Indianapolis, Ind. - Renowned animator Mark Pudleiner will serve as keynote speaker at VisionFest, a juried student animation and gaming festival scheduled for October 22-23 in Indianapolis, Indiana. Pudleiner is a veteran of the animation industry, with nearly three decades of experience bringing characters to life for Walt Disney Feature Animation, Dreamworks, and several other studios.
His film credits include such box-office heavyweights as Shrek 2, Meet the Robinsons, The Emperor’s New Groove, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Tarzan, Mulan, An American Tail, The Land Before Time, and many more. He currently teaches 2D and 3D animation and story at the Vancouver Institute of Media Arts (VanArts), as well as for Animation Mentor, an online animation school. Pudleiner follows in the footsteps of such previous VisionFest keynotes as Academy Award-winner John Canemaker and Industrial Light and Magic’s Rick O’Connor.
There is no cost to attend VisionFest or any of its programs, screenings, or workshops.
Student submissions for competition and screening are still being accepted. There is no fee to enter and all entries must be postmarked by July 28, 2010. Students from around the world compete in three levels of competition (high school, undergraduate and graduate) in the categories of animation and games/interactive arts.
First established in 2005, VisionFest is one of the few animation festivals open only to student work. To date, more than 250 talented students representing nine countries and 56 schools have been part of VisionFest. Its mission is to create an environment of imagination, inspiration and education between emerging student talent and established industry leaders. VisionFest is organized by the Indiana University School of Informatics at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI).