Designing Interactive Worlds Through Immersive Storytelling
About this Video
Sundance Institute's Story Forum: Exploring Art and Innovation is a space to learn, collaborate, and join the conversation; inviting thoughtful dialogue about the artist-first tools and technologies supporting visual storytelling today.
Led by Alton Glass, founder of GRX Immersive Labs, this session illustrates how filmmakers can become world builders using case studies from Glass’ own work. You’ll learn how to translate your unique voice across new tools and platforms and gain a greater understanding of how creators can successfully use virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality with intention to empower others. Drawing from his own career, which spans film XR, AI and immersive education, Glass unpacks how creators can navigate rapid technological change without losing their creative identity.
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Alton Glass
Founder, GRX Immersive Labs
Alton Glass, a creative entrepreneur and immersive storyteller, leads GRX Immersive Labs, a studio leveraging emerging tech to innovate storytelling, accelerate immersive education, and amplify culture. An Oculus Launch Pad and Unreal Engine Virtual Production Fellowship alum, he co-created THE MARCH for TIME magazine, bringing the 1963 March on Washington to life in VR. At Tribeca Film Festival, his POV: POINTS OF VIEW experience explored implicit bias in AI and policing. Through the Arts Beats & Tech XR platform with Verizon, Glass merges creativity, technology, and education to inspire future innovators. His commitment to empowerment and immersive storytelling earned him the Culture Creator Award for Technology and Accenture Breakout Star for Tech by Black Enterprise.
Erica Elson
Moderator | Digital Course & Event Producer, Sundance Collab
Erica Elson is a Producer, Writer and Educator based in the mountains outside Los Angeles. Her short film, WING NIGHT, premiered at Method Fest in Los Angeles. She is the co-author of the book THE AWKWARD HUMAN SURVIVAL GUIDE and co-hosted a podcast by the same name on the 5by5 network for five years. Elson's articles have been published by HuffPost, Lifehacker, and Reader's Digest. Prior to working in education, she worked in television development and writers’ rooms such as VH1’s HINDSIGHT, where she had the chance to write for the spinoff web series PLANET SEBASTIAN.
Elson joined the Sundance Collab team in October 2021 and produces courses, Master Classes, and events in the areas of screenwriting, television writing, directing, producing, and documentary filmmaking. She has moderated conversations with Sofia Coppola, Richard Linklater, Alexander Payne, and Susannah Grant, among others.
Prior to Sundance, Elson was the Thesis Production Supervisor at the American Film Institute for five years. She oversaw several award-winning graduate thesis films, notably the 2021 BAFTA student film winner APART, TOGETHER and the 2023 Sundance Film Festival short WE WERE MEANT TO. While at AFI, Elson developed a passion for sustainable production and created the Green Film School Alliance, which includes forty schools on four continents. She holds a BA in Communication and Film Studies from Concordia University and an MFA in Screenwriting from the American Film Institute.