12 Sept 07 AnimFXNZ announce the international speakers for 2007?s Symposium on games, animation and special effects to be held in Wellington in November.

Returning to the 2007 edition of AnimfxNZ will be Tim Johnson from Dreamworks Animation. Tim most recently directed the computer animated comedy Over The Hedge. He previously co-directed the animated action adventure Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas, and prior to that co-directed DreamWorks' first computer animated comedy Antz.

Above: From the 2006 event, Boyd Shermis - VFX Supervisor, Poseidon.

Dan Curry, the winner of seven Emmy Awards for his work on the Star Trek franchise, is currently the Visual Effects Producer for Star Trek: Enterprise. Dan has also provided extensive artwork for the shows, including conceptual design, motion control photography, animation, electronic and optical compositing, matte painting, space ship design, storyboarding, and martial arts choreography.

Warren Franklin is the CEO of Rainmaker, Canada?s largest animation and VFX studio. Mr. Franklin has over 20 years experience managing studio operations and film production with industry leaders such as Lucasfilm Ltd, Colossal Pictures, Cinesite, and Pinnacle Studios. Mr. Franklin was a key member of George Lucas' creative and management team for more than a decade where he was responsible for creating the Lucasfilm Entertainment Group and served as the Group Vice President managing its six divisions. Mr Franklin is a Board member of the Visual Effects Society (VES).

Rita Street is the managing director of Radar Cartoons. In addition to brokering both studio and indie deals for her clients, Rita is the executive producer of Nelvana?s ?Ruby Gloom: Happiest Girl in the World? for creators Mighty Fine. She is also the co-producer of The Nicktoons Film Festival with Frederator Studios for the Nicktoons cable channel. Before opening Radar, Rita worked as a publisher, editor and journalist focusing on the industry of animation. Radar Cartoons is a boutique consultancy firm.

Above: Speaker from the 2006 event, Jeff Okun - VFX Supervisor, The Last Samurai, Blood Diamond>

Duncan Brinsmead is one of the principal scientists of Autodesk. The creator of Maya Paint Effects, Maya Hair, and Maya Toon, he has also worked extensively on Maya Fluids and Maya nCloth. This will be a compelling opportunity to listen to and meet one of the most influential developers in the 3D graphics field.

As Executive Creative Director of Children?s BBC, Michael Carrington is editorially responsible for the ?top performing? BBC children's brand. He commissions all CBeebies content on BBC ONE and BBC TWO; the CBeebies digital channel, CBeebies Radio on BBC7; and for the CBeebies website. He is charged with driving forward the CBeebies brand in a multi-platform world, ensuring its creative ambitions and maintaining strong relationships with in-house departments and the global independent production community.

More information will be available next Wednesday (19 Sept 07) when the updated AnimfxNZ website opens for earlybird registrations. AnimFX will be held in Wellington on 5 - 6 November 2007 for the public Symposium, and 7 November for Student Day.