Mettle Showcasing New Tech and 360/VR Filmmakers at NAB 2017

Mettle Showcasing New Tech and 360/VR Filmmakers at NAB 2017

Mettle is proud to host leading 360/VR filmmakers and industry professionals at our booth #N913VR, VR Pavilion, NAB 2017. Drop by to learn all about 360/VR production from experts in the field. Get a crash course in 360 cameras with Tobias Chen,Everything You Always Wanted To Know About 360 Cameras * But Were Afraid To Ask“. See what the next media platform might be with Khayyam WakilLive Streaming Stereo 360 as a New Media Platform“.  Get a Director’s perspective on shooting a scene in 360 with Connor Hair and Alex Meader, “Anatomy of a Scene | My Brother’s Keeper“. And much more! Check the schedule below and mark your calendars.

Mettle will demo exciting new feature updates for SkyBox Studio V2, as well as tech demos of Mantra VR, a 360° Stylization software for 360 content creators, that takes production to the next “Dreamlike” level. Team Mettle will be there too, with Nancy Eperjesy and Chris Bobotis, Mettle Co-Founders.

NAB 2017 Speaker Schedule.

Mettle Booth #N913VR

MONDAY APRIL 24th:

James Pence

James Pence

From Kentucky to the World: Producing High Quality 360/VR Content | Jamie Pence | Videobred

Jamie Pence, Owner at Videobred, Winner of 1 Samsung VR Creator Award and 3 VR Telly Awards, shares the journey his company has taken to succeed in the 360/VR medium. High quality content stands out, and Jamie will discuss his experiences and strategies for producing 360/VR that has broad appeal.

Videobred has what it takes to to succeed in the 360/VR medium, with 25+ years experience in traditional film production, and enthusiasm for embracing new 360/VR technology. A history of large-scale installations and comprehensive video projects has made them technical problem-solvers ,able to successfully navigate the 360/VR medium. The Videobred team of award-wining professionals bring creative spark, extensive production experience and a national reputation for innovation to every project. www.videobred.com

Monday April 24th. 10:00-11:00 AM

Connor Hair

Connor Hair

Alex Meader

Alex Meader

Anatomy of a Scene: My Brother’s Keeper | Connor Hair + Alex Meader | Perception Squared

Connor Hair and Alex Meader discuss their inspiration for Directing key scenes from “My Brother’s Keeper”, a cinematic VR experience inspired by the PBS dramatic series Mercy Street. The film introduces many technical and creative innovations in VR film production. Produced by PBS Digital Studios in partnership with Brian Seth Hurst of StoryTech® Immersive, and Perception Squared, it was noted by Time in their article “The 5 Virtual Reality Films You Should Experience Right Now“.

Alex Meader is Co-Founder of Perception Squared. He’s an award winning writer and director who has been telling stories across many different mediums for almost a decade. His body of work includes feature films, short films, TV Commercials, branded content, music videos, and virtual reality.

Connor Hair, Co-Founder Perception Squared, is a writer, director and award winning cinematographer. After working as a cinematographer on six feature length projects, Connor shifted his focus toward directing virtual reality experiences. His in depth knowledge of camera technology and prior experience directing shorts allowed for a confident transition into this new artform.

Monday, April 24th. 12:00 – 1:00 PM 

Mix Master Mike

Mix Master Mike

Anthony Washington

Anthony Washington

Jonathan Winbush

Jonathan Winbush

MOON BASE INVASION: VIRTUAL REALITY EXPERIENCE | WORLD DEBUT  | Mix Master MikeJonathan Winbush + Tony Washington

Mix Master Mike, Jonathan Winbush and Tony Washington will present their latest VR Experience: Moon Base Invasion, created for DJ and Producer Mix Master MikeMoon Base Invasion has also been accepted into the Cannes Film Festival as part of their “NEXT du Marché du Film-Festival de Cannes” VR exhibit. It is a follow-up to their multi award-winning VR Experience for Mix Master Mike, Magma Chamber VR. Find out about their production pipeline, which includes the latest Dell and AMD hardware and multiple Mettle plugins including Skybox 360 Post FX2 from SkyBox Suite, and FreeForm Pro with Adobe software. This remarkable combination of software and hardware is being used to build and push the creative 360 VR boundaries even further than with their multi-award winning Magma Chamber VR experience. 

