Future of Film Podcast · 3.9 Where Next for Immersive Storytelling?

"Film is an artform that manipulates time. VR is an artform that manipulates space and we are at the very beginning of that." Michel Rehilac

In this episode, I am joined by immersive media expert, Michel Reilhac. In a wide ranging conversation about storytelling and media, Michel provides deep insight into the current state of VR, both artistically and commercially, and shares his optimistic vision for where it is heading.

About Michel Rehilac

Michel is Head of Studies at the Venice Biennale College and VR competition curator for the Venice Biennale International Film Festival. Between 2002-2012, Michel was Head of Cinema & Film Acquisitions at Arte France and executive director of Arte France Cinema, co-producing around 30 international independent feature films each year. Michel is a regular speaker on XR and immersive storytelling at international events, including the Cannes International Film Festival, SXSW, Tribeca Film Festival, TEDx, CPH:DOX, Power to the Pixel, FEMIS etc.

Future of Film Podcast · 3.8 Future of Theatrical

“The Challenge is to Rewrite the Storytelling of Cinema” Erwin Schmidt

This very special episode was recorded live at the New Cinema Conference 2019 at the EYE in Amsterdam. From across film and media I am joined by experts in their field to discuss the future of cinema and its place in the wider culture and industry. My esteemed guests are:

– international VOD expert and Rights Stuff Founder Wendy Bernfeld

– innovator, teacher and MD of the German Producers Association Erwin Schmidt

– Acclaimed storyteller (and producer of one of my favourite films in recent years THE LUNCHBOX) Anurag Kashyap

– Internationally recognised pioneer of VR and curator of Venice VR Days, Michel Rehihac

In this conversation we look ahead to the next 5 years and explore the challenges and opportunities for cinema over that time. Drawing upon the guest’s wide ranging experience and backgrounds, we discuss the innovations that could benefit the industry and how it can prosper in the wider context of the shifts in VOD, Production, Storytelling and Immersive Media.

This episode was made possible with kind support of the New Cinema Conference.

About the Speakers

Anurag Kashyap

Distinguished Indian filmmaker, known for his critical and commercial success in Hindi Cinema. Ace Bollywood director and independent co-producer of The Lunchbox (2013); director and screenwriter of a vast body of films such as Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), Ugly 2014) and Manmarziyaan (2018). Producer and director of Sacred Games, the first original Netflix series from India.

Awarded by the French Minister of Culture with the ‘Ordre des Arts et des Lettres’ for his contribution to film.

Recipient of many accolades including a national Film Award, 4 Filmfare Awardsthe Grand Jury Prize at the Indian Film Festival Los Angeles and BAFTA for best (non-English) film. Jury member of – among others – the International Film Festival of Venice and Sundance Film Festival.

Industry Mentor for MyNK | MinersINC.

Michel Reilhac

Curator, author, director, head of Studies Venice Biennale College Cinema and Curator Venice Biennale VR competition VR

Michel is an immersive media expert, known as a leading international specialist for innovation in hybrid storytelling across interactive and immersive experiences. he is Head of Studies at the Venice Biennale College and VR competition curator for the Venice Biennale International Film Festival. Between 2002-2012, Michel was Head of Cinema & Film Acquisitions at Arte France and executive director of Arte France Cinema, co-producing around 30 international independent feature films each year. Michel is a regular speaker on XR and immersive storytelling at international events, including the Cannes International Film Festival, SXSW, Tribeca Film Festival, TEDx, CPH:DOX, Power to the Pixel, FEMIS etc.

Erwin M Scmidt

Erwin M. Schmidt has worked in production, international sales and for film festivals and has an avid interest in new narrative formats and new distribution channels. He co-founded the Berlin based co-working space FilmTech Office (www.filmtechoffice.com), curates infiniTIFF (www.tiff.ro/en/infiniTIFF), the section for new forms of storytelling at the Transilvania Intl. Film Festival, and organizes the monthly FilmTech Meetup Berlin (www.meetup.com/FilmTechBerlin). He is the managing director of the German Film Producers Association. With the innovation studio Cinemathon (www.cinemathon.international) he works at the touchpoint between film, storytelling and technology, provides innovation tools for the film industry, builds communities and organizes workshops and conferences. Erwin has a special interest in the cinema of the future.

