Justin Melillo, co-founder/CEO of Miami-based MoNa Gallery, was the guest in a VR AR Association Storytelling Committee call hosted by Chris Pfaff on Thursday, January 13, 2022. The discussion, ‘Creating Unique 3D Environments on the Blockchain: MoNa Gallery Demonstrates Portable Spaces for the Multi-User Metaverse,’ featured Justin demonstrating the MoNa Spaces, which can be built and minted on Ethereum or Polygon blockchain. Designed to be compostable, social, and interactive, the MoNa Spaces can hold and display other collectibles. Durably designed, with portability in mind, the MoNa Spaces enable basic adjustable artist royalties to be sold. The system will be expanded to provide additional tools for artists across Web3 metaverses. MoNa Gallery, comprised of a team of ex-Magic Leap and Snapchat builders who have worked with the likes of Drake, CharliXCX, and NASA, was a big winner in the Web3 art space in 2022.

Twenty years ago, there were no smartphones (with full web browsers); broadband was 5 MB/s downlink; 1 TB of storage cost $10,000; there were no social networks; the iPod was the hottest tech toy; there were more than 8 Tier 1 cellular carriers in the U.S.; MP3 and BitTorrent were creating headaches for the music industry; Nielsen was still king of ratings; OTT was mostly a cable Internet industry term; AI was still in the labs; DVD defined digital video; HDTV was still a niche offering; mobile video was non-existent; VR was only for industrial customers.

It was at that time – on November 21, 2002 – that I founded Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC. To help bleeding-edge tech entrepreneurs gain market traction. To bring new ideas and approaches to legacy industry segments. To bring global visibility to early-stage ventures. 

From WAP to TikTok; from holographic storage to Flash drives; from contextual content to projected holograms; from facial recognition to virtual humans, and beyond, Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC has been there. And – in many ways – was there. At the protean start. 

Many, many thanks to all of the collaborators, colleagues, and clients who worked with us on this epic journey at the beginning of the 21st century and over the past two decades. 

Here’s to the next 20 years.

And beyond.

Thanks to:

