The first Streaming Media East event held in New York City in person since 2019, at the east-side Intercontinental Barclay Hotel, wrapped up on Wednesday, May 22, 2024 with a bang. Chris Pfaff moderated the after-lunch blockbuster session ‘Modern Measurement: Who Counts Now? Data, Identity & the Privacy Economy’ with an all-star group that featured Paul Kontonis from Revry; Brittany Slattery from OpenAP; Jenny Wall from VideoAmp; Jesse Redniss from Qonsent; Ian Ivins from The Trade Desk, and Dan Rosenfeld from DIRECTV.
The panel, held the week after the upfront and IAB Newfronts, spoke to the reliance on data targeting with ever-increasing focus on brand safety. As Jenny Wall said during the session, “the revolution is here, and we are ready to live in a multi currency world.”
Chris Pfaff moderated the SXSW 2024 panel – ‘How Immersive Sound Can Deliver Powerful Experiences’ – on Friday, March 15th at the Hilton Austin Downtown, with an expert panel consisting of Mirko Vogel, from Vaudeville Sound Group; Jani Houponen, from Google, and Sylvana Levy, from XRAgency.
Vogel discussed the use of ambisonics in designing immersive audio for a range of projects, including Vaudeville’s creation of the industry’s largest immersive sound library, for Shutterstock; immersive audio for VR, including a music video with artist Whipped Cream; the ‘AmazingWar Stories’ podcast, and more.
Huoponen discussed Google’s immersive audio work, including the Alliance for Open Media’s recent Immersive Audio Models and Formats (IAMF) specification, a major advance in immersive audio design.
Levy demonstrated her immersive audio work on hybrid virtual/live installations for venues.
The audience was also treated to Vaudeville’s IAMF-designed forest audio, which simulated multiple speakers for bird noises and environmental sounds.
Chris Pfaff moderated a virtual session – ‘Know Your Audience: How to Use Data to Raise ROI’ – during the Streaming Media Connect event, on November 15, 2023, featuring Daniel Trotta, from Warner Bros. Discovery; Paul Erickson, from Erickson Insights; Bethany Atchison, from Vevo, and Alan Wolk, from TVREV.
See two posts from StreamingMedia.com below, by Tyler Nesler – ‘Metadata and the Battle for Streaming ROI’ on December 18, 2023 and ‘How AI Helps Solve Streaming Content Monetization’ on December 11, 2023 – with video excerpts.
Pfaff notes that a major topic right now in the streaming industry is the importance of metadata for receiving the best possible ROI. “This is a big, big topic right now as streamers, large and small are trying to find revenue,” he says. “And how are they going to do that?” He asks Erickson about his thoughts on the situation.
“I think metadata is absolutely key, in my opinion, to multiple elements that either directly or indirectly tie to ROI,” Erickson says. “And so when we think about sustaining engagement, which is fundamental to retention and monetization, it’s directly connected to personalization and search and recommendation. If we think about how efficiently you can target and address specific audiences with your advertising, that specificity is aided tremendously by the metadata that helps advertisers understand the nuances of that audience they’re trying to hit. There’s a lot of value [that can be] reaped by those parties who can effectively enhance and enrich metadata, typically using AI…and particularly when it comes to equalizing the level of metadata quality and richness in diverse libraries that may be consistent or that may consist of new and legacy content perhaps from different sources such as what you might have in a FAST channel.”
Erickson also points out that metadata can help to better target the “specific nuances of portions of your content portfolio that are not performing well with your audience and give you some insight into why, depending on the richness and quality of that metadata. And thus, it can help you optimize your existing content portfolio and inform your future content acquisition strategy.”
Pfaff says, “Basically, you’re saying that metadata is really the linchpin. It’s the DNA of everything.”
Erickson says good metadata is table stakes, but “rich metadata is potentially a force multiplier for overall service ROI if you leverage it correctly.”
Pfaff says to Atchison, “I think last year you were really responsible for creating the FAST Channel strategy for Vevo. Talk a little bit about that and how you’re using data to amplify and pump up that ROI.”
“So for anyone who doesn’t know,” Atchinson says, “Vevo is the world’s leading music video network. We have over 800,000 music videos in our catalog across a variety of decades across genres. So organizing our data is really important to keep track of all of that content.” She emphasizes that clean metadata is essential in order to efficiently organize and optimize information. “We have a programming team that uses their expertise to program each of our individual fast channels, but they need to leverage AI and data to really comb through all of that and surface everything to them because there’s just so much content to go through. So for us, it’s really tantamount to the success of our channels.”
Pfaff says to Trotta, “Let’s talk about channels with Warner Brothers Discovery. Talk about how you’re sifting through the metadata sands to enhance all things revenue.”
