The Digital Hollywood Experience

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Wednesday, May 22nd, 2019

1:50 PM – 2:40 PM – Immersive Hollywood: VR – AR - MR

Session I: Haas Conference Center, Room 172 & 173

The Immersive Media Think Tank: AR-VR-MR - The Expanding Vision of an Industry

Philip Lelyveld, VR/AR Program Manager, USC Entertainment Technology Center

Christina Lee Storm, Vice President of Business Operations, Strategy, & Emerging Technology, Advanced Creative Technology, DreamWorks Animation

Julian Sarmiento - Chief Creative Officer (CCO), Iconic Engine by Digital Domain

Tony Parisi, Head of AR/VR Ad Innovation, Unity Technologies

Diego Prilusky, Head of Intel Studios, Los Angeles, USA

Stephen Powers, COO, Wisdome Immersive Art Park

Moderator - Steven Masur, Senior Partner, MG+

 

Julian Sarmiento - Chief Creative Officer (CCO), Iconic Engine by Digital Domain: Julian started his career 19 years ago in the entertainment industry. Since then, he has contributed in multiple areas of computer graphics from creative to technology in some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters. Some of the works include Oscar-nominated Monster House, I'Robot, Oscar winner- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Pacific Rim and over 25 more features. His

background as a technical and creative director has led him to some great roles in the areas of technology and innovation. His extended knowledge of CG, VFX, 3D, Stereo, VR, AR, MR, LBE, UI/UX, Mobile, Direct Manipulation, IoT, Computer Vision, Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain served him as the foundation for all his interactive and immersive work. As Executive Creative, he is responsible for conceptualizing, creating and directing shows for multiple platforms; from the story, to technology and into final execution. While working very closely with clients and partners in order to create and execute unparalleled experiences.

 

Christina Lee Storm is Vice President of Business Operations, Strategy, and Emerging Technology at DreamWorks Animation. She is Head of the Advanced Creative Technology group, whose goal is to advance DreamWorks IP into new forms of immersive creative content on all platforms using emerging technologies including AR, VR, real-time rendering, virtual production, and motion capture. She has recently produced/executive produced 2 VR projects for DreamWorks “How to Train Your Dragon” franchise. An award-winning producer, Christina has also worked on Oscar-winning films The Artist and Life of Pi, and short documentary Life After Pi. Christina is on the Board of Governors for Advanced Imaging Society and Executive Committee for Diversity & Inclusion. She has served on the Producers Guild of America’s National Board of Directors and as the guild’s Treasurer. Identifying the importance of supporting women in the area of STEAM, she is part of DreamWorks Animation’s TECHWomen Advisory Committee.  Christina balances being mother, wife, and passionate storyteller for all media.

 

Phil Lelyveld manages projects and guides the strategy of the Entertainment Technology Center (ETC) within USC's School of Cinematic Arts.  The USC ETC, which is funded at the CTO level by the six major studios plus consumer electronics and internet companies, is a think tank and research center that brings together senior executives and thought leaders from the entertainment, consumer electronics, technology, and services industries, as well as USC faculty, to explore and act upon topics and issues related to technical aspects of the creation, distribution, and consumption of entertainment content.  Phil is currently running an Immersive Media Challenge, which asks students to pitch ideas for engaging experiences that could be possible or commercially viable in the 3-5 year timeframe, and articulate reasonable assumptions for how we get ‘from here to there (Tomorrowland, not Fantasyland).'

 

Tony Parisi, Head of AR/VR Ad Innovation, Unity Technologies: Tony Parisi is a virtual reality pioneer, serial entrepreneur and angel investor. He is the co-creator of 3D graphics standards, including VRML, X3D and glTF, the new file format standard for 3D web and mobile applications. Tony is the author of O’Reilly Media’s books on Virtual Reality and WebGL: Learning Virtual Reality (2015), Programming 3D Applications in HTML5 and WebGL (2014), and WebGL Up and Running (2012). Tony has become one of the leading spokespeople for the immersive industry, speaking on industry trends and technology innovations in virtual and augmented reality at numerous industry conferences. He was recently named #4 in Next Reality’s 30 People to Watch in Augmented Reality in 2018. Tony is currently Head of AR/VR Ad Innovation at Unity Technologies, where he oversees the company’s strategy for virtual and augmented reality brand advertising and monetization.

