Megabrain Masterclass Series
The Megabrain Masterclass is a format that was brought originally to us by our VES Member and former Germany Board Member Oliver Markowski. The event was held onsite three times (Megabrain 1-3) in Munich and other cities in Germany.
When Oliver Markowski retired from the Board, Agon Ushaku took over the Megabrains format so it could continue on.
The pandemic led to moving the Megabrains to an online event that was then extended to a VES worldwide event. This virtual accessibility allowed Agon to bring in speakers from around the globe.
Since Agon has been in the industry for a long time, it allows for his many connections, which he uses to find good series themes and speakers that create state-of-the-art content for the Visual Effects Society.
His motivation for this series is “I grew up in the era of 3D and VFX before the internet, where it was difficult to access tutorials or even basic books to improve my skills. My family consists of teachers and I am also a lecturer of 2D/3D design and 3D modeling and animation at the University of Applied Sciences in Stuttgart. Sharing knowledge is ingrained in me. I think VES Megabrain masterclasses are a wonderful way to enhance our artists’ skills and inspire each other with our creative visions.”
If you are interested in presenting at an upcoming Megabrain session, you can reach out to Agon at agon@ushaku.com
Series Curator:
Hello! My Name is Agon Ushaku and I’m a VES Member 6242. I’ve been a Board Member of the Germany Section since 2019 and from January 2023, I’m the CO Chairman. My main responsibility is designing, organizing, promoting and hosting the Megabrain Masterclasses.
As Head of CAD Management at Unexpected GmbH in Stuttgart, I am responsible for industrial visualization and the studio’s 3D data management pipeline. In this role, I’m in charge of setting standards for CGI lighting/shading, implementation of real-time technologies, and the development of applications and various other CGI solutions. I am also active as a creative Producer for CGI/Animation and an independent Visual Computing advisor for 3D and animation companies. Furthermore, I am also a Lecturer for 2D/3D Design and Modelling at University of Applied Sciences in Stuttgart. I was twice a Speaker at FMX, Jury expert for Animago Award and independent EMIL expert evaluator for EU funding XR/MR research Projects
View Past Webinars
Series 8
Session 1/3: Visual Effects Creating Change
Ian Comly
Visual Effects Supervisor | Industrial Light & Magic
Ian is a Visual Effects Supervisor at Industrial Light & Magic, for recent projects, including the groundbreaking and VES Award-winning ABBA Voyage virtual concert, and Gareth Edwards’ The Creator.
His path through Lighting, Pipeline, Look Development, CG Supervision and as ILM CG Technology Supervisor, has allowed him to contribute to creative and technical innovation over almost 20 years in Visual Effects; strategizing key studio technology, and making images for notable projects including Star Wars: The Last Jedi, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Paddington, Guardian’s of the Galaxy, and Alfonso Cuaron’s Gravity.
As a father of two, Ian is always in pursuit of a healthy work-life balance, and occasionally has time for making music and photography. He has participated in the UK Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths (STEAM) program, been speaker at SIGGRAPH, FMX, SCA, Ciclope and for the Tri-Livery Digital Media Group, and ran Master Classes at the National Centre for Computer Animation.
Session 2/3: Lights, Camera, Unreal! Redefining the Cinematic Workflow at Platige
Sara Pereira
Software Engineer| Platige
I’m Sara, a Software Engineer based in Portugal, with a great passion for creating characters and stories! I have been working in the game and VFX industry primarily as an R&D developer. My experience includes working with Unity in game development, porting games to platforms such as XBOX and Switch, and most recently at Platige Image, researching the new Unreal Engine features and developing tools. I also worked as a Professor at the Polytechnic Institute of Setúbal, teaching subjects such as UI/UX, Databases, Videogame Design and Programming and Object Oriented Programming. I hope sharing my little experience and current Unreal Engine knowledge can help inspire new creative minds! 😉
Mateusz Wójt
Lead R&D Developer| Platige
Hey there! I’m Mateusz. I’ve been diving deep into the VFX world since 2010, and it’s been one heck of a ride. I’ve worn a few different hats over the years – from a technical director to a software engineer, mostly navigating the waters of compositing, editorial and color management. Now, I’m the Lead R&D Developer at Platige Image, and I’ve been steering the ship on our Unreal Engine pipeline integration since 2021. Every day’s a new adventure, and I’m loving every bit of it!
Kacper Bartnik
Senior Unreal Engine Generalist | Platige
Kacper is a Senior Unreal Engine Generalist at Platige Image Entertainment with over 8 years of experience working with Unreal Engine. He started making level art in Unreal Engine 3 and then started growing as a 3D and Technical Artist. With a love for real-time productions, he proudly wants to share his knowledge with other enthusiasts.