Trotta focuses on the “pause ad” feature available on many platforms as a good use case of metadata for exceptional ROI. “Say you’re watching something like Breaking Bad and you pause on one of those moments in Breaking Bad where maybe you don’t want somebody walking into the room. You also don’t want an advertiser’s ad to pop up over that. I know streaming services are working towards this metadata that runs through the episode to show you when areas are safe and when they are not. It allows you to take this ad format and distribute it across more of your programming hours than you otherwise would have. So that’s ROI. That’s money in your pocket right there. And it’s a better viewing experience than dropping this ad where it shouldn’t be.”
Pfaff asks Wolk, “What recently stands out to you in terms of the state of metadata where streamers are battling for engagement and retention?”
Wolk says that a major current issue for utilizing good metadata is the fact that when older popular shows were first digitized, no one really thought about how to tag content consistently. “Like Seinfeld ‘comedy show,’ Seinfeld, ‘funny show.’ And sometimes it’d be in all caps, sometimes it’d be in lowercase,” he says. “It’s really hard to kind of match it up. And so there’s been a lot of work being done. There are companies like IRIS.TV, which have sort of created a content tag that tries to standardize it. But it’s a huge problem with advertising because a lot of times they don’t really know what’s going on. The good news is everybody’s aware of it and is moving to fix it, but it’s way behind what’s available on digital.”
How AI Helps Solve Streaming Content Monetization
By Tyler Nesler
December 11, 2023
Much discussion of AI and streaming relates to streamlining and automating workflows, but how content companies can leverage it to personalize their content and target ads more efficiently, among other monetization strategies, is another question the industry is examining closely.
“I’m just curious from all of your perspectives where you see AI working,” Pfaff says. He asks Atchison to give her thoughts on the situation.
“We generally use AI for combing through all of the mountains of data we have across our different channels and platforms,” Atchinson says. “We definitely believe in the importance of the human element in creating our programs on our channels. So we’re really not leveraging that to create the content, but we are using it to make sure that everything is being surfaced, and that also enables us to surface new artists that might not be top of mind for everyone watching, but because the data is organized so cleanly, we’re able to find rising artists who are new in hip hop and put them on our Vevo hip hop channel and give them a platform and an opportunity to be seen in a CTV environment.”
Pfaff says to Trotta, “I’m sure you’ve got some homegrown AI that you use in addition to other major vendors. Talk about some of your war stories in trying to implement AI to ‘know thy audience’ better.”
“A lot of what you see on a streaming homepage is personalized to you and your past viewing behavior and what similar viewers to you have viewed in the past,” Trotta says. “The human element there that is still really vital is pointing the algorithm in the correct direction. So that’s setting the key input and key output metrics and determining [if you] are going to optimize for the most active viewers you can get on your service in a given day? Are you going to optimize for the most viewing hours you can get on your service in a given day? Are you going to optimize for the frequency with which users come back in a month? These are all [elements] that get sped through the pipeline that ultimately becomes what the user sees. But that’s the fundamental question to kick everything off each time.”
Pfaff says, “I think that, certainly, this will get better and better, but you’ve got to do that for millions of viewers and devices as well.” He next asks Wolk how he and TVREV view AI and how it aids service providers.
“I think AI is going to be a huge game changer,” Wolk says. “We’re already seeing it now…the thing that we always talk about is how nobody wants to run their funny commercial during the funeral scene of a show, and it’s been very hard to identify that…and now they’re able to do that to understand the emotions and even other things, like if I’m Cadillac and Matthew McConaughey is in a scene, I want to run my ad there too, so it creates a nice synergy. And then even understanding what sorts of shows viewers like and being able to personalize their feeds. It’s just such an exciting time, and the ability to do this is just going to be incredible.”
Pfaff asks Erickson, “I’m just curious, in terms of things like ad frequency and ad fatigue…how that needs to be solved and what you’re seeing in terms of solutions.”
“Well, certainly I think AI will help in that, but my thoughts on ad overload and poor targeting…they’re always going to be a net negative for engaging or retention, which obviously impacts your ROI over time,” Erickson says. “My thought on this [is that] content is that the lifeblood of any video operation, whether that’s traditional broadcast, the streaming services, Free Ad-Supported Television (FAST) channels…it can make or break the economics of your service. The right content brings people in, keeps them there, and brings them back. But running out of content leads to them to churning. Spending too much on that content, no matter how good and relevant will put you upside down ROI-wise. So today, I think we’re finally seeing serious judicious review of content spending when it comes to acquisitions and commissions to ensure that overall content budgets are being used efficiently and profitably.”
He notes that ad frequency and poor demographic data are particular issues for FAST. “Hopefully, it’s going to be improved, and it is improving.” He says that ultimately, it remains very important “To make sure that you are spending your budget judiciously on the right kinds of content, whether that’s an original commission or licensing it…I think that will still be fundamental to your service’s success.”
