yondr academy podcasts

Today’s podcast is a fifteen-minute talk with Siqi Chen, CPO of Sandbox VR. Sandbox VR has recently received 16 million dollar funding, which is the largest amount of fundraising that’s been into VR since the original Oculus company. Listen to what Siqi Chen has to say about the expansion of the company, why China has taken a big leap in terms of retail experiences in shopping malls and why narrative is becoming more and more important in the experiences they offer.

This podcast episode is with Julian Sarmiento, the Chief Creative Officer of Iconic Engine. He's had a career that is basically the technicolor fusion of art and technology. In two decades, he rose to leading the computer graphic teams on some of Hollywood's biggest blockbusters for example 'I, Robot' or the Oscar-winning 'the curious case of Benjamin Button'. He's worked with the top creative thinkers on products on films because he inhabits that rare space of both artistry and knowledge of VFX, 3D, Stereo, UI, UX, mobile, direct manipulation, IoT, computer vision, artificial intelligence, and blockchain. Those skills are at the foundation of his interactive and immersive work. In this podcast, Julian talks with us about the different roles, creativity, technology, and innovation and how these interplay with humans and what that means for XR.

In what way is the future of acting influenced by technical innovations such as VR/AR? That's the fundamental idea of the reason why the Dutch Cassandra De Klerck founded Virtual Acting, a company specialized in teaching and consulting how to act in a different environment such as immersive worlds. 

Liz Rosenthal, Founder & CEO of Power to the Pixel and Programmer of immersive content for Venice International Film Festival, had a tête-à-tête with our Editor-In-Chief Justine Harcourt de Tourville. In this VRTL podcast, Liz gives us a sneak peek behind the scenes of the selection of immersive works at Venice International Film Festival and tells us why creating value around a project is highly important.

Matthieu Labeau is the International Business Developer at Starbreeze Studios which you will probably know better as the creators of PAYDAY. With studios in Stockholm, Barcelona and Paris, the gaming developer, creator, publisher and distributor, Starbreeze targets the global market. In this VRTL episode, we discuss the social aspect of multiplayer games and cinematic VR, the future of headsets and the critical link between technology and storytelling.

VR comes from all over the world–including places you don't immediately think of–like Oklahoma! In this episode, VRTL speaks with the two founders of Springboard VR, Will Stackable & Brad Scoggin, whose move into the VR space started 2.5 years ago. Brad came across virtual reality and immediately had to discuss it with his hometown pal, Will, who was already well aware of VR's impact on education, healthcare, etc. Brad and Will both soon realized that they wanted to enter the VR space, but had no idea exactly where to begin. Ultimately they decided that location-based entertainment works well in places like Oklahoma—and everywhere else! Here’s their fascinating story...

Martir Tupac is the creative soul behind Satore Studio and Satore Tech, two companies he raised as his own babies. Starting out in London, Tupac now has offices in New Mexico, New York and Paris. Martir has worked for numerous brands, celebs, and festivals (just to name a few: Coachella, Bon Jovi, and Beyoncé). In this podcast Tupac firstly goes deeper on his experience in the industry of emerging technology. Secondly, VRTL made a stop at Satore Studio to wonder why it's so important having all these creative individuals to work as a team, act as a team. Finally, we dig a little deeper into 'Cosmos Within Us', Martir's newest project he's raising money for.

Founder and Director of Sandbox Immersive Festival, Eddie Lou stepped on stage at Cannes XR bringing good news: “VR is booming in China.” How can it not? With a population of 1.3 billion, just a small fraction of users makes for a respectable market. The biggest tech companies of Japan (Ali Baba, WeChat, Tencent, Baidu) are all investing in VR ventures. Together with telecom companies the investments in XR content will only increase. Let’s listen to what Eddie Lou had to say on our VRTL Podcast.

It’s barely over six months since Iconic Engine spun off from Digital Domain and they’re awareness is already going through the roof. Iconic Engine CEO Amit Chopra explains how his forward thinking XR company combines service projects with a global streaming platform and 60+ Location Based Entertainment centers already in China. Key to the seamlessness are the people working at Iconic Engine; they’re all industry veterans. Early April the company launched their newest product the ‘Holometric 4D Cinema’ during both Cinemacon and NAB Show in Las Vegas. Iconic Engine is building a new ecosystem of immersive theatres which can break the boundaries of the traditional frame and can be globally managed and programmed. Amit explains they don’t believe in the philosophy of ‘anyone can be it’s own director by looking around’ and how they want to put the director in the driver’s seat again. Just sit back and enjoy the forward thinking ride.