In 2018, the startup I founded was the recipient of the "Best Live Action VR" Lumiere award, from the Advanced Imaging Society (Variety, 2018, full list of winners): https://snip.ly/lssxnw

The Advanced Imaging Society, where I am a voting member, welcomes companies committed to excellence, who share in our aim to usher In the next generation of premium consumer #technology.

https://theadvancedimagingsociety.com/

The Advanced Imaging Society was formed in 2009 by our industry’s creative stakeholders including: The #WaltDisneyStudios #MotionPictures, #DreamWorks #Animation, #Sony, #Paramount, #IMAX, #Dolby, #Panasonic, #MasterImage & others, to advance the #creative #arts & #sciences of #digitalimaging.

As new, cutting edge #technologies come to the forefront, the Society has been charged with “informing the #content #pipeline ” of professionals on these emerging #innovations.

Where #Technology Meets the #Business of #Content

With chapters in the U.S., China, Japan, the E.U., India & the U.K., the organization serves thousands of professional participants in over 20 countries.

Speaking for myself, after launching this #xr #startup, I moved on to #meta (fna #facebook), & had the amazing opportunity to help launch #OculusForEducation, & collaborate on #vr & #ar projects. I firmly believe these associated technologies, & more, will be the "future of everything."

The Visual Effects Society (VES), where I am voting member, is a global, professional, honorary society, & the entertainment industry's only organization representing the full breadth of visual effects practitioners including: artists, technologists, model makers, educators, studio executives, visual effects (vfx) supervisors, public relations, marketing, & producers, Et al.

The VES is a body of approximately 4,000 members, in more than 35 countries worldwide, who contribute to all areas of entertainment: film, television, commercials, animation, music videos, games & new media. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the VES has member sections in Australia, SF Bay Area (CA), France, Germany, India, London, Los Angeles, Montreal, New York, New Zealand, Toronto, Vancouver & Washington state.

• https://www.visualeffectssociety.com

• The links below go to the same content, for whichever platform you prefer. They are for the 360 Short Film, "Rose Colored," which won the 2018 Lumiere for "Best Live Action VR," & was exhibited by Sotheby's, Christie's, TriBeCa Film Festival, & at the Cannes International Film Festival.

No matter how you view it, please wear earbuds or headphones to appreciate the spatial audio mix.

The short film is watchable on any device. On a Desktop or laptop, with a modern browser, use your mouse to move the camera, by clicking and dragging atop the video, to change the perspective of the camera. Smartphones & tablets with strong WiFi, can watch it "magic-window-style.” In a seated position, move the device around, to look in the direction you wish to see. On a smartphone or tablet device, this will only work if you are playing the video natively, from the Facebook or YouTube app(s), it will not work in the browser of these devices. Of course, if you have a VR headset, that would be the most immersive way to appreciate it, & any brand can display it.

• https://www.facebook.com/TempestVFX/videos/10156011534708832

• https://youtu.be/4D7fKLoo9Hs

I am the owner of Tempest Digital, Inc., an S-Corp through which I provide consulting + freelance services in marketing, advertising, media production, + GenAI. I specialize in emerging technologies, serving clients in startups, enterprise, academia, + government sectors.

My work spans video production and post-production, interactive media, and immersive experiences, with an award-winning track record recognized by industry peers. I am honored to have received an Emmy® Award for "Best Children's TV Series", a Lumiere for "Best Live-Action VR," as well as Silver & Bronze Telly Awards, an Aurora, and the International Platinum AVA.

I excel at blending creative direction with technical innovation to drive compelling narratives and immersive experiences across media platforms, while enhancing production workflows for content creation.

Additionally, I am represented at leading expert networks such as Zintro, Tegus, Alphasights, Sapient Nitro, and Dialectica, where I offer consulting services across marketing, media, and emerging technologies.

***

"Rose Colored," my 360-degree short film, premiered at VRLA and was featured in prestigious events such as Sotheby's Art of VR, the Tribeca Film Festival’s Immersive Arcade, and the Cannes Film Festival.

