Day: April 19, 2022

Iervolino Studios participates in the first edition of the Adria Summit, which will be held from 5th to 8th May 2022, at the exclusive five-star Kempinski Hotel Adriatic in Istria, Croatia.

The Adria Summit event is the first of its kind in the region, with the Future of Digital Commerce as its main theme. A change in pace in our everyday lives is evident. Triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic and global uncertainty, we have witnessed rapid developments, not only in the advanced technology that is being used, but also in customer behavior and demands. The way we choose, buy and receive goods and services has changed, impacting the growth of eCommerce on a global scale and forcing companies in the regional markets to adapt.

Adria Summit focuses on all these things and navigates through the different variables and points which will effectively direct businesses to operate in a certain way. Some of the topics that will be discussed throughout the Summit are technology, customer experiences, finances, consumer behavior and spending patterns, and many other important elements. 

E-COMMERCE AND THE TRANSFORMATION OF THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY

We are living in an era where consumers want to be entertained anytime, anywhere. The entertainment industry has experienced a huge shift towards instant access to content in smaller and more concise delivery methods. The future is short content available here and now.

CONTENT ON THE GO

According to viewership consumption statistics, media consumption has shown a tremendous increase and seen a significant jump from traditional to new digital media. The Short-Form Video market has witnessed growth from millions to billions of US dollars, from 2017 to 2022, and video advertising has changed more in the past five years than in the 20 years before, according to the recent research about rising of on-demand content. The rise of digital media players such as Netflix, Amazon, Apple TV, Google Play which became the main entertainment hub, shows us that consumers crave small, digestible snippets that they can consume easily in their busy schedules. The result is consumers watch more content, and choose short over long ones, while more media channels prolong the life of the content. 

The film and animation industry no longer look at the digital market and environment as a future possibility but as the standard of production and distribution.

Andrea Iervolino, co-founder of our studio and our studio’s parent company Iervolino & Lady Bacardi Entertainment, has anticipated these drastic changes and incorporated his ideas into the way he does business. Instead of looking at them as obstacles, he turned them into a massive opportunity, which is one of the reasons he decided to open our studio.

From launching a viewer reward-based streaming platform, to the first outer-space event broadcasting, Andrea Iervolino has always been ahead of his time. Now, he is on the leading edge of new frontiers in entertainment. The internationally successful producer, entrepreneur, innovator and visionary produced his first digital movie already at the age of 17. Today, he is the founder of ILBE, the renowned film production company, TATATU, the first streaming platform that rewards its users with tokens and products, as well as SPACE 11, an innovative company that will broadcast entertaining video content from space. Led by progressive and forward-thinking, at the onset of the pandemic and forced closures of cinemas, Andrea opened the large-scale animation studio in Serbia, Iervolino Studios, with offices in Belgrade and Novi Sad.

As he said during his last visit, “We are building a huge creative team in Serbia, able to produce new concepts, stories and characters based on the existing intellectual property (IP), as well as develop our own innovative IP locally. The quality of the stories developed by the Serbian artists i simply amazing!”

Andrea will also address the audience at the event’s opening panel, “CEO eCommonomic outlook of the Adriatics”, and talk about the evolution of the entertainment industry, the importance of digital formats, short content as the future of the entertainment industry, the innovation and potential of local content for the international market, with focus on short content consumption among global audiences.

THE FUTURE OF ENTERTAINMENT

Trends indicate that audiences consume shorter content, but for longer periods or binges. Through the aforementioned companies, Andrea has become the best short-content producer in the world.

“My deep belief is that short content will become the number one product in the entertainment industry. User behavior around us, and through social media, confirm that today it is easier to commit people to 5-minute content. If they like it, they will keep on watching and may stay with it for up to 3 hours. We are led by this when producing video content. We do not compete. We take this innovative approach as a new normality, being an inspiration to other studios as well,” Andrea said.

Guests and participants at the Adria Summit 2022 will also see Andrea team up with Peter Nalli, Head of Animation & VFX at Iervolino & Lady Bacardi Entertainment, for another IES panel “The Future of Entertainment”.

During the panel, “The Future of Entertainment”, Andrea Iervolino will explain how production, distribution, and access to entertaining content have been transformed and how we are progressively moving to short digital content produced for releases around the world. Peter Nalli, Head of Animation and VFX at ILBE, will illustrate how the demands for animated series have shifted to short content consumption and how Iervolino Studios designs, produces, and distributes the best animated short content on a global scale. He will also showcase what the process of creating animated content for major streaming platforms looks like, as well as the process of creating animated content adjusted for different needs and requirements of the client and consumer.

WHO CAN JOIN?

Adria Summit 2022 is intended for founders and managers of eCommerce start-ups, executives and top managers of retail, technology and logistics market leaders, partners and managers in Venture Funds and Private Equity players interested in investing in this sector and region. Adriatic Summit is an ideal platform for exchange of ideas and initiatives and a great opportunity to network and enjoy the magnificent nature of the Istria peninsula.

Stay up to date with the upcoming Adria Summit and register if you too want to be part of the first event of its kind in the Adriatic region: https://adriasummit.com/.    

