Portfolio

My experience with VR came after I had professionally invested myself in AR technology at BrainGoo Studios. VR caught me off guard and I was hooked on day one. This is a technology that truly offers something new and exciting to experience interactive media like never before.

Best way to describe it to someone that has never experienced it before, it would be that once you put that VR headset on - you are essentially teleported to another world. A real teleportation device. Yet, as great as that sounds and we are only seeing the beginning gestation of an industry right before our eyes, it's a bit like scuba diving - you need to come up for air after a while! And from my experience, nobody knows really who needs the air sooner than another.

Either way - these are very exciting times.

Based in Santa Monica in the heart of what is known as Silicon Beach, I have always challenged myself to take on more and more challenging projects to immerse myself in interactive technologies with the simple goal to create immersive experiences that redefine our expectations of reality as we know it. This is the real crucial test that AR & VR technology offer us today. How can we expand and intensify our own reality via immersive technologies? Steve Jobs, the visionary Apple co-founder, said it best when he described what a computer meant to him, “…the computer is the most remarkable tool that we’ve ever come up with. It’s the equivalent of a bicycle for our minds.” I couldn’t agree more with the late Apple creative genius. Anything is possible when we put our minds to it!

It was a no ‘brainer’ to start such activities by the creation of the tech startup, BrainGoo Studios, who gave me the confidence and expertise to make these experiences a reality for clients throughout the United States and across a multitude of industries. I pursued every project with fanatical dedication and personal attention while investing every ounce of creativity I have to offer the best customized product we could possibly make.

This experience has taught me strategic thinking, business development, bidding, client interaction and management and working on tight deadlines while delivering a product that goes beyond client expectation.

At BrainGoo Studios, I worked mostly on the Qualcomm Vuforia AR platform while also experimenting with the Metaio SDK / Junaio / Creator (recently acquired by Apple) and an early beta tester on the Daqri 4D Studio AR software solution.

My experience in VFX has been a steady 20 year journey still going strong to this day. When I don't develop for VR or AR, I tend to go back to my roots. And it's where I feel like I belong to a community when someone can work the insane hours and months in the dark with only the glow of a computer monitor. Was it worth it, you might say? Indeed it was and will still be worthy if I get new opportunities to create stunning images seen the world over.

One of the main reasons I have stayed away from the industry and invested myself fully in interactive technologies was because of the massive talent exodus and industry shift from Los Angeles to Vancouver, London, and China among others. It's a real shame that Hollywood doesn't recognize and respect the unsung heroes in VFX who have created 17 of the top 20 biggest blockbusters in motion picture history. The very VFX studios who have created some of the most memorable imagery in the past 2 or 3 decades can barely make ends meet and many have met their demise. Some even days after receiving an Oscar for their outstanding achievements. How does that make any sense? One day you receive the highest accolade from your peers and the next day you file for bankruptcy?

It is my sincere hope that the industry will bounce back and be profitable again. I see glimmers of hope with the advent of 360 cinema (VR) and companies like Lytro pushing Light Field technology to define the future of filmmaking in Hollywood. LA and its incredible pool of talent and creatives have not said their last word...