Vicki Dobbs Beck on Immersive Content Innovation

Named by Variety as a "Digital Innovator to Watch in 2020", and in 2019, recognized by the Advanced Imaging Society  with a Distinguished Leadership Award for being a significant "entertainment industry growth catalyst," Vicki Dobbs Beck is the Executive in Charge of ILMxLAB, the award-winning division launched by Lucasfilm in 2015 to pioneer in the field of immersive storytelling. ILMxLAB wants to make it possible for people to 'Step Inside Our Stories' in ways never before possible. Using technologies like virtual and augmented reality, ILMxLAB aspires to create connected experiences that transform places, spaces, and our daily lives as we transition from storytelling to storyliving.

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Transcript

Roy Sharples: 0:06

Hello, I'm Roy Sharples, welcome to the unknown origins podcast. Why are you listening to this podcast? Are you seeking inspiration? an industry expert looking for insights or growing your career? I created the unknown origins podcast to provide access to insights and content from creators worldwide with inspirational conversations and storytelling, about art, architecture, design, entrepreneurship, fashion, film, music, and pop culture. Vicki Dobbs back has more than 30 years of broad based management experience in the entertainment industry. Variety named her a digital innovator to watch in 2020. And in 2019, the advanced imaging society recognized Viki with a Distinguished Leadership Award for being a significant entertainment industry growth catalyst. Currently, Vicki is the executive in charge of high LMX love. The award winning division launched by Lucasfilm, in 2015. To pioneer in the field of immersive storytelling, I LM X Lab wants to make it possible for people to step inside our stories and ways never before possible. Using technologies like virtual and augmented reality, I LM X Lab, aspires to create connected experiences that transform Places Spaces and our daily lives as we transition from storytelling to story living. Hello, and welcome, Vicki. So what attracted you to the creative arts in the first place?

Vicki Dobbs Beck: 1:55

Well, I've been attracted to creative endeavors my entire life. When I was growing up, I love to write, I was interested in art. I was involved in ballet, and, you know, musical theater, and so forth. So that's always been a part of my life, when I and I participated, actually in those same kinds of activities when I was at Stanford undergrad, but when I graduated from Stanford Business School, it was clear, I was going to follow a path that was a little bit different than the vast majority of my classmates who were, you know, going to private equity, investment banking, consulting. And my criteria was that I wanted to work for a company whose product was inherently creative. That was my only criteria. So I looked at a whole variety of industries, I looked at fashion theater, for profit and nonprofit ballet film. You know, even wine. Yeah. And, again, the goal was to make a meaningful contribution in an industry whose whose product was inherently creative. So I ended up through a whole series of connections at at ILM slash Lucasfilm, and I started there in 1988. So I'm actually I was I took off for about four years and did some other projects, but I am on my 30th year at Lucasfilm

Roy Sharples: 3:45

Stories are the oxygen for communication, storytelling, as a language that unites the world. It brings us together helps us understand our past and reach toward the future. A well told story engages the main heart and soul by making meaningful connections across history and time, uniting people by helping them make sense of themselves and the world. Insights are spread by passing knowledge from one generation to another, linking traditions, legends, myths, archetypes, culture, history and values, which unite communities and societies. Lucasfilm canonize this by taking storytelling to a whole new level of magic and joy, not just because they've produced extraordinary high grossing movies and cultivated generations of fans. But they have created an entire movement, a fantasy universe through extraordinary storytelling, innovative marketing, and intelligent targeting of and appealing to many demographics throughout time. Founded by one of the most influential filmmakers, and inventive storytellers of all time, John As Lucas, who was best known for creating the Star Wars, and Indiana Jones franchises, and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, and Industrial Light and Magic, like many in this audience, we are excited about what's next, from the innovative work that you and your team are dreaming up, and bringing to life by creating immersive experiences by using technology to transport people into new or altered realities, where they can see, hear and interact with objects and items that aren't necessarily in front of them. So a long winded answer to stating that it must be an isolating experience by being part of Lucasfilm hence, your longevity, insatiable passion, and drive to discover new horizons,

Vicki Dobbs Beck: 5:52

it's been an amazing journey, really, and the company has always been one, where I'm really proud of the work that we've done, it's evolved, you know, they highlighted an emphasis on innovation, and storytelling, and so far, so it is what has kept me there. And of course, then we were acquired by Disney. And even that has offered new and different opportunities, because it's it's such a robust, creative ecosystem.

