Oren Jacob Summary Creating conversation as entertainment at ToyTalk. Before that, 20 years in computer graphics and animation at Pixar. The intersection of technology and storytelling. Film production. Visual effects. Design. Large software system architecture. And I can type really fast. Experience May 2011 - Present (3 years 9 months) ToyTalk is a family entertainment company creating conversation as entertainment. Instructor, Entrepreneurship at Haas School of Business, UC Berkeley 2011 - Present (4 years) Teaching with Steve Blank in the joint UCBerkeley Columbia MBA program. Mentor at 500 Startups April 2011 - April 2013 (2 years 1 month) I'm a mentor to several companies in the 500 Startups family. Instructor, Entrepreneurship at Columbia University September 2011 - December 2011 (4 months) Teaching with Steve Blank in the joint UCBerkeley Columbia MBA program. Executive Producer at Ensemble Pictures 2006 - October 2011 (5 years) "Ready, Set, Bag!" Executive Producer, 2008 (documentary) "Runners High" Executive Producer, 2006 (documentary) 2 recommendations available upon request Director, Studio Tools at Pixar January 2004 - April 2011 (7 years 4 months) Design, build, and successfully ship a completely new animation system for the studio. The first film created with this new system was Brave (summer '11). E245 course mentor at Stanford University January 2011 - March 2011 (3 months) Page1
I was one of the mentors in Steve Blank's E245 "Lean Launchpad" class. I helped advise the 10 companies in the class on their presentations, pitches, and stories. Entrepreneur in Residence at August Capital 2011-2011 (less than a year) Chief Technical Officer at Pixar January 2008 - September 2010 (2 years 9 months) Worked with all senior studio leadership to help balance each show's needs and wants with longer term technical plans. Part of the job is playing offense by building new things and extending capabilities to further expand the studio's artistic reach and productivity goals. And part of the job is playing defense against vendors retiring software or hardware that is already part of our pipeline. 1 recommendation available upon request Supervising Technical Director, Finding Nemo at Pixar January 2000 - December 2003 (4 years) Responsible for delivery of all technical work on the film. Creative approval of the visual effects, including all the water. Preproduction. Hiring, casting, and managing all technical crew (200+, across all departments). Instructor, Character Animation, and Curriculum Design at Academy of Art University September 1994 - June 2002 (7 years 10 months) Taught Animated Short Film with Jimmy Hayward. Also drafted the curriculum for the BA in Character Animation degree, which was later approved and still forms the foundation of that degree program. Associate Technical Director and Effects Lead, Toy Story 2 at Pixar January 1996 - December 1999 (4 years) In addition to many other things, I did the visual effects on the shots in the opening sequence where 250,000 robots all try to shoot Buzz with their lasers. And Buzz takes one shot through that crystal and blows all of them up instead. Technical Director, A Bugs Life at Pixar Animation Studios June 1998 - August 1998 (3 months) My summer with b1_1, the 1492 frames of the opening shot of the film. Instructor, Pixar University at Pixar Animation Studios January 1996 - December 1996 (1 year) Taught the first Pixar University training class for newly hired technical directors at the studio. Lighting and Effects TD, Toy Story at Pixar Animation Studios January 1995 - December 1995 (1 year) Page2
SidsBackpack shading, lighting several shots in SidsHouse, and lots and lots of lighting and effects work in the final chase sequence, t38. In particular, I did the effects work on the rocket exhaust that came out of the rocket strapped to Buzz's back when Buzz and Woody launched up in the air. Technical Director, various TV commercials at Pixar Animation Studios June 1990 - December 1994 (4 years 7 months) Listerine, Apple, Coca Cola, IBM, LifeSavers, NutriGrain, THX, TetraPak, DOW, and too many others to mention... Skills & Expertise Start-ups Computer Graphics Animation Film iphone Mac OS X User Experience Mobile Applications Mobile Devices Software Development Entrepreneurship Visual Effects Video Short Films 3D Project Management Character Animation Video Games Product Management OS X Early-stage Startups Film Production Digital Media Lighting C++ Strategy Energetic Leader Leadership ios development Commercials Entertainment Storytelling Page3
Education Alpine Skills International certificate, Avalanche Safety, 2009-2010 Activities and Societies: AIARE Level I and AIARE Level 2 certification. University of California, Berkeley MS, Mech Eng, 1993-1995 University of California, Berkeley BS, Mechanical Engineering, 1989-1992 University High School high school, 1985-1989 Interests (in alphabetical order) Family. Film. Gardening. Snowboarding. Software. Story. Technology. Page4
Oren Jacob 3 people have recommended Oren "Oren uses his competitive spirit to do the best work at whatever he is in charge of. This guy's energy and drive is astounding. Thanks for letting us work with you!" Jonathan Collins, Partner + Creative Director, Epipheo Studios, was with another company when working with Oren at Ensemble Pictures "Oren is a close friend and a partner. Working together with him, for over 5 years, has been a pleasure and a privilege. He is very generous with his knowledge and skills and when managing projects or teams he has always been calm, supportive and insightful. There have been occasions when our projects were under extreme pressure and Oren's guidance have provided the confidence and reassuring that one would like in such a moment. Additionally, he is a very nice person and a great cook." Alex D. da Silva, Director / Cinematographer, Ensemble Pictures, worked directly with Oren at Ensemble Pictures "Oren is a passionate professional, who inspires everyone around him with the commitment to making things work. This artist, engineer and leader is one of my most memorable and influential mentors in computer animated film making, and I am proud to call him a friend." Alex Orrelle, Animator, Pixar Animation Studios, worked indirectly for Oren at Pixar Contact Oren on LinkedIn Page5