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Asad Aftab

Vancouver-based XR artist, VR filmmaker and spatial cinematographer; Master of Design (Interaction) graduate and sessional faculty at Emily Carr University, and founder of Lightfold Studios.

Oct 6, 2026

Jean ChisholmMODERATOR
14:59
Mm-hmm.
15:01
I think for me, uh, it's, it's been quite interesting, um, because I get to touch both upon, you know, the film and cinema world, which is, you know, moving picture as a concept is like 100 something years old, at least at this point.
15:16
And then there's VR, which is this new thing, which is, you know, barely not even 10 years old.
15:23
And, um, so on...
15:25
And when you try to sort of, you know, I'm sitting at the, the Venn diagram of the intersection of both, which is, you know, cinematic VR, which is this new thing which people don't really know what to do with.
15:36
Um, and then you try to apply a lot of these like, you know, traditional storytelling ideas and principles to this newer medium, and it just doesn't work.
15:47
And, uh, and then there's a lot of, you know, film as a community, there's a lot of pushback against it because the, the rules aren't working.

6 MINS LATER

22:04
It's like a-
Sahil MrokeMODERATOR
42:55
Yeah.
42:56
Um, and i- it's a weird kind of thing, and n- now, specifically, especially 'cause now I'm in, like, cinematic VR, which is f- the crossover of, you know, moving picture and, you know, an immersive experience.
43:11
That's an even more difficult space to navigate because, um, you know, film as a, as a medium is a audience-driven thing.
43:23
You could write the biggest story, the best script with the best actors, but if the people watching can't relate to it-

18 MINS LATER

61:03
Mm-hmm.
61:05
Yeah.
61:05
I think for me it's, like, you know, people in film, directors, you know, cinematographers, screenwriters who are interested in VR, it's a starting point for them because it's a, a weird intersectional space.
61:21
Um, but then also it's for people in VR who want to do more film-centric stuff, you know, move away from gamified experiences and more into narrative, uh, pieces.

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