Roy Sharples: 6:27

Absolutely. So bringing up the current day, in terms of your role as leader of the immersive content innovation, what is your creative process in terms of how do you make the invisible visible by dreaming up ideas, developing them into concepts, and then bringing them to actualization?

Unknown: 6:49

Yeah, well, in some ways, there's sort of two prongs to that question. One is my personal process. And the other is what our team's process is. But for me, personally, I have always been, I've always been moved by vision, and I see myself as a catalyst for innovation, for create, for creativity, etc. So I always start with the long term vision, where are we trying to go, say, five to 10 years from now. And for, for me, I believe that by understanding where we're trying to go, it makes it easier to understand what we should be doing today. And say, two years from now, and three years from now, and so forth. I also believe that people are inspired by by vision. So with regard to ilm, X Lab, in particular, we have a vision for connected, immersive storytelling that crosses devices, so AR VR, you know, etc, and physical and digital locations. So we've been involved with location based entertainment experiences, as well as those design for the home. And I'm also really excited about, you know, how you can bring AR once we have a robust set of glasses into the world around us. So it's not just at home, or at a particular location, but maybe infused all around us. So in any case, we sort of painted a picture, if you will, of this connected story. This connected storytelling experiences for the future. And that has allowed us to sort of take a step backward them and take meaningful steps toward that future. So in terms of our actual process, we talk about we have sort of a three pronged strategy. The first one, and this was super important to us early on, in particular, was doing proofs and prototypes or, you know, visualizations, so very quick, but helping people understand what would be possible in the future. So for example, we did a, we did a visualization of the Hulk, the film, The Hulk, and we kind of showcase or highlighted this idea that what if the Hulk could come off the the screen into the theater, you know, kind of be present with you for a second and then go back into the screen. And, you know, that's not something that has happened yet. But even back then, which was probably 2014 2015. We were saying, imagine what that might be like, like, what does it mean to bring these things immersive devices to traditional forms of entertainment. And then the second prong is what I'd call sort of first of kind experiences. And that's really been the majority of of our portfolio. So things like Vader immortal, which was the first of its kind three part VR Story series with a, you know, huge emphasis on narrative, as opposed to games, which was much more typical at the at the time. And we want to continue always trying to sort of push the state of the art take a big leap forward with these first two kinds of experiences. And then, of course, the fantasy is that those experiences become the template or reference point, if you will, for other such experiences that might cross different IP. And then finally, the third prong of the strategy is what I call mosaics. And the reason I call it those, because I think that this connected storytelling world, much like a mosaic, so mosaic is obviously made up of individual tiles. And each tile should be an experience that can stand on its own, that's been designed to take advantage of the strengths of whatever the particular platform is, but it's been, but you created these tiles inside of a, of a larger holistic vision. So that, you know, just like with the mosaic, if you step back from the individual tiles, you have this very rich and much more complex design. So in, you could experience any individual tile, but if you experienced multiple tiles in the mosaic, the hole is truly greater than the sum of the parts. So that's kind of how we approach our, our planning our strategy and our creative process.

Roy Sharples: 11:58

Fascinating insights, it starts with a dream, full of passion and enthusiasm, then leading Without Frontiers, with persistence, to transcend the ordinary, obvious and routine, by using your imagination to see the unseen by lighting the way into the future, Vicki, what are the critical skills needed to survive and thrive as a creative leader in immersive content innovation?

