About Us

John Helliker

John Helliker is the Dean of Innovation and Engagement at Sheridan College and the founder of SIRT. John has been an inspiration at Sheridan College since 2005, initially teaching direction and pre-visualization as a faculty member. Prior to this, John worked extensively and successfully as a director and writer within the Canadian film and television industry. In 2012, John was presented with Ontario’s prestigious ORION Leadership Award for Higher Education. In 2014, he was awarded the Association of Canadian Community Colleges National Leadership Excellence Award, which recognizes his innovative work at SIRT. Currently, his creative and research focus is on virtual reality, empathy and social action.

David Oppenheim

David Oppenheim is an Oscar-nominated, Peabody Award nominee and multiple Webby award winning Creative Producer and Researcher. His productions have also won multiple Canadian Screen Awards, a Peabody-Facebook Futures of Media Award, and have premiered at major festivals including Venice, Tribeca, Sundance and TIFF. David is currently the Director of the Screen Industries Research and Training Centre (SIRT) at Sheridan College in Toronto, an applied research lab working with emerging technologies and screen-based industries such as film, television, interactive media, gaming and performing arts. Before joining SIRT he was a Producer / Creative Producer of films and interactive experiences, most recently at the National Film Board of Canada where his credits included Draw Me Close, Agence, The Book of Distance, Otherly, The Space We Hold and To Kill a Tiger. David is a past resident at the Canadian Film Centre’s Media Lab.

https://davidoppenheim.online/

Bronwyn MacDowell

Bronwyn MacDowell is SIRT’s project management expert. As the Project Manager at SIRT, she leads and participates in full cycle applied research processes and ensures accountability for the efficient and compliant management of records and information assets. She graduated from Brock University with a Bachelor of Arts in Film Studies and completed a Post Graduate Degree in Project Management at Sheridan College. With over seven years of project management experience, Bronwyn provides coaching and mentorship to project leads and team members to ensure successful project deliverables meet deadline requirements. In addition, she works closely with the Director to develop new research project opportunities that place SIRT at the forefront of Canadian Research Centres.

Spencer Idenouye

Spencer Idenouye is the Virtual Production Lead at SIRT. As part of a collaborative team, Spencer is creating an integrated virtual production studio for training, applied research and commercial services. He provides leadership and expertise in applied research and technical research for the movie, television and gaming industries, and is focused on the application of VR technologies. Spencer’s education is extensive: A Masters in 3D animation, BFA in Media Arts & Digital Technologies and two post-graduate diplomas in Directing and Editing in Advanced Television and Film and Computer Animation Digital Visual Effects. His expertise includes directing, editing, VFX artistry, cinematography, digital content production and motion capture.

Stephan Kozak

Stephan has been a VFX Supervisor, Technical Director, CG artist, animator, compositor and designer in the commercial and VFX industry. He has over 15 years of award-winning experience as well as 5 years of postsecondary teaching under his belt. Stephan has worked with big clients such as Alliance Atlantis, IMAX, Corus Entertainment, Coca-Cola, Disney, Paramount and many others. He has extensive knowledge of many software platforms including Maya, 3DS Max, Zbrush, Substance Painter, Marvelous Designer, Unreal and 3D scanner to name just a few. Currently, he works with industry partners, Sheridan faculty and students to create high-quality content for tech markets and develop new strategies for current technologies. Furthermore, he is doing extensive research and development work with virtual humans and digital double creation for virtual reality, gaming and broadcast.

Mike Darmitz

Mike takes lead on projects that involve substantial programming, software architecture, or software integration efforts. Mike has an extensive background in virtual reality and augmented reality; he previously served as the Head of Software for Sulon Technologies, a company that created one of the world’s first standalone augmented reality headsets. Years of working as a software engineer in the games industry have also provided him with experience in a diverse range of programming languages and platforms, and have allowed him to express his great passion for delivering compelling experiences to others.

James Rowan

At SIRT, James is a film production specialist and a member of the virtual production team, where he focuses his research on Unreal Engine and its applications in the film and live performance industries. James has an educational background in technology, and a professional background in film production. After nearly a decade of managing the technical portfolio of Sheridan’s Post-Grad Film program, he is exploring research and training at SIRT as an Unreal Authorized Instructor. Currently, he is exploring AI applications for the screen industries and completing a Master’s thesis around Generative AI and character animation.

Valentina Bachkarova

Val Bachkarova is the CGI Specialist at SIRT. Her admiration for video games began at a young age, which led to her specialization as a 3D Artist in design, creation, texturing and artwork optimization within the Unity engine. Val’s extensive knowledge is a key component to ensuring high-quality research results at SIRT. To support her work, Val’s academic history includes graduating from Humber College with a 3D Animation Art and Design Advanced Diploma. She has over three years of teaching experience as a Video Game Design Instructor and applies her advanced knowledge of Adobe Photoshop, 3Ds Max, MudBox, Unity, Unreal, Substance Painter, Substance Designer, and Faceware Suite on a daily basis.

Vlad Bronowicki

As a Software Engineering Specialist, Vlad Bronowicki specializes in game unity engine projects. He graduated from Humber College with Game Programming Diploma as well as a Software Development Network Engineering Diploma from Sheridan College. Vlad is a vital asset in providing guidance and assistance to SIRT's Co-op students throughout their work term.

Mohammad Moussa

Mohammad is a graduate of the Sheridan College Bachelor of Computer Science (Mobile Computing) program. He has experience in programming in game engines such as Unreal and Unity, as well as mobile app development. He has also worked on projects utilizing new technologies such as virtual and augmented reality.

Kevin Santos

Kevin Santos is the Film Production Specialist at SIRT and his exceptional filming talents make him a key asset to the SIRT team. His specialities include recording, capturing, and editing behind-the-scenes video and photo content of our various research projects at SIRT’s Stage 10 studio in both traditional and 360 video formats. Through his production skills and creative edge for video recording, Kevin captures high quality, anecdotal content that reflects SIRT Centre’s innovative research and development capabilities. Kevin graduated from Sheridan College with a Bachelor of Film and Television Degree, focusing on cinematography and visual effects.

Emerson Chan

Emerson Chan is the Film Post-Production Specialist at SIRT. Emerson has a keen eye for storytelling and uses this to create engaging video content that highlights SIRT Centre’s work with industry partners on innovation and training projects. He is highly proficient with multiple NLE’s including Adobe Premiere, Avid Media Composer and DaVinci Resolve. Emerson has a meticulous work ethic with a love for collaboration, making him a vital asset to SIRT. Emerson graduated from Sheridan College with a Bachelor of Film and Television Degree, focusing on editing and motion graphics.

Kirstin Bourne

Kirstin Bourne is the Project and Office Coordinator at SIRT. As part of the operations team, Kirstin provides support to multiple departments, including Finance, Marketing and Project Management. In addition, Kirstin is responsible for the on-boarding of Sheridan students who complete co-op placements at SIRT. Kirstin obtained a Bachelor’s of Science and a Master’s of Science degree from the University of Toronto and has several years of experience working in operational roles for environmental organizations and academic institutions.

Khalil Shazam

Khalil Shazam is a graduate of the Sheridan College Software Development Network Engineering program.
He has experience in areas including web development, game development, and 3D design.
In addition, he has worked on multiple VR projects in both Unity and Unreal game engines.

Jim DeLuca

He technologizes.