Tom Butts (left) and Chris Pfaff (right) at the virtual tvtech Summit – March 29, 2023
Chris Pfaff was the keynote speaker at TV Technology’s tvtech Summit, a virtual half-day event on March 29, 2023 that featured leaders in the production technology industry, in a conversation with TV Technology editor-in-chief Tom Butts. Titled ‘Why You Should Care About the Metaverse,’ the March 29th conversation dove into topics regarding persistent computing, VR and AR, and some definitional discussion over the course of 30 minutes.
Veteran media technology expert Chris Pfaff will talk with TV Tech Editor in Chief Tom Butts about our virtual future
On Wednesday, March 29, TV Tech will be holding its Spring TV Tech Summit, a series of keynote conversations, panel discussions and case studies covering the latest advances in Media and Entertainment tech.
Opening the summit, TV Tech Editor in Chief Tom Butts will talk with Chris Pfaff, founder of Chris Pfaff Tech/Media LLC, and a leading new media and technology producer and strategist on “Why You Should Care about the Metaverse.”
Chris’s 30+ year background in the industry makes him uniquely qualified to speak about this technology which (some would characterize) as “emerging” for more than a decade.
For those of us who think the metaverse is just another name for virtual reality, Chris is ready to debunk that trope.
“The metaverse is a shared decentralized digital space where you can meet, create and share a personalized experience,” he said. “But you can do that in virtual reality and in other technologies as well. And I think that someday soon, perhaps not that many years from now we will have more projectable holograms that will reflect how people currently view the future of the metaverse.
“What makes the metaverse different from virtual reality is that it has to be immersive and it has to be persistent,” Chris added. “It has to have some community which may have some connections to what you experience in the physical world. It doesn’t have to be a simulacrum of what you do in the physical world where you are just ‘layering on.’”
Making the metaverse more immersive is key, not just to entertain us but to educate us as well, Chris says
“For example, if you were studying meteorology or cosmology and somebody was teaching you about the stratosphere and the ionosphere, using the metaverse to provide a more fully immersive kind of experience could really revolutionize the way we communicate and teach,” he added.
The virtual and hybrid event production industry has benefitted from learnings forced upon it by the pandemic. Mostly, this involved the assurance that video delivery had reliability and Quality of Service (QoS). Interactivity, virtual backgrounds and immersive extensions delivered greater capabilities for audiences and producers alike. This was the background for the February 14, 2023 Streaming Media Connect session. ‘How to Do Virtual and Hybrid Events Right,’ moderated by Chris Pfaff and featuring John Porterfield, webcast producer from Social180 Group; Alex Lindsay, head of operations with 090 Media, and Dan Houze, VP, encoding & digital strategy with BCLive.
Tyler Nesler, writer for StreamingMedia.com, wrote such an excellent encapsulation of the session, that I am including it here for your reading:
Hybrid events have become much more common since the pandemic, but they have not proven to be as effective or engaging as in-person events. What are some of the issues that prevent the best QoE for hybrid participants, and how can they be remedied? Chris Pfaff, CEO, Chris Pfaff Tech Media, VR AR Association (VRARA), discusses these issues with Alex Lindsay, Head of Operations, 090 Media, and Dan Houze, VP, Encoding & Digital Strategy, BC Live in this clip from Streaming Media Connect 2023.
Chris Pfaff begins by pointing out that it was not too long ago that streamed live events were audio-only, and that it was only just before the pandemic that video began to be widely incorporated into the experience for virtual audiences. The pandemic accelerated the process of developing higher-quality streaming video at scale. However, even with the leap of improvements for QoE, much remains left to be desired. “I think for any event that you’re talking about, whether it’s a corporate event [or] a concert, that’s a huge issue,” he says. “So I really want to start with that as a topic because when we’re all involved in these events, I think we’re very forgiving. But you know, scale is such a huge part of this.” He asks Alex Lindsay of 090 Media, “What’s your take on how far we’ve come in terms of really getting that quality experience and that scale?”
“I think we’re starting to get there,” Lindsay says. “[But] I think we’re sliding backward a little bit. You know, now people want to come back into the room, and I think that the ways we’re coming back into the room have been sliding us back into the 2015, 2016 range.” He laughs and says, “You know, I’ve been doing this a bit longer than ma ny people…”
“We can tell by the gear behind you!” Pfaff says.
“2008, 2009 is when we really started streaming video,” Lindsay says. “And the main thing is that we aren’t doing it that much better now in some cases when we go back to physical events.” He refers to webinars such as Streaming Media Connect, “A lot of these events are starting to work. The problem is that there’s data that we have from 10 years ago that told us that the hybrid events weren’t working, and they’re still not working.”
Pfaff says, “So as an adjunct, that you’re a second-class citizen if you’re not in the room, you should be happy that there’s a camera with a terrible angle of five people on a stage. Is that what we’re talking about?”
“Yeah,” Lindsay says. “When we started, it made sense. You know, we’re streaming Dreamforce, and there’s 15,000 people in the room and 300 people watching, you are second class…”
“For those who don’t know, Dreamforce is Salesforce,” Pfaff says. “It’s Salesforce’s mondo over-the-top annual event.”
