With Morten Thorning Senior Consultant & Daniel Callaby Executive Producer & Animator (Credits include Arcane, Despicable Me, Sing)
What makes an animated performance feel truly alive?
After more than 15 years working across high-end animation and feature production, Morten Thorning and Daniel Callaby present The Seven Approaches to Realistic Animation – a powerful framework designed to help animators work with greater intention, emotional depth, and authenticity.
Rather than chasing technical perfection, this masterclass explores the idea that realism in animation is born from truth. Compelling performances emerge from imperfection, nuance, and sincerity from the subtle choices that make digital characters feel human.
Developed through a series of innovation labs and refined within PANEURAMA’s Innovation Alliance, The Seven Approaches reveal the foundations of realistic animation by drawing on acting theory, psychology, and observational movement. Participants will learn how subtext, timing, and character identity shape emotions that are felt, not simply shown.
This session is both inspirational and practical, offering animators new ways of thinking about performance—regardless of style, toolset, or level of experience.
The Foundations of Realism in animated performance
Why imperfection and subtlety create more believable characters
How truth, intention, and emotional drivers shape animation
The role of subtext, timing, and character identity
Parasite movements, imperfections, and unconscious motion
The intersection of acting, psychology, and animation
How to apply these approaches across different animation styles
Animators seeking stronger, more believable performances
Students and emerging talent developing their craft
Professionals working in character animation across film, TV, or games
Anyone interested in the emotional truth behind animated characters
With Kristoff Serrand
Character Animation Manager (EMEA), Netflix Animation
After a lifetime dedicated to character animation, few people have contributed to as many feature films as Kristoff Serrand. Now Character Animation Manager for EMEA at Netflix Animation, Kristoff brings a rare combination of artistic depth, industry perspective, and hard-earned wisdom.
This masterclass is aimed at animators at the beginning of their careers, offering an honest, personal reflection on what it really means to build a long-term life in animation.
Kristoff will share his own journey into the industry – the mistakes, failures, breakthroughs, and successes that shaped his path. Beyond individual experience, the session reflects on how animation has evolved from a craft-driven discipline into a global, industrialised ecosystem, and what that transformation means for today’s emerging talent.
Rather than offering shortcuts or formulas, this session invites participants to think deeply about craft, resilience, and longevity in a profession that continues to change rapidly.
Kristoff’s personal journey into professional character animation
Early-career mistakes and lessons learned the hard way
How the animation field has evolved into a full-scale global industry
What has been gained (and lost) through industrialisation
How career paths in animation have changed over time
What skills, mindsets, and values matter for long-term growth
How Kristoff sees the animation profession evolving in the years ahead
Animation students and recent graduates
Early-career animators navigating their first professional steps
Creatives seeking perspective on long-term career development
Anyone curious about the evolution of animation as an industry
