Tue May 19, 2026 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm PDT

| Educational

Building Production AI: Orchestration, Pipelines, and the Future of VFX with Foundry and Griptape

Foundry Zoom Panel & Presentation of Griptape for VFX Workflows

Click HERE to register for the webinar

AI tools are everywhere, but how do they become part of an actual production pipeline? Join VES for a conversation with Griptape Creative Directors Jason Schleifer and Amaru Zeas, moderated by Ben Lock of Moonvalley, on how AI orchestration can power VFX pipelines. Griptape is designed to sit between models, tools, data, and users, helping teams build structured workflows that combine agents, APIs, automation, and human decision-making inside real production environments. As Foundry brings Griptape into its ecosystem, including Nuke integrations, this discussion will explore what the technology actually does, why Foundry acquired it, and what that may signal for the next phase of AI in professional VFX and animation workflows.

This discussion will ask some direct questions. What does Griptape actually do at a technical level? Why is orchestration becoming such an important layer in AI systems? What does it take to make AI workflows secure, repeatable, and usable in production? How do artists, TDs, developers, and production teams work together when AI becomes part of the pipeline rather than sitting outside it? And what might this acquisition signal about where AI-enabled VFX workflows are heading next?

 

Jason Schleifer is a creative and technical leader with over 30 years in animation, technology, and storytelling. Currently Creative Director for Griptape at Foundry, he focuses on Griptape Nodes: empowering creative professionals to harness AI in a predictable, controllable way to create exceptional content. As co-founder of Nimble Collective (acquired by AWS), he helped develop cloud-based animation production workflows, enabling studios to collaborate and produce from anywhere. His career includes senior creative roles at DreamWorks, Wētā Digital, and AWS, blending artistry, mentoring, and strategic vision. Jason thrives on solving creative and technical challenges, inspiring teams, and helping artists bring ideas to life.

Amaru Zeas-Sigüenza is a 6× award-winning filmmaker and creative technologist with over 18 years of experience across VFX, animation, games, virtual production, and real-time technologies. His work sits at the intersection of storytelling and artificial intelligence, focusing on how emerging tools reshape filmmaking. His work has reached international audiences and earned recognition within communities connected to Cannes, 3D Artist Magazine, 3D World, and beyond. He has also held creative roles at Microsoft and Amazon Web Services, contributing to cloud-based media workflows and next-generation storytelling tools.Currently a Creative Director for Griptape at Foundry, Amaru focuses on building cinematic AI workflows that combine traditional craft with generative techniques—pushing toward controlled, repeatable, and production-ready filmmaking.

Ben Lock is Director of Production Strategy at Moonvalley, focused on integrating AI technologies into studio production workflows. A BAFTA-winning producer with broad experience across visual effects and animation, he also serves as Chair of the VES Education & Outreach Committee and lead of the Conversations in Innovation series for the Producers Guild of America.