Tribeca Talks: Future of Film - Artificial Intelligence and Augmented & Virtual Reality: The Future of Immersive Storytelling

Tribeca Talks

45 MINUTES |

TRIBECA TALKS: FUTURE OF FILM - ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND AUGMENTED & VIRTUAL REALITY: THE FUTURE OF IMMERSIVE STORYTELLING

Augmented Reality (AR) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) are two tech advances with the potential to fundamentally change society. AR layers digital information onto our actual reality, while AI allows machines to learn in an unprecedented way. How are these innovative technologies being used to forge new methods of storytelling, and are they the future of immersive entertainment? Panelists include Fable Studios co-founder Edward Saatchi, Asad J. Malik, the creator of Terminal 3, an interactive AR documentary which is world premiering in the Tribeca Immersive program, Jessica Brillhart Founder and Director of Vrai Pictures, and Director of Product at IBM Watson Developer Labs & AR/VR Labs Michael Ludden. Moderated by Manager of Interactive Programs at Tribeca Film Institute Zeina Abi Assy.

PANELISTS

Asad J. Malik

Asad J. Malik

Asad is a native immersive artist working exclusively with Augmented Reality as a medium of non-fiction storytelling. His work revolves around what he calls “cultural augmentation” — a displacement of holograms that allows viewers to access what their environment would regard as contentious, controversial opinions.

Michael Ludden

Michael Ludden

Michael Ludden is Director of Product at IBM’s Watson Developer Labs & AR/VR Labs. Previously, Michael was at Google as Developer Marketing Manager Lead, at Samsung as Head of Developer Marketing, at HTC as Developer Evangelist, Global Director of Developer Relations at startups Quixey & Nexmo, and was involved at various times in development, product management, marketing, co-founding startups, tech show hosting, and even cruise-ship singing (don’t ask). Michael has a degree from the University of California at Los angeles (U.C.L.A.) and is happy to share more about exciting developments in the intersection between the exploding fields of Artificial Intelligence and Virtual/Augmented Reality.

Edward Saatchi

Edward Saatchi

Edward Saatchi, Forbes 30 under 30 and Emmy Award-winning Producer of VR film Henry, cofounded Oculus Story Studio in 2013, responsible for Lost, Henry, Dear Angelica and Quill. Edward spun out Fable Studio from Oculus Story Studio and brought with them Wolves in the Walls, Story Studio's fourth, in-progress project based on a Neil Gaiman book.

Jessica Brillhart

Jessica Brillhart

Jessica Brillhart is an immersive director, writer, and theorist. She’s the founder of the independent studio, Vrai Pictures, and is on the roster for Mssng Peces. Previously, Jessica was the Principal Filmmaker for VR at Google where she worked with engineers to develop Google Jump, a virtual reality live-action capture ecosystem. Since then, Jessica has made a range of highly acclaimed VR experiences, working with such entities as NASA, the Philharmonia Orchestra in London, Google’s Artists and Machine Intelligence program, the Montreal Canadiens, and (unofficially) the Weather Channel. In 2017, Jessica was heralded by MIT Technology Review as an innovator and pioneer in the field of virtual reality filmmaking and immersive entertainment.

Zeina Abi Assy

Zeina Abi Assy

Zeina Abi Assy is a Lebanese writer and media artist based in Brooklyn. She manages the Interactive Programs at Tribeca Film Institute. She co-founded the literary and arts organization, The Seventh Wave. In her work, she explores the complex intersection between the personal and the global manifestation of culture, technology, art, and politics.