Immersive and Experimental Storytelling with Brett Leonard Ep 28

For over 25 years, Brett Leonard has been at the forefront of the digital media revolution - whether it be as Director/ Writer of the groundbreaking hit film Lawnmower Man, which introduced the concept of Virtual Reality to popular culture - or being the first to pioneer modern stereoscopic techniques and photo-realistic CGI in his hit IMAX 3D film “T-Rex” - or introducing American audiences to Russell Crowe and many other talents both in front of and behind the camera.

Brett’s work as a visionary Director/Producer/Futurist has always pushed the edge of innovation in the entertainment industry, and continues to do so with a project slate at his company Studio Lightship, focused on creation of VX (Virtual eXperience) executed in a hybrid approach with Film and Television. Studio Lightship is dedicated to defining a process and platform for truly interactive narrative VX StoryWorlds for the emerging era of Immersive Entertainment. Brett is currently finishing two feature film projects he has directed- “Hollywood Rooftop”, the first film to be shot in both 360VR and traditional cinema - and “Triumph”, starring Academy Award Nominee Terrence Howard, star of the hit television series “Empire”, and RJ Mitte, star of the groundbreaking series “Breaking Bad”.

Highlights of the Episode:

0:00 Introduction

2:13 Tool technologies

5:12 What got you into movies

8:32 Super eight filmmaker

12:28 Advice for people breaking into the industry

15:56 Good way to understand filmmaking

19:58 Creating a narrative

22:10 Streaming services

23:33 Managing storytelling

29:27 The point of storytelling

32:04 Lawnmower Man reborn

36:05 Immersive environments

37:50 Healing Virtual Environments

46:19 Contrast in utopian vs dystopian storytelling

50:37 Immersive experience

55:15 Supporting the metaverse

58:30 Open source community is utopia

1:00:02 virtualpsychedelics.com

Quotes:

“ Now I will say that in order to break the mold, you gotta know what the mold is you're breaking. You have to know what good narrative is. Knowing how that works in the human conscious and unconscious. That's really important. - Brett Leonard

“I mean you don't even need to go to a college and get the tools. You can actually find those tools online. You could shoot with your phone, play around and really find out what works for you and your point of view as a storyteller.”- Brett Leonard

“Blade Runner is really a narrative environment more than it is a traditional plot. I mean, the plot is incredibly simple. You know, Android chases other Androids and finds out he's an Android. You don't watch that movie again and again, because of the plot, you watch that cause you're exploring a narrative environment that has such richness in it.”- Brett Leonard

Connecting with the Guest:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/directorleonard

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brettleonard1/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brettleonard1/ 

Connecting with CG Pro:

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Website: https://www.becomecgpro.com/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/becomecgpro

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#virtualproduction
#storytelling
#filmmaking