Pixarian Mark Walsh to Speak at Upcoming International Events

View Conference 2012

With the release of Pixar’s newest Toy Story Toon, PartySaurus Rex, Director Mark Walsh is about to continue his whirlwind press adventure, speaking at both the Ottawa International Animation Festival in Canada and the VIEW Conference in Italy.

The Ottawa International Animation Festival (OIAF) is the largest event of its kind in North America – a major film event attracting attendees from around the world. This year’s festival runs from September 19-23, 2012, with Mark speaking on Sunday, September 23. The OIAF announced that Partysaurus Rex will be screened, then followed by a special “making-of” where Walsh will discuss the challenges and inspirations that went into making this newest Toy Story Toon. I can only imagine that there will be lots of discussion on all the dancing that took place in this short. One thing is for sure if you’re in the Ottawa area – this is a festival that is NOT to be missed.

Here is a video preview for the OIAF – how fun does this festival look?!

The VIEW Conference is the premiere international event in Italy on Computer Graphics, Interactive Techniques, Digital Cinema, 2D/3D Animation, Gaming, and VFX. VIEW 2012 will run from October 16-19 and will continue to focus on exploring the increasingly fluid boundary between the real and digital worlds. This incredible conference is jam-packed with brilliant speakers and is sure to be an amazing few days!

Our friends at the VIEW Conference were kind enough to share a press release on Walsh as well as other speakers featured in this year’s conference.

The VIEW Conference is proud to announce that award-winning director Mark Walsh, animator, actor, storyboard artist, writer, and director at Pixar Animation Studios. Walsh graduated from the California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) in 1997, winning a Student Emmy for his animated short film, “Extra Crispy.”

At Pixar, Mark became part of a group of fellow actors and stuntmen, animating on such films as “A Bug’s Life,” “Toy Story 2,” “Monsters, Inc.,” the animated short, “Presto,” and the Academy Award®-winning feature “The Incredibles.”


Known for his acting skills – a crucial ability for animators – Walsh served as directing animator on the Academy Award®-winning “Finding Nemo,” helping guide a team of animators to bring the character of Dory to life.


Walsh then served as supervising animator on another Oscar® winner, “Ratatouille.” Inspired, he moved into writing and directing original short content at Pixar, creating shorts for “Up,” humorous teasers for the “Toy Story” and “Toy Story 2” re-release in 3D, and original commercials for “Toy Story 3.”

Most recently, Walsh completed his directing debut for a theatrical short, “Partysaurus Rex,” a “Toy Story Toon” that will release in theaters in front of “Finding Nemo” in 3D.

The 2012 VIEW Conference also features award-winning sound designer and animated film director Gary Rydstrom from Skywalker Sound, writer/director Eric Darnell from PDI/DreamWorks who directed the Madagascar trilogy, television director and winner of the Directors Guild of America award Dan Attias, creative director of all the Halos Josh Holmes, who brings to VIEW the premiere of Halo 4, award-winning writer and director Chris Perry, academy award-winning computer graphics pioneer Glenn Entis, academy award-winning author and Autodesk Fellow Tom Wujec, ILM’s Jason Smith, visual effects associate supervisor will discuss “The Avenger’s, and many others.

VIEW Conference 2012 is made possible with the support of: Compagnia di San Paolo, Regione Piemonte, Provincia di Torino, Città di Torino, Fondazione CRT, Camera di Commercio di Torino and Autodesk.

Registration is now open for the VIEW conference, which takes place October 16 to 19, and for VIEWFest, our digital movie festival following the VIEW Conference from 19 to 21 Oct. 


If you’re anything like us – you’re dreaming of attending these amazing events! Though we will not be in attendance we’ll be sure to bring you as much information from both OIAF and the VIEW Conference as we can.

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