SideFX at FMX 2017

Moritz still thinks “Space: 1999” is the coolest thing that ever happened on German TV. 

Be it pixels, hardware, code or cameras – if it’s interesting, Moritz is gonna take it apart. And sometimes even reassemble it. In his spare time he likes to dabble with code and create generative artwork. He claims his early exposure to QBasic is no help at all when working in Houdini, Cinema 4D, Processing or Arduino. But it might have been what started his fascination for the boundaries of code and art. 

When not wreaking havoc to any intriguing devices around him, he works as an Art Director at Aixsponza."

Manuel changes his software packages more often than his shirts.

Manuel Casasola Merkle likes to dive deep into the ins & outs of contemporary CG research, burying his desk under piles of SIGGRAPH papers. An avid Cinema 4D user, Manuel keeps an open mind about tools and uses whatever it takes to get a job done, thus racking up quite diverse software skills such as VEX, Python, Houdini, World Machine, Photo Scan, 3D Coat, Krita, Fusion or ZBrush. 

When he’s not pondering over the state of 3D software in general, he is partner and creative director of Munich based studio Aixsponza.

Kai Stavginski has been a Senior Technical Director for SideFX Software since 2014. In that time, he's mostly been busy in the areas of shading and fur tools. He started in the industry as a generalist in 2004, spent some time as a rigger for an animated feature and then created VFX for major Hollywood blockbusters for several years. 

He used Houdini to get the job done and now uses his extensive industry experience in his development work on the software itself.

Helge Maus delivers with his company PixelTrain | 3D | VFX | animation in-house training, workshops and online-coaching for the 3D & VFX industry. 

He enables you to master professional production techniques with the following tools: Maya, Cinema 4D, Houdini FX, Nuke, V-Ray, Arnold, RealFlow, Substance, Unity 3D and many more. He has worked as a freelancer for more than 15 years for Adobe Systems and is a member of the beta team for Autodesk Maya, Adobe After Effects and is a Maxon Lead Instructor for Cinema 4D. He has worked with clients such as Jura, Vitra, Jung-von-Matt, Pirates ´n Paradise, redseven Entertainment, ProSiebenSat.1, SKY Deutschland, NDR, rbb, Sony DADC, Intel and many more international companies.

Laurie Priest is CG Sequence Supervisor at Double Negative. 

He joined DNEG in 2010 as a Matchmove Artist on the Academy Award, BAFTA and VES winning film Inception. He then quickly became FX Supervisor and worked on films such as Man of Steel, Hercules and Avengers Age of Ultron. 

He moved onto his current CG Sequence Supervisor role in 2015, most recently supervising Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

Johannes Richter has had a varied and illustrous career in the VFX industry, with over 10 years experience in FX. 

As FX Lead at Framestore, Johannes' recent credits boast an array of VFX heavy Hollywood productions, including; Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy 2, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Poltergeist, Everest, Dracula Untold and Robocop.

Daryl is a Visual artist and Creative Director. His experience spans all areas of production as Director, Cinematographer and Colourist for many promos, commercials, fashion, and digital content. 

His passion for technology and design naturally lead him towards to creating interactive and immersive experiences and now heads up the team at Rewind as Creative Director.

Daryl holds a keen interest in electronic development, sound design, HCI/UI & cinematography.

Daryl is the founder of VRTogether, a non-profit organisation promoting ideas, projects and technologies which have the impact to improve human lives. http://www.vrtogether.org

Andreas is an FX Supervisor at RISE | Visual Effects Studios with his latest credits including Captain America - Civil War. 

He is considered one of RISE’s swiss army knives who can take a shot, no matter how complex, from concept, through blocking, lighting, shading and rendering to final. 

However his focus is of course FX simulations - no matter if it’s fluids, crowds, rigid body sims or pipeline tools that help facilitate standard tasks for other artists. His latest work also includes Avengers - Age of Ultron, Guy Ritchie’s The Man from U.N.C.L.E. and currently Jim Button.