Happy Weekend, Digital LA peeps!
NEWS

Silicon Beach Fest 2017  first round of panels will be announced Monday! Thanks for your submissions. Silicon Beach Fest "Best of 2017" year-end edition will be Nov 28 - Dec 2, with Friday December 1 the main day for panels at CTRL Collective Playa Vista. 

Apply to SXSW Accelerator for FREE by Nov 10! SXSW Accelerator is looking for startups in VR/AR, sports tech, transportation and cybersecurity to submit to pitch at SXSW Austin in March 2018. Accepted startups get 2 free tickets to SXSW, exposure to investors and press at SXSW (although no funding via the program). If you are a startup in these four fields, launched between March 2016 and June 2018, and have a revenue model and pitch deck ready to go, email info@digitalla.net with SXSW as subject and a short description with your revenue model to get a free code to apply by Nov 10, waiving the $220 application fee. Last year, Techstars Health Accelerator alum Deep 6 Analytics from LA won a SXSW Accelerator award (photo right).

Digital  LA - Real Estate and Architecture panel. S tartups are innovating with tools to help buyers, sellers, and organizations to increase efficiency, said speakers at our at our Digital LA - Real Estate and Architecture panel at CTRL Collective downtown LA. There are several categories of real estate and architecture digital including lead generation, lead nurturing, MLS integration, CRM, dynamic listing email marketing, virtual assistants, and VR 360 and pre-vis, said speakers. Speakers included: Howard Tagar, Ylopo, CEO; Peter Khoury, Cross Street; Ignacio Rodriguez, founder of AVR which does VR pre-vis for architecture; Michael Lucarelli CEO of RentSpree and Jaine Fitzgerald of Axis Images. See  article and  video highlights.

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8 Weekend Ideas

AFM Film Market and Conference brings together 8000 attendees, 2000 film projects representing $1B in film sales to Santa Monica thru Nov 8. 

BlizzCon esports convention takes over the Anaheim Convention Center with opening keynote, panels and championships for top Blizzard games Starcraft, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, Overwatch, WoW, and more. Muse plays the closing ceremony on Sat nite. Watch the Twitch livestream!

Summit conference goes from cruise boat to downtown LA with panels, workshops, and events at CTRL Collective, hotels, and other downtown locations. Speakers include Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, Shonda Rhimes (Greys Anatomy, Scandal), and dozens more. Apply to attend only. Fri-Sun.

Eataly finally opens at the Westfield Century City today, with a Grand Opening party tonight where you can get a free mozzarella cheese ball. Lots of Italian food Instagram opps for you!

MOVIES: Thor Ragnarok is hilarious - we saw it at the opening event at the El Capitan last night. Director Taika Waitii lets Chris Hemsworth show off his humorous side (and spoiler Hulk's back side). Cate Blanchett's Hela is formidable with deathly spikes. Tessa Thompson's strong Valkyrie is a fallen elite warrior turned drunken scrap-hauler who holds her own against Thor and Loki. Congrats VFX teams at Framestore, Method Studios, Digital Domain, Luma Pictures and more for making it look amazing, from the sets to Hulk, and Thor's lightning VFX. Chris Hemsworth's arms aren't VFX, but are special effect all their own thruout the movie. 

Both El Capitan and the Chinese Theatre gave out free posters at Thursday night advance screenings. El Cap also gave out Hulk mugs and a 3D poster.

Also: A Bad Mom's Christmas.
 
SHOWS
- OK Go, Sat @ Royce Hall UCLA
- Willy Wonka and Chocolate Factory, Sat @ Hollywood Bowl
- Berlin, Sat @ Saban Beverly Hills
- Rhett and Link, Sun @ Wiltern 

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OUR 2 EVENTS NEXT WEEK

Wednesday, Nov 8, 7p
CTRL Collective Playa Vista



Bitcoin has skyrocketed from $300 at our first Bitcoin panel to >$7000 today. That's ROI! Join us for our Bitcoin, Blockchain, Cryptocurrency panel where we will discuss everything you need to know about Cryptocurrency trends with experts in LA who are actualy doing it. We will discuss:
- Cryptocurrency: Why the rise in Bitcoin to record high levels? What are the other cryptocurrenices?
- How do you buy and sell Bitcoin and other cryptocurrenties? How do you track performance via apps, etc.
- Blockchain applications for entertainment, music and other industries are expanding. How can blockchain help improve security and efficiency?
- What are ICOs? How do they increse value? Who should launch an ICO? How to launch and fund?


