Judging The Annual Hollywood Entertainment And Technology Festival
On October 3rd, I was honored to be one of the esteemed judges at the annual Hollywood Entertainment & Technology Festival. I had a rare opportunity to get beyond the velvet ropes and into Hollywood’s legendary Grauman’s Chinese Theatre. The main event took place at the famous Arclight Cinemas, which was a fitting space for so much talent.
The event was a platform for visionaries, content creators, entrepreneurs, and investors. Topics included VR, AR, esports, mobile experiences, big data, film production, IP protection, entertainment law, licensing, and blockchain as a tool for content distribution.
The event concluded with a look at how industrial designers are translating emerging digital technologies and global manufacturing opportunities into tangible realities. The design portion of the event included a wide variety of innovative concepts from accomplished and aspiring designers. The quality of work was exceptional and all of the concepts included thoughtful ideas for improving our human condition. For more information on the winners, visit HanhaiStudio.com
This is the first time I’ve personally seen the inclusion of industrial design in a conference that’s primarily geared towards entertainment experts and digital content creators. However, I exited the event with lingering thoughts about the untapped potential that exists between these two creative mediums – industrial design and the design of experiential entertainment. While a merger between these two disciplines is still in its infancy, I can imagine a future where industrial and entertainment designers collaborate to virtually create many of the recreational products we enjoy today. For example, rather than buy an actual ATV, I’d buy a subscription to a branded immersive ATV experience that I would enjoy at home.
I’d like to give to credit Hanhai Studio for hosting the Hollywood Entertainment Technology Festival where I enjoyed connecting with people and companies that are defining the future of this immersive frontier.