Vicki Dobbs Beck: 12:24

it's interesting, because earlier this year, I actually did a talk at a conference. And I was reflecting on the top 10 of what really matters in this process, you know, sort of starting with number 10. And coming down to number one. And what was really interesting about it was, first of all, you know, coming up with 1010, what matters, and then trying to order them. What was really interesting about it is that the top five, all had to do with qualities of people, as opposed to qualities of the experience. So whereas you know, number 10, I think was immersion. I think number 10 was actually innovation, and then it was immersion, that's connection. But when you got to five, it was resilience. I think that when you're in, you know, when you're trying to pioneer, you have to be very resilient, you have to be you have to actually embrace change and see opportunity. And not every, not everyone is cut out for that even very creative people. That can be a little unsettling. Then number four was vision. And we were talking a little bit about vision before. I've always been, you know, led and inspired by what I'd call big ideas. So for us, the first was this idea that you could step inside our stories, it could truly step inside worlds and experience them in ways never before possible like VR. Then it was this idea of moving from storytelling, so sort of one way communication to story living, where you're in a world making meaningful choices that drive the narrative forward. And, and then this idea of these mosaics connected stories, so that that for me was about vision. Number three was having a sense of purpose. You know, not just the what, but the why. And, and that can. That can mean many things. It might be about making people smile, it might be creating emotional connection, it might be helping people transcend physical boundaries. It could be social impact, but having a sense of the purpose and the why. Number two was courage. And that's something I've had to learn and embrace over the course. Most of my career because being on the bleeding edge is very scary in many ways, because almost by definition, the world is not yet bought into that. And in some cases, even the company isn't yet willing to invest there. So having courage and trying things, and then number one was actually passion. Because I think that passionate people create the best content. And that's one of the things I really look for when we're interviewing people to join our team is the level of passion that they bring for the opportunities in, in immersive storytelling. So I think those are all qualities that we look for. And those are qualities that I feel as a leader are really important. That I need to embrace as well,

Roy Sharples: 15:53

right! Encompassing disruptive thinking and practice that transcends the status quo, to drive radical improvements in your respective domain discipline and industry. By reaching the other side by leading toward new frontiers of of unknown opportunities, unfulfilled hopes and dreams by doing things your own way and in your own style, by tapping into your innate talent experience and having the confidence to believe in your instincts and to persist to the very end and bringing it to life. Vicki, I should reflect upon your life and career to date, what are your lessons learned, in terms of pitfalls to avoid, and keys to success that you can share with existing, but also aspiring creative leaders in immersive content, innovation,

