VES Germany invites you to join us at the upcoming worldwide VES Megabrain Masterclass, which will include top industry professionals covering a wealth of topics.

Date: April the 23rd (Thursday)

Time: 11:00 am PDT / 2:00 pm EDT / 8:00 pm CET

Zoom Webinar

VES members, please login to RSVP at the bottom of the page!
Spots are limited to the first 100 attendees, so be sure to register today!

SESSION 1 : Bringing Faces to Life: Facial Animation on Red One

Kader Bağlı
Lead Compositing Artist – Rise FX

Kader Bağlı is a Lead Compositor at RISE Visual Effects Studios, contributing to international productions such as Fallout 2, The Last of Us and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. Known for her collaborative energy and clear direction, she combines creative vision with strong team leadership.
Beyond production, she previously volunteered with ACM SIGGRAPH and ACCESS:VFX, supporting diversity, equity, inclusion, and mentorship initiatives. She is passionate about empowering emerging talent and fostering inclusive, purpose-driven storytelling within the global VFX community.

SESSION 2: Texturing for the Divergent Mind

Amanda Heppner
Lead-Level Creature Artist · New Business Development – WeFX

Amanda Heppner is a Character Creature Look-Dev Artist with almost a decade of experience in the VFX industry. Her portfolio spans high-profile productions, including The Mandalorian, Star Trek: Discovery, Halo, and most recently, Wednesday (Season 2).

With a diverse background in fine arts and acting for film and television, Amanda brings a unique, holistic outlook to the technical arts.This perspective allows her to approach look-development not just as a technical requirement, but as a storytelling medium. She is particularly passionate about demystifying complex software like Mari, transforming it from an intimidating hurdle into an empowering tool for creative and non-linear minds.

A dedicated leader and educator, Amanda serves as the Vice Chair of the VES Toronto and acts as a Program Liaison at Humber College, where she is responsible for building industry-standard curricula. She is a staunch advocate for opening doorways for diversity and women in film and television, ensuring that the next generation of artists has the tools and opportunities to thrive in a rapidly evolving industry.

SESSION 3: Deep dive into the world of CFX (Character Effects Animation)

Pramita Mukherjee
Senior Character Effects Developer – Dreamworks Animation

Pramita is an Animation professional with 19 years of experience, currently at Dreamworks Animation as a Character Effects Animation Developer. She started her journey as a Rigging artist in 2007 from Mumbai and after leading and working in various features, TV shows and music videos, over a decade in India in various studios, she stepped out to London followed by Los Angeles, leading globally in different Animation and VFX projects.
Bad Guys 2,  Panda 4, Puss In Boots(the last wish), Croods 2, Boss Baby, Penguins Of Madagascar, Wonder Woman, Venom, Fantastic Beast, are a few of the many projects she has worked on.
Pramita is an active mentor for WIA (women in animation) and has mentored more than 100 women across the world. She is a VES member and part of the core VES award Committee. She joined the Board of Directors for AIA (Asians In Animation) in 2024 and also serves as one of the Asifa (India), advisory board. She is an active speaker / moderator and mentor, on various industry platforms like Academy Conversation, Siggraph, Lightbox, comicon, Autism in Entertainment and Gnomon for her work in animation movies . She is being featured in multiple articles for her contribution to the animation industry including being recognized as one of the “Riding Star” in 2025 by Animation magazine and recently awarded 40 under 40 leadership in Indian AVGC sector by Animation Express.