Wendy Bernfeld

Wendy started her media company Rights Stuff  in 1999 – an international consultancy focussed on OTT/SVOD/VOD, VR & Blockchain VOD- from start-up through expansion phases, and spanning curation, licensing & Originals negotiations.

Wendy also assists rightsholders & creators in digital distribution, beyond the usual suspects of the traditional and ‘Big5’ , to the wealth of international competitors & thematic services in VOD, including telecom, cable and OTT networks who buy & also fund programming.

Wendy has 25+ years experience, sits on multiple international film & digital sector advisory boards, and is a member of Bar Associations in the UK & Canada. Previously she was CEO of Canal+ International Acquisitions, Managing Director of Alliance-Atlantis International and a pay-tv-buyer for The Movie Network Canada.

Future of Film Podcast · 3.7: The New Studio Model

“Everybody is Realising that Change is Now and Re-Evaluating their Business Models” Janet Brown

Janet Brown is EVP Distribution at Gunpowder and Sky, the fast growing independent studio that is creating and distributing content across multiple formats and platforms.

In this conversation from their New York offices, Janet describes how the young studio is designed ground-up for today’s shifting consumer landscape – and the new routes to market that now exist for storytellers.

We also discuss the future (and recent history) of distribution as well as Janet’s entrepreneurial journey at Film Buff, the company she co-founded and built that Gunpowder and Sky acquired in 2016.

About Janet Brown

Janet Brown is the EVP of Distribution at Gunpowder & Sky, a fast growing independent global entertainment company, creating premium content unrestricted by format, as well as genre-specific destinations for the streaming generation. Since its inception in 2016, G&S has released more than 30 films and series, as well as hundreds of short films, in theatres, on TVOD, and in partnership with leading platforms such as HBO, Netflix, MTV, Hulu, Sky, Showtime, DirecTV, Amazon, Facebook, YouTube and soon Quibi and HBO Max. Previously, Janet was the co-founder and CEO of FilmBuff, an award-winning full-service distribution company which she sold to G&S in 2016. 

Janet oversees feature film acquisitions and co-productions, theatrical distribution and international sales for the full G&S slate including films, series and branded channels. Previous theatrical releases include Alex Ross Perry’s critically lauded Her Smell starring Elisabeth Moss, Jonas Akerlund’s bold and tumultuous Lords of Chaos, Sundance midnighter Summer of ’84, the Nick Offerman crowdpleaser Hearts Beat Loud, and The Little Hours, Jeff Baena’s acclaimed religious satire from Sundance. G&S has just announced the release of the Lil Peep documentary Everybody’s Everything, which first premiered at SXSW 2019, which will kick-off with special event screenings for fans worldwide in November.  

Janet has been an aggressive pioneer in the production, sales and distribution of digital-first content. She is adept at matching premium short and long-form content with the most effective traditional and digital distribution paths to the audience. She has also created industry benchmarks for premium branded content distribution, working with brands such as GE, Audi, Kellogg, Cole Haan, Illy, Marriott and Norton to enhance the reach and awareness of the best in branded content. 

Before its sale to G&S, Janet had established FilmBuff as a one-stop shop for a wide range of content providers by handling distribution of all rights in-house, including festival strategy, theatrical, digital, linear television, and international sales on more than 1,500 critically acclaimed titles. Janet and her team worked with the best and most innovative filmmakers to release titles such as the Oscar-nominated Exit Through the Gift Shop, Sundance Audience Award winner Senna, Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner The House I Live In, Jared Leto’s Artifact, The Internet’s Own Boy, Codegirl, Burt’s Buzz, Spring, and the breakthrough indie hit The Invitation. 