Named as “the world’s greatest DJ” by USA Today, Mix Master Mike has won Grammys, been inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Beastie Boys, spun at the Vancouver Winter Olympics and the Emmy’s, and has created music that has been featured on major television networks. In 2016, he was invited to the White House by former President Barack Obama to perform at the Kennedy Center Honors 36th Gala honoring Herbie Hancock.

Jonathan Winbush (Winbush Design & Animation Studio) is an international award winning motion graphics artist that now works in VR. Rated as one of the top 25 artist in Hollywood by Inferno Development Jonathan has worked on movies and television shows for studios such as Marvel, DC, Discovery, Warner Bros, Hasbro and many more. Jonathan is also the co creator of the multi award winning Magma Chamber VR project for Rock n Roll Hall of Famer Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys.

New York Times best selling artist, Tony Washington has been creating award winning art for Comics, Movies, Video Games and various branding opportunities professionally for over 20 years. He has also provided art for Mix Master Mike of the Beastie Boys, Boxer Victor Ortiz and Lady Gaga for her Monsters Ball Tour. Recently Tony has created 2D concept, environment and texture art in his first VR related project Magma Chamber VR for Copeland Entertainment. Tony has been a guest speaker at multiple schools in the San Diego Area and when he isn’t drawing, he also produces music under the name Stations Stories.

Monday, April 24th. 1:00 – 2:00 PM 

Sam Tato

Sam Tato

Integrating CG into 360° Video: Cinema 4D + Adobe After Effects + Mettle | Sam Tato | dPost

Sam shows us two projects that integrate traditional 3D into 360 video. Project 1: 360° previz of a multi-story commercial building. They mounted a 360 camera on top of a car and drove past an empty building site. They tracked and composited an animated 3D building on top of that footage. Project 2: Full CG 360° Spaceship Interior. Futuristic pop-up screens are integrated into the scene with Adobe + Mettle VR.

Sam Tato is a 3D Artist at dPost, a full-service production and post production company located in the Theatre District in downtown Buffalo, New York. They offer comprehensive motion image process for broadcast, multi-media and corporate projects. They are excited by the possiblities of 360/VR production, and are applying their traditional expertise to this evolving medium.

Monday, April 24th. 2:00 – 3:00 PM 

Khayyam Wakil

Khayyam Wakil

Live Streaming Stereo 360 as a New Media Platform | Khayamm Wakil | Live Planet

Khayyam Wakil, Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Creative Partnerships, at Live Planet, will give a live-streaming demo of the company’s new tech, and talk about how media paradigms are shifting with the democratization of 360°/VR.

Live Planet™, is introducing the industry’s most advanced end-to-end immersive Stereoscopic 360°/VR video system. It is a complete platform for capture, editing and syndication to multiple platforms for viewing. www.liveplanet.net/

Monday, April 24th. 3:00 – 4:00 PM

Andrew MacDonald

Andrew MacDonald

Creating Original 360/VR Broadcast Content: “A Letter From The Trench” BLOOD & FURY for AHC | Andrew MacDonald | CreamVR

Andrew MacDonald discusses the 360 production process on their critically acclaimed 360/VR film “A Letter From the Trench”, an American Civil War drama for AHC (American Heroes Channel). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXPtvI-9k5M

Andrew has been a director cameraman working in factual and documentary for 2 decades. Having had the privilege of traveling the globe for networks such as Discovery, National Geographic. Travel, Andrew is now focusing his skills on pioneering 360 capture. As a founding member of Cream’s VR/AR division Andrew has produced over 20 unique VR experiences for major networks and brands. Cream’s VR work has also been invited to screen at the Cannes film festival , Cream VR’s most recent production “letter from the trench”  is currently featured on Discovery’s VR app.

