VIEW Conference is proud to present a live PreVIEW event with the creative team behind The Mitchells vs. The Machines, the new animated feature from Sony Pictures Animation, on release at selected theaters and streaming on Netflix.

This FREE 90-minute online session takes place May 14, 2021 at 10:00am PDT / 6:00 pm UK / 19:00 CET, and brings together director/writer Mike Rianda, co-director/writer Jeff Rowe, production designer Lindsey Olivares, head of story Guillermo Martinez, VFX supervisor Mike Lasker and head of character animation Alan Hawkins. With Variety magazine’s Steven Gaydos moderating, the team discusses the creative journey they went on to bring The Mitchells vs. The Machines to the screen.

• Register FREE for The Mitchells vs The Machines Creative Team at the VIEW Conference website

In the film, the Mitchell family set off on a road trip only to find themselves caught up in a robot uprising. When feisty Katie Mitchell (Abbi Jacobson) convinces her reluctant father Rick (Danny McBride) to help save the world, the family embark on a series of increasingly outlandish adventures that pits them against one of the strangest robot revolutions ever seen.

“They say it takes an entire village of people to make a film. We are delighted to welcome six of the talented villagers behind The Mitchells vs. The Machines into the VIEW Conference family, for this free PreVIEW event exploring the craft behind the film. We’re bringing so much creative energy together in one place, I know this is going to be a session to remember!”

VIEW Conference Director Dr. Maria Elena Gutierrez

Mike Rianda

Michael Rianda is the writer and director of Sony Pictures Animation’s original feature comedy The Mitchells vs. The Machines, a very personal project inspired by his own delightfully crazy family, and a childhood infatuation with robots. Rianda was born in Salinas, California in 1984. He faced a hard truth when he was 11 years old: he was a loser that wore sweatpants every day. To try to escape the mockery of his classmates, he began trying to exploit his only two marginal skills: making bad jokes and drawing. The other children still found him to be a loser, but one that drew and said amusing things, and was thus deemed acceptable. This path led him to the California Institute of the Arts where he studied character animation from 2007-2010 and made the short films, Everybody Dies in 90 Seconds and Work. He has since been employed by Pixar Animation Studios and JibJab, taught at CalArts, and worked at Disney Television Animation where he served as a writer and creative director for the Annie Award-winning TV show, Gravity Falls. He loves cartoons more than any grown man should.

Jeff Rowe

Jeff Rowe is the writer and co-director of Sony Pictures Animation’s upcoming feature comedy The Mitchells vs. the Machines with Michael Rianda. Rowe graduated from the California Institute of the Arts in 2011. He was employed by animation studios Film Roman, Bento Box Entertainment, and Rubicon Holding Group before serving as a writer for Disney Television Animation’s, Gravity Falls, for which he was nominated for two Annie Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Writing in an Animated TV/Broadcast Production. Rowe also wrote for the Matt Groening Netflix series, Disenchantment. Rowe grew up in Chicago and currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and an amazing cat.

Lindsey Olivares

Lindsey Olivares is the production designer and lead character designer on Sony Pictures Animation’s original feature comedy The Mitchells vs. The Machines. Before joining Sony Pictures Animation, Olivares worked as a freelance visual development artist and illustrator with a focus on character design and caricature. Her freelance clients have included Disney Television Animation, DreamWorks Animation, Locksmith Animation, Nickelodeon, Google, Furry Puppet Studio, Titmouse, Hornet Inc, Psyop, Airbnb, Pinterest, and Facebook. Her film credits include DreamWorks Animation’s Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted, Penguins of Madagascar, and Trolls, as well as Sony Pictures Animation’s The Emoji Movie and The Mitchells vs. The Machines.

Guillermo Martinez

Guillermo Martinez is the head of story on Sony Pictures Animation’s original feature comedy The Mitchells vs. The Machines. Martinez currently has a project in development which he will be directing for Sony Pictures Animation. Prior to joining Sony Pictures Animation, Martinez served as a story artist at Laika Studios on Kubo and the Two Strings and Missing Link. Martinez’s additional credits include storyboard artist and writer on the Cartoon Network series We Bare Bears. Also at Cartoon Network, he developed a short film for the show Clarence. Martinez was born and raised in Bayamon, Puerto Rico, and earned his bachelors in design at the Escuela de Artes Plasticas in San Juan, Puerto Rico before attending Academy of Art University for his masters. He currently lives in Culver City with his wife, daughter and two plants.

Mike Lasker

Michael Lasker is a VFX supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks. His recent credits include The Mitchells vs. the Machines, from director Mike Rianda and producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller and the Academy Award®-winning Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse. Valuing team work and collaboration, Lasker previously served as a computer graphics supervisor on: Smurfs: The Lost Village, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and Hotel Transylvania. He began his computer graphics career in New York City working on commercials for leading advertising agencies. Lasker received a BFA in computer graphics from Syracuse University.

Alan Hawkins

Alan Hawkins is an Animation Supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks, most recently completing work on Sony Pictures Animation’s The Mitchells vs. the Machines, from director Mike Rianda and producers Phil Lord and Christopher Miller. Hawkins recently served as animation supervisor on Sony Pictures Animation’s Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation, Smurfs: The Lost Village, and Hotel Transylvania 2. Hawkins previously served as animation supervisor on the Popeye animation test and as a lead animator on Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2 and Arthur Christmas. His other credits include the Academy Award®-nominated Surf’s Up, Robert Zemeckis’ Beowulf and the original Hotel Transylvania. Alan joined Sony Pictures Imageworks in 2004 to work on Sony Pictures Animation’s first feature film, Open Season. Hawkins is a graduate of Ringling College of Art and Design, and grew up in Littleton, Colorado.

About VIEW 2021 The international VIEW Conference, Italy’s premiere event for Computer Graphics, Interactive & Immersive Media, Animation, Visual Effects, Games, Real-time Rendering, Virtual Production, AI, VR, AR, and Mixed Reality, brings top professionals from those fields to the beautiful baroque city of Torino, Italy for a week of talks, presentations, and workshops. The 2021 VIEW Conference will take place from October 17 to 22 in Torino’s state-of-the-art OGR venue and virtually.

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