Challenging Times for Digital Animation - Onboarding and Managing Remote Teams During Covid 19

Since COVID-19 shutting down most physical studios in March 2020 employers, employees, HR teams and job-seekers have had to adapt. Listen to our esteemed panel of senior executives, producers and HR reps discuss the changes and some of the new measures put into place to hiring and managing creative teams during the pandemic's first 6 months.

Panelists will include Kyle Mac Dougall, President of Jam Filled, Rebecca Swift, VP of Production at House of Cool, Nicola Smith, VP, Talent Acquisition at Visual Concepts and Scarlett Dangerfield, VP Talent Development at Hi-Rez Studios. Moderated by Lance Lefort, introduced by Karen Jackson and sponsored by SWITCH Animation.

Kyle Mac Dougall

Kyle Mac Dougall is President of Jam Filled, a premier full-service animation company that partners with creators, producers, brands and broadcasters in both 2D and CG content across all platforms and genres. 

Kyle began his career in 1993 and worked in the video game, advertising and television industries. He started out as an artist, became a producer, entrepreneur, and ultimately, a studio builder. 

In 2008, he joined the two co-founders of Jam Filled Entertainment, to build one of the most respected, artist-run and creative driven animation companies in the industry today with studios in Ottawa, Toronto and Halifax. Key brands include: “The Loud House” (Nickelodeon), “The Casagrandes” (Nickelodeon), “Thomas & Friends” (Mattel/Netflix), “Rusty Rivets” (Spin Master/Nick Jr), “DC Super Hero Girls” (WB/Cartoon Network), “Bubble Guppies” (Nick Jr), and “Final Space” (ShadowMachine/TBS/Netflix).

Rebecca Swift

As VP of Production, Rebecca Swift leads all service production work from initial pitch to delivery. She oversees the operations of the studio and manages a team of 70+ artists and production staff. Rebecca is also an instrumental force in strategic planning for House of Cool, lending her expertise to IP development, marketing and finance.

Prior to joining House of Cool, Swift held producing roles at 9 Story Media Group and Arc Productions where she managed the Emmy Award® winning Amazon series, Lost in Oz and the Bluesky Studios/20th Century Fox special, Ice Age: The Great Egg-Scapde. Rebecca has also produced independent live-action feature films including: Almost Adults and Nobody Famous, both festival darlings, which sold to Netflix and Amazon Prime respectfully.

Swift graduated from Humber College, where she received a diploma in Film and Television Production. Rebecca’s passion for education continued with the WIFT-T’s Corus Media Management Accelerator program and the CFC Comedy Exchange Program.

Scarlett Dangerfield

Scarlet Dangerfield is the VP of Talent Development for Hi-Rez Studios, where she fulfills the company’s staffing and human development needs. Prior to Hi-Rez she worked with Xaviant and CCP. She brings to Hi-Rez 15 years of progressive global human resource and recruiting experience, with a passion for the games industry.

Nicola Smith

Nicola is the VP of Talent Acquisition at Visual Concepts (NBA2K and WWE) overseeing the recruiting of top talent across studios globally, ensuring a world class experience for candidates during the interview process and beyond. Nicola has extensive experience within the games industry, starting with her own recruitment company in the UK during the 90’s, she has seen many changes, and after moving to the US, she has been helping companies to build out their talent and teams to achieve their best production results.