Conference The Power of Collaboration Managing Change
ON SITE Bertha-Benz-Saal Tuesday, May 03, 14:30

Creating a Place of Transformation

Video on demand

In this session key members of the Woodblock team will reflect on their paths and experiences in the ever evolving animation industry and talk about how those learnings influence and shape the studios approach to tools, clients, talent, projects and vision. 

Crystal Campbell, Executive Producer, Woodblock

Having been inspired by her work with photogrammetry and 3D modeling whilst at film school, Crystal Campbell initially moved between live-action and 3D before merging these two passions and pursuing a career in VFX and animation. Since then, she has worked at such major studios as Psyop, 1st Ave Machine and Roof Studio, collaborating on many award-winning projects. Now at Woodblock, Crystal is based at the studio’s Berlin headquarters, having relocated from New York City. As head Executive Producer, she is leading the production team on pitching, bidding and winning new projects. Working closely with the production team and Woodblock’s management, she is looking to optimize processes and set up the studio for its next phase of growth.

Helen Hyung Choi, Creative Director and Head of Culture, Woodblock

An artist who brings her love for vivid images and emotionally engaging characters into her designs, Helen Choi works multimedium across various industries, including animation, gaming, and advertisement. What threads her projects together is her passion for storytelling and creating captivating characters in a beautifully laid out world.

Prior to her Woodblock life, she collaborated with various studios such as Psyop, BNS, Motion Theory and was a founder of a mobile game collective Shape Minds.

Helen is a Creative Director and Head of Culture at animation studio Woodblock. She is also involved in IP developments at Woodblock, and creator of the animation series in development called Blue Marble. In her own time, she illustrates funny German words for her Instagram account @helen_handshoes.

Born and raised in South Korea and the United States, she now happily calls Berlin her home.

Regina Welker, Executive Creative Director, Woodblock

Originally hailing from southern Germany, Regina Welker initially started in the broadcast industry before she fell in love with creating animated worlds. She developed her style and learned various animation techniques during her years studying at the Baden-Württemberg Film Academy’s Institute of Animation. Her short films were shown at festivals internationally, which led to her progression into the commercial world.

Regina’s work stands out thanks to her focus on strong storytelling. Her images are clear, abstract and innocent, but rich with soul. Animated films allow her to show a complex problem as a metaphorical, but concrete, character. The endless forms of expression, narration and design style is why animated film is the expression of choice for Regina.

As director and creative director Regina has collaborated with major brands such as Axe, Mercedes-Benz, Nickelodeon, Fox Sports, Cartoon Forum, Playmobil. She’s deeply familiar with developing stories around new toy collections or well-known IPs such as ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ and ‘Ghostbusters’. Regina is a sought-after storyteller known for her skills in communication and campaign development with a deep soul & bonne humeur. 

In 2020 Regina delivered her first animated feature film Latte & The Magic Waterstone for Netflix, hitting the top 3 US/UK charts of most watched films for the streaming giant.

 

Ilija Brunck, Founder and Managing Partner, Woodblock

Ilija Brunck is a founding member of animation collective POLYNOID. Based on the impact of their acclaimed short films the group conceived animation studio WOODBLOCK. Now, a family of 40 animation artists, engineers and producers, the studio delivers premium visual content to brands and partners around the globe.   Ilija is working as Executive Producer for both companies and acting as managing director for the holding entity NOID. He’s also spearheading development for the group's ambitious IP efforts.   Ilija’s passion is to enable everybody around him to have as much fun as possible while creating stunning animated content.