EVOLVE 2025

EVOLVE 2025

1:15pm MDT

Opening Notes

Monday June 9, 2025 1:15pm - 1:25pm MDT

We’ve assembled a superb group of leaders and researchers who have generously agreed to come to Park City to support your success in senior management around key issues facing our fast evolving media and entertainment landscape. Our themes for these discussions will center on how to identify the ingredients of peak productivity in 2025 and beyond.

Moderators

Buzz Hays

Global Lead Entertainment Industry Solutions for Content Creation, Google Cloud

Buzz Hays is one of the world’s leading experts on advanced imaging production and technology in the media and entertainment industry. Buzz and his team are responsible for Google Cloud's Content Creation Solutions development in the Media and Entertainment Vertical. He works closely... Read More →

Monday June 9, 2025 1:15pm - 1:25pm MDT
Astor Ballroom 2300 Deer Crest Estates Drive Park City, UT 84060

Session

1:25pm MDT

The Marketplace Update

Monday June 9, 2025 1:25pm - 1:55pm MDT

To set the stage for our conversations, we’ll first check vital signs of our industry’s health: the box office, streaming business and the “entertainment economy” production outlook.

Speakers

Paul Dergarabedian

Senior Media Analyst, Comscore

With over 30 years of experience in the field and 10 plus years at Comscore, Paul Dergarabedian is the movie industry’s most recognized and widely quoted authority for media-based information and analysis. In his role as Senior Media Analyst for Comscore, Paul provides expert analysis... Read More →

Patrick Adler

Co-Founder, Westwood Economics & Planning Consultants

Patrick Adler is co-founder of Westwood Economics & Planning Consultants, and Assistant Professor in Geography at The University of Hong Kong. Dr. Adler is a seasoned economic development practitioner and researcher, specializing in projects related to the creative economy. For... Read More →

Jim Chabin

President, The Advanced Imaging Society

Jim Chabin has served as President of The Advanced Imaging Society since it’s creation by Walt Disney Studios, DreamWorks, Sony, IMAX, Dolby,Technicolor, StereoD and others to drive technical innovation in content creation. He is a past president of The Television Academy overseeing... Read More →

Monday June 9, 2025 1:25pm - 1:55pm MDT
Astor Ballroom 2300 Deer Crest Estates Drive Park City, UT 84060

Session

2:00pm MDT

Future of Cinema

Monday June 9, 2025 2:00pm - 2:35pm MDT

What’s in store for our cinema partners for the balance of 2025 and 2026? What are movie-goers thinking and how are our partners in cinema engaging fans for the summer and fall calendar? We’ll hear firsthand from the cinema frontline.

Speakers

Gerwin Damberg

Executive Vice President, Cinema, Barco

Gerwin serves as Executive Vice President, Cinema at Barco NV. He is an entrepreneur at heart and has advanced image science and technologies for the cinema industry over the last two decades both through tech start-ups and in established media and technology companies in R&D, business... Read More →

Jim Chabin

President, The Advanced Imaging Society

Jim Chabin has served as President of The Advanced Imaging Society since it’s creation by Walt Disney Studios, DreamWorks, Sony, IMAX, Dolby,Technicolor, StereoD and others to drive technical innovation in content creation. He is a past president of The Television Academy overseeing... Read More →

Monday June 9, 2025 2:00pm - 2:35pm MDT
Astor Ballroom 2300 Deer Crest Estates Drive Park City, UT 84060

Session

2:40pm MDT

Disney Research - Technology To Create The Magic

Monday June 9, 2025 2:40pm - 3:10pm MDT

We are thrilled to welcome Markus Gross to Evolve. He leads the Disney Research team in Zurich, Switzerland in anticipating and solving the creative and technical challenges of today and tomorrow. He’ll share his insights and perspectives in this special presentation.