SCHEDULED SPEAKERS
- Steve Beauregard, Bloq, Partner and Chief Revenue Officer. Steve sets strategy for pioneering new blockchain markets and opportunities for enterprises and new economy token ecosystems. @bloqinc

-  Mark Jeffrey, Guardian Circle, CEO and Founder. Mark published two early cryptocurrency books: BITCOIN EXPLAINED SIMPLY (2013) and THE CASE FOR BITCOIN (2015).  He is currently producing the Guardium token sale (global decentralized emergency response) which just won the d10e: Gibraltar ICO Pitch Contest. @markjeffrey @guardiancircle

-  Jason Robert, HelloSugoi, CEO and Co-Founder. HelloSugoi is an event ticketing platform built on the Ethereum blockchain. @hellosugoi


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Tuesday Nov 7, 7p
CTRL Collective Playa Vista


SCHEDULED SPEAKERS

- Nastassia Johnson, LetMeEatCake.com, Founder. LetMeEatCake is a LA-based site dedicated to all things sweet from recipes to reviews. Named Thrillist Top 15 LA Instagram Accounts To Follow. @LetMeEatCake

-  Nick Quintero, Melissa's Product, Digital Marketing Strategist. Nick manages marketing and social media at Melissa's Produce, including hosting influencers at events and more. 

- Babette Pepaj, BakeSpace, Founder/ CEO. Babette founded the TECHmunch food blogger conference and app Cookbook Cafe app @BakeSpace

-  Yummi App lets you leave a digital footprint of your food adventures and reviews, to share with others

-  Scott Tamura, Foodies.ai, Founder. Foodies.ai uses AI technology to hel you find your favorite dishes nearby, wherever, whenever. 

- Jayme Davidson, LA Eater. Co-Founder. LA Eater reviews healthy restaurants with meals under $20. LA Eater has recently added video.

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LA Tech News 

Variety's Inclusion Conference: Tech can help increase diversity in several ways, as discussed at the Variety Inclusion: Diversity in Hollywood Summit held Nov 1 at the Montage Beverly Hills. Jordan Peele, Geena Davis, Sheila E, John Singleton, Hollywood studio executives and more described how to increase diversity and inclusion in Hollywood at several panels. Tech can help in several ways: Social Media gives voices to diverse audiences to provide feedback on movie and TV shows. YouTube, Facebook, and other content creator platforms let diverse creators distribute their content and grow their audiences. Geena Davis Institute is working on a tech tool that will be able to automatically calculate script gender stats, like percent of lines spoken by female characters. Warner Bros. conducts STEM STEAM workshops with kids to use AR, VR, and create games and apps so they can see how technology is used in entertainment. Plus, panels discussed how to end harassment in Hollywood, and increase diversity and inclusion. See  article.
Clio Awards recognized movie, TV, and game advertising and marketing campaigns. Digital winners include: Mr. Robot VR Experience, LaLa Land Integrated Campaign, Lego Batman Home Video Social Campaign, Aliens In Utero VR, and more. 
The Bouqs flower company celebrates its fifth year by moving into new offices this month. The Silicon Beach startup has raised $43M and grown to 60 employees. The Bouqs delivers flowers directly from growers in South America. The Bouqs CEO John Tabis spoke on our Silicon Beach Fest - Shark Tank Alumni panel last year (photo right), and pitched at Silicon Beach Fest back in 2013. 
Overwatch League announced Intel and HP signed multiyear sponsorship for the esports Overwatch game by Blizzard. 
TeleSign acquired by BICS in deal value that rises to $335M. TeleSign, based in Marina del Rey, provides two-factor authentication and other security services. TeleSign has been a sponsor of Silicon Beach Fest.
Techstars LA Demo Day. Techstars LA accelerator showcased its first class of 10 startups at its demo day at the El Rey Theatre.  Techstars invests $120,000 in each startup, and provides access to its international network of advisors and mentors for the three-month program. Meet the 10 Techstars LA startups!  Meet the rest in our  article.

Disney Accelerator demo day featured 11 companies of its fourth class at the Disney lot in Burbank. Disney CEO Bob Iger introduced the event. Several companies announced partnerships with Disney departments from film to ABC to theme parks.  Article.  Meet the 11 companies
Meet the rest of the startups in our article . 

