Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018

4:00 PM – 5:00 PM - Immersive Hollywood: VR – AR - MR

Session I: Herscher Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 303-304: Live Webcast

The Future of Entertainment: VR/AR Story Architects and Experience Designers

Kalan Ray, Development Supervisor, Magnopus & co-founder, VKTRY Creative Studios

Christopher Bellaci, Head of Business Development, Proof, Inc.

Mike Monello, co-founder, Campfire, Collaborator, The Mill & Producer, Blair Witch Project

Kymber Lim, Advisor | Consultant in Immersive Entertainment + Technology, co-founder at Holor Media

BC Biermann, Founder, The Heavy Projects

Matthew Shreder, Co-Founder / Publisher MovieBill

Moderator - Ariella Lehrer, Ph.D., President, HitPoint Studios

Kalan Ray is the Development Supervisor at Magnopus and co-founder of VKTRY Creative Studios: He is an animator, programmer, and designer whose work has contributed to the Emmy-Nominated interactive experience Mission:ISS, as well as Pixar’s Coco VR, Blade Runner 2049: Memory Lab, Martin Scorsese's The Audition, and an upcoming global VR news platform. An expert in rapid prototyping and previsualization, Kalan has supervised and creatively contributed to development in feature films, television, commercials, music videos, theme park rides, video games, and VR experiences. His film credits

include The Jungle Book, Fantastic4, Star Trek: Beyond, at many prestigious visual effects companies, including DreamWorks, Pixomondo, and Bad Robot. A California native, Kalan was born and raised in Barstow, and holds a degree in Linguistics from the University of California at Long Beach.

Kymber Lim, Advisor | Consultant, Co-Founder of Holor Media, Inc.: As a thought leader, advisor, and consultant, Lim continues to push the boundaries of technology to create the next generation of immersive content.  Lim is currently on the board of advisors to Digital Hollywood's Immersive Media and Entertainment Division and Tiny Contents, a social VR platform, as well as consulting for Netflix International Originals.  She is previously a co-founder, an Emmy award-winning visual effects producer, executive, development executive, and content producer.  She recently received the Culture Catalyst award at the Digital Diversity Network Gala held in New York City. Previously, Lim worked with many inspiring producers and directors such as Lorenzo DiBonaventura, Gore Verbinski, Joe Kosinski, Steven DeKnight, and Bong Joon-ho.  She launched the Film & Television division at Psyop; managed Entity FX; tested ideas and concepts with technical and budgetary challenges; created original content using game engines; and produced virtual reality experiences for Samsung and Paramount Studios. Previously, Lim consulted and produced for companies such as Microsoft, Starz, Paramount, IMAX, Disney, Digital Domain, Bento Box Entertainment, and other Asian and domestic studios and production companies.  She is a member of The Producer's Guild and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and continues to work with the Digital Diversity Network, the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), and Korean Producer and Directors Educational Institute (KPDE) to bridge content and technology between countries.

Mike Monello, co-founder, Campfire: Mike Monello is a true pioneer when it comes to immersive storytelling and innovative marketing. In the late 1990s, Monello and his partners at Haxan Films created The Blair Witch Project, a story told across the burgeoning internet, a sci-fi channel pseudo-documentary, books, comics, games, and a feature film, which became a pop-culture touchstone and inspired legions of “found-footage” movies in its wake. It forever changed how fans engage with story and how marketers approach the internet. Inspired by the possibilities for engaging connected fan cultures and communities online, Monello co-founded Campfire in 2006. There, he leads an agency that has developed and created groundbreaking participatory stories and experiences for HBO, Amazon, Netflix, Cinemax, Discovery, National Geographic, Harley- Davidson, Infiniti, and more. Campfire won Small Agency Campaign of the Year via AdAge in 2013 and Small Agency of the Year via Online Marketing Media and Advertising Awards in 2012, and has been awarded top honors at the Emmys, Cannes Lions Festival, Clios, One Show, and MIXX. Monello serves on the Peabody Awards Board of Jurors, and regularly speaks at high-profile events such as Cannes, Advertising Week, SXSW, and more.