Speakers

Markus Gross

Chief Scientist, Disney Research

Markus Gross is the Chief Scientist of the Walt Disney Studios and a professor of Computer Science at ETH Zürich. He is one of the leading authorities in visualcomputing, computer animation, digital humans, virtual reality, and AI. In his role atDisney he leads the Studio segment’s... Read More →

Monday June 9, 2025 2:40pm - 3:10pm MDT
Astor Ballroom 2300 Deer Crest Estates Drive Park City, UT 84060

Session

3:15pm MDT

Future of Work

Monday June 9, 2025 3:15pm - 3:45pm MDT

Speakers

Prem Akkaraju

Gregory Shiff

Rick Champagne

Global Media & Entertainment Industry Management, NVIDIA

Rick Champagne leads Global Media & Entertainment Industry Management for NVIDIA. In this role, Rick works closely with customers and industry partners in the Film, TV, and Broadcast industries to promote the advancement and adoption of new technologies. With a long history of managing... Read More →

Monday June 9, 2025 3:15pm - 3:45pm MDT
Astor Ballroom 2300 Deer Crest Estates Drive Park City, UT 84060

Session

3:50pm MDT

Long Game - Big Picture: The Lightstorm Vision

Monday June 9, 2025 3:50pm - 4:20pm MDT

After generating more that $5 billion in box office revenues with their first two Avatar motion pictures, the creative and tech teams at Lightstorm are currently preparing for the much anticipated December release of Avatar: Fire and Ash. The company is also thinking longterm at the evolving consumer, technology and storytelling landscape. We’ll go behind the screen to learn about how they see the future in this special conversation.

Speakers

Geoff Burdick

Jim Chabin

President, The Advanced Imaging Society

Jim Chabin has served as President of The Advanced Imaging Society since it’s creation by Walt Disney Studios, DreamWorks, Sony, IMAX, Dolby,Technicolor, StereoD and others to drive technical innovation in content creation. He is a past president of The Television Academy overseeing... Read More →

Monday June 9, 2025 3:50pm - 4:20pm MDT
Astor Ballroom 2300 Deer Crest Estates Drive Park City, UT 84060

Session

4:25pm MDT

Color: The Final Frontier

Monday June 9, 2025 4:25pm - Tuesday June 10, 2025 4:55pm MDT

As laser projection and smart pixels permeate our display technology, the ability to introduce new colors is at hand. How do we thrill audiences with more vibrant visuals? You’ll see a special demonstration of this groundbreaking technology serving up the next generation of color content.

Speakers

John Vilade

Chief Executive Officer, 6P Color, Inc.

CEO of 6P Color, Inc. John Vilade is a seasoned media, sales, business development executive, organizational head and strategist. During John's career, he has demonstrated unparalleled leadership in building companies, growing existing assets, and driving revenue and partnerships... Read More →

Matthew Brantley

Chief Technology Officer, 6P Color, Inc.

Matthew Brantley is a scientist by training and an innovator by choice, with expertise in translating advancing technologies into impactful commercial solutions. As CTO of 6P Color, Matt plays a hands-on role in advancing frontier imaging technologies-helping shape a future where... Read More →

Dominic Glynn

Senior Scientist, Pixar Animation Studios

Imaging & Audio specialist, Dominic Glynn has delivered 23 Pixar feature films and countless theatrical shorts to their big-screen debut. Dominic’s purview at Pixar includes binding yet-to-emerge technologies with the creative processes of storytelling. He remains at the forefront... Read More →

Jim Chabin

President, The Advanced Imaging Society

Jim Chabin has served as President of The Advanced Imaging Society since it’s creation by Walt Disney Studios, DreamWorks, Sony, IMAX, Dolby,Technicolor, StereoD and others to drive technical innovation in content creation. He is a past president of The Television Academy overseeing... Read More →

Monday June 9, 2025 4:25pm - Tuesday June 10, 2025 4:55pm MDT
Astor Ballroom 2300 Deer Crest Estates Drive Park City, UT 84060

Session

9:00am MDT

Economic Outlook: Factors and Forecasts

Tuesday June 10, 2025 9:00am - 9:30am MDT

From tariffs to recession fears, we gather in Park City as economists express concerns about potential “turbulence” during this “uncertain time” for the global economy. We’ll share the latest economic insights and forecasts for the year ahead.

