yondr academy podcasts

In this conversation with Karen Palmer, a multi-disciplinary immersive filmmaker who uses art, AI, gamification, neuroscience and behavioral psychology in her work, VRTL learns about her anti-empathy approach. Palmer's RIOT, an installation that required bespoke artificial intelligence, used storylines triggered by the viewer’s response to calm, anger and/or fear. Palmer tells how fear has significant relevance to her creativity, and she reveals her unique way of grappling with it.

Recently I had the honor and pleasure of being able to speak to a wonderful and passionate person about the future of Virtual production and how the workflow of feature films as such has changed in recent years. His name is Hasraf Dulull, better known as HaZ. 

He’s a filmmaker who started as a visual effects supervisor on feature films on TV before making his directing and producing debut with the hit indie sci-fi feature film THE BEYOND which was a commercial success on all VOD platforms before being licensed by Netflix.  This led to his 2nd feature film - 2036 ORIGIN UNKNOWN starring Katee Sackhoff which got a limited theatrical release in the US and is currently on Netflix. 

Enjoy this episode of our VR Days Europe - VRTL Podcast Series

Alvin Graylin is the President of HTC China. He is leading all aspects of the HTC business in the China Region and is responsible for Vive VR, phone, Viveport content platform and investments. And recently he has taken on the global responsibility for running the Software Business Unit for HTC as well. The company has launched the Vive XR Suite, a collection of software applications that enable users to work, learn, socialize and share live experiences in an immersive environment. 

I spoke to a very friendly and humble person who knows very well where he wants to go with HTC and the Vive ecosystem. 

Get yourself ready for another episode of our VR Days - VRTL Podcast series. 

Carl is an e-learning expert passionate about learning via virtual reality and MOOCs. He’s programmed as one of the speakers for the virtual event of the VR Days Europe. Carl and I talk about blended learning and XR, how to build a strong story for an XR training and how this pandemic is fueling the learning and development industry in general. Please enjoy another episode of the VR Days / VRTL podcast series. Listen to Carl Boel and learn how to build powerful stories for XR training.

Last year in Amsterdam, VR Days Europe made its ambitions for growth clear and the Fifth Edition brought them one step closer to maturity. But when the pandemic arrived in the Netherlands and events started canceling, Co-Founder Benjamin De Wit and his team had to forge a new path.

And they certainly did. Just like last year, they have developed an extensive program for a hybrid event. As in recent years, VR Days will take place in the Kromhouthal in Amsterdam, a portion which will be streamed with international satellite venues set up.

Perhaps this year's edition will be a small step back in order to take three forward next year, putting VR Days permanently on the international map. In this chat with Benjamin about how they adapted from one year to the other, I hope you become equally excited about this year’s edition. Meet VR Days 2020 - New Horizons.

Inga Petryaevskaya is a CEO and Co-Founder of Tvori, VR animation and prototyping software. Tvori is an award-winning technology startup located in San Mateo, California and Saint Petersburg in Russia. VRTL was honored to welcome Inga as a guest on our podcast. We talked about the emergence of XR teams within large companies, the importance of spatial design as a future proof skill and how Tvori makes it possible to ideate, visualize and communicate your ideas, all within virtual reality. Enjoy!

Michel Reilhac is a narrative architect and long-time transmedia and immersive media pioneer. He's is known as a leading international expert for innovation in hybrid storytelling across participatory, interactive and immersive experiences. As the Head of Studies at the Venice Biennale College and the VR competition curator for the Venice Biennale International Film Festival, Michel is regularly invited to speak and teach at major international events, including the Cannes International Film Festival, SXSW, Tribeca Film Festival, and many more. In our podcast Michel talks about the opportunity of hybrid film festivals and the need for distribution channels to monetize on XR content.

Jeffrey is a filmmaker, engineer, and virtual reality pioneer. As the founder and CEO of Positron, he created Voyager®. Jeffrey and his team have worked with studios such as Universal, DreamWorks, Disney, Warner Bros, Adult Swim, Felix & Paul, and others to craft premium VR content for XR Cinemas using the Voyager platform. In this episode of the VRTL podcast, we talked about the impressive quality of the submissions, the go-to-market strategy of Positron and how the business model for LBE works precisely.

Jingshu Chen, nominated in Forbes 30 under 30 Asia 2018, co-founded VeeR VR with Aiden in 2016, with a mission to bring the best immersive entertainment to the world. VeeR is a leading VR entertainment platform available worldwide, across all major VR headset, web, and mobile. VeeR acquires, produces, and distributes best-in-class immersive stories and light-weight interactive experiences.

In this podcast Jingshu Chen talked about how the Chinese market responds to XR content and how artists can monetize on their projects using VeeR VR.

Featuring immersive work from VR artists around the world, the Museum of Other Realities is a virtual art gallery that provides a place to connect, share, and experience new media together with others. Founded by Colin Northway and Robin Stethem in 2017, the MOR encourages visitors to step into and interact with the multidimensional artwork, transcending the limits of more traditional gallery experiences. In this episode Robin Stethem uncovers how the Museums of Other Realities works with artists on a space that will allow a broader audience to experience an incredible realm of creative potential in its native medium and how to inspire the next-gen artists.

