Thursday, October 18, 2018

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM - The VR-AR Immersive Track

Session I: Herscher Hall, 2nd Floor, Room 202

The Power of VR-AR: A New Language of Artistry - A Unique Moment of Commercial Possibility and Marketplace

Robert Watts, Co-founder and Executive Producer, Light Sail VR

Penka Kouneva, Leading Games Composer, “NASA AR installations”, “The Mummy VR at IMAX VR

Annie Lukowski, co-founder, Vanishing Point Media

Travis Cloyd, Experience Producer/Director (Speed Kills VR), CEO, Observe Media (VR, The Humanity Bureau, starring Nicolas Cage)

Danilo Moura Silva, VP Immersive Experiences, EXPERIUS VR

Keram Malicki Sanchez, Executive Director, VRTO Virtual & Augmented Reality World Conference & Expo (Toronto), Moderator

ROBERT WATTS, Managing Partner and Executive Producer, Light Sail VR: An early adopter of the evolving VR medium and innovator in multiple sectors of the entertainment industry, Robert applies over 10 years of diverse experience spanning the agency, management and content development sides of the industry to his role. His ability to master the art of creating and selling intellectual property and assess business and creative needs in today’s marketplace has attracted a roster of top clients including ABC, Google, GoPro,

Paramount Pictures, among many others. With a degree in Film from Chapman University, the cinematic storytelling-devotee leverages his wide spectrum of creative and operational capabilities in the mixed reality, 360 and VR space, to create premium-level narratives and characters that engage audiences and fulfill client needs. Watts began his career at William Morris Agency and post-merger at WME Entertainment, working in every major department including gaming, corporate consulting, commercials and motion-picture talent. Prior to launching Light Sail VR, Watts served as the Head of Digital, New Media and Unscripted/Reality departments at Heroes and Villains Entertainment, a Hollywood-based trans-media management and production company.

Penka Kouneva, Leading Games Composer: Composer Penka Kouneva is known as an exceptional talent and "an artist of uncommon passion" (Billboard). Her scoring credits include the games Prince of Persia and Transformers, The Mummy VR game, mobile games, VR experiences and feature films (Sony Pictures' Devil's Whisper). Penka also composed for the American Astronauts on a $30M NASA exhibit Heroes and Legends, permanently housed at the Kennedy Space Center.  Her score for 3D films and AR installations was recorded with large orchestra. She is a Universal Music-released composer (The Woman Astronaut, Rebirth of Id). Penka is a winner of the Sundance Composer Fellowship, Game Audio Network Guild's 2015 Recognition Award and other honors. She is passionate about innovation, storytelling, and mentoring.

Travis Cloyd is an established cinematic VR/360 video producer, director, and marketing consultant, whose work and expertise is reflected throughout the film and entertainment worlds.  Most recently, Cloyd served as the virtual reality producer and director for Speed Kills, starring John Travolta. He also produced VR content for Distorted, starring John Cusack and Christina Ricci. A specialist at introducing celebrities into virtual reality, Cloyd has also produced VR content featuring Nicolas Cage, to accompany the recent film The Humanity Bureau, as well as with Wesley Snipes for his recently released action film, The Recall. Travis' pieces extend the cinematic universes, by providing engaging standalone experiences, as well as added dynamic marketing materials to entice larger audiences. A favorite partner of many high profile production companies Cloyd always strives to push the boundaries of what is possible with VR. Travis believes developing film VR apps and improving distribution will pave the way for film producers to monetize their multi-format content. For The Recall, Travis developed the first ever mobile app through his company OneTouch that can showcase both the VR and standard film for audiences. The app also supports live and on-demand video in 2D, 3D, 180/360-degree, and Barco Escape formats, and is compatible with spatial audio. Cloyd is committed to making his content accessible to audiences in an easy to use format.

Annie Lukowski, co-founder, Vanishing Point Media: Annie is an award-winning storyteller and prolific content creator whose early forays into technology-enhanced narrative techniques naturally evolved into a passion for cinematic VR production. She previously co-founded WorkingBug Media, a branded entertainment company through which she wrote, directed and produced impactful spots for major brands including Jeep, teenVogue, Maybelline and the USA Network. Annie and WorkingBug are also the creative force behind a number of branded digital comedy series including Random Comedies (Randall Park), Series of Unfortunate People (Keegan-Michael Key) and Road To The Altar (Jaleel White), which won the PGA Award for Outstanding Independent Series. Annie is an accomplished dramatic storyteller as well, having directed the festival- and award-winning shorts The Protest and Waiting for Hello, and produced Have Your Heard About Vukovar?, which premiered at Tribeca and went on to become an Official Selection at over 30 film festivals across four continents. Annie earned her MFA from The USC School of Cinematic Arts.

Keram Malicki Sanchez, Executive Director, VRTO Virtual & Augmented Reality World Conference & Expo (Toronto), Director, FIVARS: Keram founded the FIVARS Festival of International Virtual & Augmented Reality Stories in 2015, and launched VRTO - Toronto's Virtual Reality conference in spring 2016. He is also the editor-in-chief of IndieGameReviewer.com since 2008 and OculusGameReviewer.com among others. A graduate of UCLA’s certification programs in Cinematography, Producing and Digital Media, respectively, Malicki-Sanchez is also an alumnus of Werner Herzog’s Rogue Film School – Los Angeles chapter – and has 30 years of experience as an actor in over 65 films and television shows including American History X, John Q, True Blood and 24. He was also the frontman of seminal Toronto avant-garde rock band Blue Dog Pict and ambient electronic band Automated Gardens and runs Constant Change Music Publishing. His music has appeared in films for MGM, EPCOT Centre, New Line Cinema, Lifetime Networks, Hallmark, CBC and many others. He has been asked to speak about the intersection of technology and the arts at NXNE, Cinegear Expo (Los Angeles), the Toronto Star, Toronto Tech Week, CNE Innovation Garage, Digital Hollywood, NAB (Las Vegas), ideacity, TieCon and many more. He is also the founder of Transportive Technology – a virtual reality production company and Constant Change Media Group – a 360 media company and disruptive media consultation firm.