Lindsay emphasizes that the core issue is a virtual audience’s sense of not being fully connected to a live event, which ultimately colors their perception of the event’s significance. In that situation, he says, “They don’t feel like the event’s important. They don’t feel like the product is important. They don’t feel like a lot of these things are important, and we don’t talk enough [about that].”
“So you’re saying that in some respect, there’s a brand disconnect?” Pfaff says. That you’re damaging your brand to some extent?”
Lindsay notes that not only does this sense of disconnect damage the brand, but it hampers enthusiasm for virtual participants to return to the event. “It’s the most devastating way to do this because they don’t complain,” he says. “People who complain care about the event, they want it to be better. People who don’t complain oftentimes are just disappearing. We’ve called them and said, ‘Hey, why didn’t you come?’ ‘Well, I was just busy.’ You know, it wasn’t like ‘I’m mad that I felt like I was in the back of the room…’”
Pfaff points out that accessibility is also a critical issue that does not get enough attention. He asks Dan Houze of BC Live about his insights into audience accessibility, not just for digital-first events like webinars but particularly for hybrid events.
Houze narrows the accessibility issue down to consumer versus internal audiences. “I think that a lot of times the virtual shows we’re doing, or the hybrid shows or digital-first shows that we’re doing are sort of just corporate-driven and they’re sort of internal meetings,” he says. “It’s not necessarily launching a keynote for a new product or something like that.”
Lindsay agrees but contends that engagement matters no matter what the type of hybrid event, even corporate ones. “You still have to keep all the employees going in the same direction,” he says. “When you create an event where they don’t feel important, you’re not getting quite the same charge out of your corporate event.”
For a decade, from 2010-2020, the third week in January meant that television buyers, programmers, and producers met for NATPE (National Association of Television Programming Executives) in Miami. In late-2022, NATPE declared bankruptcy, and London-based C21 Media, hot off their successful Content London event in late-November, announced the launch of Content Americas, which presented a fresh look at the burgeoning Latin American content business. The inaugural event, held at the Miami Hilton Downtown from January 23-26, was sold out; a crowd of 1,500 executives gathered to do business in a post-pandemic landscape that looked vastly different than the last in-person NATPE in 2020.
One of the major inflection points in the LATAM media universe is the migration to Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television, or FAST, models, both with U.S. Latino populations and across Latin America. Wrapping up Day #2 on Wednesday, January 25th was the session ‘FAST Across the Americas: How Latin Brands Are Migrating to Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV,’ which discussed the growth of FAST models in Latin America and with U.S. Latino populations, and how advertisers and brands are collaborating on models for existing and new streaming audiences.
Left to right: Chris Pfaff, Jorge Balleste, Jasmin Rezai, Tony Kelly, Jonathan French
The OTT landscape across the Americas has, until recently, consisted mainly of operator-driven curation of video channels. Now, the FAST revolution has taken hold, and channels are being launched to support existing OTT brands, including SVOD services, to create upsell momentum and brand recognition amongst Spanish, Portuguese and English audiences alike.
Moderated by Chris Pfaff, CEO of Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC, the session included Jasmin Rezai, vice president content distribution & partnerships, Olympusat; Tony Kelly, CEO, DMD Limited/CINDIE; Jorge Balleste, VP, content partnerships and acquisitions, Vix/Vix+, TelevisaUnivision, and Jonathan French, SVP, sales & business development, MuxIP.
Jonathan French, Chris Pfaff, Jasmin Rezai, Jorge Balleste, Tony Kelly
Pfaff kicked off the session discussing what he called ‘FAST Figures,’ including:
There are more than 1,500 FAST channels in the U.S.
Omdia has reported that FAST channel revenues will each $12bn in 2027
According to TVRev, by 2025, more money will be spent on FASTs ($33.7B or 35% of total ad spend) than on cable, broadcast or SVOD. That number will grow to $42.6B or 42% of total ad spend by 2027
According to Omdia, two of the top 10 CTV markets are in LATAM: Brazil is #2 and Mexico is #7. Will we see further regional LATAM growth in CTV in the next 3 years
In the U.S., leading FAST channels massively increased their Spanish language catalogs during the pandemic (March, 2020-Sept. 2022): Pluto from 389 to 5,529; Roku On Demand from 0 to 3,815 and Tubi from 1665 to 9,455
According to GSMA, Take-up of 4G has more than doubled across Latin America in the past 5 years, with more than 410 million connections at the end of 2021. This is projected to peak in 2024, as consumers increasingly migrate to 5G plans.
