Danielle Feinberg, currently working as the Director of Photography and Lighting at Pixar Animation Studios, is one of two international speakers visiting Pilani this APOGEE. She will be giving a talk at the Think Again Conclave, on 23rd February in the Main Auditorium. Feinberg grew up designing spirographs in LOGO at the age of eight, later going on to graduate from Harvard University in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science. She then joined Pixar as a technician where she managed large libraries of data and images. Feinberg soon discovered her love for lighting effects and worked in movies such as Toy Story 2, Monsters, Inc., and Ratatouille, winning plaudits for her work in visual effects and graphics. Since then, she has worked as the Director of Photography and Lighting on Academy Award winning films such as WALL-E and Brave, as well as on the recently released movie Coco.

In an interview conducted in 2011, Feinberg said that she has always strived to make her characters believable rather than real. She believes that making humans more stylized, like in The Incredibles—and not aiming for photorealism—makes it easier for viewers to relate with them. However, she agreed that they strived for realism in aspects such as smoke, fire, explosions, and waterfalls. If the background didn’t follow the laws of physics, the entire movie would look cartoonish and distract the audience.

Feinberg has also worked towards increasing the number of women in STEM fields and has mentored students through organizations like Girls Who Code. Feinberg has also spoken out about the challenges faced by a woman pursuing Computer Science: “One thing I really missed when growing up with computers was having any role models or mentors that were women.” She also spends her time at science camps, teaching computer animation and encouraging young girls to pursue careers in code, math, and art.