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TELL US ABOUT YOUR ROLE AT ILM, AND HOW LONG YOU’VE BEEN IN THE FILM INDUSTRY.
As CG Technology Supervisor of ILM, I work with the CG artist leads across our global studios, internal engineering groups, as well as with outside partners, to define and drive short and long-term technology strategy for ILM. I have 14 years of experience in the film industry as a vfx professional.

WHAT IS YOUR BACKGROUND? WHAT WAS YOUR MAIN COURSE OF STUDY IN SCHOOL?
I majored in Philosophy and Comparative Literature at Brown University, then went on to be a senior management consultant at a business consulting firm for several years, before switching careers into the vfx field. My technical and CG skills are all mostly self-taught with some combination of “as-needed” courses taken at NYU and UC Berkeley, and of course “on the job” learning once I got my first job in vfx at Rhythm & Hues working as a character rigger.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO GO INTO VISUAL EFFECTS?
I had always had a love of film and art and technology. An introductory 3D computer graphics class I took at NYU really made me realize how much I enjoyed CG work – both for the creative and technical aspects.

WHAT WAS THE MOST CHALLENGING POINT IN YOUR CAREER AND HOW DID YOU RISE ABOVE IT AND PERSEVERE?
The biggest challenge for me was switching careers from business consulting to vfx. I had a liberal arts degree that had very little to do with computer science or computer graphics, and all of my professional experience to date had been in an unrelated field. I went about learning as much as I could as broadly as I could about the vfx field, and most importantly, I formulated my own “learning path;” I managed to cherry-pick a few classes that I felt would expedite my learning, and filled in the rest with just learning on my own time. There are so many publicly available resources for learning both programming as well as computer graphics that it is really possible to teach yourself and get from point A to B quickly without enrolling in a lengthy, costly program or having some official certificate.

DID YOU HAVE SPECIFIC MENTORS OR ROLE MODELS THAT HELPED PUSH YOU FORWARD?
My mentors on the artist and technical side have all been men, but they have all been exceptional in giving me advice, development opportunities and encouragement. My most powerful female role model is my mother, who had a very successful professional career as a designer and is the artist I most admire. Art is an essential part of her being and way of living, but she has also always pursued her passion with incomparable moral integrity. Just as valuable to me is the role my father played in my upbringing. He also worked as a designer, but was very involved as a parent. I have many fond memories of him being involved at my school and taking me to and from my Japanese Saturday school, and teaching me things and being creative together. I think for opportunities for women in society to really change, girls need to see strong, successful women thriving in their chosen professions, but they also need to see that if they choose to raise children with a partner, that partner can be supportive and complementary of their needs. I think that paradigm shift can be liberating for many men as well, whose societal roles and expectations may in some cases constrain them from having richer relationships with their children.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE MOTIVATIONAL MANTRA?
I do not have a particular mantra, but my children are all the reminder I need to give my best professionally and personally so that I can be the parent they deserve, and do my part to leave the world a better place for their generation.

HOW DO YOU THINK THE FILM INDUSTRY CAN BETTER ENCOURAGE GIRLS AND WOMEN OF ALL AGES TO GET INVOLVED IN FILMMAKING?
It needs to start very early – my own children even at 3 or 4 years old have noticed and asked why certain professions or activities are “all boys” – whether it’s something they noticed in a book or observing the real world around them. Whether they ask about it explicitly or not, those models are being reinforced (and therefore more likely to be replicated) from a very early age. I think providing opportunities to girls in school with filmmaking projects, classes, camps etc. is essential to getting more girls interested in a field that otherwise appears very homogenous and prohibitive. And I think telling the positive stories of female filmmakers and other women in the industry is also critical, to show girls and young women that it is possible to succeed and enjoy a career in this field.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO WOMEN CONSIDERING FILM, AND SPECIFICALLY VISUAL EFFECTS, AS A CAREER CHOICE?
It is a continually evolving field so it is important to be flexible, curious, and enjoy being a constant learner. Follow and pursue the kind of work that you truly feel joy and excitement doing.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE WHO WANTS TO TAKE HER CAREER TO THE NEXT LEVEL?
Always listen inwardly to what it is you want to be doing and how you want to be growing and let that define what “the next level” is for your career at your own pace; what you want may not exist directly in that next box up on the org chart – it may be somewhere else. Or it may be something that is not a box at all, that you end up drawing up on your own! Career success would be being able to develop, hone and expand the ways in which you as an individual can uniquely create value, and feeling fulfilled in doing so. Don’t be afraid to find and even create the opportunities for yourself that meet those needs.

