She’s worked on global hits including Shrek, and now the woman leading tech communications at DreamWorks Animation discusses the importance of data for wowing cinema audiences.

Kate Swanborg, senior vice-president of technology communications and strategic alliances at the US movie giant founded by Steven Spielberg, says there has been a “leap forward” in computer graphics capabilities since the 2001 fairytale hit starring Mike Myers and Eddie Murphy.

Now, similar films contain so much data that by the final cut, half a billion digital files need rendering.

Kate says it’s part of a revolution since characters had something of a “plasticky” finish in the early days of computer animation, to more a realistic - but data-heavy - appearance of fur and water effects.

She also discusses why greater representation for women in the company’s engineering and artist roles is crucial, and the importance of university partnerships to encourage more black filmmakers.

Kate spoke to Tech & Science Daily ahead of the release of animation caper The Bad Guys, featuring a stellar cast including Sam Rockwell, Awkwafina and Richard Ayoade.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.