When you go to a film festival, it is almost impossible not to bump into this man. Jimmy Cheng focuses on the acquisition and licensing of immersive/interactive XR content as Director of Content / Business Operations at Iconic Engine. Currently, he represents 140 studios, including GoPro, Atlas V, Secret Location, and supporting six telecoms for finding content. In this episode of the VRTL podcast, Jimmy talks to Pieter about the recent trends in demand for the type of XR content and how he sees the XR licensing business evolving. A sneak peek at the panel that Jimmy will be part of at Cannes XR Virtual next week.

I think it must have been about a year since René and I last met each other in real life. That must have been during Cannes XR if I remember correctly. In the meantime, a lot has happened with Kaleidoscope and the pandemic has certainly accelerated the implementation of the new business model. René Pinnell is Founder and CEO of Kaleidoscope and has a clear mission and vision where he wants to go with the platform. Just like last year, Kaleidoscope and Cannes XR are teaming up and René gives us insights on what we can expect from this collaboration. Listen to his podcast how vision with action can change the world for XR artists.

This week on our VRTL podcast we welcome Sean Rodrigo. Sean's a London-based, Virtual Reality Artist / Technologist working with innovative XR technology such as virtual reality as a core creative tool to achieve engaging, insightful and meaningful experiences.

Over the last 13 years, Sean has worked in film, television and advertising with extensive experience in technical and creative campaigns. His current work ranges from installation artwork to designing prototype products in super fast timeframes – sometimes mixing technology with traditional tools such as theatre, design and animation.

In this episode Pieter and Sean discuss the necessary skillset to start designing in virtual reality, the uncharted territory of spatial creation within the industry and insights on the available tools in the market. 

Nina is an award-winning filmmaker and XR Creative, Producer & Consultant. She has worked in the XR space since 2015. She is one of the co-founders of the Women in VR meet up group, an XR journalist for two and half years, and has worked on creating, developing, and using immersive technologies for various companies and brands. She is currently working on bringing VR into UK prisons, executing UK immersive events, and working on her own VR film. Nina Salomons talks about her career path and her mission to make the XR community more diverse. She has a clear view on how to build a bridge to the other side of the widening skills gap, to unlock the full potential of XR.

Rosh is Managing Director at UNIT9 a global Innovation Studio. A seasoned leader, passionate about the creative application of technologies for brands, and has been involved in the agency, production and start-up worlds running successful businesses and executing innovative and award winning work for some of the worlds biggest brands. Previous to UNIT9 he ran a record label, sold a business to WPP, started an embedded creative agency at WPP and founded a start-up incubator launching a new visual holographic medium, eco-friendly street furniture and a VR motion platform to the UK. Rosh Singh responds to how he got into immersive, the hype about VR/AR and about how an A-list production agency works with customers.

Marta Ordeig is a filmmaker and entrepreneur traveling between Silicon Valley and Barcelona. In 2016 she founded Garage Stories, a content lab where she gathers creatives minds from various background to co-create and explore the possibilities that emerging technologies are bringing into the table and take an active part in shaping the future of entertainment. In this episode Pieter and Marta talk about how her idea generation methodology makes sense for XR projects and about her collaboration with prominent film festivals.

Rafael Pavon is an award-winning Creative Director and Producer at AtlasV, the production studio behind Spheres, Gloomy Eyes, Battlescar, and Vestige. Rafael started as Director and Creative Director for virtual reality in 2015 at VR studio Future Lighthouse, where he worked on 30+ VR productions from idea to delivery, creating award-winning original content from scratch, like Melita and Ray, and also working with partners like Sony, Oculus and HTC on projects like Campfire Creepers. After Future Lighthouse, Rafael Pavon joined the Disney-backed company Jaunt in London as Creative Director and worked as a freelance immersive director for projects such as the World Monuments Fund.

François Fripiat has been a sound engineer for over 12 years. He worked in many different fields such as sound design, audio mix, and he's been a sound supervisor for many different animation films, feature films, documentaries, etc... Passionate about spatial sound for a decade, François Fripiat founded the company Demute, a creative sound studio dedicated to new media (XR / Video Games / Immersive experiences). Demute is focusing on tech by developing new technological tools to improve immersion through sound. Our VRTL podcast host Pieter Van Leugenhagen will dig deeper to learn the different aspects within spatial sound and how it contributes to the storytelling of a cinematic VR experience.

Bob Cooney is widely considered the world’s leading authority on the location-based virtual reality (LBVR) business. As an innovator in immersive entertainment for nearly 30 years, he is a frequent keynote speaker at VR and amusement industry conferences and is a renowned and skilled moderator. Next to being a mentor and speaker, Bob is the author of the new book “Real Money from Virtual Reality”, a guide for entrepreneurs entering the LBVR space. While Bob has a tight schedule, he managed to squeeze in a spot for our VRTL Podcasts. Our VRTL host Pieter talked with Bob Cooney about the opportunities and struggles for LBE business models and the future of this growing industry.

Dominic Eskofier co-founded the largest unofficial community for VR (reddit.com/r/oculus), started the VR Germany meetup group and is co-founder of EUVR.org – a non-profit organization pushing the European XR industry. After co-founding the VR startup realities.io at Boost VC, an accelerator in Silicon Valley, he gathered international corporate experience at Nvidia as their Head of Virtual Reality (EMEAI). Now, as Head of Eden Europe, he develops the European business for Eden, a startup from South Africa on the convergence of XR and emerging tech. Eskofier joined us for a podcast and talked about his past in VR and the very first duct-taped Oculus Rift prototype. He does not take a doom and gloom approach to XR, but believes it’s time to move up a gear for our industry.