Author - Mauricio Ferrazza




What Does Walt Disney Animation, Universal Pictures, and Neversoft Entertainment Have in Common?

Miami Based Animation Film Festival, Art Exhibit and Conference

In its inaugural year, ANIMIAMI Animation Festival and Conference brought together 13 of the top animation experts who have worked on major motion pictures, video game animation and non-theatrical, commercial animation.


Keynote speaker, Hans Donner - Creative Director, Globo Network, Brazil



The conference and festival took place on October 16-17, 2010 hosted by Miami International University of Art & Design’s downtown Miami campus. Confirmed speakers included an international who’s who of animation and gaming as follows:

• Hans Donner, Keynote Speaker of the Conference, Creative Director of Brazil's Globo Network
• Chris Bailey, Universal Pictures (KimPossible, Alvin & The Chipmunks 1 & 2, X-Men 2, Eragon, Garfield 1 & 2)
• Mark A. Austin, Walt Disney Animation (Bolt, Meet the Robinsons, Chicken Little, Star Wars Special Edition)
• Bill Buckley, Neversoft Entertainment (Guitar Hero, Guitar Hero 3, Metallica, Ban Hero, Tony Hawk Pro Skater, WWE SmackDown vs Raw)
• Leah Hoyer, Walt Disney Television Animation, (KimPossible, Recess, Phineas & Ferb)
• Mark Soderwall, Lucas Arts (Star Wars – The Force Unleashed, Unreal II, Dungeons & Dragons)
• Felicia Steiger, ABC-WPLG
• Ahmed Shehata, SYNQ Studios (Robots, Ice Age II, creator of plug-ins and character rigs for Underworld Evolution)
• Nicholas Marks, Art Institute of California (True Crime: Streets of Los Angeles, True Crime: Streets of New York, Vigitalante 8: Arcade)
• Jeannie Novak, Indiespace (Game Development Essentials)
• Ronn Brown, AXISvfx (Star Wars Episode 1- The Phantom Menace, The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, Kun Fu Panda, Cirque du Freak, The Vampire’s Assistant, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs)
• JD Imhof, Hydraulx (Toyota 4Runner commercials, Todobebe, Battle: Los Angeles, Gulliver’s Travels, Skykline)

ANIMIAMI was composed of various elements: an animation festival featuring an Animation Festival and Expo of professional work, conference workshops and speakers, a job fair and an industry exhibit expo.


Holographic moving image entitled  “Dizzy Gillespie”
Artist, Mark Diamond



“We are very excited to bring this festival and conference to life – it has been a big goal of mine to gather industry and community leaders, professionals and students in an exchange to discuss industry now and where we think it’s headed,” says Mauricio Ferraza, conference organizer/creative director.

The Animation Festival provides an opportunity for professionals and students to enter their work and compete in various categories (including student and professional categories in animation for gaming, advertising, and theatrical animation respectively). With internship opportunities at stake, students are encouraged to submit their best work. This year, two students/winners of the Animation Festival were granted internships at Newart Miami and Newmedia Miami. The winner of the Pros and Grads competition was awarded two tickets from MIA - Rio de Janeiro - MIA. The winner will be granted a tour of Globo Network Studios in Rio de Janeiro hosted by Hans Donner (creative director - Globo Network).

The Pitch

Pitch Panel - Mark Soderwall, Nick Marks, Bill Buckley, Leah Hoyer and Chris Bailey


The Pitch to the Industry granted an opportunity to students to pitch their animation ideas to industry professionals for feedback and guidance for success in the industry. Six ideas/projects were selected by a panel of industry professionals this year:

• 1. Chromy in the Blue Country - Miami, Florida
• 2. By a Few Strands of Hair - Brasilia, Brazil
• 3. The Adventures of Mr. Squiggles - Colonia, NJ
• 4. Wish's Brew - Miami, Florida
• 5. Carpe Dino - Miami, Florida
• 6. Bondi-Band - Miami, Florida

Interview with panelist and presenter Chris Bailey

Industry Panel

The industry panel was moderated by Leah Hoyer (Walt Disney Animation Television)
and was composed by:

• Chris Bailey
• Drew Tolman
• Ronn Brown
• Bill Buckley
• Mark Soderwall

Job Fair

The Job Fair was an event which brought together 12 local employers to review and hire students on site. It was an enormous success, providing more than 100 students with interviews and job opportunities during ANIMIAMI 2010.

