‘Dune’ Outfit DNEG Appoints Global Head Of Research; ‘The Night’ Composer Launches Middle East Mentoring Program — Global Briefs

EXCLUSIVE: VFX powerhouse DNEG, whose recent movies include The Matrix 4, Dune and F9: The Fast Saga, has appointed digital technology innovator and real-time workflow expert Roy C. Anthony as Global Head of Research. Hired by DNEG’s Global CTO, Paul Salvini, Anthony’s primary focus will be on emerging technologies, driving innovation within the domains of real-time technology and the use of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the artist experience across visual effects and animation. Anthony spent 13 years as a Senior Solutions Architect in the Research & Innovation division at Christie Digital Systems and was most recently Vice President of Creative Development and Operations at Ventuz Technology. Anthony holds patents in Stereoscopy, VR / AR display systems and calibration, and is a co-author of three academic publications on high frame-rate film. Oscar-winning firm DNEG has worked on movies and series including First Man, Chernobyl, Blade Runner 2049, Ex Machina, Interstellar and The Wheel Of Time.

EXCLUSIVE: LA-based composer Nima Fakhrara, whose credits include horror-thriller The Night, action pic Becky and 2014 movie The Pyramid, is launching the Middle Eastern Media Composer Initiative & Mentorship Program from 2022. The free initiative is designed to promote rising composers from the Middle East with a six-month mentorship that includes bi-weekly check-ins, one on one meetings with industry leaders, and access to daily studio work. Fakhrara, who has been an instructor at UCLA for the last two years, explained: “Being from Iran myself, I have always wanted to create something that brings light to the Middle East. The music in the region is not just duduk and dumbak – there are many instruments there that all have different stories to tell both on the screen and in music.” Having worked on video games, most recently Detroit: Become Human for Quantic Dream, Fakhrara will also cover composing for video games, 3D, VR, and AR.