Pfaff directed the conversation to the emerging FAST strategy in LATAM, including using FAST channels to upsell viewers to premium content, as Tony Kelly acknowledged for CINDIE. Jorge Ballesta’s Vix – which encompasses more than 40,000 hours of content in all genres – became part of the discussion. Pfaff discussed the “FAST is the new cable” mantra with the panel, and even discussed how FAST is also the new “independent TV.” With a shout-out to TelevisaUnivision’s Luis de la Parra, a leader in branded content, Pfaff discussed the growth of FAST channels as a promotional vehicle.
Twenty years ago, there were no smartphones (with full web browsers); broadband was 5 MB/s downlink; 1 TB of storage cost $10,000; there were no social networks; the iPod was the hottest tech toy; there were more than 8 Tier 1 cellular carriers in the U.S.; MP3 and BitTorrent were creating headaches for the music industry; Nielsen was still king of ratings; OTT was mostly a cable Internet industry term; AI was still in the labs; DVD defined digital video; HDTV was still a niche offering; mobile video was non-existent; VR was only for industrial customers.
It was at that time – on November 21, 2002 – that I founded Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC. To help bleeding-edge tech entrepreneurs gain market traction. To bring new ideas and approaches to legacy industry segments. To bring global visibility to early-stage ventures.
From WAP to TikTok; from holographic storage to Flash drives; from contextual content to projected holograms; from facial recognition to virtual humans, and beyond, Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC has been there. And – in many ways – was there. At the protean start.
Many, many thanks to all of the collaborators, colleagues, and clients who worked with us on this epic journey at the beginning of the 21st century and over the past two decades.
Here’s to the next 20 years.
And beyond.
Thanks to:
William Wilson Kevin Curtis Roy Elkins Moses Asom Eric Petajan George Caravias Narain Gehani Barry Cinnamon Michael Wood George Searle Steve Lubin Duncan Campbell Daniel Goldscheider Larry Henderson Steven Socolof tony Verderosa Edward Boddington Troy Sample Jason George Matt Frost Jani Houponen Sam VashIsht Irwin Kornfeld Paul Smith Mike Folgner Eric Eccles Thanasis Iatrou Nikos Kyriopoulos Chris Gottschalk Robin Rush Harry Kargman Boris Fridman Stein Erik Sorhaug Romain Eude Jacques Edouard Guillemot Stelio Tzonis Hans Eriksson Amorah Sandberg Fredrik Oscarson Michal Suchon Laurent Weill Colas Overkott Paul Amsellem Werner Haan Helmut Bems Agnes Chung David Hoga Tobias Soppa Jonathan Levy Bencheton Thierry Coutanceau Jean-Christophe Perier Christophe de Courson Petri Martikainen Richard Collins Janne Neuvonen Pasi Ilola Tony Hope Heini Vesander Mikki Kuusi Ville Makinen Wilhelm Taht Roope Suomalainen Hannu Anttila Harri Pesola Heikki Rotko Kaius Meskanen Mika Rautiainen Ville Hulkko Hannu Verkasalo Joonas Makkonen Olli Rundgren Topias Soininen Jesse Heikkila Vesa Perala Jani Penttinen Jouni Maaranto Tarmo Virki Laura Avonius Will Cardwell Nilay Oza Tuomas Kosonen Jari Tuovinen Peter Vesterbacka Laurent Martin Vamsi Palukuru Jussi Autio Chris Thur Jussi Harvela Antti Keranen Jari Mieskonen Sami Hyrylainen Jarno Eerola Projjol Banerjea Arkady Fridman Are Traasdahl Helge Hoibraaten Karl Kathuria Miguel Silva Jonathan French Paul Finster Lindsay Stewart Christina Castellano Brian Kline Juraj Siska Oliver Lietz Jason Porath Tom Link Cheng Wu Hal Vogel Jon Vlassopulos Seth Schachner Christian Egeler T.J. Vitolo Mohammad Raheel Khalid Brian Johnson Kanwaldeep Kalsi Jan Ameri Eero Kaikkonen Janet Greco Fred Pfaff Margus Uudam Andrew Knight Rob Rosenberg Suren Pai Sanjay MacwanClaude Theoret Martin Enault Stephane Rituit Olivier Trudeau Anick Beaulieu Richard St. Pierre Daniel Japiassu Thomas Jelonek Kristjan Laanemaa Urmas Peiker Mike Klyszeiko Kris Kolo Nathan Pettyjohn Anne-Marie Enns Tracy Swedlow Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen Joel Unickow Trygve Refvem Jarno Vanto Sami Paihonen Pekka Parnanen Anton Gauffin Sami Niska Ekaterina Gianelli Andrew Johnston Pia Erkinheimo Beni Cohen JR Dawkins Robert O’Neill Nita