 

Diego Prilusky, Head of Intel Studios, Los Angeles, USA: Diego Prilusky is the head of Intel Studios, overseeing technical direction, creative direction and day to day operations of the immersive media studio in the Los Angeles area. This includes driving innovation and adoption of volumetric video technologies and production techniques, as well as the business and partner strategies required to achieve the Studio’s growth and profit objectives. Prilusky has a deep background in product design, film making, animation, and visual effects. Prior to Intel, Prilusky was one of the early founders and VP of product at Replay Technologies, a technical pioneer in large scale volumetric video capture for live sports. He was responsible for product strategy and key partner roll-outs that ultimately led to Replay’s acquisition by Intel in Q1 2016.  Prilusky also held creative leadership roles at Framestore CFC in London and Ilion Animation Studios in Madrid where he designed and created visual effects and animation for feature films. Prilusky holds a Master of Design from the Bezalel Academy of Art Design in Israel as well as a BS in Computer Science from the College of Management Academic Studies in Israel. He has multiple Sport Emmy award nominations and won the 2015 award for Best Technology

 

Stephen Powers is COO of Wisdome Immersive Art Park, which recently opened in the Downtown Los Angeles Arts District. Educated at MIT, Powers is a successful entrepreneur, chief executive, Grammy-winning music producer, Emmy-nominated TV producer, Nautilus-winning book publisher, audio manufacturer, technologist, board director, consultant, and conscious business leader who combines his cross-disciplinary experience to create and present innovative, VR, AR and immersive, media experiences at Wisdome.LA. Wisdome and its affiliated companies, incl. 360 Dome Pro, Fulldome.Pro, and 360 Art have produced more than fifty 360º immersive films including the award-winning Samskara with visionary artist, Android Jones.  As one of the leading, global geodesic dome exhibition companies, Fulldome and 360 Dome have completed more than 500 dome installations in more than 50 countries worldwide, including domes at Coachella, the Super Bowl, the World Cup in Russia, Burning Man, Panorama Festival and other permanent and pop-up activations.

Wisdome is a virtual reality experience without glasses or goggles that allows for social interaction and community building.  Hollywood producers, celebrities, musicians and artists, including some of the biggest names in show business, have all discovered Wisdome.LA in its first few months and asked to participate. The park has been an instant hit on social media, drawing large crowds from across multiple demographics, proving the business viability of immersive entertainment.  The company is now developing plans to open Wisdome parks in multiple cities. Prior to Wisdome, Stephen Powers served as CEO of Bodhi Tree, Co-Founder & CEO of Agape Media; Director of A&R at Capitol Records; Chief of Platform Expansion for Thrive Market, President of Miller & Kreisel Sound; Co-Founder & CEO of Drive Entertainment (dist. by Universal Music); Founder & President of Chameleon Music Group (dist. by Capitol-EMI); President of Theatricum Botanicum; Director of Entertainment for the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics; Founder & President of Mountain Railroad Records; and Founder & Executive Director of Charlotte’s Web for the Performing Arts. His creative credits include work as record producer, film producer, NPR radio host, television writer and producer, and TV host. As a record producer and A&R exec, Powers has scored four #1 pop hits and earned numerous Gold and Platinum awards, including the Grammy-winning, multi-million seller, The Healer by John Lee Hooker featuring Bonnie Raitt and Carlos Santana, which he released on his Chameleon Records label. Producing his first record at the age of 21, Powers is a life-long member of The Recording Academy and credited with production of more than 150 albums and soundtracks by such world-renowned artists as Tina Turner, The Beach Boys, will.i.am, Duran Duran, Queen, George Clinton, Joe Cocker, Devo, Bryan Ferry, Steve Goodman, and Ms. Magazine's Woman Of the Year, Holly Near. Other recognition includes Producer of the Year, Music Executive of the Year, Independent Label of the Year, Lifetime Achievement Award, and an Emmy nomination for his PBS special Swing Alive starring Bob Hope, Sheena Easton, Patty Andrews and Brian Setzer. With his life-long passion for positive social impact, Powers partnered with acclaimed spiritual leader, Michael Bernard Beckwith and Oscar-winning filmmaker Mark R. Harris ("Crash”) as Co-Founder and CEO of Agape Media International (AMI)—dedicated to creating transformative content that uplifts the human spirit. He served as Marketing Chair for the mega-hit DVD and book, The Secret, resulting in 26 million units sold.  Agape is the nations largest, non-denominational center for spiritual living. Powers lives in Topanga, CA with his wife and three children.  His passions include organic gardening, music, hiking, and community service.

 

Steven Masur, Senior Partner, MG+: Steven Masur has over 22 years of experience advising emerging and established businesses on new opportunities and business challenges. He focuses his practice on corporate finance, M&A, intellectual property, entertainment, emerging businesses and strategic guidance. Steve has extensive experience in angel and venture capital finance, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and cross-border transactions in Europe and Asia. He is passionate about helping new businesses plan a path to success, and helping older businesses bridge the gap to new markets. Steve brings a unique mix of legal, business, and strategic experience to bear on client matters. He has counseled enterprise level clients including Shazam, Virgin Mobile, Liberty Media, Yamaha, Nielsen Buzzmetrics, Bob Vila and Conde Nast Publications in corporate, digital media, and new business matters. He has also helped emerging businesses in a wide variety of sectors, and is especially knowledgeable in media, entertainment, advertising, consumer products, food and technology, including mobile, games, digital music, social media, augmented and virtual reality, software and hardware. Steve has been recognized as a “Rising Star” and a “Super Lawyer” by Super Lawyers. He serves on a variety of corporate and nonprofit boards and industry associations, and lectures and writes about major issues in venture capital, emerging businesses, entertainment law, technology and corporate strategy.