Monday, April 24th. 4:00 – 5:00 PM

TUESDAY APRIL 25TH:

Lewis Smithingham

Lewis Smithingham

“Invisible” Post-production breakdown | Lewis Smithingham | 30 Ninjas

Lewis Smithingham (President at 30 Ninjas) takes an in-depth look at editing techniques for INVISIBLE, the first scripted narrative mini-series for VR. It brings Hollywood storytelling techniques into VR. He breaks down some of the most technically challenging scenes, and gives a hands-on demo of Post techniques that were developed and introduced for the mini-series.

30 Ninjas is an award-winning digital entertainment company that develops, writes and produces dynamic and engaging VR, multi-platform and interactive content. Projects have been nominated for several Emmy Awards and have won Shorty, Social TV Grand Prize and other well-regarded industry awards. Lewis Smithingham is President of VR. He has gained international recognition for his early adoption of VR film production having shot a number of high profile narrative and documentary 360/VR projects

Tuesday April 25th. 10:00-11:00 AM

Jenna Watt

Jenna Watt

Keys to Creating Great 360/VR Video | James Markham Hall | Gold Creek VR

James Markham Hal Jr., Co-Founder Gold Creek VR, shows us how to take care of some common 360° post-production tasks in After Effects. He uses the View-based Edit in SkyBox Studio V2 to place a 2D video window over 360° footage, covers the Nadir with a logo and removes unwanted shadows, camera support and lighting equipment. His presentation will include examples from several of the VR series he serves as Producer, Director, Cinematographer and Editor on including “American Ghost Towns,” the upcoming “Historic Treasures of the National Parks,” “Antonio Brown: Call God” and “Super Pups!”

James formed Gold Creek VR with producing partner Ted Faye with whom he most recently collaborated on Showtime’s top rated sports documentary “IVERSON,” revealing the life of NBA ALL-STAR ALLEN IVERSON. Their first VR collaboration is a historical documentary VR series “American Ghost Towns,” which has a featured channel in the SAMSUNG VR app. Their episode “American Ghost Towns: Goldfield” was awarded “BEST LIVE ACTION VR EDUCATIONAL FILM  at VR FEST 2016. Gold Creek VR is partnered with GOOGLE EXPEDITIONS, adapting their award winning episode on Goldfield, Nevada into a Google Expeditions educational VR field trip which was one of eight VR experiences that Google Expeditions featured at the 2017 BETT educational technology show in London.  Gold Creek VR has completed a pilot for their new VR series “HISTORIC TREASURES OF THE NATIONAL PARKS,” partnering with the National Park Service to focus on “SCOTTY’S CASTLE,” a damaged  historic landmark at DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK.

Tuesday April 25th. 11:00-12:00

Aton Sanz-Katz

Aton Sanz-Katz

Stepping Into 360º VR Production | Aton Sanz-Katz | DreamWorksTV

Aton will explain the production pipeline on DreamWorksTV’s first ever 360 video, which he directed, “Mama Said” by Lukas Graham – Cover by Mackenzie Sol 360°/VR. He will discuss the workflow from shooting 360, and going through post-production in Adobe Software with Mettle 360/VR plugins. He explains the lessons learned from that initial experience, and gives advice on how to make your first 360° production a success.

Aton Sanz-Katz has been working as Director/Animator at DreamWorksTV, directing the channel’s first 360/VR project. DreamWorksTV has only been around for two years, but it can already boast about reaching two incredible milestones. The family-friendly YouTube channel, founded by DreamWorks Animation in 2014, now has over two million subscribers and over one billion video views. Aton was recently interviewed for Forbes https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelhumphrey/#6441cc2c494a

Tuesday, April 25th. 12:00-1:00 PM

Matt Givot

Matt Givot

“Hawaii 8K 360” A Technical Overview | Matt Givot | Givot Media

Matt Givot, (CEO, Givot Media) and his team produced “360 Hawaii – The Pace of Formation”, that captures the beauty of an exotic location in 8K 360° video that features spatial audio. It is the companion piece to a traditional “flat” video shot in 4K that was awarded a Vimeo “Staff Pick”. Matt explains the production workflow, including camera equipment, the stitching software, techniques for stabilisation, object removal, and color grading.