Industrial Light & Magic (ILM), a Lucasfilm Ltd. company, announced today respected industry veteran Rob Bredow has been appointed SVP, executive creative director & head of ILM. In addition, it was announced that Gretchen Libby, has been promoted to vice president, marketing & production. Bredow will be in charge of all of ILM’s 4 global studios and report to Lucasfilm General Manager Lynwen Brennan, and Libby will report to Bredow.

Bredow joined Industrial Light & Magic as a visual effects supervisor in 2014 and shortly thereafter was named vice president of new media and head of Lucasfilm’s Advanced Development Group. Bredow was instrumental in launching a new division, ILMxLAB, in 2015, combining the talents of Lucasfilm, ILM, and Skywalker Sound to develop, create, and release story-based immersive entertainment. In 2016, Bredow was promoted to CTO of Lucasfilm, overseeing technical operations and partnerships as well as the company’s technology roadmap. Currently, Bredow is serving as the visual effects supervisor and co-producer on Solo: A Star Wars Story directed by Ron Howard, which releases on May 25, 2018.

“I’ve been working very closely with Rob over the past two years on Solo,” says Kathleen Kennedy.  “I have witnessed his leadership skills and creative abilities first-hand and I’ve been extremely impressed. Filmmaking is often about problem solving and Rob comes to every challenge with a strong creative point of view and the ability to find the best solution every time. This and his business acumen make him an ideal candidate to lead ILM, which has always stood at the crossroads of technology and artistry.”

“I am thrilled that Rob is going to be leading ILM into the future.  He is the perfect fit for the role combining creativity, innovation and business savvy”, says Lynwen Brennan, Lucasfilm general manager. “He is also a wonderful leader who builds great, trusting relationships within the company and with the filmmakers and studios we work with.”

“I’m honored to take on this role for Industrial Light & Magic,” says Bredow. “From my involvement with the launch of ILMxLAB to supervising the visual effects team on the soon-to-release Solo: A Star Wars Story, I can honestly say the people at this company are some of the most passionate, creative, and dedicated people I’ve had the privilege of collaborating with. I’m thrilled to help guide ILM’s legacy of innovation and excellence on a global scale.”

Prior to joining ILM, Bredow was the CTO and visual effects supervisor at Sony Pictures Imageworks. He has worked on films such as Independence Day, Godzilla, Stuart Little, Castaway, Surf’s Up, Cloudy With A Chance of Meatballs, and many others.

Bredow is a member of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts & Sciences (Visual Effects Branch) and the AMPAS Scientific and Technical Council and, in 2010, was nominated for a Visual Effects Society Award Outstanding Effects Animation in an Animated Feature Motion Picture.

Gretchen Libby started at ILM in 1997 as a production manager. A year later, she was promoted to associate visual effects producer for A Perfect Storm and then to visual effects producer on Star Wars: Attack of the Clones two years later. In her previous role, Libby had focused on the company’s global expansion, which included opening studios in Singapore, Vancouver and London, and was the key marketing point of contact for ILM’s clients. Libby’s focus will remain on client marketing, overseeing all global production and strategic relationships.  Prior to ILM, Libby worked in visual effects film production at Pacific Data Images in Palo Alto, Calif. and in visual effects commercial production in New York.

“Gretchen is a key member of our executive team and has been instrumental in numerous strategic initiatives in recent years, from marketing the studio to our global expansion,” noted Brennan. “She brings depth of production understanding that is prized within the company and continues to be invaluable to our clients.”

“In my 21 years at the company I have seen firsthand the tremendous impact ILM has had, and continues to have, on the industry,” says Libby. “I’m excited to help ILM continue to evolve as we take on new challenges and provide new and exciting ways for storytellers to share their visions.”
Libby is a member of the Producers Guild of America and formerly served on the board of directors of the Visual Effects Society of which she remains a member. She is also a member of Women in Film and has served as a producer on 29 feature films, eight of which received Academy Award^® nominations for visual effects.

ILM Chief Creative Officer John Knoll took the stage at Apple’s Worldwide Developer Conference to share a cutting edge VR demonstration created by ILMxLAB and Epic Games utilizing Unreal Engine running on the newly-announced iMac computer. The demo showcased how realtime VR tools such as Unreal Engine running on powerful hardware are being used to enhance visual development in filmmaking.

Products such as the new iMac and iOS  11 will no doubt enable ILMxLAB to share incredible experiences with hundreds of millions of people around the world and that’s really exciting.

Cinefex Magazine issue 152 has made its debut and the latest and greatest incarnation of Kong graces the cover. The issue features the publication’s trademark in-depth coverage of 2 films for which ILM was the primary visual effects company Kong: Skull Island and The Great Wall.

Cinefex continues to be the periodical of record for the visual effects industry and remains an invaluable resource to filmmakers around the world. Kong: Skull Island was covered by Senior Staff Writer, Graham Edwards, while the feature story on The Great Wall was written by Editor in Chief, Jody Duncan.