Monday, January 7th, 2019

9 - 10 AM

Session I

LVCC, North Hall, N258

AR-VR-MR Think Tank: Top Technology and Entertainment Companies

The AR/VR/MR industries are now positioned as the next innovation to redefine the Smartphone – Mobile – Computing industries. From visual communications, news, retail data and vertical specialties to immersive cinematic experiences, this is the next market positioned to take off.

Dane Smith, Global Head of Business Development, THE THIRD FLOOR, INC.

Tony Parisi, Head of AR/VR Brand Solutions, Unity Technologies

Kristina Serafim, Director, Verizon Ventures

John Canning, Executive Producer – New Media & Experiential, Digital Domain

Neil Parris, AR / VR, Entertainment Partnerships Lead, Google

Moderator - Steven Masur, Senior Partner, MG+

Tony Parisi, Head of VR and AR Brand Solutions, 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 VR and AR Brand Solutions at Unity Technologies, where he oversees the company’s strategy for virtual and augmented reality brand advertising and monetization.

Kristina Serafim, Director, Verizon Ventures: Kristina Serafim is a Director at Verizon Ventures. Kristina joined Verizon Ventures from Verizon’s Big Data and Artificial Intelligence product team. Prior to Verizon, Kristina was a Director at Intellectual Ventures, where she led investments in machine learning, media, advertising, and gaming technologies Kristina’s entrepreneurial experience includes co-founding and leading two software companies, from their inception to acquisition. Kristina also spent several years on the strategy and corporate development teams at IBM and at NAGRA Innovations. She received an electrical and mechanical engineering degree from Kettering University and an MBA from Harvard University.

Dane Smith brings more than a decade of experience as a producer and innovator in visual effects and digital entertainment production to his role leading global business development and strategy at THE THIRD FLOOR.  Across his career, Dane has managed the delivery of over 100 studio and independent projects ranging from live-action and animated features to television series and emerging media platforms, including the motion pictures:  Deadpool, Warcraft, San Andreas, Star Trek Beyond, Transformers: Age of Extinction, The Amazing Spiderman and Looper. In television, he has worked on top episodic shows such as Star Trek: Enterprise, The Man in the High Castle and Game of Thrones. Dane was visual effects producer on the acclaimed stop-motion animated feature Anomalisa, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Animated Feature Film, as well as Golden Globe and Annie Award nominations, in 2016.  Dane has also contributed to the evolution of 3D stereoscopic production and conversion with projects like Deepsea Challenge for James Cameron, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and 2 and Titanic. In 2015, he expanded his interests to virtual reality, producing VR-presented episodes of Stan Lee and Kapow Entertainment’s Cosmic Crusaders VR, and winning a 2017 Telly award in the process. In his spare time, he educates and inspires the next generation of digital Artists as a faculty member at the Gnomon School of Visual Effects and is an active member of BAFTA, VES and the Producers Guild of America.

Neil Parris leads Google's AR / VR content efforts across the entertainment vertical, partnering with world-class IP owners and talent to develop and distribute innovative content experiences across Google’s platforms. Before joining the Daydream team, Parris led entertainment partnerships for Google's Consumer Apps Marketing group and oversaw major content/marketing partnerships with Disney, Warner Bros., Netflix, Fox, ABC and others. Prior to Google, Parris worked at EQAL, an early pioneer in the YouTube/social/influencer space (later acquired by Everyday Health), Edelman (in their branded entertainment division) and 8+ years in the film business as a creative executive. Parris is a member of the TV Academy and serves on the Digital Strategy Committee. Parris holds a bachelor’s degree from University of Pennsylvania and an MFA in Film / TV Producing from the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts' Peter Stark Program.

John Canning, is the Executive Producer – New Media & Experiential at Digital Domain. While their name might not be commonly known, you definitely know Digital Domain’s work - they create visual effects for feature films, including the recent Avengers Infinity War movie. They also create visuals for advertising, games, training, and immersive content, including their own original content. Prior to Digital Domain, John was the VP of Interactive Experiences for NBCUniversal, creating VR and other digital experiences for The Voice, Million Second Quiz, The Blacklist, and others. In the past, he’s also spent several years at both Microsoft and Disney. On the side, he’s the Chairman of the New Media Council at the Producers Guild of America. He’s also an independent producer, cinematographer, and photographer for good causes.

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.