Hello there!
As a friend, fan, and journalist of animation and VFX, I personally find interviews with international creative artists, storytellers, producers, and directors the most interesting. Unfortunately, most opportunities at press events and premieres rarely allow for in-depth conversations, and the interviewer’s limitations do the rest. So why not engage in a conversation with a willing interlocutor and alongside a far more capable co-host to learn more about each other?
For this reason, I’ve initiated a series of INDAC conversations, and in collaboration with DNEG I would like to cordially invite you to two of them.
On June 16, 2025, the remarkable sound designer and two time Academy Award winner Randy Thom will be talking with me. I’m extremely interested in learning more about this particular field, which is far too overlooked by the public, but which holds tremendous significance for storytelling in both animation and live-action film. Randy Thom works in both media; he recently received an Oscar nomination for the sound design of Chris Sanders‘ „The Savage Robot“ and has just completed the sound design for the live-action adaptation of „How to Train Your Dragon.“
“I’ve enlisted Emmy-winning film composer and XR sound guru Scot Stafford ; he knows more about the complicated relationships between sound and music than I’ll ever comprehend. Scot recently wrote the soundtrack for the Netflix animated feature film „Ultraman Rising,“ which is a great segue to the second INDAC conversation a day later.
On June 17, I’ll be talking with director and writer Shannon Tindle, whose works include the beloved Laika stop-motion feature „Kubo and the two Strings“ the terrific Netflix series „Lost Ollie,“ and the remarkable „Ultraman Rising.“ Although Shannon is currently busy with the pre-production of the anime feature film prequel to „John Wick,“ he takes the time to talk about his work and his perspective on storytelling. And again, I’m joined by a really great co-host: director and writer Jorge Gutierrez, the creative genius behind „The Book of Life,“ „Maya and the Three,“ and „Son of Jaguar.“ He immediately volunteered to chat with Shannon and me.
Both conversations will take place online. We will be, thanks to Andrew Schlussel guests in the DNEG Zoom room in London. I will be in Germany, and my guests will be in Los Angeles and San Francisco. We have agreed on a time slot that suits all parties. Both conversations will take place at 6 p.m. European time, that is 5 p.m. London time and 09 a.m. Los Angeles/San Francisco time.
And I hereby invite all interested parties worldwide to participate. We will address questions from the audience as far as possible.
Both conversations will be held in English.
Admission is free!
Find the the two Zoom links for the conversations further below.
Please, please do me a favor and forward this invitation to interested third parties.
I try to reach out to as many creatives as I can, but in the spirit of Tolkien, I confess: I don’t know half of you half as well as I’d like to, and I know less than half of all of you as well as you deserve to.and I would be incredibly happy if you find these two conversations interesting enough to share with your friends and acquaintances.
I would also be delighted if you would connect with me on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram to facilitate a conversation beyond the two dates. Please find it in the short bio below left. My email address for feedback, suggestions, and exchange is johannes.wolters@indac.org.
I’m looking for any kind of support for this project, moral or financial sponsorship, or simply a few words of encouragement or even plussing on how to organize such events better.
I would be very grateful if you could send me a short email in advance to let me know if you plan to attend the discussions. This will allow me to add you to my revised email list, and also to estimate how much cake I should buy… ah, luckily it’s online, phew.
I hope to see you online on both of these occasions!
Many, many excited greetings
Johannes
Randy Thom
INDAC Conversation with Randy Thom, Sounddesigner
Co-Moderator: Scot Stafford, Composer
Date: June, 16th 2025
Time: 6.00 p.m. German time / 5.00 p.m. London time / 09.00 a.m. Los Angeles time
Zoomlink: https://dneg.zoom.us/j/93490406127?pwd=P8YVJbXrDn9Bi8HW8zH9WBiVFdbXzy.1&jst=2
Abour Randy Thom:
Randy Thom is Director of Sound Design at Skywalker Sound, but still spends most of his time working on films. His credits include: Apocalypse Now, Return of the Jedi, Never Cry Wolf, Wild at Heart, Forrest Gump, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, The Thin Blue Line, War of the Worlds, Coraline, How To Train Your Dragon, Ghost in the Shell, and Ratatouille. He has worked with a diverse list of directors, including Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Robert Zemeckis, David Lynch, Guillermo del Toro, John Waters, Errol Morris, Henry Selick, Peter Jackson, Brad Bird, and Chris Wedge. Randy’s essay “Designing A Movie For Sound” is used in many universities.
Randy has been nominated for sixteen Oscars, an Emmy and a Grammy. He has received two Oscars: one for The Right Stuff, and one for The Incredibles. Randy was honored with the C.A.S. Career Achievement Award in 2010 and the MPSE Career Achievement Award in 2014.
About Co-Moderator Scot Stafford (click on the picture)
Scot Stafford
INDAC Conversation with Shannon Tindle, Director & Author
Co-Moderator: Jorge Gutierrez. Director, Author, Artist
Date: June, 17th 2025
Time: 6.00 p.m. German time / 5.00 p.m. London time / 09.00 a.m. Los Angeles time
Zoomlink: https://dneg.zoom.us/j/96629368437?pwd=lBy9qabAvXR9efjkbNiSHoZWLu7MuV.1&jst=2
Shannon Tindle
About Shannon Tindle
Shannon Tindle has served as a designer, story artist, writer, director, and executive producer for television and feature films. He has collaborated with DreamWorks, Disney, Cartoon Network, and Universal Studios on a wide range of projects, including Foster’s Home for Imaginary Friends, The Croods, and Coraline. Shannon was the creator of Kubo and the Two Strings, which was nominated for two Oscars and won the BAFTA for Best Animated Feature.In 2022, Tindle served as the creator, executive producer, and showrunner of his first live-action series, Lost Ollie, which garnered 10 Emmy nominations and 5 wins. Most recently,Tindle co-wrote and directed, the Annie-nominated Ultraman: Rising for Netflix. He is currently attached to direct an animated John Wick Prequel film for Lionsgate. Shannon is also a proud member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
About Co-Moderator Jorge Gutierrez (click on the picture)
Jorge Gutierrez
About Johannes Wolters
Johannes Wolters is a Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany based freelance journalist who specializes in Animation and VFX. He has established a platform called INDAC.org for all people in German animation, VFX and games; plus ‚INDAC-Meetings‘ where animators and VFX artists can meet international guests from the industry.
Linked in — Facebook —- Instagram
About INDAC
INDAC started as a group of german artists working in the field of animation and vfx. In the past it was the goal of the group to heighten the visibility of the fields of animation and vfx and their inhabitants to each other and the public. To inspire the members and to raise awareness for the medium, we created the INDAC Events, where Artists and Creatives could meet international Talents for Q&A´s and Screenings. As the german animation & vfx is getting more and more absorbed into the international animation/vfx scene through buyouts of german companies and the international career path of many artits, INDAC is in a phase of transistion to a worldwide group of animation/vfx artists, targeted to everyone who is working in this area and everyone who loves the medium. If you are interested in joining the group and shape its modern form send an email at info@indac.org
Website: https://indac.org/blog/
About DNEG
We are DNEG – delivering award-winning visual effects, animation, and creative technologies for film, TV, and immersive content.
We have over 25 years of industry experience and relationships, and we are honoured to have won eight Academy Awards® for ‚Best VFX‘ since 2011.
We thrive on the creative energy that true collaboration generates. In all of our most successful partnerships – be it with Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve, Bong Joon-ho, or a host of other visionary directors that we are proud to work with – deep collaboration from the very outset is key.
Der Indachs
created by Oliver Stephan based on a Designby Sabine Dully