Givot Media speacializes in high quality film production in exotic locations around the world, including Hawaii, Vietnam, The Cayman Islands, and Italy. They have received numerous “Staff Picks” awards on Vimeo, for their stunning 4K videos. A fascination with the developing 360 medium has them pushing the envelope in producing high-quality 4K 360° video.

Tuesday, April 25th. 1:00-2:00 PM

Matthew Celia

Matthew Celia

360 Storytelling and the Illusion of Choice | Matthew Celia | Light Sail VR

How can we tell compelling stories when the director has no way to know where the audience will look? Join Creative Director Matthew Celia from Light Sail VR as he talks about the production and editing techniques he uses to craft stories in 360 and how various levels of interactivity can be implemented to create memorable content and grow the medium.

Light Sail VR is a #storyfirst company, and we specialize in live action 360 video / immersive cinema. We create branded commercial productions for clients and are also developing and packaging our own live action narrative series. We’re actively trying to grow the medium of VR through the creation of premium level content.

Tuesday, April 25th. 2:00-3:00 PM

WEDNESDAY APRIL 26TH

Chris Gernon

Chris Gernon

“Francis” VR Short Film: Using VR To Elicit Empathy and Change | Chris Gernon | Fugitives Editorial

“Francis” immerses us into the world of a teacher in Ghana who went through a mental health crisis. Told in first-person by Francis himself, the viewer experiences the struggle, through solitary confinement and back, to recovery. Chris Gernon (CEO, Fugitives Editorial) discusses the goals and acheivements made with “Francis”, which was designed to bring mental health to the forefront in economic planning worldwide. Fugitives was commissioned by The Strongheart Group in collaboration with the World Bank, to help move mental health out of the shadows and squarely onto the world agenda as a global health and development priority.

Light Sail VR Bio: Chris Gernon, President and CEO of Fugitives Creative and Fugitives Editorial.   An award winning marketing and advertising firm offering full service creative solutions for some of the most influential brand in the world.  Including Disney Parks and Resorts, E!, CNN, Dyson, DirecTV,  ABC, Black & Decker, and Charter Communications to name a few.  Last year, while exploring VR as a new storytelling medium we found Francis’ story fitting to our mission of using media to evoke change.   This social obligation is something we care deeply about and believe it has real impact in the world.  We’re excited for this opportunity to bring his story out of the shadows and onto the world stage. 

Wednesday April 26th. 10:00 – 11:00 AM

Mike Hopkinson

Mike Hopkinson

Ryan Cummins

Ryan Cummins

VR Production Processes : Elements & Essential Knowledge | Ryan Cummins & Mike Hopkinson | Legend VR

Creating quality immersive experiences in the continually evolving landscape of VR requires a working knowledge of all the available tools and techniques. Legend VR Supervisors Ryan Cummins and Mike Hopkinson discuss the important choices and considerations to make when creating VR experiences. Join us as they navigate from pre- through post production to pose the right questions and provide practical insight.
Legend VR offers full-scale virtual reality creative, production, and post-production solutions – from concept to final color – for all types of 360-degree and VR content. Its extensive staff works closely with creative agencies and directors to develop and storyboard both live action and CG content and with producers, creative directors, production designers and DPs on-set to capture the most effective images for both 2D and 3D 360-degree content.
The company’s cutting-edge work is helping define and design the new narrative of 360-degree storytelling and has played an integral role in some of the most buzzworthy VR content of late for clients like Lionsgate, Warner Brothers, Apple Music, Annapurna Pictures, Hulu, and Tidal. Other recent projects include The Click Effect, a film that premiered in January at the Sundance Film Festival for which Legend performed stitching, VFX, and 3D functions, and “Take Flight,” from The New York Times’ Great Performers series for which Legend completed CG/VFX work, stereo conversion, on-set capture of talent, color correction, and final 360-degree rendering.