William Wilson Kevin Curtis Roy Elkins Moses Asom Eric Petajan George Caravias Narain Gehani Barry Cinnamon Michael Wood George Searle Steve Lubin Duncan Campbell Daniel Goldscheider Larry Henderson Steven Socolof tony Verderosa Edward Boddington Troy Sample Jason George Matt Frost Jani Houponen Sam VashIsht Irwin Kornfeld Paul Smith Mike Folgner Eric Eccles Thanasis Iatrou Nikos Kyriopoulos Chris Gottschalk Robin Rush Harry Kargman Boris Fridman Stein Erik Sorhaug Romain Eude Jacques Edouard Guillemot Stelio Tzonis Hans Eriksson Amorah Sandberg Fredrik Oscarson Michal Suchon Laurent Weill Colas Overkott Paul Amsellem Werner Haan Helmut Bems Agnes Chung David Hoga Tobias Soppa Jonathan Levy Bencheton Thierry Coutanceau Jean-Christophe Perier Christophe de Courson Petri Martikainen Richard Collins Janne Neuvonen Pasi Ilola Tony Hope Heini Vesander Mikki Kuusi Ville Makinen Wilhelm Taht Roope Suomalainen Hannu Anttila Harri Pesola Heikki Rotko Kaius Meskanen Mika Rautiainen Ville Hulkko Hannu Verkasalo Joonas Makkonen Olli Rundgren Topias Soininen Jesse Heikkila Vesa Perala Jani Penttinen Jouni Maaranto Tarmo Virki Laura Avonius Will Cardwell Nilay Oza Tuomas Kosonen Jari Tuovinen Peter Vesterbacka Laurent Martin Vamsi Palukuru Jussi Autio Chris Thur Jussi Harvela Antti Keranen Jari Mieskonen Sami Hyrylainen Jarno Eerola Projjol Banerjea Arkady Fridman Are Traasdahl Helge Hoibraaten Karl Kathuria Miguel Silva Jonathan French Paul Finster Lindsay Stewart Christina Castellano Brian Kline Juraj Siska Oliver Lietz Jason Porath Tom Link Cheng Wu Hal Vogel Jon Vlassopulos Seth Schachner Christian Egeler T.J. Vitolo Mohammad Raheel Khalid Brian Johnson Kanwaldeep Kalsi Jan Ameri Eero Kaikkonen Janet Greco Fred Pfaff Margus Uudam Andrew Knight Rob Rosenberg Suren Pai Sanjay Macwan  Claude Theoret Martin Enault Stephane Rituit Olivier Trudeau Anick Beaulieu Richard St. Pierre Daniel Japiassu Thomas Jelonek Kristjan Laanemaa Urmas Peiker Mike Klyszeiko Kris Kolo Nathan Pettyjohn Anne-Marie Enns Tracy Swedlow Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen Joel Unickow Trygve Refvem Jarno Vanto Sami Paihonen Pekka Parnanen Anton Gauffin Sami Niska Ekaterina Gianelli Andrew Johnston Pia Erkinheimo Beni Cohen JR Dawkins Robert O’Neill Nita Pilkama Imram Ahmed Jakub Majkowski Andrew Bud Peter Northing Ted Iannuzzi Felix Froede Kris Ramanathan Werner Haan Patricia Steele Bradley Glenn Simon Schatzmann Jonathan French David Hoga Agnes Chung Christoph Huning Jonathan Levy-Bencheton Thierry Cottenceau Jean-Christophe Perier Christophe de Courson Petri Martikainen Richard Collins Janne Neuvonen Pasi Ilola Tony Hope Heini Vesander Miki Kuusi Ville Makinen Wilhelm Taht Roope Soumalainen Hannu Anttila Harri Pesola Heikki Rotko Kaius Meskanen Mika Rautiainen Ville Hulkko Hannu Verkasalo Joonas Makkonen Olli Rundgren Topias Soinenen Vesa Perala Jani Penttinen Tarmo Virki Laura Avonius Will Cardwell Nilay Oza Tuomas Kosonen Jari Tuovinen Claude Theoret Martin Enault Stephane Rituit Olivier Trudeau Anick Beaulieu Richard St. Pierre Daniel Japiassu Thomas Jelonek Kristjan Laanemaa Urmas Peiker Mike Klyszeiko Kris Kolo Nathan Pettyjohn Anne-Marie Enns Tracy Swedlow Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen Joel Unickow Trygve Refvem Jarno Vanto Sami Paihonen Pekka Parnanen Anton Gauffin Sami Niska Ekaterina Gianelli Andrew Johnston Pia Erkinheimo Beni Cohen JR Dawkins Robert O’Neill Nita Pilkama Imram Ahmed Jakub Majkowski Andrew Bud Peter Northing Ted Iannuzzi Felix Froede Kris Ramanathan Werner Haan Patricia Steele Bradley Glenn Simon Schatzmann Jonathan French David Hoga Agnes Chung Christoph Huning Peter Vesterbacka Laurent Martin Vamsi Palukuru Jussi Autio Chris Thur Jussi Harvela Antti Keranen Jari Mieskonen Sami Hyrylainen Jarno Eerola Projjol Banerjea Arkady Fridman Are Traasdahl Helge Hoibraaten Karl Kathuria Miguel Silva Jonathan French Paul Finster Lindsay Stewart Christina Castellano Brian Kline Juraj Siska Oliver Lietz Jason Porath Tom Link Cheng Wu Jon Vlassopulos Seth Schachner Christian Egeler T.J. Vitolo Mohammad Raheel Khalid Brian Johnson Kanwaldeep Kalsi Jan Ameri Eero Kaikkonen Janet Greco Fred Pfaff Margus Uudam Andrew Knight Rob Rosenberg Suren Pai Sanjay Macwan Patricia Steele Bradley Glenn Simon Schatzmann Jonathan French David Hoga Agnes Chung

Chris Pfaff produced and moderated the ‘Building Infrastructure for a Better Metaverse: How to Ensure Seamless VR and AR Experiences’ panel at the VR AR Association’s Metaverse Platforms & Avatars event, on December 17, 2021, with panelists including:

• Cindy Mallory, emerging tech strategist, American Tech Services/chairman, New York Chapter, VR AR Association
• Aaron Pulkka, producer, Pulkka Creative/co-chairman, Location-Based Entertainment Committee, VR AR Association
• Marcin Klimek, CEO/co-founder, ExplodedView/chapter president, Poland, VR AR Association
• Luis Bravo Martins, CMO, Kit-AR/former co-chapter president, Portugal, VR AR Association
• Chris Pfaff, CEO, Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC/co-chairman, Storytelling Committee, VR AR Association (moderator)

This session discussed the tools and methodologies necessary for more adaptive and readily integrated VR and AR experiences, across the enterprise, consumer, and industrial domains. Breakthrough design, including UX/UI and UE, as well as accessible WebXR and AR, were also discussed, as pathways to a more inclusive and seamless immersive future.

Cindy Mallory (upper row, left); Aaron Pulkka (upper row, right); Luis Bravo Martins (middle row, left); Chris Pfaff (middle row, right), and Marcin Klimek (bottom row)

Aaron Pulkka shows off recent work, Cryptostream

Aaron Pulkka discusses his work with Amber Labs

Marcin Klimek shows off a cat avatar

Luis Martins shows off some AR for industrial use

Chris Pfaff produced and moderated the ‘Producing in XR: How to Navigate Challenges’ panel at the VR AR Association‘s VR AR Global Summit Online North America, on Friday, June 4, 2021, with three of the leading producers in the VR/AR space, including: Voyelle Acker, from Small Creative; Tupac Martir, from SATORE STUDIO, and Michael Owen, from MediaCombo.