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JOBS
Get or post a job on our job board  http://digitalla.net/jobs

-  NEW!  Dermalogica: Global Digital Manager: Manage development and adoption of web-based beauty tools 

-  NEW!  Dermalogica: CRM Manager. Run customer relationship and retention program including email, subscription, loyalty 

-  AdvertiseMent is looking for a  Digital Marketing Manger in SaMo

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CONFERENCES and EVENTS

Innovate LA.  InnovateLA celebrates LA innovation Nov 2-19. InnovateLA is a two week, countywide celebration of the breadth of innovation and creativity within our region. From cleantech to gaming, aerospace to digital media and beyond, Los Angeles is a leading global center for innovation and entrepreneurship and we're showcasing and celebrating that with a series of events, lectures and talks all over LA. Last year had more than 160 events.
Join us to make this year an even bigger celebration. Add your event to the calendar. http://innovate.la


HET Festival, 11/10. Talk US - China entertaiment tech at the Hollywood Entertainment Technology Festival (HETF) on Nov 10 at W Hollywood via panel discussions and expert speakers exploring trends in entertainment technology, cross-border opportunities, and investments within the Sino-US landscape. This year's theme, Innovating in a Global Landscape, looks to inspire collaborations and market growth by serving as a platform for visionaries, content creators, entrepreneurs, and investors. Get 20% off of the "General Admission - Session Only" with code "DigitalLa" at checkout.  Hetfest.com

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OUR RECENT EVENTS

VR Haunted Carnival: We had a blast at the CTRL Collective second annual VR Haunted Carnival with VR Scout, VR DJ, open bar, carnival games, and even a ferris wheel! More than 20 VR demos included Two Bit Circus "The Ledge", "Orc Hunter", Mindshow's VR animator, and more. See our FB pics.

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What VCs Want.  Three VCs gave awesome advice for startups at our Digital LA - What VCs Want panel at the new Capital One Cafe in Santa Monica. Thanks speakers including  Dustin Rosen of Wonder Ventures, Erin Shipley of The Helm Fund for women, and Vaughn Blake of Telescopic Ventures and Autochrome blockchain. They are new VC funds in the growing Silicon Beach - LA Tech scene. Speaker advice included : Tell your story: why are you the one to do this startup? Why are you interested? Don't just list your resume/bio. Your pitch deck should be no more 10-15 pages. VCs look for startups from other VCs and friends of founders they work with. Watch the video  for their tips!

Fashion Influencers Panel  We celebrated Fashion Week LA with our Digital LA - Fashion Influencers panel on Wed night. Speakers Isamar Batista of ShoeDazzle, Ivka Adam CEO of Iconery, Javon Frazier of Studio71 and Paul Menes of Adli Law Group shared tips on how fashion brands can work with influencers - and how influencers can build their own fashion brands. Speakers shared tips on how to find influencers, how micro influencers can give you more engagement at less cost, how to effectively roll out campaigns and how to measure engagement, sales, and ROI. Iconery and Studio71 discussed how they are working with influencers to launch their own custom jewelry pieces or T-shirts, caps and other apparel. See our  article  and  video  highlights.
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Development to Distribution panel.  Write stories that move you, in your voice, and spark interest when you quick-pitch to others, said writers and creators with shows on Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and TV at our Development to Distribution panel at CTRL Collective Playa Vista. Speakers Ari Berkowitz (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia), Brett Konner (Deadbeat on Hulu), Kate Mines (Dropping the Soap on Amazon) and Ruby Rae Spiegel (The OA on Netflix) shared advice on writing to researching distribution platforms for your content. Our article.
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Meet the Streamys Winners panel featured winners Mari Takahashi of Smosh Games (Gaming), Paul Ferry of Mr. Student Body President (Ensemble, Directing) and Brandon Rogers of Magic Funhouse (Costume Design). Speakers shared stories how they create content, cast their projects, engage fans, and use social media. Article soon!


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Startup founders, CEOs, and digital content creators gave advice on how to start and grow your entertainment startup or company at our Digital LA - Digital Women in Entertainment panel. The panel features Silicon Beach startups and entertainment companies that work with Hollywood Studios, filmmakers and brands to create digital and VR content.  See video  with their advice!
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Our Digital LA - Pool Party: We had a blast at our Labor Day Summer Pool party at a Hollywood Hills mansion infinity pool. Attendees included Hollywood studio execs, music biz execs and composers, filmmakers, video game writers, startup CEOs, cryptocurrency experts, and more. Thanks Maggie and Ted for hosting! See  pics


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Our VR Games panel: 12 Things You Need to Know

