🎤 Panel: From Pixels to Possibilities: The AI Cloud Journey

🗓 Date/Time: Wednesday, August 13, 🕠 4:00 – 5:00 PM
📍 Location: Vancouver Convention Centre, Room: Theater
đź”— [Session Info]

Discover how AI-powered cloud workflows are transforming creativity for designers, artists, filmmakers, and studios. From Pixels to Possibilities brings together leading voices pioneering AI tools in VFX, studio management, design, and digital humans. Hear real-world case studies—AI relighting for VFX, AI cloud-native scenario planning, AI design pipelines, and the use of digital doubles to reshape casting and licensing. Learn from panelists as they explore breakthroughs, challenges, and the future of cloud-AI-enabled creativity.

Your Session Panelists

🎬 Freddy Chávez Olmos – Creative Director & VFX Supervisor, Boxel Studio

VFX leader with nearly 20 years of experience on major films and series.
Freddy has worked on District 9, Blade Runner 2049, Pacific Rim, The Mandalorian, and Superman & Lois, collaborating with visionary directors like Guillermo del Toro and Neill Blomkamp. Now leading AI and cloud-based innovation at Boxel Studio, he’ll showcase how Beeble SwitchLight, running on CenterGrid’s AI Cloud, generates PBR passes from 2D footage—giving compositors real-time control without extra 3D rendering. Expect behind-the-scenes looks into Boxel’s Virtual Studio pipeline and new possibilities in scalable cloud post-production.

Check out Freddy’s SIGGRAPH AI Creative Spotlight

🧠 Jon Cowley – Founder, Whatifi

Former VFX exec now building AI simulation tools for creative planning.
With over 25 years in film/TV, Jon led VFX teams on District 9 and Men in Black 3 before founding Whatifi, an AI-powered decision engine for producers. At SIGGRAPH, he’ll explore how studios are using Whatifi to map timelines, staffing, and budget scenarios in real time—empowering smarter planning across creative and operational workflows. Learn how companies like Blinkmoon Games use Whatifi to replace guesswork with fast, flexible cloud-based forecasting.

See Jon’s SIGGRAPH Spotlight to check out the Whatifi Blinkmoon Games Case Study

👤 Marcus LeVere – Founder, MySavepoint.com | VFX Supervisor

AI replication pioneer with 20+ years leading VFX teams at ILM, Zoic, and more.
Marcus is building high-fidelity AI-generated replicas of actors and creatives. At this panel, he’ll explain how Savepoints differ from traditional deepfakes and are reshaping casting, licensing, and post workflows. He’ll also tackle the ethical, technical, and legal frameworks required to manage digital identity at scale. As both a creative and technologist, Marcus brings a critical voice to AI’s impact on talent rights and virtual production.

Dont Miss Marcus’s SIGGRAPH AI Replicant Spotlight

🧩 Philip Lunn – CEO & Co-Founder, Depix.ai

Serial entrepreneur transforming AI-based design visualization.
Philip has led three successful tech exits, including Bunkspeed (creator of KeyShot) and Nurulize (acquired by Sony Pictures). As CEO of Depix.ai, he’s reinventing design workflows with generative AI that maintains 100% shape integrity while modifying materials, lighting, and scenes. He’ll demo Depix’s visualization engine that accelerates rendering 10–100x and removes the need for traditional 3D software—perfect for automotive, product, and marketing teams needing high-fidelity results at speed.

Check out the amazing work Philip and his AI team are working on at DEPIX.AI

🚀 Chris Beard: – COO CenterGrid, AI Infrastructure Leader

Chris Beard is a strategic technologist at CenterGrid, where he leads efforts to provide creative studios with turnkey access to powerful AI and virtual production infrastructure. With a deep commitment to high-performance design and white-glove support, Chris helps VFX and animation studios modernize their pipelines through scalable, secure, cloud-native solutions.

At SIGGRAPH, Chris will walk us through the success story of the Boxel Virtual Studio, sharing how his team helped transition Boxel’s creative operations into the cloud using AI-powered infrastructure. This case study dives deep into how studios are gaining agility, scale, and global talent access—all without sacrificing creative control.

Whether you’re building next-gen VFX workflows, enabling real-time collaboration, or exploring AI for design automation, Chris brings clarity and hands-on expertise to the table. His vision: to make cloud-based creative studios not just possible, but exceptional

Check out what Chris is doing at CenterGrid

📌 Whether you’re building the next production studio, rethinking your scheduling tools, or training tomorrow’s creators—this session will help you imagine what’s next when pixels meet prediction.

🔎 Meet Panelists On The Show Floor during the SIGGRAPH Expo

Stop by CenterGrid Booth #511 to learn how these SIGGRAPH Panelists are unlocking new creative and business possibilities with AI-generated engines, and world class remote VFX education powered by secure and scalable cloud infrastructure.

🎉 Join The Panelists at the Party after the session!

Cloud AI & VFX Educators Network Mixer
📍 RawBar at the Fairmont Pacific Rim (across from the Vancouver Convention Centre)
🗓 Wednesday, August 13th | 🕠 5:30–6:30 PM
🎟️ [RSVP – Free] Find out more.

https://centergrid.com/

https://cgvirtualstudio.com/