Former Pixar and DJ2 Entertainment Exec Will Oversee Creative Design and Narrative of Massively Interactive Live Events (MILEs)
NEW YORK, NY – September 21, 2022 – Genvid Entertainment today announced that entertainment industry veteran Stephan Bugaj has joined the company as Chief Creative Officer. Bugaj will spearhead the creative and narrative aspects of Genvid’s forthcoming lineup of massively interactive live events (MILEs) launching next year and beyond.
Bugaj was previously Chief Creative Innovation Officer at DJ2 Entertainment, a leading feature film, television and digital content production firm specializing in video-game-to-TV/movie adaptations including 2020’s Sonic the Hedgehog – the highest grossing feature film based on a video game franchise. His production credits while at DJ2 include Ruiner, Sleeping Dogs, and the forthcoming Tomb Raider animated series debuting on Netflix next year. He also wrote and had a recurring role in Genvid’s Rival Speak, the Wil Wheaton-hosted weekly recap show for Rival Peak, the world’s first commercial MILE in 2020 (which he also co-wrote).
Earlier in his career he was Studio Creative Director at Telltale Games, providing creative direction and story development for its hugely successful video game titles including Walking Dead, Game of Thrones, Tales From the Borderlands, and The Wolf Among Us. As a writer and “personality designer” for Hanson Robotics, Bugaj secured a Hollywood talent agent for virtual human Sophia, making her the first android with industry representation.
Bugaj’s track record also includes twelve years at Pixar Animation Studios on both the technical and creative sides, with credits including Cars, The Incredibles and Brave. He played a primary role in reengineering Pixar’s end-to-end feature production process and pipeline; and developed and co-developed numerous production tools still in use at the studio, such as the Wall-E robot shading suite. Prior to that, Bugaj conducted multimedia storytelling and interface research on behalf of Bell Labs.
“Stephan is that unique combination of visionary storyteller and veteran visual effects tech wizard that Hollywood produces once or twice in a generation,” said Jacob Navok, co-founder and CEO of Genvid. “His entire array of skills will help establish MILEs as the next major category of interactive entertainment.”
“I’ve been fortunate to tell some really fun stories through many forms of traditional and nontraditional media, from passive/linear to branching/interactive and across film, TV and video games – even robots,” said Bugaj. “Genvid’s vision for MILEs as authentic narratives that engage and involve global audiences in the millions collectively influencing what they’re seeing in real time is clearly the next big evolutionary leap in storytelling, and I’m thrilled to be part of this amazing new adventure.”
About Genvid Entertainment
Genvid Entertainment, LLC is a subsidiary of Genvid Holdings, Inc. and the first publisher devoted to bringing massively interactive live events (MILEs) to market. Combining globally renowned brands with best-in-class development, production and marketing, MILEs are a new category of audience driven, worldwide, live events that offer immersive stories with the viewers instantly influencing the world and characters in ways big and small to help decide the outcome and shape canon. The Walking Dead: Last Mile is Genvid’s latest MILE, launched in summer 2022. A number of additional MILEs involving major comic book, TV/film, and video game franchises are currently in production, launching over the next two years, with more to come. Visit Genvid.com for more information.
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