Pilkama Imram Ahmed Jakub Majkowski Andrew Bud Peter Northing Ted Iannuzzi Felix Froede Kris Ramanathan Werner Haan Patricia Steele Bradley Glenn Simon Schatzmann Jonathan French David Hoga Agnes Chung Christoph Huning Jonathan Levy-Bencheton Thierry Cottenceau Jean-Christophe Perier Christophe de Courson Petri Martikainen Richard Collins Janne Neuvonen Pasi Ilola Tony Hope Heini Vesander Miki Kuusi Ville Makinen Wilhelm Taht Roope Soumalainen Hannu Anttila Harri Pesola Heikki Rotko Kaius Meskanen Mika Rautiainen Ville Hulkko Hannu Verkasalo Joonas Makkonen Olli Rundgren Topias Soinenen Vesa Perala Jani Penttinen Tarmo Virki Laura Avonius Will Cardwell Nilay Oza Tuomas Kosonen Jari Tuovinen Claude Theoret Martin Enault Stephane Rituit Olivier Trudeau Anick Beaulieu Richard St. Pierre Daniel Japiassu Thomas Jelonek Kristjan Laanemaa Urmas Peiker Mike Klyszeiko Kris Kolo Nathan Pettyjohn Anne-Marie Enns Tracy Swedlow Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen Joel Unickow Trygve Refvem Jarno Vanto Sami Paihonen Pekka Parnanen Anton Gauffin Sami Niska Ekaterina Gianelli Andrew Johnston Pia Erkinheimo Beni Cohen JR Dawkins Robert O’Neill Nita Pilkama Imram Ahmed Jakub Majkowski Andrew Bud Peter Northing Ted Iannuzzi Felix Froede Kris Ramanathan Werner Haan Patricia Steele Bradley Glenn Simon Schatzmann Jonathan French David Hoga Agnes Chung Christoph Huning Peter Vesterbacka Laurent Martin Vamsi Palukuru Jussi Autio Chris Thur Jussi Harvela Antti Keranen Jari Mieskonen Sami Hyrylainen Jarno Eerola Projjol Banerjea Arkady Fridman Are Traasdahl Helge Hoibraaten Karl Kathuria Miguel Silva Jonathan French Paul Finster Lindsay Stewart Christina Castellano Brian Kline Juraj Siska Oliver Lietz Jason Porath Tom Link Cheng Wu Jon Vlassopulos Seth Schachner Christian Egeler T.J. Vitolo Mohammad Raheel Khalid Brian Johnson Kanwaldeep Kalsi Jan Ameri Eero Kaikkonen Janet Greco Fred Pfaff Margus Uudam Andrew Knight Rob Rosenberg Suren Pai Sanjay Macwan Patricia Steele Bradley Glenn Simon Schatzmann Jonathan French David Hoga Agnes Chung
Chris Pfaff produced and moderated the ‘Building Infrastructure for a Better Metaverse: How to Ensure Seamless VR and AR Experiences’ panel at the VR AR Association’s Metaverse Platforms & Avatars event, on December 17, 2021, with panelists including:
Cindy Mallory, emerging tech strategist, American Tech Services/chairman, New York Chapter, VR AR Association
Aaron Pulkka, producer, Pulkka Creative/co-chairman, Location-Based Entertainment Committee, VR AR Association
Marcin Klimek, CEO/co-founder, ExplodedView/chapter president, Poland, VR AR Association
Luis Bravo Martins, CMO, Kit-AR/former co-chapter president, Portugal, VR AR Association
Chris Pfaff, CEO, Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC/co-chairman, Storytelling Committee, VR AR Association (moderator)
This session discussed the tools and methodologies necessary for more adaptive and readily integrated VR and AR experiences, across the enterprise, consumer, and industrial domains. Breakthrough design, including UX/UI and UE, as well as accessible WebXR and AR, were also discussed, as pathways to a more inclusive and seamless immersive future.
Cindy Mallory (upper row, left); Aaron Pulkka (upper row, right); Luis Bravo Martins (middle row, left); Chris Pfaff (middle row, right), and Marcin Klimek (bottom row)
Jan Ameri, CEO of Arctic15, welcomes the crowd on Day 1 of Arctic15 Stockholm 2020
Peter Vesterbacka kicks off the show on Day 1 with a heady talk
Our good friends at Arctic15 held one of the last events in the venture world before lockdown at the Münchenbryggeriet in Stockholm, on February 5th and 6th. The sprawling event space was ideal for making new contacts, and dozens of new investors and start-ups crowded the Deal Room area (a much more commodious and well-lit space than the Cable Factory in Helsinki). This was the first legitimate Arctic15 event in Stockholm, and the likes of Industrifonden, Northzone, Bonnier Ventures, Ericsson Ventures, Luminar Ventures, Creandum and GP Bullhound, among other reputable Swedish investors, welcomed founders and investors alike at their stands facing massive windows overlooking a surprisingly sunny Stockholm sky.