Moderators

Guido Meardi

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, V-Nova

Guido Meardi is Co-founder and CEO of V-Nova, tech company with a portfolio of over 1,000 patents forging new directions in data processing to enhance digital experiences, maximize efficiency, reduce costs, and increase sustainability. In addition to its IP on international standards... Read More →

Tuesday June 10, 2025 9:00am - 9:30am MDT
Astor Ballroom 2300 Deer Crest Estates Drive Park City, UT 84060

Session

9:35am MDT

AI Law: Issues and Answers

Tuesday June 10, 2025 9:35am - 10:10am MDT

AI presents a new set of questions for motion pictures built on contracts composed of intricate rights, permissions, and agreements. From training data to AI generated outputs to fair use questions, the legal issues being sorted out can be daunting. To maximize your success in navigating AI, we’ll get insights and information from one of our industry’s leading AI legal advisors.

Moderators

Meeka Bondy

Senior Counsel, Perkins Coie

Meeka Bondy serves as co-chair of the Film & TV industry group, co-chair of the Women in Media and Entertainment group, co-editor of the Age of Disruption blog, and senior counsel in the Technology Transactions & Privacy Law practice. A media industry veteran, she focuses her practice... Read More →

Tuesday June 10, 2025 9:35am - 10:10am MDT
Astor Ballroom 2300 Deer Crest Estates Drive Park City, UT 84060

Session

10:15am MDT

AI ROI: Achieving Peak Productivity

Tuesday June 10, 2025 10:15am - 10:50am MDT

To be truly valuable, the fusion of AI powered creative tools must produce quicker results which are creatively better and less expensive. We’ve invited several colleagues to share where tech can be leveraged for maximum benefit to our creative teams and budgetary results.

Speakers

Malcolm Murdock

Jeff Kember

A.J. Wedding

Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Orbital Studios

A.J. Wedding merges storytelling and technology as the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Orbital Studios. Drawing from his extensive background as a producer and director, A.J. brings a unique filmmaker's perspective to virtual production, where he's helping shape the future of... Read More →

Alex Timbs

Business Development and Alliances Manager for Media & Entertainment, Dell Technologies

Joining Dell Technologies over five years ago, Alex serves as Business Development and Alliances Manager within the Media and Entertainment vertical. With over 15 years of technology leadership at Animal Logic—now Netflix Animation—Alex directed global technology teams across... Read More →

Tuesday June 10, 2025 10:15am - 10:50am MDT
Astor Ballroom 2300 Deer Crest Estates Drive Park City, UT 84060

Session

10:55am MDT

Future-Proofing the Human Creative Process

Tuesday June 10, 2025 10:55am - 11:25am MDT

As storytelling becomes fragmented and atomized, and AI tools emerge to expand human capability, how are creators being impacted? We’ve assembled a group of creative leaders to examine how to leverage vital human creativity, rather than allow it to be replaced.

Speakers

Ben Grossmann

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Magnopus

Ben Grossmann is Co-Founder and CEO of Magnopus, a cross-reality experience & technology company.He is an Oscar-winning and Emmy Award-winning visual effects supervisor, virtual production supervisor, and immersive experience director, with two decades of experience in media & entertainment... Read More →

Andrea Miloro

Munira Tayabji

Vice President of Technology, Walt Disney Animation Studios

Munira is a visionary leader and seasoned technologist, currently serving as the Vice President of Technology at Walt Disney Animation Studios. With over 20 years of experience as a filmmaker and technologist in the animation and visual effects industry, Munira developed a passion... Read More →

Theo Edmonds

Barbara Ford Grant

VFX and Creative Technology Executive

Barbara Ford Grant is a pioneering VFX and creative technology executive with decades of experiencedriving innovation in production and entertainment, with expertise spanning live action, immersive, virtualproduction, digital humans, and emerging AI technologies.She is known for leading... Read More →

Tuesday June 10, 2025 10:55am - 11:25am MDT
Astor Ballroom 2300 Deer Crest Estates Drive Park City, UT 84060

Session

11:30am MDT

Stories, Artists and Technology: The AGBO Journey

Tuesday June 10, 2025 11:30am - 12:00pm MDT

Joining us at Evolve will be our friends at AGBO, the studio formed by Anthony and Joe Russo. The studio is currently in production for Avengers: Doomsday for Marvel and a live-action remake of Hercules.Their team has produced titles including The Electric State for Netflix, Citadel for Amazon Prime and the Academy Award-winning Everything, Everywhere, All At Once. We’ll go behind the scenes at AGBO to explore the technologies and philosophies their artists are using to tell stories.

