Games/Interactive

NAB Show, the world’s largest annual conference and expo for professionals who create, manage, and distribute entertainment across all platforms, will feature “The VFX Wizardry Behind ‘Stranger Things 2,’” a Creative Master Series panel – produced in collaboration with Adobe – at the 2018 NAB Show. The session, which takes place Sunday, April 8, at 2:00 p.m., will provide attendees with an insider’s perspective into how the visual effects were created for the second season of the hit show.

Paul Graff, senior VFX supervisor; Christina Graff, senior VFX producer; Michael Maher Jr., senior concept illustrator; Fred Raimondi, associate visual effects, and Matt Carson, VFX editor will join Mike Kanfer, principal strategic development manager at Adobe, in a conversation that will examine the tools used to bring the world of “Stranger Things 2” to life. The panel will also discuss how the team worked to create hundreds of visual effects on tight deadlines.

“With so many program choices, not only do leading series need a great story – with excellent actors to back it up – they need compelling visuals and visual effects to bring the world to life,” said NAB Executive Vice President of Conventions and Business Operations Chris Brown. “We’re looking forward to hosting some of the industry’s leading VFX specialists as they show audiences how they turn the unbelievable into reality with some of today’s most cutting-edge technologies.”

Paul Graff is the senior visual effects supervisor and mastermind behind the visual effects for Stranger Things: Seasons 2 and 3. He has won multiple Emmy and VES Awards over the past 20+ years. Graff has been very active in the industry first as a compositor, then as a visual effects supervisor and co-founder of the company Crazy Horse Effects, Inc.

Christina Graff is the co-founder of the companies Crazy Horse Effects (CHE) in Los Angeles and the former Crazy Horse East in New York. Graff is an Emmy-award winning visual effects producer and supervisor whose career started as a film and television editor in Berlin, Germany.

Michael Maher Jr. is a visual effects designer and senior concept illustrator currently working on Stranger Things 3. Maher’s responsibilities include concept art for creatures and environments, storyboards, and visual development direction.

Before making the move to director, Fred Raimondi was recognized as one of the preeminent digital artists in the world. His early work set the standard for electronic visual effects compositing with “The Twilight Zone,” and “Max Headroom.” Raimondi was the lead compositor on the first season of “Star Trek, The Next Generation” along with Academy Award winner Rob Legato.

Matt Carson’s credits include film director Shawn Levy’s “The Internship,” “Real Steel,” “Night at the Museum 3” and Tim Miller’s “Deadpool.”

Mike Kanfer was nominated for an Academy Award for VFX on “Apollo 13,” and shared the Academy Award for VFX on “TITANIC” in 1998. Other credits include “Interview With The Vampire,” “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone,” and “Superman Returns.” In 2005, Mike joined Adobe, and is currently Principal Strategic Development Manager focused on Hollywood, promoting the use of Adobe technology in film workflows.