Janet was part of the media and entertainment strategy consulting practice at Accenture in London from 1998 until 2004 where she drove business strategy for clients including News Corp., Warner Music, Film Four, Telewest and Granada. After moving back to the U.S., she was a strategy consultant for Yahoo! Media Group and headed up research at Cinetic Media in New York.

A native of Toronto, Janet received a B.A., Joint Honors in economics and political science from McGill University and an MBA from Columbia University.

Future of Film Podcast · 3.6 Volumetric Filmmaking and the New Documentary

“The Process Itself is the Innovation.” Yasmin Elayat

Yasmin Elayat is an Emmy-award winning storyteller and entrepreneur whose work pushes the boundaries of immersive narrative and participatory experiences.

Yasmin began her career in computer science but, as she describes in this interview, pivoted to become a storyteller and then co-founder of the tech-production company Scatter.

At Scatter, Yasmin is now pioneering the emerging language of Volumetric Filmmaking, a process that can transform 2D capture of the real world into hologram like imagery which can be viewed from any angle and is being used in immersive storytelling, documentaries and films.

In 2017 Yasmin used Scatter’s Volumetric filmmaking techniques to make ZERO DAYS VR which won the Emmy for Outstanding New Approach to Documentary.

About Yasmin Elayat

Yasmin Elayat is an Emmy-award winning immersive director whose work pushes the boundaries of immersive narrative and participatory experiences. Yasmin is Co-Founder at Scatter, where she heads content, production and marketing initiatives. Scatter is recognized for pioneering the emerging language of Volumetric Filmmaking through its original volumetric film productions and its AR/VR creativity tools. Scatter’s first product Depthkit is the most widely used toolkit for accessible volumetric video capture.

Yasmin directed the award-winning Zero Days VR (Sundance 2017) a documentary about cyber warfare and the Stuxnet virus, which won the Emmy for Original Approaches: Documentary. Zero Days VR was called “revolutionary” (VRScout) and “one of the most powerful VR documentaries” (Voices of VR).

Yasmin co-directed Blackout: an immersive documentary inviting New Yorkers to share their stories in their own voice which premiered at Tribeca Film Festival 2017 and Engadget called “a VR love letter to NYC’s subway riders.” She is the co-creator of 18DaysInEgypt, an interactive documentary about the Egyptian Revolution that was lauded as one the Moments of Innovation in Participatory Documentary. Upcoming projects include Changing Same, a magical-realist, afro-futurist virtual reality film which explores the cyclical history of racial injustice in America. Changing Same is a co-production between RADA Film Group and Scatter.

Yasmin’s work has won multiple awards and exhibited at various festivals including Sundance, Tribeca, SIGGRAPH, Festival de Cannes, and the World Economic Forum.

Future of Film Podcast · 3.5 Realtime Filmmaking and the Future of Cinematography

“In the early days, everyone was trying to get movie stuff into games. Now its flipped and everyone is getting game stuff into movies” Adam Myhill

Adam Myhill is Creative Director for Unity’s Media & Entertainment Innovation Group. In this episode, Adam addresses how realtime technology is transforming the filmmaking process and some of huge opportunities – and challenges – that this brings about. A former photographer and DP, Adam explains how he has used this experience to build new virtual cinematography tools that give filmmakers significantly more control and creative options. We also discuss the future of film and media and Adam provides some powerful advice for emerging filmmakers.

About Adam Myhill

Adam Myhill is Creative Director for Unity’s Media & Entertainment Innovation Group. He has spent two decades in film and video game worlds, working as a Director of Photography and CG supervisor at Electronic Arts and Blackbird Interactive. Using his experience on multiple titles and as a film DP on a number of feature-length movies, Myhill created a ground-breaking Emmy award-winning procedural cinematic and in-game camera system called Cinemachine, which is used in games and films. Adam also designed CineCast, a cinematography system for esports and any 3D content which begs the question “How do you film something when you don’t know what’s going to happen next?” He also holds a number of technology patents around virtual cameras and procedural cinematography.