Digital Domain Taps Technology Veteran Hanno Basse as its First Chief Technology Officer

Microsoft, 20th Century Fox and DirectTV Veteran Joins the Legendary VFX Studio to Help the Company Scale and Remain an Industry Leader

Award-winning visual effects studio Digital Domain announces that digital technologies pioneer Hanno Basse has been named the company’s Chief Technology Officer. Basse will oversee the studio’s continued growth as it scales up its global operations, while helping to develop new technologies and techniques that ensure the highest level of quality across all mediums.

Basse joins Digital Domain during an unprecedented period of growth. With offices around the world – including a new 500+ person studio in Montreal – the VFX house will celebrate its 30th anniversary in 2023 with a full docket of projects, ranging from blockbuster features to high-profile episodics to major ad campaigns. As CTO, Basse will oversee the ongoing development of Digital Domain’s industry-leading digital human and autonomous human technologies, along with its AI-powered tools. He will also help to ensure that both clients and artists can call upon the most advanced VFX and filmmaking techniques, including everything from virtual production to real-time CG.

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“Over the last 30 years, Digital Domain has provided the industry with top-of-the-line artistry and groundbreaking technologies to pair,” said Daniel Seah, CEO of Digital Domain. “In a rapidly evolving content industry with several emerging platforms and mediums, Hanno is exactly the right person to help bring our leading technology offerings to the next level.”

Basse is an entertainment industry veteran, with over 30 years of experience helping companies integrate and implement new technologies. His resume includes a recent tenure as the CTO of Microsoft Azure Media and Entertainment, where he oversaw the implementation of Microsoft’s Azure cloud technology, as well as edge and AI technologies. He also handled content production, post-production workflows for studios, while working with customers, partners, industry groups and vendors.

Before joining Microsoft, Basse held the role of CTO at 20th Century Fox Film Corp, where he was instrumental in positioning the company for the next generation of entertainment technologies, including the advent of high dynamic range and Ultra-HD. Prior to his time at Fox, Basse was a member of DirecTV, where as a senior vice president of broadcast systems engineering, he was an integral part of its 2005 transition to HD – the largest rollout of its kind at the time. In 2009, he also helped to launch DirecTV’s video-on-demand infrastructure, spearheading the movement toward a new distribution model for content.

Along with his corporate accomplishments, Basse is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and a Fellow of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers. He has also been awarded 30 separate patents.

“The next few years are going to be crucial for the VFX industry, as studios adapt to the needs of both the clients and audiences,” said Basse. “We can’t just keep up, we need to continue to innovate and develop new tools and pipelines to give content creators more options, while also ensuring our artists have what they need to succeed and thrive. I am thrilled to be part of Digital Domain, and I can’t wait to see where we go next.”

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