Human-Computer Interaction Talk Series: Dr. Moshe Mahler, "Artist-Driven Design Concepts and Principles."

Abstract: The evolution of artist toolsets has created opportunities for new media and industrial growth. As these tools evolve, the advantages of digital media become clearer. Still, many digital toolsets are drifting further from their traditional predecessors, developing highly technical workflows and unfamiliar interfaces. Without a standard language or classification system across artist toolsets, measuring these paradigms becomes convoluted. Moreover, it is unclear how augmenting production pipelines affects practitioners' workflows within a professional studio. In this talk, Moshe Mahler will examine this evolution through the lens of Artist-driven Design. Drawing on the history of artists' toolsets, his experiences at The Walt Disney Company, his work as an animator, filmmaker, studio owner, and his research in human-computer interaction, Mahler will explore how we might better understand the relationship between artists and the tools they use through new methodologies, principles, and systems of measurement.

Bio: Moshe Mahler is an award-winning professional innovator, animator, and storyteller whose work has been featured in attractions at Disney Parks and Resorts and shown worldwide at prestigious venues including SIGGRAPH, UIST, CHI, Comic Con, and Ars Electronica. Mahler's animated short film, "The Art of Weightlessness," won SIGGRAPH's Best in Show Award in 2024 and qualified for an Academy Award. For nearly a decade, Mahler led The Creative Technology Team at Disney Research of The Walt Disney Company, where he served as the Principal Artist. Under his supervision, the team worked hand in hand with elite Research Scientists to invent and utilize new technologies across the Walt Disney Company, collaborating with Pixar, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Disney Consumer Products, Disney Television Animation, Imagineering, and more. Mahler has authored more than a dozen technical papers at premier conferences and holds four issued patents. Moshe currently holds a Faculty position at The Entertainment Technology Center of Carnegie Mellon University and is a Principal and Owner of BIG eMotion Technologies.