You can watch the full panel at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlWUMPIBNWY

The group discussed how VR/AR producers are having to overcome challenges regarding on-set production, approval in VR app stores, and navigation of evolving mobile AR technologies to deliver compelling stories for audiences that are more distanced than ever.

Voyelle Acker, from Small Creative

Voyelle shows off recent work

Michael Owen, from MediaCombo

Michael Owen shows off the Morgan Library AR tour

Tupac Martir, from Satore Studio

Tupac Martir shows off recent work

Chris Pfaff moderated ‘The Multi-Device, Multi-Platform Challenge’ at Streaming Media West Connect on November 4, 2021, with panelists including:

• Rema Morgan-Aluko from Fandango
• Aaron Rosenthal from Conviva
• Byron Saltysiak from WarnerMedia
• Nick Colsey from Sony Electronics

You can watch the entire session at:

Byron Saltysiak (upper left); Chris Pfaff (upper row, 2nd from left); Aaron Rosenthal (upper row, 2nd from right); Rema Morgan-Aluko (upper row, right); Nick Colsey (lower row, left), and Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen (lower row, right)

Chris Pfaff moderated the ‘Subscription Fatigue: Are There Too Many OTT Services?’ panel at Streaming Media West 2021 on November 1, 2021. An incredibly diverse panel that featured Jeff Allen, from ShortsTV; Jeanne Sachs, from Penthera; Rivka Golomb, from WarnerMedia, and Paul Pastor, from STRUUM.

You can view the entire session at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLaKOgdHucQ

Chris Pfaff (upper row, 2nd from left); Jeff Allen (upper row, 2nd from right); Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen (upper row, far right); Jeanne Sachs (lower row, right); Rivka Golomb (lower row, middle), and Paul Pastor (lower row, right).

Chris Pfaff produced and moderated the ‘Virtual Theatre: The Metaverse Smashes the Four Walls’ panel at the VR AR Global Summit Online, Europe, on Friday, October 1, 2021, with some of the leading producers of virtual theatre and dance:

– Lorne Svarc, CEO/artistic director, Technodramatists

– Kiira Benzing, director/producer, Double Eye Studios

– Brandon Powers, creative director/choreographer, Brandon Powers Projects

– Blair Russell, theatre producer, Blair Russell Productions/producer, Crux

This panel discussed the emergence of XR theatre production, including VR and AR integration with narrative original and adaptive works, as well as how to blend XR technologies with live and virtual audiences. The theatre world has developed communities for live, virtual productions that will continue to evolve as the COVID-19 pandemic rages.

The full panel can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/VctoD3e-qAc

Kiira Benzing (upper left); Brandon Powers (upper middle); Blair Russell (upper right); Lorne Svarc (lower left), Chris Pfaff (lower right)

Brandon Powers shows off virtual choreography

Kiira Benzing discusses her Virtual Repertory Theatre

Blair Russell shows off recent work

Lorne Svarc discusses Technodramatists’ work

Lorne Svarc shows off some of Technodramatists’ landmark ‘AliBi’ production

Chris Pfaff produced and moderated the ‘Producing in XR: How to Navigate Challenges’ panel at the VR AR Global Summit Online, Europe, on Wednesday, September 29, 2021, with some of the leading global producers of VR and AR content:

– Tupac Martir, founder, Satore Studio

– Michael Owen, co-founder/principal, MediaCombo

– Rafael Pavon, creative director, The Mill

The group discussed their experiences in overcoming production and distribution challenges in various VR and AR projects, including a recent NFT project by Tupac Martir.

You can view the entire panel at:

https://youtu.be/4Tg4S6ZA6Ak

Michael Owen shows some of his 360-degree documentary production of Lake Baikal

Rafael Pavon shows some of his amazing work on ‘Memoria,’ inside the La Garma cave in Spain

Tupac Martir shows off a VR NFT sculpture

Tupac Martir in action

Tupac Martir shows off ‘Dr. Crumb and the School of Disobedient Pets’

Michael Owen shows off recent work

Chris Pfaff appeared on the production finance panel at the Catalyst Story Institute Festival (at the Kitchi Gammi Club in Duluth, Minnesota) on Friday, October 1, 2021 with (left to right):

Seitu Jemel Hart, CEO, Careers in Entertainment, Chris Pfaff, CEO, Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC, Michelle Miller, Viviana Zarragoitia, VP at Three Point Capital, Sonja O’Hara, from Bohème Film, and Matthew Valentinas, Esq., Of Counsel at Sennott, Williams and Rogers, LLP. Many thanks to Philip Gilpin, Jr., Nikki Coble, and Jennifer Plotzke, and the entire Catalyst Story Institute team for producing an exceptional four days of exuberant creativity.

Chris Pfaff and Viviana Zarragoitia before the panel

Viviana Zarragoitia discusses film financing as Michelle Miller (near left), Sonja O’Hara, and Matthew Valentinas (right) listen

Sonja O’Hara discusses financing of her projects