The 2nd Level focuses on the current and future state of immersive, along with an exploration of what attracted industry luminaries to this field. Part personal story, part state of the union and lot of future philosophizing… you never know how deep the rabbit hole goes until you dive right in…

Host

If there was a bit encapsulating Marcie Jastrow, it would show Hollywood Colorists, Editors, Designers, Animators and the like with their foreheads slammed on their desk in pure confusion and frustration before a bright light appears in the doorway: it is their protector & liberator, Marcie. Except they wouldn’t be in Los Angeles, they’d be strewn throughout the world—and to be sure, Marcie wouldn’t be in a suit having just emerged from her corner office; she’d be sipping tequila off  the balcony of her Mexican timeshare as the backdrop. 

Indeed, Marcie is convinced that rich and interesting IP is collaboration with teams: less about having to be in the room and more about the technology and content— directing traffic that is; involved in blockbuster such as Avatar, Hugo, Life of Pi, Birdman, Jungle Book, and Revenant, she has been a pioneer since the analog-to digital transformation, acting quickly to remain competitive and forgoing unprecedented partnerships with leaders such as Netflix and Amazon, Disney and Fox. Among the first to deliver content to consumers on-demand, Marcie’s touch is appreciated by creatives the world over, to fellow executives and stakeholders making decisions for the future of their projects— and her dedication and dynamism makes it all the more fruitful.

Marcie cemented her thought leadership in the delivery of managed technology and workflows in Post-Production at Paramount Pictures pre-2000. Modern VideoFilm then enjoyed a decade and millions in earnings, as Marcie established their feature film division. Marcie proceeded to earn the Executive Vice President of Sales position at Laser Pacific, which was acquired by Technicolor, promoting her quickly to Senior VP where she directed award-winning teams for the legendary entertainment services company. During Technicolor’s 2016 reinvention, they entrusted Marcie to guide the road map for the unprecedented Technicolor Experience Center, from the actual design & build through launch. Marcie then created their Artist-in-Residency program partnering with Sundance and housing strategic, cutting-edge content, platforms, and technology for virtual & augmented reality, and other immersive media applications. Exploding each of the verticals culminated in new revenue streams to Emmy Awards. 

In 2018, Marcie was honored by the Advanced Imaging Society’s (AIS) with the Distinguished Leadership Award. She is currently on various advisory boards and is the acting CMO at top innovative technical firms & studios. Marcie is also a published author and frequent speaker on how technology is transforming beyond merely AI and XR into something intuitive and interconnected, as seen in top conferences—and soon, her own ventures, Arcadium and 2ndlevel Podcast.

Host

Christina Heller is the CEO of Metastage, an XR studio that brings real people and performances into digital  worlds through volumetic capture and complementary tools. Metastage is the first US partner for the Microsoft Mixed Reality Capture system and located in Los Angeles. She is a recipient of the Advanced Imaging Society’s 2018 Distinguished Leadership in Technology Award, the California Women’s Leadership “Women to Watch” Award. Christina has been an entrepreneur in production since her early 20’s, beginning with radio, moving to TV journalism and then documentaries. After a decade of wearing many production hats in traditional industries, she become increasingly interested in the future of content production. Specifically, how would technology affect the media industry and content creation. 

Christina has also co-founded VR Playhouse and dedicated herself to immersive content production since 2014. “We are moving into more original content and original content partnerships.” Today she is a full time CEO, and host of 2nd Level Podcast. 

Producer

Mike Matzdoff is a dedicated father of two humans, film editor, writer and post-production trailblazer. In a fantasy world, he’d be voice acting and playing cribbage with his kids 24/7. In the real world, he has edited film and television, authored a book, written a few screenplays and can make a mean cheesecake.