Jan 2, 2019 · 38m · a16z
a16z Podcast | Building Worlds with VR, Art, and Narrative
Robert Stromberg · 21m spoken Sonal Chokshi · 6m spoken Kyle Russell · 4m spoken Hanne Tidnam · 2m spoken
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this episode of the a16z podcast, Oscar-winning visual designer and director Robert Stromberg discusses his career trajectory from visual effects and production design on Avatar and Maleficent to pioneering virtual reality storytelling at The Virtual Reality Company. He explores the technical, artistic, and business challenges of creating immersive VR narrative experiences and building sustainable ecosystems for emerging media.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. The host holds 18.6% of the talking time here. How this is scored →
The host as informed peer 3.6 Guest teaching 3.9 Guest disagreement 1.2 The host pushing back 1.2
speaking balance: gold is the host, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 22:57 Stromberg dismisses Hanne's seasickness analogy
Stromberg directly rejects Hanne's comparison between VR motion and rowboat seasickness, explaining that rowboats involve changing horizons while VR nausea stems from different motion mechanics.
Hardest push from the host ▶ 13:09 Sonal challenges tech-driven storytelling using George LucasSonal pushes back on potential VR story pitfalls by invoking George Lucas's prequel Star Wars films as a prime example of technology unmooring creative narrative.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 8:43 Stromberg corrects Kyle's misunderstanding of Avatar's virtual productionKyle assumes Avatar was filmed on traditional green screens with real-time composite displays, prompting Stromberg to correct him by detailing the full motion-capture warehouse setup used instead.
The host holds their own ▶ 16:02 Kyle demonstrates expertise on VR positional tracking and agencyKyle showcases advanced domain knowledge by explaining how 1:1 positional and hand tracking on the Vive transforms player agency compared to traditional cinematic cuts.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The host as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The host pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Designing Pandora for James Cameron's Avatar | 1 | 5 | 1 | 0 | The hosts ask basic fan-style questions while Robert Stromberg details his career transition from visual effects to production design on James Cameron's Avatar. Stromberg educates the hosts on how world-building for Pandora actually originated from a single Photoshop artwork created overnight. | |
| Directing Maleficent and the Nature of Artistic Vision | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Stromberg explains his philosophical view of what defines an artist based on observation and curiosity. Sonal adds to the conversation by referencing John Maeda's framework regarding the distinction between design and art. | |
| Virtual Cameras and Production Techniques on Avatar | 3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | Kyle Russell asks a detailed technical question about Avatar's camera setup assuming green screen sets, but Stromberg corrects his premise by explaining it was predominantly full motion capture in a Playa del Rey warehouse. Stromberg also clarifies the lower fidelity pre-vis state he called the crayon version. | |
| Experiencing Oculus and Founding The Virtual Reality Company | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | Sonal challenges the risk of technology unmooring narrative, citing George Lucas and recent Star Wars films as negative examples. Stromberg explains how technology and creative ideas continually catch up with one another, drawing on his history across diverse films. | |
| Technical Innovations in The Martian VR Experience | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Kyle Russell showcases substantial technical knowledge regarding positional tracking, hand tracking, and inverse kinematics in The Martian VR experience. Stromberg explains how his studio engineered textured arms and custom editing techniques like box cutters to drive narrative momentum. | |
| Rules of VR Storytelling and Preventing Motion Sickness | 4 | 4 | 2 | 2 | Stromberg lays out rules for VR motion sickness, emphasizing horizon stability and constant camera movement. When Hanne compares VR motion sickness to seasickness on a rowboat, Stromberg gently refutes her analogy by explaining the difference between smooth rail movement and changing horizons. | |
| Historical Storytelling Mediums and the VR Ecosystem | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Hanne brings literary and historical context regarding medium evolution such as Eisenstein's point of view and novel chapters. Stromberg reflects on the current parlor trick stage of VR content and the necessity of unifying Hollywood storytellers with technical pioneers. | |
| Business Models, Distribution, and Market Adoption | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Kyle demonstrates deep market understanding of mobile rotational VR versus PC-tethered 6DOF setups and distribution channels. Stromberg outlines VRC's platform-agnostic content strategy while discussing potential arcade and subscription models. | |
| Future VR Projects, Branching Narratives, and Intermissions | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | Stromberg reveals new projects including branching VR narratives with Steven Spielberg and bringing back intermissions for long-form VR content. The hosts join in a collaborative discussion comparing intermissions across theater, Bollywood, and modern binge culture. |
Statements from this episode (18)
Stromberg designed Avatar's organic world while Rick Carter designed military elements
“Later on a guy by the name of Rick Carter came on who was, we co-production design. He did the human elements, the military base, and I did the organic world.”
Stromberg: Artists solve problems by observing details others ignore
“What I came to was that I believe that creative types or artist types are better observers of the world or more curious somehow about creativity. The world itself. And what happens is by paying attention to all those small little details that nobody else cares…”
Stromberg: Avatar was mostly filmed via motion capture in Playa del Rey
“So actually, the entire movie, there was a section of the movie that was shot in New Zealand, which were actual sets and actual actors, but the majority of the film was actually all motion capture, which means that all the actors had a motion capture suit on, …”
Stromberg: Avatar production allowed real-time visualization of digital characters
“And we were seeing back real time the actors as their avatar character.”
Stromberg: VR visual fidelity will reach photorealistic levels of immersion
“So I think that you know, the fidelity will get better. The viewing systems will get better. And one day you'll be able to go into the worlds of Pandora, wherever you want to go, but in a very, very real way.”
Stromberg: VR immersion requires realistic arm and body tracking, not floating hands
“One of the biggest hurdles of even that, that the Martian was developing the arms, you know, which are completely textured. So you could Put your arm right up to your, close to your face and see the same controls that Matt Damon had in the movie. And you're in…”
Ridley Scott gave VRC unreleased footage to build The Martian VR
“I was talking to Ridley. Along the way. And he was kind enough to let us work while he was in editorial still on making the actual film, but he allowed us to take their footage and experiment with it.”
Stromberg: Keeping the horizon level is key to preventing VR motion sickness
“One of the things I figured out is, you know, keeping the horizon correct at all times. Because our equilibrium is so delicate. That that if you're off a little bit, you feel it, you know.”
Stromberg: Virtual reality content will eventually adopt motion rating systems
“You know, I think that, that eventually we'll probably see some sort of motion rating system.”
Russell: VR motion sickness is caused by software design, not hardware
“Something I think isn't communicated well enough today is the fact that nausea typically, it's not the hardware itself. Oh, if you use this gadget, you're going to get sick from VR. It's experiences built in a certain way, using acceleration a certain way, mov…”
Stromberg: Virtual reality remains in a 'parlor trick' stage
“And in VR, you know, I hate to say this, but I feel like we're at this sort of parlor trick stage of things right now.”
Russell: Mobile VR device sales outpace high-end PC headsets 5x
“The thing is, because it's so much cheaper, it's something like five X more devices have been sold than on the high end things attached to a PC.”
Stromberg: VR distribution will shift from download stores to subscription models
“Initially where you know when you have sites like Steam and you know, Oculus site and all these will be the first places that you're able to sort of download, but I can see very clearly a time when you will have this sort of Netflix like library to choose from…”
Stromberg: Dedicated 30-to-40 seat VR motion-seat theaters will emerge
“There's lots of talk of that, and we're talking to people about that, and I think you can very realistically see you know, 30, 40 seat theaters pop up with seats that, motion-based seats that are synchronized to the experience itself.”
Stromberg: VRC completed an 18-minute VR project with Steven Spielberg
“We just completed an 18 minute piece with Steven Spielberg who, you know.”