‘Wild Robot,’ ‘Transformers One’ Directors Among Speakers at 25th View Conference
Nestled in the shadow of the Alps in northern Italy is Turin, home of the View Conference. It’s turning 25 this year and has come a long way from a local event once known as Virtuality. Now, it’s a weeklong gathering of entertainment industry professionals from all over the world, who lead talks, workshops and masterclasses, while enjoying the local ambience, food and opportunities to socialize.
“It’s the place where people want to be,” says conference director Maria Elena Gutierrez. “I think it’s the sense of community. People network and build relationships. You get this strong sense of doing something communal with the industry’s best. There’s a certain kind of magic, and it’s not just because we’re in Italy.”
The conference debuted when local officials got money from the European Union to create Technology Park, which had a school and a post-production studio. Gutierrez took over the event in 2005. “It was a very small affair when I took it over. It was in Italian, mostly very local-oriented. It didn’t have an international dimension.”
When Gutierrez stepped into the leadership role, “I wanted to put an imprint on the conference, so we changed the name. Together with some friends from Pixar, we came up with an acronym: Virtual Interactive Emerging World.” And View Conference was reborn.
The confab has come a long way from those humble beginnings, with an array of Oscar winners and nominees touching down in Turin over the years. Many return year after year because of the sense of community, the relaxing atmosphere and good memories. “Many people like [Industrial Light & Magic senior vice president-chief creative officer] Rob Bredow say it’s their favorite conference in the world,” Gutierrez says.
“It’s all revolving around the experience,” she adds. “The speakers go to each other’s talks. Many times, I’ve seen speakers who have prepared their presentations listening to other presentations then spend many hours rewriting and remaking their own presentations. That is pretty awesome. The presentations are going to be amazing. Obviously, the dinners help, but it’s all around, it’s like a retreat.”
After its early days struggling to get industry all-stars to come to the conference, now the program is consistently packed. “I regularly get calls from filmmakers working on their latest project asking if they can present at View Conference when the movie’s finished,” Gutierrez notes. “Then, when they come to Turin, they stay for the entire week — remember, these are people whose time is so precious that it’s usually hard even to get 15 minutes with them. I believe this happens because we’ve succeeded in creating an experience that people genuinely love, and which they want to make a priority.”
This year’s event is bursting at the seams with big names. Among the speakers are Chris Sanders, director of DreamWorks Animation’s “The Wild Robot”; Jonathan Nolan, executive producer of Amazon MGM Studios and Kilter Films’ “Fallout”; “Alien: Romulus” director and co-writer Fede Álvarez; Andrew Jackson, VFX supervisor of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”; “Dune: Part Two” overall VFX supervisor Paul Lambert; Kelsey Mann, director of Pixar’s “Inside Out 2”; and Josh Cooley, director of Paramount Animation’s “Transformers One.” Also at the event, Nickelodeon Animation and Paramount Animation chief Ramsey Naito will be honored with the View’s Visionary Award.
“It’s the place where people want to be,” says conference director Maria Elena Gutierrez. “I think it’s the sense of community. People network and build relationships. You get this strong sense of doing something communal with the industry’s best. There’s a certain kind of magic, and it’s not just because we’re in Italy.”
The conference debuted when local officials got money from the European Union to create Technology Park, which had a school and a post-production studio. Gutierrez took over the event in 2005. “It was a very small affair when I took it over. It was in Italian, mostly very local-oriented. It didn’t have an international dimension.”
When Gutierrez stepped into the leadership role, “I wanted to put an imprint on the conference, so we changed the name. Together with some friends from Pixar, we came up with an acronym: Virtual Interactive Emerging World.” And View Conference was reborn.
The confab has come a long way from those humble beginnings, with an array of Oscar winners and nominees touching down in Turin over the years. Many return year after year because of the sense of community, the relaxing atmosphere and good memories. “Many people like [Industrial Light & Magic senior vice president-chief creative officer] Rob Bredow say it’s their favorite conference in the world,” Gutierrez says.
“It’s all revolving around the experience,” she adds. “The speakers go to each other’s talks. Many times, I’ve seen speakers who have prepared their presentations listening to other presentations then spend many hours rewriting and remaking their own presentations. That is pretty awesome. The presentations are going to be amazing. Obviously, the dinners help, but it’s all around, it’s like a retreat.”
After its early days struggling to get industry all-stars to come to the conference, now the program is consistently packed. “I regularly get calls from filmmakers working on their latest project asking if they can present at View Conference when the movie’s finished,” Gutierrez notes. “Then, when they come to Turin, they stay for the entire week — remember, these are people whose time is so precious that it’s usually hard even to get 15 minutes with them. I believe this happens because we’ve succeeded in creating an experience that people genuinely love, and which they want to make a priority.”
This year’s event is bursting at the seams with big names. Among the speakers are Chris Sanders, director of DreamWorks Animation’s “The Wild Robot”; Jonathan Nolan, executive producer of Amazon MGM Studios and Kilter Films’ “Fallout”; “Alien: Romulus” director and co-writer Fede Álvarez; Andrew Jackson, VFX supervisor of “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga”; “Dune: Part Two” overall VFX supervisor Paul Lambert; Kelsey Mann, director of Pixar’s “Inside Out 2”; and Josh Cooley, director of Paramount Animation’s “Transformers One.” Also at the event, Nickelodeon Animation and Paramount Animation chief Ramsey Naito will be honored with the View’s Visionary Award.