Christopher Bellaci, Head of Business Development, Proof, Inc.: Prior to joining Proof, Inc. as Head of Business Development, Mr. Bellaci had been the Overseas Supervisor for RGH Entertainment (Woodland Hills, CA) on the stereoscopic, computer-animated feature film "Postman Pat: The Movie" (based on the hit UK franchise). Bellaci supervised the production of this film which took place at animation studios located in Beijing, China and Mumbai, India. Bellaci began his career in the Animation and VFX business in 1997 as a Motion Capture Artist at pioneering motion capture studio House of Moves in Los Angeles. There, his very first project was James Cameron’s “Titanic,” where he worked on the digital characters walking around, working on, and eventually falling off the doomed ship. Bellaci went on to become the studio’s first Production Manager in 1998, and held the post until 2007. During his tenure at House of Moves, Bellaci worked with dozens of game developers and publishers on hundreds of titles. He also worked with numerous commercial, Internet, film, TV and VFX production companies on an entire range of multimedia endeavors. Among the projects to which he contributed at House of Moves were the feature films “Mortal Kombat: Annihilation,” “The Patriot” and the “Spider-Man” trilogy, the video games “Madden NFL ’99,” “Star Wars: Jedi Knight II - Jedi Outcast,” “Guitar Hero” and “Uncharted: Drake’s Fortune,” and commercials for Coca-Cola, “Gears of War,” “Halo 3,” and Miller Lite. From 2008-2010, Bellaci served as Executive Producer at Aguru Images, a hi-tech VFX startup. The company specialized in ultra-high resolution, hyper-realistic 3D facial and materials imaging services and capture hardware sales. As an important part of the digital double creation process, Bellaci and his team provided facial scans for high-profile projects, including the cast of “GI Joe: Rise of Cobra;” Indian cultural icon Rajinikanth for the film “Enthiran” (the most expensive Bollywood film ever produced) and Nelly Furtado for the music video “Jump” by Flo Rida, a marketing tie-in for the Disney feature film “G-Force.” Leaving Aguru, Bellaci next became VP & General Manager of Motion Analysis Studios in Hollywood. There, he produced all aspects of performance capture and camera tracking services for numerous animation, VFX and virtual production clients, projects, and communities. During this period (2010-2011), Bellaci was involved with the feature film “Green Lantern,” and with the TV series “Falling Skies,” “Terra Nova,” and “Sid the Science Kid.” He was also the company's primary liaison to The Jim Henson Company, where he and his team were an integral part of their Emmy Award-winning HDPS (Henson Digital Puppetry Studio) solution for on-set, real-time 3D animation previs, and final animation production. Bellaci holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree from UCLA and is a member of the Visual Effects Society. His other memberships include IAAPA, LA ACM SIGGRAPH, Scrum Alliance, the Themed Entertainment Association, UCLA Alumni Association and Women in Animation.

BC [heavy] Biermann is the founder of Heavy Projects and a Fellow at the USC Annenberg Innovation Lab. With a PhD in Humanities [ Intermedia Analysis ] from the Universiteit van Amsterdam, BC is a futurist who’s work investigates the intersection of emerging technologies and semiotics in ways that address impending social, political, ethical impacts. As an internationally recognized digital artist, BC is a leading pioneer in interactive augmented reality design and his work can be seen in cities such as Austin, New York, Miami, St. Louis, San Diego, Perth, and Geneva. A thought leader in the converging technologies space, BC serves on the IEEE Mixed Reality and Artificial Intelligence Group as a Part of The Global Initiative for Ethical Considerations in the Design of Autonomous Systems.

Matthew Shreder is the co-Founder and Publisher of MOVIEBILL which is an entertainment print, mobile and online media platform that utilizes Augmented Reality technology to bring content to life for the biggest movies of the year.  MOVIEBILL offers moviegoers exclusive content and interactive experiences nationwide through their studio and cinema partnerships. In tandem with MOVIEBILL, Shreder runs Concourse Media, a multi-faceted entertainment group which manages film distribution company Concourse Film Trade and creative marketing and audience engagement firm I&Co. Shreder has distributed over 30 feature films in his tenure as an entertainment executive.

Ariella Lehrer, Ph.D., President, HitPoint Studios: A well-known game industry veteran, Ariella has dedicated her career to creating unique interactive experiences that seek to expand the market for new technologies. Her growing portfolio of products has consistently engaged new customers, in particular women and children, for more than three decades. Lehrer currently serves as President of HitPoint Studios, a talented team of 25 engineers, designers, and artists in Western Massachusetts. HitPoint works with clients such as Microsoft, Google, Disney and Electronic Arts to build engaging apps, solve complex technical problems, and maximize the potential of new technologies such as Augmented Reality. Lehrer has a PhD. in Cognitive Psychology from Claremont Graduate University and writes about interactive design and technology on her blog, www.ariellalehrer.com.