Outside, and inside, the Münchenbryggeriet
Chris Pfaff chaired the Media Revolution track on Day 1, which included a fireside chat with Arctic15 CEO Jan Ameri and the legendary Tommy Palm (Candy Crush Saga, King Digital Entertainment, Resolution Games), a panel moderated by Pfaff, with Harri Manninen, Finnish gaming legend and founding partner of Play Ventures, and Joakim Dal, partner at GP Bullhound. The panel, ‘How Gaming Will Dominate the Entertainment Industry in the 2020s,’ can be heard at:
Chris Pfaff introduces the Media Revolution Track at Arctic15 Stockholm 2020
Tommy Palm (left) discusses gaming with Jan Ameri
Harri Manninen (left), from Play Ventures, Joakim Dal (center), from GP Bullhound, and Chris Pfaff (right), from Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC, discuss ‘How Gaming Will Dominate the Entertainment Industry in the 2020s’
Other sessions on the track included a showcase demo of Playpilot by founder/CEO David Mühle; a keynote – ‘Scale 10X like a Mobile Game Company’ – by Sonja Ängeslevä, product lead for Zynga; a fireside chat with Epidemic Sound founder/CEO Oscar Höglund and Staffan Helgesson, general partner at Creandum, and a rousing fireside chat to finish, with Jan Ameri and Yamba founder/CEO John Zerihoun.
David Mühle, founder/CEO of Playpilot, demonstrates the service on Day 1 of Arctic15 Stockholm
Sonja Ängeslevä, product lead for Zynga, gives a keynote – ‘Scale 10X Like a Mobile Game Company’ – on Day 1 or Arctic15 Stockholm 2020
Pfaff moderated a panel on Day2, ‘Journeys of AI & ML startups in the Nordics’ with Anna Holmquist, founder/CEO of Gazzine; Arash Pendari, founder/creative director of Vionlabs; Jonna Ekman, marketing director at Storykit, and Jonathan Selbie, CEO at Univrses.
Anna Holmquist, from Gazzine (with microphone), discusses her journey to AI
Arash Pendari (with microphone) discusses Vionlabs’ work with leading operators
Jonna Ekman (with microphone) explains Storykit’s value proposition
The panel, left to right: Jonna Ekman, Anna Holmquist, Chris Pfaff, Arash Pendari, Jonathan Selbie
Jonna Ekman (far left), from Storykit; Anna Holmquist, from Gazzine (second from left), Arash Pendari (center), from Vionlabs, Jonathan Selbie, from Univrses (2nd from right), and Chris Pfaff (far right), from Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC
With a reception at Stockholm City Hall, and a grand tour of the historic building on Night 1 and a fabulous dinner at Stockholm Fisk, hosted by Epistemic VC and Northzone on Night 2, Arctic15 closed out another strong event in high fashion.
The scene at Stockholm City Hall, with (left to right) Chris Pfaff, Jordan Shapiro, VP, IonQ; Jari Mieskonen, managing partner, Conor Venture Partners; Henrik Keinonen, head of partnerships, gaming/XR/blockchain, from NewCoHelsinki/City of Helsinki, and Jan Ameri, CEO of Arctic15
Jan Ameri (standing) addresses the crowd at Stockholm Fisk
Chris Pfaff and Peter Vesterbacka discuss the “FinEst Bay” concept of connecting Helsinki and Tallinn via tunnel
Chris Pfaff, Arash Pendari, and Tomas Bennich on Day 1 of Arctic15 Stockholm 2020
The past five years have seen groundbreaking production of theatre and opera that have integrated augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) – or, as the industry term refers to all types of immersive technology, XR – to develop new kinds of live and virtual experiences. The Welsh National Opera, in 2017, combined ‘The Magic Flute’ and ‘Madam Butterfly’ for ‘Magic Butterfly,’ an experience that used Google Daydream VR to demystify opera for audiences, in a new venue. Commonwealth Shakespeare Company produced ‘Hamlet 360: Thy Father’s Spirit’ in the past year, working with Google’s AR/VR Lens team to create five seven-minute acts in VR.
Yet, some of the boldest work in XR for theatre is not surprisingly being produced in New York. An event produced by Chris Pfaff, and sponsored by the VR AR Association New York Chapter and Verizon’s 5G Lab, on Wednesday, November 6, 2019 featured some of the leading practitioners of XR in the theatre world who discussed their work and and their platform and technology choices, as well as how to shape narratives for interactive audiences in real-time experiences. Demonstrations of their work, as well as a guest appearance from award-winning XR production firm Felix & Paul Studios, were held prior to and after the main event, which was held in Verizon’s 5G Lab at the Alley powered by Verizon.
Brandon Powers, producer/choreographer of ‘Frankenstein AI,’ a piece that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018, and producer/choregrapher of ‘Queerskins,’ discussed how he worked with the Intel Studios volumetric studio to use his choreographic and immersive theater expertise to move ‘visitors’ through the virtual space. ‘Frankenstein AI,’ which expressed our AI inhabiting a human body to communicate with the audience, and ‘Queerskins’ demonstrate ways for theatre producers to create new work with volumetric capture. In ‘Frankenstein AI,’ the human dancer performed choreography, which was created using a new choreographic notation that Brandon invented. The choreography was manipulated by an AI in real-time based on how the audience responded to the AI’s prompted questions, prompting the dancer to alter her performance for a unique live experience. Brandon is also developing a new episode in the VR experience ‘Queerskins,’ which involves an interactive choreographed duet utilizing volumetric capture which will give a unique experience for each user.
