Thursday, April 30th, 2015

9:45 AM - 10:45 AM

Morning Virtual Reality Keynote

Future of Music in VR and AR

Bob Ezrin, Legendary Producer. Alice Cooper, Kiss and Pink Floyd

Brett Leonard, Producer/Directer/Writer/Futurist. Tough Trick Transmedia

Myles McGovern, President, IM360

Tim Gedemer, owner, Source Sound

Matthew Collado, Co-Founder/Head of Content, Littlstar

Craig Dalton, cofounder and CEO, DODOcase

David Traub, Co-Founder, Epiphany Film Fund, Moderator

contributions to the advancement of storytelling through digital media. The Guild's 4,500 members, including producers of film, television and new media, along with a distinguished Digital 25 Advisory Board, voted Mr. Leonard for this honor. Other 2010 recipients include directors James Cameron and Ridley Scott. Mr. Leonard directed and co-wrote the hit motion picture The Lawnmower Man,  starring Pierce Brosnan and Jeff Fahey. The film is considered a cult classic, way ahead of its time in the use of groundbreaking computer graphics and the portrayal of a networked data culture.The Lawnmower Man is one of the true progenitors of the “cyber genre” and was the number one commercially successful independent film of 1992, costing under $6 million and earning over $200 million worldwide. In 1993 Mr. Leonard was a key participant of the Sony 2000 think tank, a small group of media visionaries assembled to discuss the future of media. He also directed Peter Gabriel's Kiss That Frog, the first HD all computer graphic music video/ride film. Kiss That Frog toured the world as a wildly popular theme park attraction, and won Mr. Leonard a 1994 MTV Music Video Award. In the ensuing years, Mr. Leonard has continued to push the envelope in his feature film work, establishing himself as a pioneer of digital visual effects and cutting-edge independent film. He stepped into the third dimension with his IMAX 3D work, and directed T-Rex in IMAX 3D, which was the No.#1 hit 3D movie in history for over ten years, having grossed over $100 million worldwide on IMAX screens alone. It was also the first 3D film to use photo- realistic computer graphics and stereoscopic compositing, techniques that led to the innovations of current 3D film spectaculars such as James Cameron_s Avatar. Mr. Leonard is also known for having a keen eye for new talent, both in front of and behind the camera. He was instrumental in bringing Russell Crowe to American film audiences, giving Russell his first lead in a Hollywood film, Virtuosity, starring Denzel Washington, directed by Mr. Leonard. He did the same for Alicia Silverstone in his film for Tri-Star, Hideaway, and started Rachel Taylor_s career (Transformers, Shutter) in his film Man-Thing.

Bob Ezrin, Legendary Producer. Alice Cooper, Kiss and Pink Floyd:  In an illustrious career as a music and entertainment producer that has spanned 45 years Toronto-born producer, creator and entrepreneur Bob Ezrin has worked in all genres and media with many of the world’s most important contemporary artists including: Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper, U2, Peter Gabriel, 2 Cellos, Deep Purple, Lang Lang, Jay-Z, Taylor Swift, K'naan and will.i.am, Zucchero, The Tenors, Green Day, Elton John, Fefe Dobson, Lou Reed, Rod Stewart and many others.  He has produced several major events including Young Artists for Haiti’s Wavin’ Flag, the re-opening of the SuperDome in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, and Pete Seeger’s 90th Birthday Concert at Madison Square Garden.  Among various film and TV projects, Ezrin produced the award winning film "Fade To Black" starring Jay-Z, Beyonce and a wide variety of urban artists and is currently producing a drama centered on an important period in Glenn Gould’s life.  Ezrin is also an innovator and entrepreneur having co-founded The Nimbus School of Recording Arts with Garth Richardson in Vancouver, B.C. in 2009; Beat Kangz Electronics, a hip hop musical instrument manufacturer in 2008; Enigma Digital, a seminal Internet broadcasting and social media company in 1999 and 7th Level Inc (NASDAQ: SEVL) in 1992, the first PC based interactive entertainment company.  He was inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame in April 2004, and into the Canadian Music Industry Hall of Fame in March, 2006.  In 2013 he was named a Fellow of the Royal Conservatory of Music and inducted into Canada’s Walk Of Fame. Ezrin is vice chairman of the The Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation, an advisory member of MusiCounts and, along with U2′s the Edge, a co-founder of Music Rising, an initiative to replace musical instruments lost in natural disasters. He is also a past trustee and governor of NARAS and a past governor of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra,. He is based in Nashville and Toronto and continues his work in music, film, TV and live and theatrical production.