Speakers

Angela Russo-Otstot

Buzz Hays

Global Lead Entertainment Industry Solutions for Content Creation, Google Cloud

Buzz Hays is one of the world’s leading experts on advanced imaging production and technology in the media and entertainment industry. Buzz and his team are responsible for Google Cloud's Content Creation Solutions development in the Media and Entertainment Vertical. He works closely... Read More →

Tuesday June 10, 2025 11:30am - 12:00pm MDT
Astor Ballroom 2300 Deer Crest Estates Drive Park City, UT 84060

Session

1:30pm MDT

Pivot: The Science of Success

Tuesday June 10, 2025 1:30pm - 2:20pm MDT

From box office hit movies to Olympic gold medal winners, researchers are discovering that there are unique, common behaviors exhibited by people and teams who succeed and experience “hot streaks”. What behaviors do these winning teams share? Do factors contribute to periods of less successful achievement? We’ll bring you the latest findings from the team behind the “science of success”.

Speakers

Dashun Wang

Professor of Management and Organizations, Kellogg School of Management and the McCormick School of Engineering, Northwestern University

Dashun Wang is the Kellogg Chair of Technology and Professor of Management and Organizations at the Kellogg School of Management and the McCormick School of Engineering, Northwestern University, where he is the Founding Director of the Center for Science of Science and Innovation... Read More →

Tuesday June 10, 2025 1:30pm - 2:20pm MDT
Astor Ballroom 2300 Deer Crest Estates Drive Park City, UT 84060

Session

2:25pm MDT

Solution Spotlight: Flawless Productivity

Tuesday June 10, 2025 2:25pm - 2:55pm MDT

During our EVOLVE conversations, we’re shining the spotlight on teams who are combining technologies to solve real world production “pain points”. The team at Flawless has developed a solution for capturing cost savings on front-end shooting schedules, while also providing better marketability for final versions of international, multi-lingual titles. We’ve invited their senior leadership to walk us through their pursuit of productivity.

Speakers

Scott Mann

Amit Kapur

Founder & Operator, Flawless.ai

Amit is a technology entrepreneur and executive with extensive experience commercializing new technologies and scaling companies. He’s helped build and lead teams across early-stage startups and public companies. He began his career in the movie business, working in business development... Read More →

Tuesday June 10, 2025 2:25pm - 2:55pm MDT
Astor Ballroom 2300 Deer Crest Estates Drive Park City, UT 84060

Session

3:00pm MDT

Media Intelligence Tools: Faster, Better, Cheaper

Tuesday June 10, 2025 3:00pm - 3:30pm MDT

Speakers

Meagan Keane

Director of Product Marketing, Adobe Pro Video

Meagan Keane is Director of Product Marketing for Adobe Professional Film & Video, but her beginnings were in documentary film. She was a producer across numerous documentary features including Join Us (LA International Film Festival documentary selection, 2007), We Live in Public... Read More →

Tuesday June 10, 2025 3:00pm - 3:30pm MDT
Astor Ballroom 2300 Deer Crest Estates Drive Park City, UT 84060

Session

3:35pm MDT

The Wizards of Oz : A Film Classic Headlines at Sphere in Las Vegas

Tuesday June 10, 2025 3:35pm - 4:05pm MDT

After 90 years as one of the world’s most beloved films, The Wizard of Oz is being re-imagined and re-adapted into a “sensory spectacle” at The Las Vegas Sphere premiering in August. Shortening the original running time of the 1939 classic film to just 80 minutes, a team of artists and technicians are digitally enhancing the work with additional footage, effects and sound to create a fully immersive experience. We’ll take you behind the scenes to see and hear how the Wizards of Oz 2025 are bringing a classic to life for the audiences.