Kiira Benzing, from Double Eye Studios, the renowned producer of ‘Loveseat,’ a VR theatre piece that was featured at the 2019 Venice Biennale, in which two lonely, ordinary people are drawn into a reality show competition to win the love of a Perfect Partner (who looks an awful lot like an empty chair). Part-story, part-interaction between virtual and real worlds; the performers intersect realities in this comedy. Performed simultaneously to virtual and real world audiences. Kiira also discussed her work on ‘Loveseat’ and her more recent work on ‘Runnin,’ which was shot at Intel Studios in Los Angeles. ‘Runnin’ is currently available through the Samsung Gear app through Oculus Quest. Her work in designing virtual worlds has led her to ask ‘what is a stage?’ and ‘what is an audience?’ when audience members are represented by virtual beings and avatars.
Maciej Wisniewski,99 Center Opera founder, and producer and composer of ‘Edelweiss VR, Act 1,’ or EVR1, the first original VR opera experience, discussed and demonstrated his work in creating a music-driven narrative that enables viewers to unlock hidden aspects of the story. Maciej’s work includes blockchain for encrypted messages that will be retrieved by the players of the EVR1 game, to unlock content. The story of EVR1 takes viewers through an interactive VR story in five acts, based on a true World War II experience of his great-aunt escaping a prison in Poland and becoming a Resistance fighter. Maciej’s work involves breathing light and texture into scenes based on music.
David Rodriguez, founder of Zanni, the first Audience Experience Design Studio, demonstrated the firm’s XR tools, Ovees™ and Zanni™ AXD, for both immersive audiences and theatre producers. David’s work with the Metropolitan Opera led him to consider how opera, and theatre, could evolve through VR and AR tools for both audience participation and narrative extensions, as well as how to enable immersive workflows for theatre/opera producers. Ovees is an XR take on stereoscopic opera glasses – and Zanni AXD – a mixed reality design tool that creates space to view stage production elements, reducing design process time and enhancing stage experience planning for design teams. Zanni is a new company, and the event marked the public debut of Zanni.
The panel discussion delved into how traditional theatre producers, directors, lighting designers, choreographers, and actors themselves are moving to expand the medium through immersive technologies. The group discussion yielded the overarching understanding of theatre being gamified and moved into a new genre altogether. The panelists discussed how technologies are rapidly evolving to meet demands for creative decisions. Kiira Benzing discussed how difficult it was to mount ‘Love Seat’ in Venice, with a massive point cloud that could, at any time, crash. The shared experience of theatre, in a live setting, pushes the boundaries of technical production for real-time communal energy.
Chris Pfaff welcomes the audience at ‘XR in Theatre: Immersing New Audiences’ at the Verizon 5G Lab, 11.06.19
Chris Pfaff, Mikael Chagnon, from Felix & Paul Studios, and Brandon Powers
Maciej Wisniewski (foreground) and Kris Ramanathan (rear) showcase their EVR1 musical interactive VR piece
Brandon Powers discusses his immersive choreographic work on ‘Queerskins’ and ‘Frankenstein AI’
Kiira Benzing discusses ‘Runnin’ and ‘Love Seat,’ her interactive VR theatre pieces, and her work with Intel Studios
Maciej Wisniewski, from 99 Cent Opera, discusses his use of blockchain to unlock content in the interactive VR musical narrative
David Rodriguez, from Zanni, discusses his use of immersive tools for theatre and opera
The Q&A session for ‘XR in Theatre: Immersing New Audiences’
The 100+ audience at ‘XR in Theatre: Immersing Audiences,’ at the Verizon 5G Lab in New York, 11.06.19
David Rodriguez; Brandon Powers; Chris Pfaff; Kiira Benzing, and Maciej Wisniewski, after the ‘XR in Theatre’ panel
VR/AR Association New York chapter members Chris Pfaff, Cindy Mallory, Michael Owen, and chapter president Gordon Meyer
Maciej Wisniewski, Linda Aro, and Kris Ramanathan before the ‘XR in Theatre: Immersing New Audiences’ event
Kiira Benzing, Chris Pfaff, David Rodriguez, and Brandon Powers before the ‘XR in Theatre: Immersing New Audiences’ event
VR/AR Association New York chapter member Chris Pfaff, chapter president Gordon Meyer, and member Gordon Yee before the event
The first Streaming Media East event held in New York City in person since 2019, at the east-side Intercontinental Barclay Hotel, wrapped up on Wednesday, May 22, 2024 with a bang. Chris Pfaff moder...