VR Games are uniquely different from both games and VR experiences, said expert speakers at our first Digital LA - VR Games panel at CTRL Collective Playa Vista on Monday. Our pre-PAX panel is the first in the LA area to focus on VR and Games. Tips: Brainstorm gameplay that fits your game and VR movement, said Daniel Zeligman, Survios lead engineer on category-establishing Raw Data robot shooter VR game. Emmy-winning Secret Location is switching into games owning its own IP, with today's launch of the Blasters of the Universe sci-fi shooter game, said Eric Shamlin of Secret Location. Franchise game titles like Final Fantasy, Tomb Raider, and Hitman are experimenting with VR mini-games (not full game), said Adam Sullivan of Square Enix. Music is important to help your players achieve the right actions and feelings in your VR game, said Sally of Ossic, 3D sound in San Diego. Composer must play the game, said award-winning composer Penka Kouneva, who played the Mummy VR game before composing the first note You can play Mummy VR now at Star VR's first VR arcade at Hollywood and Highland, by the Hot Topic. Sound is your best ROI, said Viktor Phoenix, audio expert with Technicolor.  See our 12 Things You Need to Know about VR Games article, our video with speakers trends for VR games, and tag yourself / friends in the FB photo album.
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SteelHouse Summer Cocktails. Digital LA and SteelHouse teamed up for a relaxing Summer Sunset Cocktails at 41 Ocean in Santa Monica last Thurs. Our guest list of attendees included: SteelHouse, The Trade Desk, GumGum, Jukin Media, Taboola, Retention Science, FastPay, Media Temple, eHarmony, Beachbody, Me Undies, Iconery, Sugarfina, Thrillist, and more. The event celebrated SteelHouse's Innovation Hub, which gives brands and agencies access to new video, mobile, and social ad formats and digital distribution channels. SteelHouse Innovation Hub partners include Facebook, Instagram, The Trade Desk, Factual, GumGum, Taboola, and TripleLift. The cocktails kicks off a series of adtech panels that SteelHouse is planning for the fall. See our  articleand FB photo  album. 

6 Secrets to Successful Subscription Services

Successful Subscription box services go beyond selling boxes, to creating community, content marketing, branded boxes, partnering with influences, and more said CEO founders and executives from Loot Crate, FabFitFun, SnackNation, and Watch Gang at our Digital LA - Subscription Services panel held at CTRL Collective Playa Vista on Monday. Speakers said LA is a home for subscription services because LA understands connecting e-commerce and fulfillment with fan passions, influencers, content creation, storytelling, and brands. See our  article with 6 Secrets to Successful Box Services. 
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Esports: LA is epicenter for publishers, teams, events

Esports athletes can make $50K - $300K a year, with more including brand deals, and winning championship prize money, like the $24M at the recent Doda 2 tournament, said esports experts at our first Digital LA - Esports panel at CTRL Collective in Playa Vista. Speaker included Noah Whinston, CEO of The Immortals, a top LA-based team, Brian Kim of Damage agency which helps traditional sports companies and brands work with esports athletes, and Darren Yan of Everyday Influencers which helps place Twitch streamers, YouTubers and esports players in games and mainstream publications like Rolling Stone. Esports is rapidly growing, with increased prize money, sponsorship dollars and attendees at tournaments. Panel highlights, photos, and video of top esports trends in our  article.
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Hollywood Movie Marketing: VR, AR, VFX, Superheroes