The Exhibit Hall showcased software demonstrations by software and hardware companies such as: Maxon, Autodesk, Newart Miami, Newmedia Miami, Synq Studios, 3way Films, Cengage Learning, News Edit, Animation Magazine, CCBU. It also showcase the works of local studios, community organizations engaged in creating an animation and film industry in Miami.

The Academia meets Industry was an open forum where industry professionals and education institutions discuss immediate industry needs. Industry trends could influence or improve curriculum, resulting in better prepared graduates entering the work force.

ANIMIAMI partners include:

• Miami International University of Art & Design
• Miami Downtown Development Authority (DDA)
• Autodesk
• TAM Airlines
• SYNQ Studios

• Maxon, J+VIP concierge
• Newart Miami
• Newmedia Miami
• News Edit
• Thee Blog BRTV online

• AB Catering, MWCC
• I Am your villain
• Botequim Carioca
• Zucchero
• Miami’s Independent Thinkers
• K17
• Primos Italian Restaurant

For more information on ANIMIAMI Animation Festival and Conference including event schedule, speaker bios, registration and event sponsorship, please go to www.animiami.com or email Mauricio Ferrazza, mferrazza@animiami.com.


The ANIMIAMI volunteer crew

About ANIMIAMI:

ANIMIAMI Animation Festival and Conference featuring the best of non-theatrical, commercial, and video game animation combined in one conference. The annual event includes an animation festival, conference workshops and speakers, job fair and industry exhibit. The first conference and festival took place on October 16-17, 2010 hosted by Miami International University of Art & Design’s downtown Miami campus.

Board of director for the conference: Mauricio Ferrazza – CEO and Founder of ANIMIAMI animation designer for Univision Network and MAA faculty for the Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division; Ricardo Whately Bandeira – COO and co-founder of ANIMIAMI; Debra Pierce – director of career services, Miami International University of Art & Design; Drew Tolman – Universal Pictures; Jeannie Novak – founder & ceo, Kaleidospace, LLC (Indiespace); Ahmed A. Shehata – instructor, Miami International University of Art & Design; Alyce Robertson – executive director, Downtown Development Authority; Aaron Zimmerman – program director, Adrianne Arsht Center of the Performing Arts, Adriana Sabino – president, Brazil USA Cultural Center; Valeria Sorrentino – programming and events assistant director, Miami International Film Festival; Angela G. Ramos – director of programming, Univision WLTV 23; Luis Eduardo Mihich – film director.

About the Author:

Author Mauricio Ferrazza (left), ANIMIAMI CEO & Founder and Ricardo Bandeira, ANIMIAMI COO & Co-Founder

In addition to working as a senior motion graphics designer at Univision Network and as a full time Media Arts and Animation faculty at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division, he has for more than 20 years been working with theater, TV and cinema productions. With a B.A. in Advertising and Marketing, and a M.F.A. in Computer Animation, from Miami International University of Art & Design, Ferrazza specialized in dynamics and particle simulation, which created computer generated simulated imagery to replicate and illustrate natural forces and effects widely used by the film and game industries. He has also been deeply involved in the production of short animated 3D movies, exploring mostly character animation and its fundamentals.

For the past seven years, Ferrazza has been working for Univision Network Miami, the leading Spanish network in the country, designing the concept and executing graphics and animation for the network’s programming. Amongst the most exciting projects that he’s been involved in, are the development of the graphics package for the World Cup 2006, in Germany; the Latin Grammy Awards 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009; Copa Oro 2007, and several other special events produced by Univision Network.

Mauricio Ferrazza has been a Full Time Faculty at The Art Institute of Pittsburgh Online Division since 2004, teaching and writing curriculum for the Media Arts and Animation Program.