YES is a documentary about creative partnerships, love, trust, struggles, and the belief that human celebration can help us find joy in the darkest moments of our lives. YES follows the creative partnership between Anya Sapozhnikova and Melissa Aguerre. Audio interviews and on camera interviews are coupled with spatial sound design and aerial performances that bring life to their story. The project will be using a host of new techniques including overlapping spatial audio where both Anya and Melissa share what they are feeling, at times the viewer's head orientation will dictate whose story is more dominant in the sound mix. The creators will be placing cameras inside their performances to transport viewers 30 feet up.
Come learn about a VR production in the midst of the production process. The recent winners of the first-ever VR Pitchfest will share their insights on creating a VR project in a time when the tools, techniques and processes are still being developed. How did they find their story? What techniques are they using to create prototypes? What are some of the challenges they face and how are they overcoming them?
TEAM BIOS
Noah - DirectorNoah Workman has directed Spin, a 2015 Webby Honoree for Best Dramatic Short, the documentary series Courageous Leaders for Vox, Sweet Spots a 20 part series for Bon Apptit and Cond Nast, an upcoming educational series for Sesame Workshop and the children's feature film Berel and the Bus Driver. He has also directed live and commercial work for companies including Mashable, Refinery29, Mac Cosmetics, Redken, Estee Lauder, Fisher-Price, Walmart, Pfizer, GSK, HP, Google Chrome and Techstars. Noah is co-founder of Iris MediaWorks a video content production and strategy company.
Albert - Director of Spatial AudioAfter being nominated for 3 Grammys and 2 Clios, our Director of Spatial Audio, Albert Leusink, didnt rest on his laurels but continued creating immersive sound experiences for clients and artists such as Lila Down, JetBlue, Laura Nyro, Macys, Zap Mama, Tony Allen, Microsoft, Rolex and Smirnoff and more. Currently on the cutting edge of the spatial audio movement in VR, Albert has created the first ever YouTube music experience featuring fully head tracked audio and is working on a slew of upcoming releases for the Oculus Rift and Gear VR platforms. As well as being an audio guru, Albert has performed as a trumpet payer on 4 continents venues large and small, from the Blue Note jazz club to the main stage at Lollapallooza.
Andrew - Experience DirectorAndrew Leitch is a veteran of the digital space, working as an Experience Director, Creative Director and Filmmaker. Most recently Andrew has been focusing on the intersection of television and the internet, designing and optimizing experiences for clients such as NBCUniversal and PBS. Hes also worked in Creative/UX leadership roles at leading digital agencies, including Razorfish, GREY/G2 and Agency.com, for blue-chip brands like Nike, Pfizer and Ford. His web series, Elevator Moods, was an official selection at Sundance, a finalist at SxSW Interactive, a winner of a Webby (Best Broadband Site) and was ultimately acquired by A&E TV. Other film projects include the sci-fi short The Jetty, which premiered at the Darklight Film Festival in Dublin, and a teaser for new episodic digital series hes developing called Montauk Boys. Andrew is also actively involved in New York's multi-platform storytelling community. He participated in the launch of StoryCodes Story Hackathon series, where his team won the prize for best use of the Twilio API, and hes currently developing his first narrative-driven VR experience.
Patrick - ProducerPatrick Rousseau has produced thousands of hours of content. Among other things, he has produced six feature films that have collectively won or been nominated for 16 festival awards and four best picture awards, one Webby Honoree short, and one Webby winning web series. The first web series he produced, The Captive, was The Sundance Channels second web acquisition. He has produced serialized work for Cond Nast, Vox, and Hewlett-Packard, and commercial work for companies including GlaxoSmithKline, Fisher-Price, Barclays, and LOral, and Techstars.
