Join Ian Sweeney, Tim Budgen, Michaela Ternasky-Holland and Arthur Machado as our talented panellists talk through what the future of immersive storytelling looks like through both their personal and professional lenses. Moderated by Kōawa Studios Games Ambassador, Chelsea Rapp.

Panel discussion and Q&A followed by Industry networking drinks and nibbles.

Connect with pioneering voices shaping the next frontier of storytelling across immersive, interactive, and XR platforms.
Be inspired by conversations on how technology can deepen - not replace - our emotional and human connection to stories.
Network with national and international leaders, creatives, technologists, and students in immersive media and storytelling.

Panel -

Moderator, Chelsea Rapp:

Chelsea is the Co-CEO and Head of Strategy for CerebralFix, an entertainment development studio in Christchurch that creates video games and digital location-based experiences for clients like Disney, Universal, DreamWorks, and Pixar. She also serves as the Games Ambassador for Kōawa Studios at the University of Canterbury, where she works to connect industry partners to educators and researchers.

A leader in the New Zealand games industry for more than five years, Chelsea is also a renowned public speaker, an advocate within the community, and previously served as the Chairperson of the NZGDA.

Michaela Ternasky-Holland:

Michaela A. Ternasky-Holland is a Peabody-nominated and Emmy award-winning director who specializes in creating impactful stories using immersive and interactive technology. She is one of the first directors to create and premiere a short film utilizing Open AI’s SORA platform, which screened at Tribeca Festival. As a nominee for the Producers Guild of America’s Innovation Award, she is also a consultant, speaker, and thought leader, who has been recognized as one of the 100 Original Voices of XR and listed as one of Blooloop’s 50 Immersive Influencers

Ian Sweeney:

Ian trained at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. After a stint in theatre and Opera, he went on to become a Copywriter and Creative Director in some of the biggest and more respected ad agencies in London, Paris and Auckland. His advertising work has won awards at Cannes, D&AD, Clios, One Show, Axis and the YouTube awards.

His short film Time Tourists was the first short in Aotearoa to be shot entirely using virtual production. The film won Best Screenplay at Show Me Short 2022 and Best VFX at the Poppy Jaspers Film Festival. It has been screened at festivals around the world, as well as on Rialto Channel and Canal+.

He’s created immersive experiences for Air New Zealand in partnership with Magic Leap and Framestore and is passionate about applying new technologies to storytelling.

He’s also a prolific music video director whose narrative approach to promos won him Best Music Video at the Aotearoa Music Awards in 2019 and Best Music Video at Show Me Short in 2023.

Tim Budgen:

Tim Budgen is a digital motion designer and animator based in Christchurch, New Zealand. Tim has over 25 years experience in animation and post-production design for video installations, television, online media, and corporate events. He has directed and produced music videos, and creates motion graphics and visuals for live music events and festivals, including Electric Avenue and Homegrown, and for artists including Tiki Taane, Shapeshifter, and Fly My Pretties.

In addition to his freelance work, he has taught animation and motion graphics for over 20 years and is currently a lecturer in Game Art & Animation at Canterbury University.

Arthur Machado:

Arthur Machado is an experienced advertising film producer and a pioneering AI Director and Artist, working with brands, agencies, and production companies around the world. With nearly 20 years in the industry, he has held key roles at AlmapBBDO and Paranoid Films in Brazil, and at Resonate in New Zealand.

Now focused on pushing the boundaries of storytelling through AI, Arthur works across a range of formats, from leading creative and production end-to-end to collaborating on projects by producing visual assets or providing AI consultancy.

Arthur’s personal AI-driven projects have also gained wide acclaim. His short film LLM – Modello Linguístico Divino has been selected and awarded at festivals worldwide, alongside other viral and award-winning AI productions.

Represented by Paranoid BR as an AI Director in Brazil, and by The Moon Unit as an AI Artist internationally, Arthur continues to explore how emerging technologies can unlock new visual languages and contribute to the future of filmmaking.