ARIF KHAN - Writer / Director
ARIF KHAN is a British writer & director, based in Los Angeles and Tokyo.
He has held roles at Airbnb Creative Studio, Warner Bros. Animation and Oculus Story Studio, the Emmy Award-winning Facebook team dedicated to the research and development of virtual reality storytelling.
His short films and VR projects have screened at genre festivals all over the world including the Sitges International Film Festival, Trieste Science+Fiction Festival, Imagine Film Festival, and Festival Européen du Film Fantastique de Strasbourg. His latest project, Black Ice VR, had its world premiere at SXSW 2022.
Prior to receiving his M.F.A. in Film Production at USC - School of Cinematic Arts, he earned his Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Cambridge.
DARREN WOODLAND -
Art Director / Animator
DARREN WOODLAND JR. combines technology, design, science, art, and narrative to create entertaining and informative immersive experiences. He is a Multimedia Designer and 3D Artist whose work focuses on interactive media, immersive technology, sound, 3D modeling, and storytelling.
He received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of South Carolina in media arts/art studio and a Master of Art and Design from North Carolina State University in experimental media arts. He is currently pursing a Ph.D. in digital media from Drexel University.
LAWRENCE YIP - Lead Developer
Lawrence Yip is an XR Developer focused on character-driven experiences and storytelling. He has worked as freelance XR developer, creating various narrative AR/VR experiences for enterprise and entertainment applications across several platforms. He aims to innovate on ways to improve character immersion and embodiment to tell more impactful stories unique to XR.
He has a Bachelor of Science in information systems from Stony Brook University, and also attended Vancouver Film School in AR/VR development.
ANDREW VERNON - Sound Designer
Andrew Vernon is a sound designer re-recording mixer and music editor whose work has included Oscar-nominated shorts and feature films. His creative work has been showcased in various film festivals, including Cannes, Annecy, Berlin, Palm Springs, Austin International, and many others. Having attended the San Francisco Conservatory of Music graduate program as a pianist and composer, Andrew brings musical training and keen perspective to sound design, mixing, and music editing.
Recently, Andrew finished the sound design and mix for the short How to Paint Your Rainbow by Director Erick Oh, The House of Colors by award-winning animator Nicolas Villarreal, Borrowed Time, created by Pixar artists Andrew Coats and Lou Hamou-Lladj, as well as The Dam Keeper, an animated short crafted by Pixar art directors Robert Kondo and Dice Tsutsumi.
Andrew is currently working freelance as a sound designer, re-recording mixer, and music editor. He has worked on Cars 3, Toy Story 3, Cars 2, Brave, Monsters University, and The Blue Umbrella.
UMBERTO - Music Composer
MATT HILL is a composer based in Los Angeles, CA. In 2008, he started a project under the name Umberto as an homage to horror films. Since then, he has released albums, performed throughout the US and Europe, and scored several films.
As a recording artist, he has released several albums on labels such as Milan, Thrill Jockey, Not Not Fun, and Death Waltz Recording Company.
His live performances have included bills with some of the same film composers he was influenced by such as Fabio Frizzi, Goblin, and Alan Howarth. He’s also performed live re-scores to some of his favorite movies at several film festivals including Beyond Fest, the Glasgow Film Festival, the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, and MondoCon.
In 2020, he scored SpectreVision’s Archenemy starring Joe Manganiello and Glenn Howerton, directed by Adam Egypt Mortimer (Daniel Isn’t Real). Previous films include Blumhouse/Hulu’s All That We Destroy (Into The Dark), Portraits, and Crude Oil which premiered at 2019’s Sundance Film Festival. In 2018, he scored a series of short horror films for Universal Studios. Other works include short documentaries, VR projects, and advertisements.