The film, known for its innovative storytelling and use of immersive technology, is available for free viewing on Meta (formerly Facebook) or YouTube. It features spatial audio and can be experienced in multiple ways, from VR headsets, to smartphones or tablets in “magic window” mode (via the YouTube or Facebook apps for mobile, as the 360 viewing and spatial audio functionalities do not work on mobile browsers).

Playback will work on a computer with a modern browser, just click + drag on the viewing screen to change the camera’s point-of-view. Don’t forget to wear headphones/earbuds for the best spatial audio experience, too.

https://www.facebook.com/TempestVFX/videos/10156011534708832

or

https://youtu.be/4D7fKLoo9Hs

At the forefront of artificial and emotional intelligence, we are revolutionizing human-machine interaction by developing AI systems that not only learn and adapt but also exhibit natural emotional responses and unique personalities—pushing the boundaries of what AI can achieve.

Our proprietary technology seamlessly integrates across multiple platforms, including Windows, Mac, and Linux, with flexible embodiment options ranging from photorealistic digital humans to robotics and vehicles. This adaptability allows us to create sentient digital entities that can operate across diverse hardware and software environments, opening up limitless applications.

With multiple awarded patents and several more pending, our technology represents a truly innovative leap in AI—far beyond existing solutions. We are setting a new industry standard for emotional AI, reshaping how humans engage with intelligent systems and redefining the future of AI-human relationships.

Currently, we are seeking Series A funding to scale this groundbreaking technology and unlock new opportunities across global industries, forever transforming how we interact with intelligent, emotionally aware systems.

Please note: No solicitations.

Technology Stack & Other Solutions:

OpenAI LLM

Llama LLM

OpenAI API

Microsoft Azure Services

Microsoft Neural Voices: TTS and STT

Unreal Engine

Metahuman Animator

Rokoko Motion Capture: Full body suit, including hands and face

Motion Capture Cleanup

Viseme / Lip-Sync Correction

3D Animation and Rendering

Compositing

Reallusion iClone & Character Creator

Stable Diffusion

ControlNet & AnimatedDiff

ComfyUI

LoRa

Open-source tools for generative AI and LLMs (e.g., HuggingFace)

The #EpicGames #UnrealEngine Fellowship was one of the more mind-blowing learning and creative experiences of my life. For approximately 30 days, and with very little sleep, hand-picked creatives from around the world, drank from the firehose of knowledge from Epic’s premiere instructors, to teach us how the Unreal Engine could be incorporated into modern visual effects (#VFX) pipelines.

The attached blockchain credential is so you know it's genuine.

If you’d like to glean a little about what this domain’s #digitaltransformation has been like, please check out:

Unreal Fellowship for Virtual Production:

https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/fellowship

Film & TV:

https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/uses/film-television

Turbocharging Virtual Production Careers with the Unreal Fellowship:

https://www.unrealengine.com/en-US/blog/turbocharging-virtual-production-careers-with-the-unreal-fellowship

Unreal Fellowship: Virtual Production

The recipient of this badge has completed the Unreal Fellowship: Virtual Production.

The bearer of this badge:

• Imports hard surface models for environmental scene construction

• Deploys effective lighting and material systems to create a stylized look

• Understands and utilize the character ingestion pipeline to animate performances

• Implements and retargets performance capture data on character models

• Operates a virtual camera solution to stream camera data into Unreal Engine

• Utilizes Sequencer to compose, animate, edit, and render a short film

_

#quixel #sequencer #worldbuilding #virtualproduction #lighting #lumen #nanite #animation #blueprints #controlrig #mocap #motioncapture #production #productionworkflow #cinema #virtualcamera #vcam #shotcreation #animationretargeting #livelinkface #facialcapture #facialmotioncapture #facialmocap #postprocessing #rendering #compositing #chromakey #voiceover #acting #performance #pixelstreaming #metahuman #environmentcreation #ledvolume

#film #television #streaming #virtualproduction