Full Sail University is proud to announce the 2016 Full Sail University Hall of Fame induction class comprised of six graduates recognized for outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment, media, and the arts. The induction of this new class of honorees will occur during Full Sail’s 8th Annual Hall of Fame Week, scheduled to be held February 12-17, 2017.

Full Sail University’s 8th Annual Hall of Fame will include a weeklong series of campus-wide events featuring:

• Speaking engagements, workshops, and hands-on technology demonstrations from leading industry influencers, experts, and companies
• Career networking events focused on employment and mentoring for students and graduates
• Live musical performances featuring a variety of artists and genres
• Film screenings and viewing events

In addition to several events that will be open to the public and made available via online streaming, the week will culminate in an induction ceremony to celebrate and recognize this latest class of inductees.

The inductees to be honored during Full Sail University’s 8th Annual Hall of Fame Week are:

Stephen Beres

• Current Title: Vice President, Media & Production Operations, HBO
• Stephen Beres currently serves as Vice President of HBO's Media, Technology & Production Operations group, where he leads a West Coast based team of technologists in pushing the state-of-the art in digital production and interactive experience for record setting television shows such as Silicon Valley, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and cultural phenomenon Game of Thrones. Before taking over the department, Steve had many roles at HBO, including Technology Architect. He remains active in the research, development, and implementation of new technology as a means of empowering creativity (on every project).
• Stephen co-founded and served as Chief Technical Officer for PlasterCITY Digital Post, a Hollywood based company that was a key player in the post industry (from 2004-2009). PlasterCITY pioneered many of the postproduction practices that are industry standard today.
• Stephen has worked on numerous television and film projects for Sony Pictures Classics, Mandalay Entertainment, Fox Sports, Comedy Central, The WB and many more.
• Stephen is a popular guest speaker at MacWorld, NAB, HPA and SMPTE. He’s Currently on the SMPTE board of governors for California and is active in educating the filmmakers of tomorrow.
• 2004 Graduate (Film)

Andrew Coleman

• Current Title: Producer, Mixer & Engineer
• Industry Credits: As a GRAMMY award-winning Producer, Mixer and Engineer Andrew Coleman has worked with some of the hottest artists of the past two decades including: Pharrell Williams, Justin Timberlake, Madonna, Gwen Stefani, N*E*R*D, Lenny Kravitz, Christina Aguilera, Pink, Little Big Town, Zac Brown, Snoop Dogg, Bruno Mars, Robin Thicke, Prince, The Rolling Stones, Beyoncé, Jay Z, Usher, and Ludacris, to name a few.
• Andrew is also the Chief Engineer for the Neptunes (Pharrell Williams & Chad Hugo), and won his first GRAMMY in 2003 for his work on Justin Timberlake’s “Justified” and his second GRAMMY in 2014 for his work on Pharrell Williams’ album “Girl.”
• 1995 Graduate (Recording Arts)

Jack Geckler

• Current Title: Animation Lead/Crowd Supervisor at Digital Domain
• Industry Credits: Jack Geckler recently returned to Digital Domain in Los Angeles where he is an Animation Lead/Crowd Supervisor on feature films.
• Some of Jack’s past work includes: Star Wars: The Force Awakens, How to Train Your Dragon, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Kung Fu Panda 2, Rise of the Guardians, Home, The Golden Compass, G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra, Beowulf, Sky High, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.
• Jack has also worked on a variety of video games including: Madden NFL 17, WWE Smackdown vs. RAW, 50 Cent Bulletproof, and Fight Club, and his commercial work includes spots for Toyota, Lexus, Dodge, Propel, Nintendo, and Corona.
• In addition to his time at Digital Domain, Jack has also worked for Pixomondo, Industrial Light and Magic, DreamWorks Animation, Halon Entertainment, Sony Pictures Imageworks, and Electronic Arts.
• 2000 Graduate (Computer Animation)