 Dragana Mandić, the Lead Animator at the Steamroller Animation studio in the USA, was our guest lecturer last week. She delivered a two-day workshop on “3D Character Animation” on 16-17 April 2022, to animation enthusiasts, from students to senior professionals. The workshop was organized in the Internal Training Center at Iervolino Studios, in Novi Sad.

3D Character Animation Workshop

During this workshop, our colleagues, as well as external students and professionals, were introduced to 3D Character and creature animation. Dragana Mandić, the skilled and incredibly talented animator, taught the workshop participants about the animal skeletal system, its impact on animal movement, realistic and stylized face animation, tools and techniques in Autodesk Maya, and more. The workshop was intended for everyone interested in learning more about the topic at hand, regardless of their level of experience in animation.

Coming up…

This workshop served as an introduction to our next big thing inside the Internal Training Center: An 11-week “3D Character Animation” course, also delivered by the experienced lecturer, Dragana Mandić. The course will provide not only a great deal of knowledge and valuable insight, but also some fantastic opportunities for future professionals.

More updates about the course will soon follow!

Who is Dragana Mandić?  

Dragana Mandić is a 3D animator with more than 8 years of experience in the film, TV and gaming industry. She has worked for MPC, Crater studio, Fullscream and BunkerVFX. Currently, she is the Lead Animator at the Steamroller Animation studio in Florida.

Netflix, Disney and Huawei are some of Dragana`s previous clients, while the games Horizon Forbidden West, Destruction AllStar, the films Cats (2019) and Cruella (2021), as well as numerous TV commercials are all part of her portfolio.

Watching Disney’s Pocahontas is something that always reignites and strengthens her love and passion for animation. In her free time, she likes to animate in her personal projects, while listening to the financial, business and marketing adventures of other creative people.

Her works are available on the following Vimeo and Instagram pages.

We’re excited to announce a specialized course “3D Character Animation”, through our Internal Training Center (ITC), delivered by Dragana Mandić, Lead Animator at the Steamroller Animation studio in the USA. The course is designed to significantly improve trainees animation knowledge through thematic project(s) which they will be working on together for 11 weeks.

In this course students will learn how to create short character animations, which they will be able to use in their demo reel. They will be introduced to acting and performance in animation, as well as body mechanics in humans and animals. Participants will develop key technical and creative skills that will allow them to work faster and more efficient.

The course will be conducted in Serbian language.

WHO IS IT FOR?

The course is PRIMARILY intended for those of you who possess:

• Minimum basic level of knowledge of at least one 3D software. Autodesk Maya is recommended, but Blender and Autodesk 3DS Max and other 3D Commercial packages are also suitable
• Basic knowledge in 3D character animation
• Strong motivation to additionally improve in the field of 3D character animation
• It is recommended that you bring an idea for the animation that you would work on during the course
• An interest in the possibility of recruitment and employment at Iervolino Studios

WHEN AND WHERE?

• Duration: The course will last for 11 weeks, from May 14 to July 30, 2022.
• Dynamic: Every Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
• Venue: The course will take place live, alternating weekly between the Iervolino Studios branch in Belgrade, and the Novi Sad branch, with the option of participating via Zoom.
• Note: Non-resident students have the option of attending the course live or remote via zoom.

Location:

• IES Studio location in Novi Sad: Trg Marije Trandafil 7B (entrance from Jovana Subotića 18)
• IES Studio location in Beograd: Bulevar kralja Aleksandra 70, 4th floor

CANDIDATE SELECTION

If you are interested in participating in this course, please fill out the application form on this LINK

Because of the limited capacity and quality assurance of the course, your applications will be carefully reviewed and the participants will be selected based on the quality of your animation reel.

For those of you who manage to show strong motivation, initiative and stand out with the quality of your work throughout the course project tasks, wе have some exciting news! You will have the possibility of recruitment and employment at Iervolino Studios.

APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN UNTIL MAY 11, 2022.

Should you have any additional questions, please contact us at itc@iervolinostudios.com 

COURSE PRICE

500 EUR (including VAT)

Payment can be made in up to three monthly installments.

The first installment must be made by May 12, 2022, and the other two by the 15th of the following month.

Payment instructions will be sent to you via e-mail, after you have submitted your application and received the status of your application. You will be notified about the status of your application after the candidate selection process.

ABOUT THE LECTURER

Dragana Mandić is a 3D animator with more than 8 years of experience in the film, TV and gaming industry. She has worked for MPC, Crater studio, Fullscream and BunkerVFX. Currently, she is the Lead Animator at the Steamroller Animation studio in Florida.

Netflix, Disney and Huawei are some of Dragana`s previous clients, while the games Horizon Forbidden West, Destruction AllStar, the films Cats (2019) and Cruella (2021), as well as numerous TV commercials are all part of her portfolio.

Watching Disney’s Pocahontas is something that always reignites and strengthens her love and passion for animation. In her free time, she likes to animate her personal projects, while listening to financial, business and marketing adventures of other creative people.

Her works are available on the following Vimeo and Instagram pages.