David Lobser has been working with animation for nearly twenty years. His work is cinematic, being influenced stylistically by David Lynch, Tim Burton and the Brother’s Quay amongst others. David attended the School of Visual Arts and has taught at Parson’s, Harvard, and the Tecnologico de Monterrey in Queretaro, Mexico where he continued to expand on his character design workshop. David graduated from NYU’s ITP program and has starting creating works using code, mostly 3D projects in javascript. His interest in animation comes from a desire to stir emotion and connect with audiences in unique ways. Intense emotions create intense bonds. David Lobser enjoys being part of the aesthetic conversation for the beginning of this century and hopes to inspire others to act on their creative impulses.

Tom Harding serves as Director of Immersive Products & Virtual Reality at Samsung Electronics America, helping drive Samsung’s Virtual Reality product development throughout the United States. Prior to joining Samsung, Tom held several roles in Media & Marketing industries, most recently heading up Sports Products at Thomson Reuters in New York. Tom holds a B.Sc in Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence from The University of Edinburgh, UK.

Joergen Geerds is CEO / Creative Director of Freedom 360. Joergen brings a master vision to each 360 endeavor – ensuring the highest levels of creative integrity. As the original inventor of the modern, fully spherical video medium, he has been pushing the language of VR filmmaking by tirelessly finding artistic compositions and dynamic angles. His contribution helps deliver exciting and memorable VR projects to our clients.

Clara Fernández-Vara is a game scholar, designer and writer. She is an Associate Arts Professor at the NYU Game Center. Her area of expertise is narrative in games and how it can integrate with game design, focusing on adventure games. She is particularly interested in applying methods from textual analysis and performance studies to the study of video games and transmedia artifacts. Clara’s videogame work is grounded in the humanities, informed by her background in literature, film and theatre. Before joining the NYU Game Center, Clara was a a researcher and game developer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She holds a Ph.D. in Digital Media from the Georgia Institute of Technology and a Masters in Comparative Media Studies from MIT. Clara has presented her work at various international academic and industry conferences, such as DiGRA (Digital Games Research Association), and Foundations of Digital Games and the Game Developer’s Conference (GDC). She has worked both in games for research as well as in the commercial sphere. Her first book, “Introduction to Game Analysis” has been published by Routledge.

Omer Shapira is the head of Virtual Reality at Fake Love. His practice combines live action elements with procedural graphics, using custom-built software and hardware. Previously, Omer was a VR Developer at Framestore, The NYU Media Research Lab and the MIT Media Lab, and a Filmmaker and VFX Artist in Israeli TV. His work was presented at Tribeca Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival and The Barbican. His commercial VR work won an Art Director’s Club Award and was a Webby Awards Honoree. Omer has a B.Sc in Mathematics from Tel Aviv University and a Master’s from the NYU Interactive Telecommunications Program.

Steven Tabakin is a New York-based producer with credits in independent feature film, television movies, documentaries, and live theater. He formed Tashtego Films with Margaret Whitton and Warren Spector, based on the the idea that great storytelling has the power to transform individuals and societies. He recently produced the film A Bird of the Air, which stars Rachel Nichols and Jackson Hurst and was directed by Margaret Whitton. Next up is the film, The Moment When, written and to be directed by James Lapine. He was George C. Wolfe’s Associate Producer at The Public Theater from 2003-2005, responsible for the development and production of many projects. In 2004 he produced Bob Balaban’s film adaptation of The Exonerated for Court TV, starring Brian Dennehy, Danny Glover, Delroy Lindo, Susan Sarandon, Aidan Quinn, and David Brown, Jr. From 1999-2003 he produced original drama programs for PBS, including A.R. Gurney’s Far East; Anna Deavere Smith’s Twilight: Los Angeles; Beckett on Film (2002 Peabody Award); and live broadcasts of The Man Who Came to Dinner and The Women. Documentary credits include Tantalus: Behind the Mask; The Topdog Diaries; and Changing Stages, Richard Eyre’s six-part series on the theatre of the 20th Century. At The Public Theater from 1994-98 he worked on Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk; The Wild Party; Saturn Returns; On the Town and many other shows.

Gary-Yau Chan is a hackathon enthusiast, participating in over 40 hackathons. He loves how technology can broaden the ways we can tell and visualize stories. Currently, Gary is cofounder and products lead at Oz Content Technologies.

Callie Leone works to define the future of the agency by spearheading strategic innovation initiatives such as gyro’s partner program, thought leadership with Fortune Knowledge Group, leading new business pitch work, onboarding and training new strategists in both the USA and Europe, and developing and implementing strategic tools and resources for all teams throughout gyro’s NA/EMNA network. She also is a core member of gyro:human, the agency’s newest healthcare practice and develops engagement, community, and brand strategies across all healthcare verticals. Callie brings her passion and expertise from the startup world and leverages new technologies like augmented reality to drive business results and improve brand experiences both for her company and her clients. She was a panelist at InsideAR:Munich 2014 discussing how augmented reality will impact enterprise through storytelling and immersive experiences.