Filmmaker Connie He + Google DeepMind's Márcia Mayer on Making the Tribeca Festival Animated Short Film

In this episode, we welcome director Connie He and Google DeepMind’s Márcia Mayer to discuss the making of Dear Upstairs Neighbors, which premiered at the Tribeca Festival in June. Connie and Márcia, both Pixar alumni, embarked on a creative journey to explore how emerging technologies could help bring Connie’s story and artistic vision to life. In our conversation, they discuss their respective roles in the project, the collaborative process behind this unique animated film, DeepMind’s mission to empower creators through cutting-edge technology, and what they learned along the way. They also share advice for the next generation of storytellers navigating today’s rapidly evolving creative landscape.“The Making Of” is presented by AJA:AJA introduces high-performance Thunderbolt™ 5-enabled PCIe expansion chassisMeet Io Xpand, a Thunderbolt 5 expansion chassis for AJA KONA and Corvid I/O cards. Io Xpand lets video professionals integrate the performance of AJA PCIe I/O cards on Thunderbolt 5 laptops and mini-PCs for an incredibly powerful, fast, and portable I/O solution for on set, remote production, and live switching. Visit hereA Solution Built Around Your WorkflowThe OWC Express 4M2 Ultra is available in a range of configurations to fit your workflow and budget. Choose from ready-to-run solutions with up to 32TB of high-performance NVMe storage, giving you the speed, capacity, and reliability needed for everything from multi-camera editing to demanding VFX and finishing workflows. Available now. Learn more hereNew York City | July 28The sports-production landscape is undergoing a dramatic transformation as a result of the cloud and AI, and SVG’s new Cloud & Content Workflows Summit is where the industry comes together to navigate it. As virtualized hardware, cloud-based workflows, and AI-powered tools become more commonplace, the entire sports-production supply chain is being reimagined from the ground up. This special event brings together SVG’s previous Cloud Production and Content Management events into a single, comprehensive day of programming—covering both live and non-live production workflows alike. Learn more hereZEISS Introduces Horizon Anamorphic: Full-Frame 2x Anamorphics with a New Lens Technology PlatformZEISS unveils the Horizon Anamorphic series, a new lineup of full-frame 2x anamorphic cinema lenses designed to deliver a distinctive cinematic look along with a new lens technology platform that answers the need for speed and precision demanded by contemporary production workflows.Spanning 35mm to 200mm across seven focal lengths, Horizon lenses combine their anamorphic look—incorporating a pronounced oval bokeh and stretched sense of spatial depth—with a lightweight, fully integrated motorized system that eliminates the need for external focus or iris motors. Read more hereSanDisk Extreme PRO USB4 Portable SSDPower your workflow with the SanDisk Extreme PRO USB4 Portable SSD, available in 2TB and 4TB capacities. Featuring speeds up to 3800 MB/s read and 3700 MB/s write, it’s built for fast transfers and editing. The rugged, IP65-rated design is ready for work anywhere. Learn more at Videoguys or call 800.323.2325 for free tech advice. View herePodcast Rewind:July 2026 - Ep. 141.Explore a Partnership with The Making Of:Reach over 275,000 film industry, broadcast professionals, and content creators reading this weekly newsletter. To learn more, please email mvalinsky@me.com Get full access to The Making Of at themakingof.substack.com/subscribe