POP 02 SPEAKER SERIES - BEYOND REALITY: CREATING REAL EMOTION IN IMAGINARY WORLDS

In collaboration with THE VERGE. Supported by: Anne-Marie Canning In July, we are delving into the incredible power of VR to put people in other people's lives. And also the challenges and questions that come with that power. Storytellers are only beginning to explore the potential for virtual reality to put people inside other perspectives — and other lives. In our second POP, you'll get the chance to experience some of the best work that's been done to date, and also to question the limits of the technology and the ethical questions it raises. From escapist fun (take a drive around Mars! Wander an alien world!) to crushing and immersive VR documentaries to a one-of-a-kind room-scale augmented reality experience, you will leave this installation with some new views on things. ROSS MILLER CO-FOUNDER AND MANAGING EDITOR, THE VERGE Ross Miller is a cofounder and Managing Editor of The Verge. For over a decade, he has covered technology, gaming, entertainment, and all aspects of modern storytelling. He has followed virtual reality since early 2012 when John Carmack showed him a very early Oculus Rift prototype. He honestly didn't get it at the time. He's also really bad at writing bios, especially in the third person. ADI ROBERTSON SENIOR REPORTER, THE VERGE Adi Robertson is a Senior Reporter for The Verge. She has followed virtual reality since the original Oculus Rift’s unveiling in 2012, and her work includes a definitive oral history of VR, along with coverage of the medium’s science, technology, and culture. Besides VR, she also writes about video games, biohacking, science fiction, policy, and gender. SPEAKERS KATE PARSONS CO-FOUNDER/​DIRECTOR, FLOAT Kate Parsons is a video artist and educator living in Los Angeles. Kate created FLOAT with co-founder Ben Vance as the collaborative arm of their two practices: Art and Interactivity. Together, the artists work with musicians, animators and filmmakers to form immersive visual music pieces. Much of Kate's practice involves the marriage of the visual and the aural, working with musicians and dancers to create inventive audio-visual experiences. She obtained her M.F.A. in Media Arts from UCLA in June of 2015, where her graduate studies involved research into the myriad ways humans mourn and express grief. BEN VANCE CO-FOUNDER/​DIRECTOR, FLOAT & CREATOR/​DIRECTOR, BUFFALO VISION AND GLITCH CITY Ben Vance is a director and creative collaborator who explores emerging technology, art and design. He has worked with Electronic Arts, independent game studios, galleries, VR startups, and with hummingbirds on back patios surrounded by succulents. He is a founding member of Glitch City, an LA-based art / tech / game collective, FLOAT with co-founder Kate Parsons, and Buffalo Vision, his company specializing in games and interactive VR. His current focus is exploring VR as a unique and paradigm-shifting medium. JEN COSTA SOUND DESIGNER/​PRODUCER Jen is a lifelong video game, comics, and film fan. She is interested in the way these mediums provide innovative experiences that can help push the boundaries of traditional storytelling. These interests have led Jen to creative sound production in media industries from radio, TV and film to video games. She currently works as a freelance sound designer in games as well as a producer at Uken Games. She is a proud member of Dames Making Games and an enthusiastic member of the Toronto gaming community. PATRICK OSBORNE DIRECTOR/​ANIMATOR Patrick is an accomplished animator who won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short Film in 2014 for his directorial debut, Disney's Feast. He is known for his animation work on films such as Wreck-It Ralph and Bolt. He directed Pearl, which is featured at POP 02, for Google's Spotlight Stories. Dames Making Games Funktronic Labs Henry Faber, New Tropics/​Gamma Space Collaborative Studio Josh Randall