3D environments over the last decade, including recent projects Moana 2 and Disney+’s upcoming Tiana
- Maurissa Horwitz (Lead Editor, Pixar) will take delegates behind the scenes of Inside Out 2, sharing how the iconic alarm scene came to life and which new emotions were left on the cutting room floor.
Other notable highlights from the programme include a talk from Blinkink’s Bart Yates on the company’s journey from a boutique production company into an original development studio, creating unique IPs for film, TV and games, while Stephen McNally will take attendees through the adventure of creating HBO mixed media special Peter & the Wolf.
Kate O’Connor (Executive Chair, Animation UK) will join the conference to outline the Animation Blueprint for Growth – a strategic roadmap designed to drive both local and UK-wide growth of the animation industry, inviting delegates to take part in the debate on shaping the future of UK animation.
From Nexus Studios, Hannah Lau-Walker will explore the intersection of her personal and commissioned work, while Deborah Casswell will lead delegates on an enlightening journey into the development and creation of the immersive mindfulness experience Headspace XR.
Ben Krolick (Head of Animation, MPC) will host an exclusive look into MPC’s work in high-end visual effects and animation, including behind-the-scenes glimpses at Mufasa: The Lion King and insights into the cutting-edge techniques shaping the future of animation.
Victor Paredes (Animator & Product Manager, Moho Animation) will demonstrate how to create 2D animation in new non-traditional ways, using examples from Scavenger’s Reign, My Father’s Dragon and Wolfwalkers. Delegates can also trial the software for themselves and gain first-hand guidance from Victor in a special workshop hosted during the conference.
Sam Taylor and Abe Coyne (REALTIME) will walk delegates through a full rigging walkthrough with KineFX and APEX in Houdini, as well as leading a deep-dive into the world of character cloth simulation in a workshop perfect for CFX artists, technical animators, and anyone refining their cloth sim skills.
Meanwhile, Dane Winn (Blue Zoo Animation) will provide an up-close look at an exciting inhouse R&D project to create a one-click facial rig that can accommodate a vast array of animation styles.
Creative Sprouts’ Marion Edwards and Chris Rose will lead a deep-dive into the kids’ animation landscape in 2025, providing insights and tips to help stand out from the crowd, while My SMASH Media’s Christine Hartland and Fiona Gillies will guide delegates through the process of pitching a project confidently and successfully in an informative workshop.
MOVE attendees can also enroll in ‘Networking for the Anxious’, a relaxed roundtable-style workshop led by screenwriter. playwright and author Ross Mackay and psychologist and hypnotherapist Alan Freeburn.
Navigating the funding landscape can be extremely challenging, and MOVE aims to demystify the process with panel discussions covering both traditional and non-traditional founding routes for animated projects. Delegates can hear about the BFI’s UK Global Screen Fund with first-hand case studies from companies who’ve been supported, plus representatives from the BFI, Screen Scotland, UKRI and the Edge competition will provide the lowdown on their available opportunities.
1:1 meeting opportunities continue to be an important part of the MOVE experience, and the conference has introduced Pitch Prep 1:1s to the Business@MOVE strand this year. Attendees will have the opportunity to test their show pitches on a selection of industry experts in an intimate 10-minute 1-to-1 format, receiving vital feedback and top tips on how to improve.
Returning for 2025 is also MOVE’s live pitching showcase, where a selected shortlist of creatives pitch their show concepts in front of a panel of industry experts and commissioners – as well as a live audience! Participants will receive invaluable feedback on their pitches and concepts as well as the chance to win a cash prize.
MOVE’s 2025 short films in competition programme include work from Duncan Rudd, Will Anderson, Sarah Beeby and Sammi Duong to name just a few, and there’ll be a chance to hear from several of the selected filmmakers themselves during a Skwigly Animation Podcast event taking place at the conference. Attendees will also be treated to an early preview screening of Gints Zilbalodis’ animated feature Flow, which has received multiple nominations for this year’s Academy Awards.
As always, MOVE’s Emerging Talent Day on Wednesday 19th February provides a unique opportunity for the UK’s animation students to learn from international industry professionals. This year’s Emerging Talent Day speakers include Maurissa Horwitz (Pixar), Bart Yates (Blinkink), plus representatives from Scottish studio Wild Child Animation. Students will also be treated to a live demonstration with acclaimed 2D animator and animation director Peter Dodd, and Cécile Blondel (GOBELINS) will draw on 35 years of experience in teaching and programme development to explore the critical intersection of education and industry.
Plus, students will have the exciting opportunity to take part in MOVE’s annual Creative Challenge which this year will be set by director Mike Mitchell and feature mentors from animation studios such as Wild Child, Eyebolls and Cahoots.
MOVE Summit 2025 is made possible thanks to the generous support of the event’s funders and partners, who include Screen Scotland, Rockstar Games, Wild Child Animation, SideFX, Wacom and Moho Animation.
Visit https://movesummit.co.uk for more information.