Vicki Dobbs Beck: 16:41

I think one of the biggest lessons I've learned is show don't tell. And it's so important in immersive, because a lot of people don't, don't necessarily engage with these devices. So you really need to, and they don't really understand potential as a result. So we have done a number of tests, for example, that have helped us show people not just talk about what the potential is, and a specific example is, with Vader immortal, interestingly, at the beginning of that whole development process, we actually approached it as if you were an observer. And, and the story was unfolding around you. But one of the things we realized, as we were getting into it was that we were not fully taking advantage of what VR could bring and what real time entertainment could bring. So we sort of flipped it. And we said, this had to be your story. And it was really your unfolding relationship with Vader that became the journey. But we knew that for that to work, we had to be able to actually establish meaningful connection with characters and in particular Vader. So we did a test, where an actually the test I mean, the the scene is largely in the, in the final product, but it was you're in a cell. And in the distance, there's a door and the door opens and Vader appears in the door and you hear the deep breathing and the heavy footfalls as he walks toward you. And it's any stops right in front of you. And he looks you directly in the eyes, which is something we can do with VR, because you know where the eyes are. So it looks you directly in the eyes. And for the test. David Goyer, who was the executive producer and writer, he, he wrote a piece of dialogue. And what was funny is it was so impactful, with Vader in your face in your space, that no one heard the dialogue, they just literally couldn't absorb it. But it proved to us that we could establish a connection with characters in VR. So that's a really good example of show don't tell you put somebody in that headset, you put them in that test, and you don't have to do anything more. It spoke for itself. I think another thing that I I learned that's been really important is don't assume that everyone thinks like you do. And whereas I was talking early about, I always look to the future. And I try to create a vision for where we're going and then define a strategy accordingly. But one of the things I learned was that engineers for example, they often are very, one tangible kind of near term deadlines and vision. Because their assumption is, is that everything's going to, to evolve and change. And so looking out, you know, into the future five years may or may not be that useful. That was really helpful for me to understand that perspective. It didn't change the way I think. But it did help me understand that others don't necessarily think like I do. And you know, they have those tests, like the Myers Briggs, etc. Every time I take those tests, I end up in like, one to 2% of the population who takes these tests ends up with this particular set of personality traits. So there was this moment in time where a consultant came in, and I was talking about my frustration, like, I don't understand why people can't understand my vision, is it the way I'm expressing it, and he said, it's a Vicki, you have to understand that, like, there could be 100 people in the room, and no one else in the room may think, like you do. So you have to speak to your audience, and, and help them see your vision in a way that resonates for them. That was like one of the greatest lessons have ever had. And then I guess the last one really is, is that people deeply value, authenticity and transparency. And I try very hard to be both authentic and transparent. And I do trust. People and I have always taken the point of view, that I will trust people with information, and vision, etc, until proven otherwise. A lot of people you know, especially in industries where everything's so confidential, it's actually the reverse, which is, it's on the everything's on a need to know basis. And I've just tried to make people a part of the process and a part of the vision and part of how things unfold. And so far that has been, that has definitely been the right thing to do, at least in my professional experience, very

Roy Sharples: 22:28

Well put! Be authentic, live in the moment with conviction and confidence. And always stay true to yourself, Vicki, what's your vision for the future of immersive content, and the role of creativity?

Vicki Dobbs Beck: 22:42

We have this phrase that, you know, creativity leads and technology enables. And that I mean, that that permeates all of Disney. And that's definitely true. Interestingly, though, for us, technology can actually inspire creativity, because the technology allows things to happen that just simply weren't possible before. Like I said, you know, where you can step into a story world, and it is all around you. You can make decisions, you have a sense of agency in those worlds. So there's an incredible amount of potential, I spoke about this idea of connected storytelling. But what I, what I'm really focused on is using immersive technologies to really bring to life this idea of story living. So to do that, you know, requires taking a holistic creative vision to the to the ecosystem of opportunities, and then creating really richly detailed story worlds. Having compelling character so you can establish connection. And then and then once you've done that, once you have this world, and these these compelling characters, then all kinds of stories can unfold. And I think those worlds have to be dynamic. And there have to be ways for you to leave your imprint on the world and perhaps share what you've done to the world with others. What what is happening as a result of all that, and especially, we're seeing this increased desire to participate in story, not just observe or you know, but actually participate in story. There's new kinds of stories that are unfolding. So we have tended to be in what I call curated stories, you know, where it's sort of a master storyteller. And that is the story we're presenting. But you're we're starting to see things like branching narratives, and even emergent narratives where people in that story world are contributing to the unfolding stories around them. So that that is really where we're trying to go is to that, you know, immersive, connected. And I think another key is going to be social world of storytelling.

Roy Sharples: 25:12

Our outputs are the next generations inputs. The future belongs to those who can see it coming. So just how soon is the future? One thing for sure is, the future is unwritten and everything is possible. Do you want to learn more about how to create Without Frontiers by unleashing the power of creativity? Then consider getting CREATIVITY WITHOUT FRONTIERS? How to make the invisible visible by lighting the way into the future. It's available in print, digital and audio on all relevant book platforms. You have been listening to the Unknown Origins podcast, please follow us subscribe rate and review us for more information go to unknown origins.com Thank you for listening