Speakers

Ben Grossmann

Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Magnopus

Ben Grossmann is Co-Founder and CEO of Magnopus, a cross-reality experience & technology company.He is an Oscar-winning and Emmy Award-winning visual effects supervisor, virtual production supervisor, and immersive experience director, with two decades of experience in media & entertainment... Read More →

Buzz Hays

Global Lead Entertainment Industry Solutions for Content Creation, Google Cloud

Buzz Hays is one of the world’s leading experts on advanced imaging production and technology in the media and entertainment industry. Buzz and his team are responsible for Google Cloud's Content Creation Solutions development in the Media and Entertainment Vertical. He works closely... Read More →

Tuesday June 10, 2025 3:35pm - 4:05pm MDT
Astor Ballroom 2300 Deer Crest Estates Drive Park City, UT 84060

Session

9:00am MDT

The State of Agentic AI

Wednesday June 11, 2025 9:00am - 9:30am MDT

From personal tasks to live production, our colleagues are deploying a new generation of remarkable AI tools to streamline processes. We’ll explore the technologies and methods that are making a positive impact on the way we work.

Speakers

Rick Champagne

Global Media & Entertainment Industry Management, NVIDIA

Rick Champagne leads Global Media & Entertainment Industry Management for NVIDIA. In this role, Rick works closely with customers and industry partners in the Film, TV, and Broadcast industries to promote the advancement and adoption of new technologies. With a long history of managing... Read More →

Wednesday June 11, 2025 9:00am - 9:30am MDT
Astor Ballroom 2300 Deer Crest Estates Drive Park City, UT 84060

Session

9:35am MDT

Cyber Threat: Criminals Armed with AI

Wednesday June 11, 2025 9:35am - 9:55am MDT

The numbers and complexity of cyber attacks are increasing, with the FBI revealing that “reported” annual losses in the billions of dollars. Nearly a third of the incidents involve some type of extortion scheme. AI is clearly a new threat and a new tool. We’ll review the current threats and key safety steps creative organizations are taking to protect their investments.

Speakers

James Aquilina

Advisory Board Member & Strategic Advisor, Nardello & Co

Former federal prosecutor James M. Aquilina is an accomplished business leader and strategic advisor, a renowned cybersecurity expert and digital investigator, a regular speaker and commentator, a published author, and a certified boardroom Qualified Technology Expert.James currently... Read More →

Wednesday June 11, 2025 9:35am - 9:55am MDT
Astor Ballroom 2300 Deer Crest Estates Drive Park City, UT 84060

Session

10:00am MDT

Virtual Production 2025: Efficiency, Quality, Control

Wednesday June 11, 2025 10:00am - 10:35am MDT

In our pre-event survey, our attendees asked us to update our group on where and how productions are benefiting operationally, creatively and financially using the latest generation of Virtual Production tools. Against the back drop of uncertainty around travel budgets, increased location costs and potential tariffs, we’ve asked several of our industry’s most knowledgable experts to share their perspectives on how productions are gleaning measurable success from Virtual 2.0.

Speakers

Justin Diener

Joe Finlayson

Cesar Caceres

Product Lead, Brompton Technology

Having worked at Brompton between 2017 and 2019 as Product Specialist, followed by senior technical and management roles at disguise and Votion Studios [Hong Kong], Cesar is an expert when it comes to knowing how to use technology to create and deliver spectacular visual, virtual... Read More →

Jaime Raffone

Wednesday June 11, 2025 10:00am - 10:35am MDT
Astor Ballroom 2300 Deer Crest Estates Drive Park City, UT 84060

Session

10:40am MDT

Filmmaker’s Perspective: Fireside Chat

Wednesday June 11, 2025 10:40am - 11:20am MDT

Speakers

Buzz Hays

Global Lead Entertainment Industry Solutions for Content Creation, Google Cloud

Buzz Hays is one of the world’s leading experts on advanced imaging production and technology in the media and entertainment industry. Buzz and his team are responsible for Google Cloud's Content Creation Solutions development in the Media and Entertainment Vertical. He works closely... Read More →

Wednesday June 11, 2025 10:40am - 11:20am MDT
Astor Ballroom 2300 Deer Crest Estates Drive Park City, UT 84060

Session