11:00AM-12:30PM; Sunday, August 25, 2024, Art Studio  at  Senior Center ( 799 Pine Avenue Carlsbad, CA92008);Admission by Panel Pass

TOPICS: Meet the world top VFX artist in person to learn or sharp your skills in 1Animation; 2. Miniatures 3. Matte Paintings  4 Stop Motion; 5 Doubling; 6. CGI and get your own questions answered

The Panel Speakers  

	Cottalango Leon, Oscar Winner; Distinguished Engineer Cottalango Leon is a Distinguished Engineer at Sony Pictures Imageworks, responsible for the development and improvement of artist tools that directly impact the creation of various entertainment projects including feature and short films. Leon’s film credits include Hotel Transylvania, the Academy Award®-nominated feature OVER THE MOON, and the Academy Award®-winning SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE. In 2016, Leon received an Academy Award® for scientific and technical achievement for the design, engineering and continuous development of Sony Pictures Imageworks’ itView technology. In 2024, Leon was given the title of “Corporate Distinguished Engineer” from Sony, considered the pinnacle position for an engineer to achieve among the Sony group of companies worldwide. He is a member of the Academy Software Foundation and Visual Effects Society, where he actively participates in the promotion of open source software tools for the creative community to enable artists worldwide get access to professional digital software at no cost. Leon was born in 1971 in Southern India and came to the USA to receive his graduate degree from Arizona State University in 1994. After a brief stint at Dreamworks Interactive, he has been working with Sony Pictures Imageworks since 1996, presently holding the position of Software Architect.
	Andrea McClew, Moderator Andrea McClew resides in San Diego California and is a 19-year Military Spouse and Mother of two Teens. She is a strong advocate for military families across the nation through various organizations. She is no stranger to pageantry. She has held regional, state, National and International titles including, Mrs. San Diego, Mrs. Hollywood USA, Mrs. United States Regency International, Mrs. Regency International and currently the reigning Mrs. World Alms 2024. Aside from being a titleholder, she is a REALTOR® who also owns a lipstick line called “Luv Her Lips.” She is also an actress that has worked in over 40+ t.v. commercials, played a small role in the hit T.V. show Abbott Elementary on ABC Network, is currently a leading actress in 3 feature films, and set to film 4 upcoming major movie projects between 2024-2025. She has worked as a brand ambassador and host for several projects including Beyonce’s on The Run Tour, Foo Fighters, Stagecoach, SYFY Network, PBS, Apple TV, TUBI, Las Vegas Movie Awards, San Diego Film Awards, also red-carpet host for a major Oscar Gala. She has a new talk show called Friyay’s with Andrea that highlights local community leaders, musicians, artist, and actors.
	Sherwood Jones; Writer/Producer Sherwood started making films at age 11, armed with a Super 8 movie camera. In his preteens, he dove into an intense study of film, which lead to a B.A. in Cinema & Photography from Southern Illinois University and a Master of Fine Arts in Film from Ohio University, where his thesis film won an award in the Student Academy Awards competition. He entered the film industry as an editor, and has served in that capacity on 20 feature films. He has also been Post Production Supervisor on 25 features. He continues to write and direct his own personal film projects. He has been chairman of San Diego International Kids’ Film Festival since 2013.