2015 VES Summit2019-12-05T10:57:58-08:00

Project Description

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Visualization to Virtualization: Storytelling Expands

As we move from the information age into the Visualization age where every industry uses imagery to educate, communicate, entertain and sell —  it’s creative development and its aligned businesses that will drive this developing economy. Virtualization speaks to cloud-based production, to augmented and virtual realities, to multi-platform experiences, and the broad idea of hyper-connectivity. It encompasses heightened realities, immersive experiences, presence capture, and more.

This evolution is bringing about changes and expansion in Storytelling. Exceptional Storytelling remains the ultimate goal but approaches are open to innovation. From TV taking non-time-constrained forms, to audience-driven narratives, to 360° experiences, webcasts and six second videos — all being told across multiple platforms — the creative world is in a seismic shift.

October 17, 2015 – W Hotel Hollywood, CA

Video Gallery

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2015 VES Summit Videos (6 videos)
(Available to VES Members Only: Log In Required)

Photo Gallery

2015-summit-photo

Keynote Speaker

Dean Devlin – Director, Writer, Producer, Founder, Electric Entertainment
Devlin is Founder and President of Electric Entertainment and has forged a storied career as a wildly successful screenwriter, producer and director.  His first produced screenplay was Universal Soldier, which was a worldwide hit.  He reached prominence as a writer/producer working with Roland Emmerich with whom he teamed after appearing in Emmerich’s film Moon 44. (read more)

Roundtable Discussions

IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES
Moderator: Richard Winn Taylor II, VES — Creative Director, XLNT FX LLC

POSTVIS
Moderator: Michael Jackson — Postvisualization Supervisor, HALON

TV VFX CASE STUDY (show to be revealed!)
Moderator: Al Lopez — VP of Creative Services, Stargate Studios

MILITARY VISUALIZATION AND VFX
Moderator: John Kuhn — Founder at P360

SHOOTING & BUDGETING VR FOR THE VFX COMMUNITY
Moderator: Chris Healer — CEO / CTO / VFX Supervisor, The Molecule

AUGMENTED REALITY
Moderator: Jacki Morie — Founder / Chief Scientist, All These Worlds, LLC

DIRECTING FOR VR
Moderator: David Rosenbaum — Creative Director, Jaunt

DRONE-BASED IMAGE CAPTURE
Moderator: Eric Bergez — Vice President Intuitive Aerial, Inc

GAMES STORYTELLING
Moderator: Josh Scherr — Writer, Naughty Dog

VR IN COMMERCIALS
Moderator: Aruna Inversin — CG/VR Supervisor, Digital Domain

LIGHT FIELD FOR VISUAL EFFECTS AND CINEMATOGRAPHY
Moderator: Jon Karafin — Head of Light Field Video, Lytro

COULD YOUR STORY IDEA BE AN ENTERTAINMENT PROPERTY? Bring it and find out.
Moderator: Christopher Lockhart — Story Editor, WME

GLOBAL VFX: Working in Europe
Moderator: Francesco Grisi — Founder and Executive Producer, EDI

MAKING ANIMATED FEATURES IN CANADA
Moderator: Warren Franklin — Producer

Featured Speakers

Interactive Robotics

Andres Garza – Staff Product Designer, Spin Master Ltd

Garza will be accompanied by his MeccaNoid Robot — Best of CES Winner 2015
The MeccaNoid is a 4-foot-tall mechanized robot, complete with voice recognition, conversational AI, games and can be used as a teaching tool. View video on YouTube

Could Your Story be an Entertainment Property?

Christopher Lockhart – Story Editor, WME
Christopher Lockhart, veteran Story Editor for WME, takes you through the basic elements of dramatic storytelling to help you determine whether or not your idea is ripe for the movies, TV or other formats, and if it could attract a star. No matter what the medium, emotionally engaging your audience is at the foundation of the story’s potential.

Panel Discussions

Virtual Reality: 20/20 on 2020

The buzz around VR is impossible to ignore as the medium marches forward. What will VR eventually encompass/look like? What are the business models? State of the technology? Storytelling challenges? A panel of experts representing key areas of the ecosystem that are driving the medium — content, technology, venture capital and academia —  describe what’s happening in VR in their arena today, and their thoughts on what VR may look like in 2020.

Moderator:

  • Ted Schilowitz – Futurist, 20th Century Fox and CinemaVangelist, Barco

Panelists:

  • Mark Bolas – Director, Mixed Reality Lab, ICT / Assoc. Professor, USC School of Cinematic Arts
  • Andrew Cochrane – Interactive and New Media Director, DFX Supervisor, Mirada Studios
  • Jon Goldman – Venture Partner, Greycroft
  • Robert Stromberg – Founder / Chief Creative Officer, The Virtual Reality Company (VRC)
  • Guido Voltolina – Head of Presence Capture, Nokia

TV, OTT and Extended Content Forms

The ‘TV’ landscape has extended into a range of platforms, opening up the possibilities for new forms of creative storytelling — from live gaming entertainment to non-time-constrained series to short-form social video. Given the plethora of platforms, just what are the creative opportunities?  The business models? The keys to audience engagement? How do the creative challenges differ from ‘traditional’ TV? How might you go about creating your own series, webisode or channel? A panel of experts representing some of the key forces driving new forms forward will discuss the ‘state of the union’ of story-driven content for an omni-channel audience.

Moderator:

Andrew Wallenstein – Co-Editor-in-Chief, Variety

Panelists:

2015 Founders & Fellows

2015 Founders Award

The VES Founders Award is awarded to any individual member of the VES who has significantly contributed to the success of the VES.

Jeffrey A. Okun, VES – Visual Effects Supervisor
Jeffrey is currently working on GEOSTORM, directed by Dean Devlin. Okun, known for creating visual effects that blend seamlessly into the storytelling aspect of the project, has won the VES AWARD for OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING VISUAL EFFECTS for his work on THE LAST SAMURAI. He has been nominated several other times for the VES Award and numerous other awards. (read more)

2015 VES Fellows

The title of VES Fellow signifies that the individual is recognized for earning an outstanding reputation through sustained contributions to the art, science or business of visual effects, as well as through meritorious service to the Society and the entertainment industry at large.

2015 VES Lifetime Membership

Lifetime Memberships are awarded for meritorious service to the Society, the industry and for furthering the interests and values of visual effects artists around the world.