Session 3/3: Automotive Production with Unreal from A to Z
Radoslaw Jamrog
VFX Supervisor | bEpic Studios
Radoslaw Jamrog is VFX Supervisor at bEpic in Berlin. Working in this industry for about 20 years now he was responsible in this role for numerous commercials for clients like Audi, Hyundai, Mercedes, Sixt, Ikea, O2, Netto and Kärcher and movies like Jim Knopf to name a few. He is also taking care of bEpics virtual camera and motion capture system that is being constantly evolved for use on projects in the studio.
Sebastian Ziliussz
VFX Supervisor | bEpic Studios
Sebastian Zilius is a VFX Supervisor at bEpic Berlin.
By now he has been working in VFX for almost 20 years – working on Ads for companies like VW, Coca Cola and Audi, as well as feature films and episodic projects like Avengers: Infinity War, Suicide Squad, Ms Marvel and Loki. He is with bEpic for a bit more than a year now, leading mostly Automotive projects for Mercedes Benz, utilizing Unreal for Virtual Production Shoots as well as Production Renders.
Series 7
Session 1/3: 3D fashion: A New Species of 3D Artist
Anne Lupas
3D Fashion Expert | Co-Founder STUDIO LUPAS
Anne has been working for many years in the field of 3D virtualization of fashion, and orginally comes from architecture. She has experience in creating digital clothing, managing projects, training and leading others. In 2019 she founded her own company, together with her partner Sophie Lupas, to share her knowledge and experience with others through presentations, training, articles and personalized sessions. The goal is to bring clarity into the complex topic of virtual fashion.
Session 2/3: Flow-Superprod’s New UDS Based Pipeline
Marc Dubrois
Head of Pipeline – Film | Superprod Animation
Formerly an Artist, Supervisor, and then CG Sup for Feature films, Commercials, and VFX Movies for more than ten years, Marc worked in several French companies such as Attitude Studio, Mac Guff Ligne, Duran Duboi, and Digital District. During those ten years, he was always interested in development and has learned with talented developers how to make tools for himself and his departments. After that, he moved to the development side to make tools and pipelines full-time. He had the opportunity to work for companies like Fix Studio, Mikros Animation as Pipeline Sup, Head of RnD, and now Superprod where he took up the challenge with his colleagues to create a new USD based Pipeline from scratch.
Session 3/3: A Merging of Worlds, a Study of how Lighting from Games, VFX, Live Action and Theme Parks are Colliding
Jeremy Vickery
Founder & CEO | Lighting Mentor Inc.
Jeremy has worked as a Lighting Artist for the past 25 years in film, television and games. His projects include The Incredibles, Cars, Ratatouille, Wall-E, Brace, InsideOut, Westworld, Fallout, Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey, Uncharted: Lost Legacy, and Days Gone. Jeremy also worked as a freelance illustrator for clients such as LEGO, Disney, Ubisoft, Sony, Mattel, and more. He now runs an art mentoring business training people in cinematic lighting and color.
Series 6
Session 1/3: Challenges in the Creation of Procedural 3D Cities
Matthias Buehler
Founder & CTO | vrbn Solutions
After graduating from ETH Zurich (MSc Arch ETH), Matthias has worked in landscape architecture, architectural visualization and then has been part of the CityEngine development team for almost 5 years. He has a profound knowledge of 3D Modeling, Rendering, Visualization, Digital Sets and VFX in general. He has been the CityEngine Tech Support Lead, has hosted countless international presentations, workshops and training. In the field of 3D Urban Design, 3D Geodesign, 3D Facility Management and Master Planning, he has designed key workflows and pipelines. He was responsible for CityEngine services, consulting, training, procedural city modeling, custom CGA rule development and advanced visualization.
Session 2/3: The Future of Movie Making
Simon Spielmann
R&D Engineer | Filmakademie Baden Wurttemberg
Simon Spielmann is part of the R&D Department at the Animationsinstitut with focus on software development, real-time graphics and XR. In 2009, he graduated from Bauhaus-University Weimar as Media Scientist and Mathematician, He started his career as a freelance software developer in 2006, three years later he joined the research team at Animationsinstitut. Today, Simon is the Principal Engineer at Filmakademie Baden-Wurttemberg. He is also responsible for the scientific counselling and supervision of the Technical Director Course at the Animationsinstitut.