Myles McGovern is President of IM360, a joint venture between Immersive Media Company and Digital Domain Holdings Limited. He also serves as President and CEO of Immersive Media Company (IMC). IMC's revolutionary 360° video technology has been changing the face of interactivity across the web, mobile devices and VR, creating a new standard for the way we interact with video in the entertainment market.  Under Myles’ direction, Immersive Media has pioneered and become the world’s leading provider of 360° interactive video. Starting with military and intelligence applications, the technology was popularized when Immersive Media brought the concept of “Street View” to Google. It has since become the industry standard for interactive second screen experiences. From working with top brands such as Converse, Samsung and Mountain Dew, breaking new ground for American Express “Unstaged,” with the Taylor Swift “Blank Space” video, to the live-streaming of an NHL game, Immersive Media is changing the way we view entertainment. Prior to joining Immersive Media in 2004 Myles was Founder, President and CEO of Centrinity/MC2. It was there he spearheaded the company’s rapid growth into 55 countries and was twice nominated for Canadian Entrepreneur of the year. In addition, Myles spent 10 years at Xerox working in product management for digital product integration strategy. Myles is a graduate of Simon Fraser University.

Craig Dalton is the cofounder and CEO of DODOcase, a San Francisco manufacturer of tablet and phone accessories.  DODOcase has emerged as a premier provider of cardboard Virtual Reality Viewers in strategic partnership with Google. An MBA graduate from UC Irvine, Craig has been involved in technology for years helping manage mobile and social media start-ups. His early career was defined by years in the bicycle industry, running sales and marketing for storied brands such as Avocet and DEAN Bicycles. Craig has enjoyed coming full circle by combining his experiences in craftsmanship and technology with DODOcase.  Craig calls San Francisco home.

David Traub, Co-Founder, Epiphany Film Fund: David earned a Masters in Education in 1990 from Harvard University, while conducting simultaneous class-work in interactive cinema and AI-based narrative at the MIT Media Lab.  HIs master thesis: design of the world's first virtual reality simulation game modeling family therapy. In 1984 he earned his undergraduate degrees in rhetoric and film with honors from the University of California at Berkeley, concluding with an honor thesis focusing on the use of film and television as "educational propaganda."  His primary focus: the aggregation and delivery of "social and emotional" and other learning-centric applications/content via feature films, TV, mobile phones, video games, thin clients/PCs and VR/AR.  In the real world, David has 20-years of experience as a digital media-oriented executive producer, entrepreneur, investor, venture catalyst, global business development executive, ind/or board member to over 40 startups/private equity companies. He has co-raised and deployed nearly $30 million dollars in support of these ventures. His most recent feature film as executive producer was JOBS, starring Ashton Kutcher;  with Bronx Bull his next movie to market (co-producer), and multiple others feature films and TV shows in  development.  David has created games, apps and other content as a co-founder,  executive and/or executive producer of digital products across a wide variety of clients such as EMI North America, MCA Records, Philips/Polydor, Microsoft/ MSN, Apple Computer and many others. He is also an author of nearly 50 articles and reports on the evolution of the digital domain for trade publications, professional books and institutional clients; and a speaker who has given nearly 50 forward-looking keynote and other speeches throughout the world for clients such as the EU, the Swedish and Canadian Governments, TV Globo (Brazil), the National Institute of Film in Denmark, Viacom, US West, Mercedes/Siebold, The Broadband Content Development Forum and numerous other economic development agencies and universities.