DAVID RINGEISEN (1987, Hungary) is a Director and Lead of the Previsualization Unit of Budapest based Digic Pictures. This workshop will explore directing and previsualization of game cinematics.

Pre-rendered cut scenes and game trailers are a rather unique field of animation, on the edge of trailers, short films and advertisement. Since the storytelling has to happen on a limited runtime, with often very strict budget, short deadlines and picky clients, previsualization is a key element not only to the preproduction, but to come to terms in visualizing a script, optimizing budget, and often finding solutions to meet technical limitations. Directing in such circumstances require special skillsets, and techniques, for which recent projects would serve as great case studies.

Studying arts from an early age, David Ringeisen got his Master Degree in Animation at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design, Budapest, graduating with the multi-award winning animated 3D short, Paper World. David joined Digic right from school in 2012, where he has been working on CG cinematic trailers for games like Assassin’s Creed, Uncharted, Witcher III. Just to name a few, and directing trailers and cutscenes for Call of Duty, Destiny and League of Legends. Since 2014 he is also a Doctoral student of MOME, researching the field of interactive non-fictional storytelling.

Now in its fourth year, ANIMATED SPIRITS was founded and is organized by Zita Mara Vadasz, Advisor at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest, and former director of the Hungarian Cultural Center in New York. The festival is curated by Anna Ida Orosz, lecturer at the Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design in Budapest, Hungary. Both Zita Mara Vadasz and Anna Ida Orosz are well-known figures in the European animation community.

Since 2015 the festival has showcased 86 films from 21 countries in front of a 1500+ registered audience.

The festival is presented by the School of Visual Arts, powered by The International Visegrad Fund and made possible by MANIFESZT – Association of Hungarian Animation Filmmakers (HU); AniScreen (CZ); Fest Anča International Animation Festival (SK); Galeria Bielska BWA (PL).

The project is co-financed by the Governments of Czechia, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia through Visegrad Grants from International Visegrad Fund. The mission of the fund is to advance ideas for sustainable regional cooperation in Central Europe.