Grab One of 50 Early Access Tickets to Today’s Sold-out SoCal Virtual Reality Conference

The EndeaVR Project utilizes leading-edge imaging technology to film, photograph and LIDAR-scan the entire Space Shuttle Endeavour, resulting in the most comprehensive captures of a Space Shuttle interior ever assembled – the goal is to render ultra-res VR experiences by which individuals will be able to don eyewear such as the Oculus Rift, and walk or ‘fly’ through the Shuttle, able to ‘look’ anywhere, even touch surfaces and turn switches, via eventual haptic feedback gloves etc. The all-volunteer project involves the most advanced capture systems available, and is being done by Academy Award-winning visual effects gurus from films such as Star Trek Into Darkness, Hugo and others with participation by executives and developers with Oculus, Samsung, RED and NASA itself.

Executive Producer David Knight will show footage derived from the VR systems capturing the first comprehensive scoping of a Space Shuttle interior ever done, and talk about the plans for the new Air & Space Center being constructed in Southern California where all of it will be utilized. He will also discuss planning for a VR camera unit to go up on the International Space Station, a first and potentially revolutionary experience for everyone on the ground.

This special panel discussion will dive head first into the exciting challenges associated with mass market adoption for the virtual reality medium. The discussion will be moderated by VRLA co-founder Jonnie Ross who will spark the conversation. Topics of interest lie heavily on sports, games, events, hardware, marketing, advertising, and content creation.

• Jim Willson (Director, Immersive Products & VR at Samsung)
• John Colon (Art Lead at Dreamworks Animation, Professor of Video Games at USC)
• Karl Krantz (Organizer of SVVR)
• Jonnie Ross (Co-Founder of VRLA) – moderator

Games are going to be a big hit for VR, and everyone knows it. Because of this, we’ve rounded up some of the innovative leaders in the industry right now to talk about what it takes to create a successful VR experience.

Dave Taylor is our celebrity guest moderator, who worked on the classic and popular games Doom and Quake. The speakers have a full range of experiences. Some worked for larger companies like Electronic Arts, Infinity Ward, Oculus, and Microsoft. All of them have been involved on the indie development side as well and will talk about their work designing interactive user interfaces, optimizing for multiple platforms, tackling sim sickness, and finding ways to fund their projects. It will be an enlightening panel the whole way through.

• Dave Taylor (one of the developers of Doom and Quake) – moderator
• James Chung (co-founder of Reload Studios)
• Theresa Duringer (co-creator on the award winning VR Jam game “Bazaar”)
• E McNeill (creator of Darknet)
• Mike Murdock (Co-Founder and Creative Director at Otherworld Interactive)

Being able to put someone in a new perspective is a powerful trait that Virtual Reality has, especially when used to tell a captivating story. Documenting breaking news will be altered forever as VR and 360 degree cameras emerge into millions of homes. Journalists are flocking to this medium now, producing strong reactions along the way. Learn about why VR is often called “The Empathy Machine” and hear 1st hand experiences from leaders creating content in the virtual reality journalism world.

• Nonny de la Peña (CEO at Emblematic Group)
• Will Mason (Editor in Chief at UploadVR)
• Robert Hernandez (Associate Professor of Professional Practice at USC Annenberg)
• Demetrius Wren (Film maker at Two Kids with a Camera)
• Matthew Terndrup (VR Journalist) – moderator

Out-of-home entertainment is always setting the bar higher and higher for immersion. It is a new way for brands to engage with their fans, thus causing innovations in the VR space to expand even further. Those working in arcade and themepark environments are mixing in props that causes the demos to feel way more real. Rumble packs, image projections, haptics, wireless broadcasting, and smells all circle out from the out-of-home VR sector ready for the public to try. In addition, places like local zoos are looking into ways to reach their audience too.

• James Jensen (CTO at The Void)
• Ivan Blaustein (Director of Product Integration at VRCade)
• Gabriel Miller (Director of R&D at the San Deigo Zoo)

This panel will dive into what what makes virtual reality so magical—that feeling of being transported into another world. It is moderated by stand-up comedian and podcaster Duncan Trussell who is a fixture in the psychedelic world surrounding revolutionary technologies. Topics will range from the progression of being able to put a person in a new perspective to the methods used by VR storytelling professionals.

Star-studded speakers include Matthew Gratzner who worked on films like Alien, Shutter Island, Iron Man, and many other high-profile productions with New Deal Studios. Gratzner is now working with VR to create amazing experience like the war-time demo “The Mission.”

Morris May’s experience spans movies like Fast & Furious, Spider-Man 2, Star Wars Episode II, and Wild Wild West among many other great films. His company Specular Theory just released a 360 Terminator video with Arnold Schwarzenegger and will talk what that project was like.

Christina Heller co-founded a local production studio in Los Angeles and has created virtual reality content with Red Bull and the Discovery Channel. Alexx Henry invented a photo capture system with 90 Nikon cameras that allows for people to replicate and animate their bodies in a virtual world.

• Duncan Trussell (Comedian and host of the DTFH podcast) – moderator
• Matthew Gratzner (Co-Founder at New Deal Studios)
• Morris May (CEO at Specular Theory)
• Christina Heller (Co-Founder of VR Playhouse)
• Alexx Henry (Creator of the xxArray)

The base of the conversation will center around social scenarios like sports and music. A heavy emphasis will surround the various underlying aspects that make an interactive experience so magical. This includes the hardware, software, broadcasting throughput, user interfaces, audio, monetization processes, and even the creative nature of those working on bringing content to the medium.

• Bruce Wooden (Head of Developer & Community Relations at Altspace) – moderator
• Alex Rosenfeld (of Vrideo)
• Mike Armstrong (of Riftmax)
• a representative from NextVR

The ‘Building Virtual Worlds’ discussion will center around the idea of creating computer generated environment allowing people to jump inside. Panelists have a wide range of experiences with education, art, and research. Augmented reality is heavily present as well as VR. The speakers will uncover how to solve the challenges involved with creating virtual realms and describe their work building those worlds. It will be a great talk with tons of information to learn.

• Jackie Morie (Founder, Chief Scientist at All These Worlds)
• Walt Scacchi (Head of R&D for VR at UCI)
• Todd Revolt (Director of Strategic Alliances at Meta)

Virtual reality nightlife experiences are rarely talked about on a public level and is often disregarded as a sleazy industry to get involved with. Yet, at the same time, those creating adult entertainment for VR are pushing the medium as far as it can go. Haptic devices like teledildonics, for instance, have established a physical connection with the user in a virtual world like never before. The speakers will discuss the hidden nature of the industry, what payment processes are like, how these devices help/hurt real-world relationships, and what innovations are come from them in the near future.

**18+ older only: Each person will be given colored wristbands at the event’s checkin. Those who are above age will have access to this panel, as well as unrelated exclusive demos.

• Ela Darling (Star of xxx)
• Ricky Booker (CEO at CumFundMe)
• Telly L. (Adult Business Development Consultant)