Convrge, the social VR space that regularly hosts events and weekly meetups, have announced a talk led by John Gaeta, the visual effects artist of The Matrix trilogy and current creative director of Industrial Light and Magic’s xLab.

John Gaeta ILMxLabThe talk is entitled “The Future of Immersive Storytelling,” and will dive into some of the projects underway at ILM’s VR/AR research ‘xLab’, including projects created within the Star Wars universe. Gaeta will also be fielding questions throughout the talk, as audience participation and general discussion will be highly encouraged.

According to an interview with FXguide, Gaeta assumed work at the xLab a couple of years ago at the behest of ILM and Lucasfilm “with the express intent to explore immersive entertainment and how the technology that had been developed by ILM and Lucasfilm’s Advanced Development Group could best put to use in creating premium immersive experiences.”

See Also: Industrial Light & Magic’s New Division to Create Immersive Star Wars Experiences

Winning an Academy Award for Visual Effects from his work on The Matrix (1999), Gaeta pioneered “virtual cinematography” as as well as the film’s iconic “bullet time” action sequences.

The talk will be held on Sunday, June 28th at 2:00PM EST (click for your local time). You can download Convrge and take part in the talk with or without a VR headset.

Convrge is a social VR space that features weekly meetups, panel discussions, and special events. Evolving from the original concept of a single-room VR dance club, Convrge has expanded their platform into several unique areas, allowing for shared screen viewing and general meetups across their stylized forest-themed VR space.

For even more virtual reality events, both in and outside of VR, check out our Event Calendar.

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Scott Hayden
Well before the first modern XR products hit the market, Scott recognized the potential of the technology and set out to understand and document its growth. He has been professionally reporting on the space for nearly a decade as Editor at Road to VR, authoring more than 3,500 articles on the topic. Scott brings that seasoned insight to his reporting from major industry events across the globe.
  • Jay Yachetta

    Great post. I think it’s important that we highlight the social aspects of VR. It’s very easy to conjure an image of unwashed humans who are reduced to a vegetative state, plastered onto their couches, drooling, with goggles imprinted on their faces. They urinate in jars and feed their newly found AI God as they gradually trade all social skills for new eyebrows for their avatars. This doesn’t have to be the case. Many sites are promoting VR as a way to have business meetings or simply find time to watch Netflix with a loved one from across the globe.