Yurie Rocha
Director, Mecha Builders, Guru Studio
Yurie Rocha is a Canadian director born and raised in Toronto, Canada. After graduating from Sheridan College for Classical Animation in 2004, Yurie joined Guru Studio where he honed his love for lighting, cinematography and character development, working on CG animated commercials for companies like Kraft and Tropicana. In 2012, Yurie was tapped to creatively direct and CG supervise the creation of the hit animated series PAW Patrol in partnership with Spin Master and Nickelodeon. As a senior creative lead at Guru Studio, Yurie would go on to spearhead the launch of new properties such as Dinopaws (Cbeebies) and True and The Rainbow Kingdom (Netflix). Yurie's focus then turned to directing where he was instrumental in launching Pikwik Pack for Disney Junior and Hulu. Yurie is currently working with Sesame Workshop to direct Mecha Builders (HBO Max) which stars Elmo, Cookie Monster and Abby as giant CG robots. Yurie continues to be most passionate about bringing characters to life that children will love, trust and cherish.
11:45AM - 12:45PM
Guru Studio presents Mecha Builders
From feathered and furry friends to robo super-heroes-in-training, find out how animation powerhouse Guru Studio helped reimagine the iconic muppets of Sesame Street into supersized CGI for the newest series, Mecha Builders. Join Guru Studio’s Yurie Rocha (Series Director) and Andrew Strimaitis (Studio Animation Director) as they discuss how Cookie Monster, Elmo and Abby Cadabby were re-imagined to expand the Sesameverse for a whole new generation.
Moderator: Sabrina Zaczek Social Media Director, TAAFI
