Hollywood and the gaming industry have had a dysfunctional relationship for decades but are now being brought together by advances in AI and virtual reality. Scott Ross, who helped pioneer visual effects and VR technology, will discuss how as the CEO of Digital Domain he advocated for Hollywood and gaming to work together over 25 years ago for immersive storytelling. Ross will trace the evolution of these industries from the early 1990s to today, where technological advances are now forcing collaboration in virtual reality content. There is a need for film and gaming to converge around VR worlds, and Ross will share his vision for the future of immersive storytelling.

1. HOLLYWOOD, GAMING AND
IMMERSIVE STORYTELLING
Convergence through the VR Mindspace

2. Hollywood vs. Gaming
Since the late 1980s, Hollywood and the video gaming industry have
had a dysfunctional relationship as two separate entities, each
envious of what the other side was without fulling understanding
what both sides brought to the entertainment table. Today, advances
in AI and virtual reality are bringing the orbits of these two
behemoth industries together, as both video gaming and cinematic
storytelling follow their evolutionary trajectories into a space where
the two collide: immersive storytelling.

3. After 25 Years of Visionary Storytelling ...
Scott Ross has built a career in the entertainment industry
showcasing technology through engaging and entertaining
storytelling. Mr. Ross ran George Lucas’s empire as General
Manager of ILM and then Senior VP of LucasArts Entertainment
Company; under his leadership ILM won five Academy Awards
for Visual Effects (WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT, INNERSPACE,
TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY, THE ABYSS, AND DEATH
BECOMES HER) before co-founding Digital Domain with James
Cameron. From 1993-2006, Digital Domain garnered two
Academy Awards (for TITANIC and WHAT DREAMS MAY COME),
three nominations (for TRUE LIES, APOLLO 13 and I ROBOT
and won three Scientific and Technical Academy Awards for its
proprietary software.

4. A Hollywood Legend Looks into the Future
In a compelling conversation format, Mr. Ross will take the audience
from the early 1990s, when as CEO of Digital Domain he met with
the CEOs of every major gaming company, evangelizing the need for
Hollywood and the gaming industry to work together; into the
present day where the industries are finally being forced by
intersecting technological advances to work together in the virtual
reality content space.

5. Immersive Storytelling: Where
Hollywood and Gaming Converge
There is now a desperate need for the film and videogame industries
to reach a stage of true convergence around content for virtual
reality worlds. Who’s going to make it happen, how is it going to
happen and what’s this brave new world of immersive storytelling
going to look like? Mr. Ross brings his 25 years as a visionary
Hollywood storyteller working on the leading edge of technology to
make a compelling case for where he sees the future of VR
immersive storytelling heading.