Session 3/3: Creating a stadium crowd with Houdini
Tony Atherton
FX Supervisor | The Mill
My name is Tony Atherton. I’ve been working in Visual FX for 13 years. Over my career I’ve the pleasure to work on films in blockbuster franchises such as Harry Potter, Narnia and The Avengers. I’ve worked on long form jobs for companies such as Netflix and Apple TV, as well as working on adverts for companies such as Amazon, Coca Cola, and John Lewis. I work at The Mill in London and I’ve been running the FX department there for the last 4 and a half years.
Series 5
Session 1/3: Democratizing Storytelling
Ben Radcliffe
Media & Entertainment Solutions Engineer | Unity Technologies
As a Senior Technical Specialist, Ben works with Unity’s creator communities and influencers to advance the art and science of storytelling and digital transformation through the use of real-time 3D technology. Ben has over 20 years of experience leading international production teams, creating location-based entertainment, animation, and visual effects for companies such as Disney, Lucasfilm, and Industrial Light + Magic, as well as transportation design and visualization for Gulfstream and Bombardier.
Session 2/3: VFX Asset Management
Jonas Kluger
Founder | “das element”
Starting out as an artist and moving to work as a VFX Editor and Pipeline TD for feature films like Marvel’s The Avengers, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and Transformers: The Last Knight, Jonas knows both the creative and also technical side to the VFX Industry. For years he has been building tools to make the artists life easier. With his focus on the technical side but the passion for the creative, he started to implement machine learning into todays VFX pipelines. He is the founder and creator of the VFX library software ‘das element’. It is powered by machine learning and supports visual effects studios with the tagging and organizing process of assets libraries.
Session 3/3: THE VFX Pipeline at DNeg
Kevin Campbell
Pipline Supervisor | DNeg
Kevin is a Pipeline Supervisor at DNeg. Over the last twenty years he’s previously worked at Cinesite and Rising Sun Pictures in London, Adelaide, and Montreal. During this time he’s on feature animation, visual effects, and episodic TV projects such as Gladiator, V for Vendetta, X-Men: Days of Futures Past, Lost in Space, and Riverdance. Kevin is interested in designing flexible pipelines that work for a wide variety of projects, from tens of shots for episodic TV, to two thousand shots in an animated feature film. He is also interested in the challenges of working across multiple sites and time zones. He has a PhD in Mathematics from Warwick University, and has recently been a mentor for the VES, and a career coach for DNeg.
Series 4
Session 1/3: The Secret Camera Rules of Animated Film
Sandy Karpman
Camera & Staging | Pixar Animation Studios
Sandra Karpman has over 30 years of experience in the film industry. She spent 18 years at Industrial Light + Magic, starting in the FX animation department working on such films as Who Framed Roger Rabbit and Willow, then transferred to the newly established Computer Graphics Department. She brought her production experience to the new department, building workflows and pipelines to produce multiple shots for films such as Back to the Future II & III, Die Hard II, The Mask, Flubber, Hook, Star Wars Episode 1 & 2, Terminator 2, and Twister. Sandra joined Pixar 18 years ago to work on The Incredibles as the Effects Supervisor and currently works in Camera & Staging department which creates the camera view for each shot in every Pixar film.
Session 2/3: Advanced Substance
Mike Kuhn
3D Specialist & Lecturer
During his study as Industrial Designer, Mike Kuhn came in touch with 3D software for the first time. Followed by an employment as an Application Engineer for 3ds Max at Discreet, a division of Autodesk, he fell in love with the procedural ways of creating content. Even though the Substance plugin was introduced in 3ds Max already around 15 years ago it took some more years until the average user was finally able to use this powerful tool. The cool thing about Substance Designer is that it is not only for creating textures, but also to create procedural art.
Session 3/3: Production Strategies for Large FX Sequences in Animation
Ilan Gabai
Lead FX TD | Blue Sky Studios
Ilan Gabai is a Senior FX Artist at Blue Sky Studios, and most recently was the FX show lead on the 2019 release Spies in Disguise. He has been a member of the FX team at Blue Sky for over ten years, and during his time at the studio, has worked on Rio, Ice Age: Continental Drift, Epic, Rio 2, The Peanuts Movie, Ice Age: Collision Course, Ferdinand, and look development for Nimona (2022). Ilan is interested in solving problems that bridge the gap between physically accurate simulations and expressive animated effects, and enjoys exploring these challenges using hand drawn and procedural techniques. He holds a BFA in Computer Animation from Pratt-Institute, and has a VES Award nomination for Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Animated Feature for his work on The Peanuts Movie.