Steven C. Miller

• Current Title: Film Director, Writer, & Editor
• Industry Credits: Film Director, Writer, and Editor, Steven C. Miller began working on his first independent release immediately after graduating from Full Sail’s Film degree program. Shot in just nine days, his debut film Automaton Transfusion eventually premiered at Mann’s Chinese Theater during Screamfest, was picked up and released by Dimension Films, and is now a cult classic.
• Steven is currently in production on Southern Fury starring Nicolas Cage, and has gone on to direct films including: Extraction, Submerged, Silent Night, Under The Bed, Aggression Scale and the newly released Marauders starring Bruce Willis.
• In addition to big-screen releases in theaters across the country, Steven’s work has been featured at SXSW and the Toronto After Dark film festivals.
• 2004 Graduate (Film)

Elbert Perez

• Current Title: Senior VR Developer with HTC Creative Labs
• Industry Credits: Elbert Perez has used his passion for both the technical and creative sides of video gaming as a driving force in his career. Elbert currently works as a Senior VR Developer with HTC Creative Labs and is focused on the cutting-edge of virtual reality through his work on the HTC Vive.
• Some of his previous work at Microsoft included: Xbox One, Halo 4, Ryse: Son of Rome, Sunset Overdrive, Ascend: Hand of Kul, Smartglass, XNA, Windows Vista and a variety of Xbox Live arcade titles.
• In addition, Elbert is an independent game developer with more than 20 titles across Steam, Windows Phone, Android, and iOS that have been downloaded more than 3 million times.
• 2004 Graduate (Game Development)

Martin Potoczny

• Current Title: Founder and CEO of LUXE Creative
• Industry Credits: Martin Potoczny is Founder and CEO of LUXE Creative, a leading creative studio located in Pittsburgh, PA, specializing in custom, luxury event production and creative brand design and consulting. As a Visual Artist, Creative Director and Producer, Martin is also highly skilled in the worlds of light installations, digital media, laser, special effects and custom art installations. Martin’s eye for dynamic production has been featured over the past decade on tour with Madonna’s Sticky and Sweet World Tour, Rihanna’s Rated R World Tour, tours featuring Lady Antebellum, Tom Petty, Coachella Music Festival, Korn, and Roger Waters, as well as with corporate clients that include MTV, Microsoft, Disney, Sony, Virgin Atlantic, Bose, Chanel, and John Varvatos.
• 2005 Graduate (Show Production)

Since 2009, Full Sail University has celebrated the now time-honored tradition that is the Full Sail University Hall of Fame. Its purpose is to acknowledge those graduates who have made outstanding contributions to the world of entertainment, media, and the arts throughout the university’s 37+ year history. This honor serves as a tribute to the creative inspiration, technical brilliance, and determination of each inductee, their unyielding dedication to more than a decade of excellence in their professional career, and their heartfelt commitment to the students, faculty, staff, and alumni of Full Sail University.

Additional information regarding events, special guests, and live musical performances will be announced closer to Hall of Fame Week. Please visit the official Full Sail Blog for more details, and follow @FullSail to join the #FullSailHOF conversation on Twitter.

About Full Sail University:

Full Sail University is an award-winning educational leader for those pursuing careers in entertainment media and emerging technologies. Founded in 1979, Full Sail has been recognized as one of the Top Five Game Degree Programs by Electronic Gaming Monthly, one of the Best Music Programs by Rolling Stone Magazine, and one of the Best Film Programs by UNleashed Magazine. In 2011, Full Sail received the “21st Century Best Practices in Distance Learning Award” from the United States Distance Learning Association, was named the “School/College of the Year” by the Florida Association of Postsecondary Schools and Colleges, and was recognized as one of the Top 100 Social Media Colleges by Studentadvisor.com.

Full Sail offers Master, Bachelor, and Associate campus and online degree programs in areas related to animation, art, business, education, graphic design, film, marketing, web development, music, recording arts, sports, and video games. Full Sail graduate credits include work on OSCAR^®, Emmy^®, GRAMMY^®, ADDY^®, MTV Video Music Award, and Spike Video Game Award nominated and winning projects.

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