MASTER SERIES 2026
January 1 - December 31, 2026
Vancouver Film School
Theatre 106
151 West Cordova St
Vancouver, BC
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MASTER SERIES 2026
FROM SPARK CG SOCIETY & VANCOUVER ACM SIGGRAPH
January 1 - December 31, 2026
TOP LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES WITH INDUSTRY NINJAS
Presented by Spark CG, the series brings audiences face to face with leading creators from animation, visual effects, games, and digital storytelling for focused sessions on craft, story, design, direction, and creative process.
Through artist talks, demonstrations, conversations, and all-day learning events, SPARK MASTER SERIES explores how screen work is actually made: how characters are designed, stories are shaped, performances are animated, worlds are built, visual styles are developed, and ideas make their way from sketchbook to screen.
Past sessions have featured acclaimed creators including Borja Montoro, James Baxter, Brenda Chapman, Georgina Hayns, Brian Leif Hansen, Shiyoon Kim & Jihyun Park, Sandro Cleuzo, Ron Clements, John Musker, Jorge R. Gutiérrez, Tonko House, Tony Bancroft, Aaron Blaise, Sergio Pablos, Lauren Airriess, Ron Husband, and many others.
For students, emerging creators, working professionals, and passionate audiences, SPARK MASTER SERIES offers rare access to the creative process — not as theory, but as lived experience from the people who do the work.
Saturday - August 8, 9:30 AM
MASTERCLASS
MEMORY, THE SURREAL, AND EMOTIONAL TRUTH IN ANIMATED STORYTELLING
Presented by Pixar Animation
with Trevor Jimenez · Moderated by Keith Blackmore
Regular: $125 (incl. GST · no transaction fees)
MASTERCLASS OVERVIEW
In this all-day class, Pixar director Trevor Jimenez will break down how emotion, surrealism and memory work together to create memorable and compelling stories. He'll walk through general philosophies on writing and storyboarding, then dive into the craft of making your own personal short (Oscar-nominated Weekends) and directing and storyboarding at a larger studio like Pixar (Win or Lose E06 Mixed Signals, and the Oscar-winning Soul).
| Date: | Saturday, 8 August 2026 | |
| Times: | 9:30 am – 5 pm (followed by a signing) | |
| Admission: | Regular · $125 (incl. GST) | |
| Venue: | Performance Theatre · Roundhouse 181 Roundhouse Mews · Vancouver · BC |
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Special Early-Bird Offer |
AN OVERVIEW ON ‘EMOTION, MEMORY, AND THE SURREAL’
Trevor discusses his general philosophies on why these three ingredients together create unforgettable moments in films and art.
- Breakdown of how each element works, with examples from other films.
- General writing and storyboarding techniques, followed by a screening of his short film Weekends.
MEMORY and the resonance of the past
Trevor will deep-dive into the making of Weekends to explain how personal experience creates stories that are both specific and universal.
- Inspiration and writing process, and how to juggle personal projects with studio work.
- Finding the look of Weekends by tapping into memory and lived experience while collaborating with others.
- Tips for boarding and constructing your own animatic, navigating music rights and festivals, and the animation pipeline.
Life is SURREAL
Trevor will share his insights on where surreal ideas come from and how to execute them, as well as his learnings directing at a larger studio like Pixar.
- Drawing from your subconscious and discovering surreal concepts by keeping a sketchbook and other methods.
- A breakdown of Win or Lose E06 'Mixed Signals', and the evolution and execution of Yuwen's 'heart' in the episode.
- Surrealism in the film Soul, where Trevor will break down directing the 'Fall' sequence at the start of the film.
Powerful EMOTION is earned
Trevor will discuss his role as head of story on Soul and how the emotional climax of Joe’s epiphany came to be.
- Discussion on what makes something inherently emotional and the importance of emotional/setup payoff.
- Collaborating with directors Pete Docter and Kemp Powers to build Joe’s emotional arc through a feature film narrative structure.
- Storyboards and brainstorming examples and how they evolved to finished scenes that collectively deliver an emotional punchline.
BIOGRAPHIES
Vancouver-born and raised, Keith Blackmore is a passionate supporter for all things animated in the Vancouver area. A producer for the SPARK ANIMATION Festival, Keith has presented, interviewed and moderated at many festivals and studios. Most recently, he was on the Film Jury for the 2022 Taiwan International Student Design Competition, the largest student design competition around the world. Keith is also the host of the monthly Vancouver Civic Theatres’ film series, Silent Movie Mondays, at the opulent and historic Orpheum Theatre.
Besides his work with the Spark CG Society, Keith continues to educate and inspire students at the Vancouver Film School, in his weekly History of Animation classes.
Trevor Jimenez is a director at Pixar Animation Studios, where he is currently directing an upcoming feature film slated for 2028. He also directed “Mixed Signals,” episode six of Pixar’s Win or Lose.
Trevor previously spent more than 10 years in Pixar’s story department, contributing to Finding Dory, Coco, Luca, and Soul, the latter as Story Supervisor. His short film Weekends was nominated for an Academy Award, won the 2019 Annie Award for Best Animated Short, and received both the Jury Award and Audience Award at Annecy in 2018.
Before joining Pixar, Trevor worked as a story artist at several studios, including Blue Sky, Walt Disney Feature Animation, Illumination, and Henry Selick’s Cinderbiter Studios. Originally from Hamilton, Canada, he now lives in Berkeley, California, USA.
© 2026 · Spark CG Society