Digital Hollywood Tackles Immersive Entertainment, VR

The 2016 Digital Hollywood Spring event, taking place May 3-6 seeks to peer into “The Future of the Entertainment Industry” with special focuses on Immersive Entertainment, Virtual Reality and Internet TV’s disruptive influence on viewing trends, plus the California Education Summit and the 57th Annual Genii Awards, presented by the Alliance for Women in Media — which has just added Senator Barbara Boxer and Netflix board member Anne Sweeney to the presenters list.

The complete agenda is now online. Some of the highlights include:

The Making of a Hollywood VR Narrative Experience “Defrost” – a roundtable with the creators, Randal Kleiser (director; Grease, Blue Lagoon, Honey I Blew Up the Kids), Tanna Frederick (actor), Carl Weathers (actor), Bruce Davison (actor), Mario Kenyon (producer) and moderator David Bloom (digital content production & partnerships, Deadline.com).

Virtual and Augmented Reality: The Technology That Will Change Everything: Narrative Entertainment, Games, Advertising, TV and Social Media – speakers include Dr. David Levitt (co-founder & CEO, Pantomime Corp.), Ted Schilowitz (futurist & VR explorer, 20th Century Fox), Roy Taylor (corporate VP & head of alliances, AMD), David Shing (“digital prophet,” AOL), Steve Schklair (founding principal & CEO, 3ality & 3mersiv) and moderator Shawn Gold (corporate marketing officer, JustFab).

CG Humans: Integration of the Virtual Character in Film, TV, VR, Games – with Brett Leonard (producer, director, writer, futurist, Tough Trick Transmedia), Richard Taylor (cinematics director, Electronic Arts), Sean Stanek (CGI motion capture, Lord of the Rings), Joseph A. Zaki (founder & CEO, VRtuality), Marshall Millett (CEO, AeMass), Gregory Peter Panos (founder, Persona Foundation) and moderator David Traub (co-founder, Epiphany Film Fund).

Women in the Industry: Developing Film, Television & OTT About Women – A Golden Age in Hollywood and Indie Production – with Mimi Steinbauer (president & CEO, Radiant Films Int’l), Kara Holden (actress & screenwriter), Shannon Keenan Demers (SVP production & creative, Tremendous! Ent.), Marlene Sharp (Sonic the Hedgehog TV series producer, Sega of America), Marsha Oglesby (TV producer, Indigenous Media), Melissa Schneider (SVP development & production, New Form Digital) and moderator Sun Jen Yung (MD, Headwaters MB).