It is important for entertainment executives to understand this technology and its potential.
Watch on Deadline
DEADLINE:Can you briefly explain your role as chief metaverse officer?
JOANNA POPPER:I see the metaverse as the future state, or the next evolution of the internet.
This role helps our company and our clients get ready to maximize these opportunities.
DEADLINE:Why should your clients be open to the opportunities in the metaverse?
Ill give a couple of examples.
Anthony Hopkins is an artist.
Its his hobby, the way that he relaxes.
So he spent about nine months working with a company called Orange Comet to create beautiful NFTs.
He spent months and months looking into the field, understanding it, and connecting with other big collectors.
He dropped the NFTs after engaging with the community and building with Orange Comet for months.
There was so much demand that the platform that he dropped them on, OpenSea, shut down.
And then when it came back up, he sold them out in seven minutes.
The NFTs depicted all of the iconic characters that he played throughout history.
It was deeply connected to the career that we know him for.
DEADLINE:So are CAA clients coming to you and saying, can I play in this space?
Or are you still having to educate them about the opportunities?
POPPER:Id say its a mixture.
There are clients on the forefront who have been the first movers in this space.
And then there are others for whom theyll let others go first and jump in when theyre ready.
Im gonna give another example.
The Chainsmokers worked with a company called Gamefam to create a Roblox world.
They created both a concert that you could attend as well as a virtual world that would be evergreen.
you might come in and be there whenever you wanted.
you’re free to make your own concert or do your own backstage tour.
It became the number one-rated brand music world.
Within the first month or so, 24 million people came in there.
It would take a year for The Chainsmokers to do arena tours to reach that many people.
One of the things this provides is that connection to fans and community.
It allows people who may or may not have access to a non-virtual concert to have deeper access.
DEADLINE:You will be speaking about AI in Hollywood at this weeks CES conference.
Whats the message you hope to convey?
DEADLINE:What is Deep Voodoo, and can you talk about CAAs investment in it?
POPPER:Deep Voodoo is quickly establishing itself as a leading synthetic media technology platform.
The company was formed by Matt and Trey because they needed this technology in their own content creation pipeline.
DEADLINE:Does Deep Voodoo create generative AI?
So yes, they create generative AI.
That system takes your photos and then the AI transforms them into cool-looking avatars of you.
Those are two examples where AI hit consumer mainstream.
Let me give you an example.
You could have different actors play that character over time.
You could use VFX.
you could use this technology to make that happen through AI, machine learning and face replacement.
DEADLINE:How many companies like Deep Voodoo are out there?
Do you anticipate more like it to launch soon?
POPPER:These are all important concerns.
DEADLINE:Is there anything about this evolving technology that actors should fear?
This field is very new, its very early, and its moving very, very fast.
The role of the actor and performance is still very important with use of this technology.
We see it as a way to augment an actors work.
In some cases, it can give the actor back some time.
For us, working with those companies is important.
DEADLINE:Talk about CAAs work with Soul Machines.
What does it do?
POPPER:Soul Machines is a client and were helping them build their entertainment division.
That is our main goal as the industry continues to grow and migrate.
Theres a lot more to come.