Wednesday April 26th. 11:00 – 12:00 PM

Tim Montijo

Tim Montijo

How to Bring Hollywood FX into 360/VR Production | Tim Montijo | Unified Pictures

Tim Montijo, Co-Founder Unified Pictures, discusses the techniques used to bring cinematic FX into 360 production with Adobe software and Mettle 360/VR plugins.

Tim Montijo brings Unified Pictures its most diversified artist and certainly one of the most productive, with experience as animator, producer, visual effects supervisor, director, composer and executive for various film and television projects. His range is so broad that he was invited to teach Visual Effect and Animation for UCLA’s Entertainment Studies Program. After co founding the successful digital effects firm Electro Age in 2001, Tim Co-founded Unified Pictures in 2004.

Wednesday April 26th. 12:00 – 1:00 PM

Tobias Chen

Tobias Chen

Everything You Always Wanted to Know About 360° Cameras * But Were Afraid To Ask | Tobias Chen | University of Toronto

Tobias explains the basics of capturing 360 footage, and why 360 cameras come in so many formats. He goes over the pros and cons of popular 360 cameras, from Nokia Ozo and Jaunt to Samsung Gear 360 and Ricoh Theta. We also get to see images of some one-of-a kind 360 Camera Mash-ups, built by Mettle customers, and learn the logic behind them.

Tobias Chen is a technologist and recent graduate of University of Toronto, where he was a Research Assistant, and studied Interactive Digital Media. The author of a TedEX talk at the University, his current projects include: 3D 360 degree filming for spherical video; Binaural/Ambisonic sound capture; Livestitching and livestreaming 360 content; Designing bespoke camera arrays.

Wednesday April 26th. 1:00 – 2:00 PM

Sarah Hill

Sarah Hill

Your Brain on VR Story | Sarah Hill | StoryUP VR

Sarah Hill of StoryUP studios shares three case studies where VR affects brain wave patterns. Learn about the storytelling inputs that can affect the gamma activity or stress reactions in the brain. See the platform that’s allowed thousands to StoryUP . Learn about media therapy as a tool to combat anxiety, loneliness and pain. StoryUP.com

National Edward R. Murrow, NAB Service to America and 12 time mid-America Emmy award-winning Storyteller. Sarah is the CEO & Chief Storyteller for StoryUP, an immersive media company. Sarah holds a provisional patent on immersive story for VR therapy. An alum of the Missouri School of Journalism and former adjunct faculty, Sarah’s reporting has taken her team around the globe capturing VR stories about the human spirit in the Amazon, UAE, Congo, Haiti and Zambia. You can read StoryUP’s case studies about immersive media and its impact on brain wave patterns for empathy, motivation and mindfulness here: http://www.storyup.com/Let’s StoryUP!

Wednesday April 26th. 2:00 – 3:00 PM

 

Charles Yeager

Charles Yeager

360° Workflow in After Effects and Premiere Pro | Charles Yeager | Yeager Film

Charles Yeager yeagerfilm.com explains best practices for 360/VR production. How to import stitched 360 footage into After Effects, cleaning up your footage, adding Post FX, and moving footage into Premiere Pro for editing and transitions. He uses Mettle SkyBox Suite, and demonstrates what makes sense in the pipeline.  

Charles Yeager is a Filmmaker & Motion Graphics Artist currently residing in Arkansas. His projects have been recognized by Canon, Video Copilot, Vimeo, Filmmaker IQ, No Film School, Film Convert, BOOM Library & Filminute. He is an After Effects and Premiere Pro tutorial master, with many 360/VR tutorials showcasing Mettle 360/VR Plugins..

Charles will be available Monday to Wednesday in the  Mettle booth to offer demos in Premiere Pro and After Effects. 

