View Conference Explores AI’s Creative Potential, Presents ‘People Who Are Teaching Us How Not to Be Afraid of It’
This year’s edition of the View Conference, an English-speaking event taking place between Oct. 15-20 in the Italian city of Turin, has been greatly influenced by some of the most urgent questions permeating the entertainment industry today.
A world-class event on animation, VFX, games, AR, VR, XR, MR, virtual production, Metaverse and immersive media, the 24th edition of the conference has a heavy focus on animation and artificial intelligence, with a key desire to investigate the future of storytelling.
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“The conference is a stage to talk about the impact of innovative technologies on the creative industries, so obviously AI is a big theme,” CEO and executive director of the View conference Maria Elena Gutierrez tells Variety.
Panels such as “AI and Education,” “Out of Distribution: Thriving Creatively in the Age of AI” and “Copyright and How to Secure Your Digital Artworks” invite industry professionals to discuss the current ramifications of artificial intelligence in the field, as well as instigate discussions on the role of such technologies in shaping the future of the industry.
“People are afraid AI will devastate our communities, but we want to be open to both sides of the argument,” adds Gutierrez, stating that the topic is a “huge part of this year’s program,” and that “there are people who are skeptical and will discuss the impact AI is having in the industry, from cinema to education, but there are also people who are using AI in an interesting way and who are teaching us how not to be afraid of it, and use it right so one can thrive in the age of AI.”
The event not only hosts a series of specialized panels and discussions, but welcomes some of the most prominent names in the business to give extended talks. Among this year’s guests are Henry Selick (“Wendell and Wild”), Peter Sohn (“Elemental”) and Jeff Rowe (“Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem”). Doug Chiang, vice president and executive creative director at Lucasfilm, delivers this year’s keynote, “Old and New: How ‘Star Wars’ Shaped My Art and Design,” and directors Joaquim dos Santos (“Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse”) and Peter Ramsey (“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse”) will sit down for a conversation on the popular series titled “Across the Multiverse.”
Beyond animation, professionals working on some of the year’s biggest films will come down to the baroque city of Turin, including Mark Ulano, the Oscar-winning sound engineer behind Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon,” and several VFX supervisors such as Andrew Jackson for “Oppenheimer” and Joe Letteri for “Avatar: The Way of Water.”
Despite having to cut down the film festival side of the conference in 2023 with plans to return in 2024, the big screen still remains a massive part of View. The conference will host three Italian premieres this year: Walt Disney Animation Studio’s “Wish,” an early look at Dreamworks’ upcoming feature “Trolls Band Together,” and a presentation of Netflix and Aardman’s “Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget” by director Sam Fell.
One of the most vital aspects of the View conference, according to Gutierrez, is its rich legacy of mentorship and a desire to nurture new generations of professionals. “When people sign up to the conference, they know we are going to tap into their talents to have them be involved in training. A big part of View is having masters share their knowledge in a non-intimidating setting. We give so much space to young people and I think this is really at the heart of the conference — it’s about soul, and doing things that matter.”
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