WebVR

Brian Chirls

Virtual Reality productions are on the rise. But is the medium even available? How can we start thinking about the accessibility and democratization of immersive production, creation and consumption?

About the Speaker:
Brian Chirls is Chief Technology Officer at Datavized, an NYC-based immersive design and technology studio. He is creator of the WebVR Starter Kit and a recognized innovator in the independent film world. He was recently the Digital Technology Fellow at PBS POV, a position funded by the Knight Foundation. He has developed innovative models for interaction, data visualization and content authoring in virtual reality. Brian has helped to create a new genre of interactive video pieces and software libraries that demonstrate ways to combine the interactivity and connectivity of the web with the aesthetic power of cinema and his work has been presented at CPH:DOX, IDFA DocLab, SXSW and Tribeca Film Institute.

The Art and Science of VR: A Conversation Between Storytellers and Scientists

Panel Discussion

How does our brain react to VR? How can neurobiology help us tell more effective stories? What can scientists learn from VR storytelling? And how do creative VR makers work with scientists to push the limits of immersive experiences? What are the affordances and impact of VR from narrative and scientific perspectives?

This interdisciplinary panel brings together VR creators whose stories focus on real human lived conditions, Arnaud Colinart of Notes on Blindness and Kalina Bertin of Manic, with two researchers who explore the impact of VR on the brain, Mayank R. Mehta, professor of neurobiology and Heidi Boisvert, creative technologist and artist. The panel will be moderated by Sandra Rodriguez, creative director of interactive and linear projects, and sociologist of new media technology.

Masterclass with Arnaud Colinart

A walk through an innovative and groundbreaking award-winning project, Notes on Blindness, from ideation to production, post-production and distribution.

About the Speaker:
Arnaud Colinart is producer and creative director at AGAT Films & Cie / EX NIHILO, an award winning production company based in Paris, France. Before working on the interactive field, Arnaud was graduated of a Master in Contemporary History at the University Paris I- Sorbonne and of a Master in Digital Creation & Publishing at the University Paris VIII Vincennes -Saint Denis.

He is particularly interested in applying new technologies and interactive mechanisms in the conception of narrative works, whether documentary 
or fiction.

His productions featured the interactive VR experience Notes On Blindness – Into Darkness (Sundance New Frontier 2016, Kaleido VR Festival, Tribeca Film Festival 2016, SXSW 2017 Innovation Awards VR/AR Finalist), the video game Type:Rider (Appstore Editor’s Choice, SXSW 2014 Gaming Award Nominee, Webby Award Nominee – Best Mobile Game, Best Visual Design), the transmedia experience ‘Hubot Market’ and ‘Atsugi Robotics’ for the Swedish TV series ‘Real Humans’ and recently the graphic tribute to the TV series Peaky Blinders by the American designer Nigel Evans Dennis ( Lovie Award 2015 – TV Category & People Lovie Award 2015), The VR animated film Kinoscope – A journey into Cinema, produced for La Cinémathèque Française in collaboration with Google Arts & Culture.

Leading innovation at the NFB

Eloi Champagne

The National Film Board of Canada is one of the leading forces of VR for both linear and interactive productions. Learn more about their inspirations, decisions and workflows, from production, conceptualization and developing new collective spaces for creation.

About the Speaker:
Eloi Champagne is the Technical Director at the NFB Animation Studio in Montreal. He specializes in VR/AR, Animation, Interactivity, Filmmaking, VFX, S3D… A jack of all trades of storytelling innovation, his work is situated at the crossroad of art and technology.

Ocean School VR

Karen Vanderborght

How is Virtual Reality applied to non-fiction stories and languages? From 360 video to interactive and mixed-reality productions, Karen Vanderborght shared her work in innovative VR applications for news and education.

About the Speaker:
After creating and curating media art in Europe, Karen Vanderborght moved to Canada and worked as a DOP and Editor for over 15 television series and documentaries. Now, 10 years later, her interests in innovative technologies converge with her professional video expertise in developing a visual language for VR.

Masterclass with Vincent Morisset

Creating with immersive and interactive tools. Is there even a box? Rethinking the rules of immersive storytelling. Meet one of the leading voices in innovation, interactive medium and creative digital artwork. Vincent is author of acclaimed, Emmy and Webby Awarded works such as Bla-Bla, Way-to-Go (NFB/France Télévisions) and interactive music videos (Neon Bible) resulting from a seven year collaboration with Arcade Fire.

About the Speaker:
Vincent Morisset is a director and the founder of the Montreal based studio AATOAA. He is considered a true pioneer in interactive films. His work with Arcade Fire, Sigur Rós and the NFB has been featured in Wired, Creative Review, Le Monde and The Guardian, among others, and at the Museum of the Moving Image, Gaité Lyrique, Sundance, IDFA, Rotterdam Film Festival and La Biennale di Venezia. He won an Emmy, many Webbys, a Japan Media Art Festival prize and the FWA Site of the Year. Vincent is the instigator of the Digital Storytelling Manifesto.

More at aatoaa.com

Ubisoft

VR in Games and Interactive Design

Game culture and game design have long been thinking about user experience, interaction and emergent narratives. How is VR changing gameplay? Are games driving current trends in VR? What can documentarians and other storytellers learn from VR game designers about spatial, interactive and immersive storytelling? What can game designers learn from filmmakers and documentarians? And what are current advancements in research on simulator sickness? Learn from the creative and R&D team behind Ubisoft’s Eagle Flight.

About the Speakers:

Vicki Ferguson, Lead Programmer, Ubisoft, is the lead programmer on ‘Eagle Flight’, the first virtual reality game released by Ubisoft Montreal. Before joining Ubisoft in 2012, she led the Rendering Special Interest Group at EA Canada where she specialized in advanced character rendering on the Fight Night Series. After 12 years in the industry as a graphics and engine programmer and 8 shipped AAA titles, she had a near-religious experience looking out at the stars from inside a VR headset. Vicki is dedicated to developing the kind of transformative VR experiences that she knows the medium is capable of.​

Olivier Palmieri, Game Director, Ubisoft, started to play videogames like Atari or Apple II at the age of 4 and from then on knew that he wanted to work in this industry. Some years later, in 1998, he joined Ubisoft in Montreuil (France) and worked on Rayman and Ghost Recon in both Game and Level Design. In 2005, he joined Ubisoft Montreal (Canada) and helped shape numerous bestsellers such as Naruto, Assassin’s Creed II and Far Cry 4. Since he was a child, he fantasized about flying and as the Game Director of Eagle Flight, his dream finally came true.

VR in Science

Jessica Brillhart

Google has been at the forefront of exploring new ways to shoot 360, VR stories. As the medium develops, how can VR be used to raise awareness about science-related project? How can it be used to tell stories about our bodies, our health? VR in developments sometimes mean collaborations with doctors, neuroscientists, data scientists. How can scientific knowledge inform creation and creation inform science?

About the Speaker:
Jessica Brillhart is the principal filmmaker for VR at Google. In 2009, she joined Google’s Creative Lab where she spearheaded numerous award winning shorts and documentaries before joining the Cardboard team in 2015. Since directing, World Tour–the first VR film made with the Jump ecosystem–Brillhart has continued traveling the world, filming and experimenting, all in an effort to better understand and help inform others about this emergent medium.