Wednesday April 26th. 3:00 – 3:00 PM

THURSDAY APRIL 27TH

Alex Chechelnitsky

Alex Chechelnitsky

“Under A Cracked Sky” Production Breakdown  | Alex Chechelnitsky | Koncept VR

“Under a Cracked Sky” is a 360/VR experience filmed under the ice in Antartic. Produced by The New York Times, Koncept VR worked on the Post-Production. Alex Chechelnitsky, Head of Production at Koncept VR, gives an overview of the project, and discusses the post-production workflow, which was done with Adobe software and mettle 360/VR plugins. The film is being shown as part of the Virtual Arcade at Tribeca Film Festival. Viewers can go under eight feet of Antarctic sea ice, to view the clearest water on Earth. Plunge through a small hole in the ice to dive with seals, explore ice caves, glide past stalactites of frozen seawater and swim over a rocky black seabed crawling with life. Under a Cracked Sky was narrated and photographed by two research divers at McMurdo Station, one of whom has more experience under the ice than anyone else on the planet.

Koncept VR provides high quality 360º video content & VR experiences. They collaborate on many high-end productions, including “The Fight for Fallujah” (New York Times), “The Open Met” (Metropolitan Museum of New York) , “The School of Rock 360 Video”, and “Hamilton 360”.
Alex feels right at home producing VR as he brings many years of working with spherical projections and a mastery of panoramic photography. While being the resident expert in modern post techniques, it’s Alex’s passion and creative aspirations for immersive VR narrative that fuels him to hone his craft and take it to the next level.

Thursday April 27th. 10:00 – 11:00 AM

Andrew Treglia

Andrew Treglia

Hypatia: Building a Virtual World for Social Interaction | Andrew Treglia | TimefireVR

Andrew Treglia, Head of Digital Media Production at TimefireVR, walks us through the production process of Hypatia, a groundbeaking VR project, that won “Best Social Experience” at Cinequest 2017. Hypatia integrates CG with Post FX in Adobe After Effects and Mettle 360/VR Plugins.

Hypatia has been in development for the past two years in Scottsdale, AZ with a team of around 30 artists and developers. Named after the ancient female Greek mathematician and philosopher, Hypatia is built to bring people together. This virtual world is a unique platform with an emphasis on the arts, culture, exploration, commerce, experiential learning, and entertainment. Mettle SkyBox Studio (V1,V2) were an integral part in completing the groundbreaking VRFX. 

Thursday April 27th. 12:00 – 1:00 PM

 

Nick Bicanic

Nick Bicanic

VR experiences – Films, Games or Real-Life? l Nick Bicanic | RVLVR

Nick presents the his views on the state of VR Experiences, and which one will win out.  He looks at the Uncanny Valley of VR; the more the storyteller or game-designer wants to immerse the viewer in a reality,  the higher the demands for something accepted as real. Nick believes scripted photorealistic 360 drama will grow faster in VR than interactive game engine driven VR worlds.  There can only be stakes when the viewer feels emotionally connected with the environment, when you have meaningful permanent impact on the narrative. When Jon Snow watches Ygritte die — we feel for him — because his emotion registers as real.

Nick Bicanic is a filmmaker and a technologist who mixes left brain and right brain stuff on an ongoing basis. He is a serial entrepreneur and is considered one of the best Mobile Product visionaries in Silicon Valley. He has raised money from Silicon Valley luminaries including Google Ventures and has 20 years of experience running multiple teams developing complex client-server applications and processes on mobile and cloud based platforms. He also wrote, directed and produced the 4 time LEO award winning documentary “Shadow Company” – a unique insight into the secret world of modern day soldiers for hire and produced “The War Against Boko Haram” for VICE News and published his first book – “Executive Outcomes” – a graphic novel based on his script of the same name. He is now focusing on developing storytelling technology and content for Virtual and Augmented Reality.

Thursday April 27th. 1:00 – 2:00 PM

Mettle Skybox Suite has joined Adobe.

Mettle Skybox Suite of plugins will be exclusively available as part of your Creative Cloud membership through deep, native integration with Premiere Pro CC and After Effects CC. Adobe Creative Cloud will offer an end to end experience for crafting rich and compelling VR/360 experiences.  

 Learn more – Adobe and Mettle VR: 360 degrees better

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