At our post-Comic-Con pre-SIGGRAPH panel on Wed, speakers from Fandango, VNTANA, 8i and Framestore,  discussed how Hollywood studios are increasingly partnering with digital companies to provide never-been-done-before content, AR, VR and VFX for superhero movies and other projects.  AR company VNTANA has even developed "Hologram Best Practices"! Yes what a time to be alive! See how these companies create AR holograms, VR, VFX, and other  digital  campaigns to promote superhero and other movies. Article. Video.
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Women VR CTO s discussed how they manage the ever-changing world of VR technology software and hardware, and more at our Digital LA - Women in VR: CTO panel at CTRL Collective Playa Vista. The panel is the first Women in VR: CTO panel ever held in LA and nationwide, featuring only women CTOs of VR companies. Speakers included:  Linda Gedemer of Source Sound VR, and Adriana Vecchioli of VRTIGINOUS, moderated by Espree Devora of Women In Tech podcast.  Gedemer and Vecchioli described their paths from their schooling to tech to VR. They also described issues VR CTOs face with ever changing camera hardware, stitching and producing software, increasing data needs and scalability.  They also shared advice for women developers to get into tech and VR. See our  article  including video.
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Our Digital LA - Anime PokeParty .  We  celebrated the one-year anniversary of Pokemon Go with our Anime PokeParty during Anime Expo.  We celebrated with Pokemon Go Club LA, Cuddli dating app, and Bionic Buzz at CTRL Collective DTLA. Attendees chose red, yellow or blue trainer candy, dressed up, played Jenga, and compared notes on Anime Expo. Pokemon Go  remains one of the most downloaded game apps ever, with hordes of Pokemon trainers packing parks and piers around the world. The app made AR mainstream, and has helped AR companies raise funding, because people are familiar with AR now. Companies are using AR in movie marketing, like the Spider-Man Homecoming app, where you can use the AR Suit Explorer to make Spider-Man appear next to you and your friends. 
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Content Creators experts talk Post-VidCon wrap-up. Experts from digital studios, agencies, and creators spoke about trends in content, creators, brands, social and m onetization at our post-VidCon panel discussion  at CTRL Collective Downtown LA. Speakers from Studio71, DEFY Media, Live.me, Portal A, and more discussed trends both at VidCon, and in the broader creator / influencer space. Top trends: More brands "get it" now on how to work with creators authentically and within the creators own voice, rather than advertisers asking for a bunch of product shots and mentions. C reators are branching into other revenue streams beyond YouTube including merchandising, Patreon, touring, paid appearances and more.  See our  article  and  pics.
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AR Panel: Augmented reality experts discussed AR applications, games, access and revenue models after Pokemon Go at our Digital LA - AR panel at IgnitedSpaces in Hollywood last night. Ben Conway of VNTANA discussed creating branded HOLLA-gram kiosks at events that fans can interact with to make videos sharable on social media. VNTANA has created hollo-grams with Marvel Disney to wear Doctor Strange's cape, and with Spongebob Squarepants to throw him a football at the Super Bowl. Drew Minock described how DAQRI's AR helmets help construction workers learn maintenance and repairs. Josephine Munis of Candy Labs AR creates location based AR games using GPS, or beacons when there's no wifi/service. She said that for her Texas Rope 'Em location based AR card game, she asked her engineer to create three card stops near our panel so people could play. Philippe Lewicki of AfterNow described AR as part of a mixed reality continuum, exemplified by his Microsoft Hololens egg hunt demoed at VRLA Expo. Allyson Cunha of Image Metrics described creating face-filter digital makeover apps, working with L'Oreal and other cosmetics brands. See our summary  article and what speakers are most excited about in the future of AR in this  FB video.
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- Digital LA - VR Music panel featured e xperts from Live Nation, the composer of Survios Raw Data VR game, and Silicon Beach startups.  Speakers shared insights on four areas of VR and music: spatial sound in VR, composing music in VR, music VR startups, and bands creating 360 music videos or livestreaming their concerts in VR. We also talked about the future of VR Music, including VR teleporting to multiple VR cameras at a concert, festival, or worldwide festival; composing music in VR, and social music VR attending concerts with friends in VR. Summary in our 10 Keys to Music VR article.
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Our Digital LA - EdTech panel featured Silicon Beach startups discussing tech sites and apps, and tech and entrepreneurship tools at schools and universities. Panelists described AI, AR, and VR applications for EdTech. Thanks speakers from CreatorUp, Flocabulary, Cue Career, GoGuardian, and LMU Leeds student group. See our  article and video including Flocabulary's Ike Ramos' history/geology  rap that got panelists standing up and audience clapping along (can we do music raps at all our panels?) in the last five minutes of this  video . 
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HR Tech Panel.   We hosted LA's first panel on HR Tech with speakers from Hired, ZipRecruiter, Comparably, Purple Squirrel and TriNet on how to create and develop tools, platforms, and apps for  recurring  and comparing salaries, and recruiting, as well as HR operations. 
We also discussed how to get a job and find talent in Silicon Beach. Thanks to Hired for sponsoring, and CTRL Collective for hosting.  Article.
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Silicon Beach Meets Silicon Valley.  We discussed how tech ecosystems in LA, SF and San Diego can increase communication at our panel at WeWork Golden Gate in San Francisco. Speakers included Cam Kashani of CoAccel, Matt Kosko of Service, Tim Ryan of Lab Fellows and Desirae of Rewardopoly discussed what they do, and increased communication of tech ecosystems in LA, San Francisco, and San Diego. Many LA and SD startups go to SF for investors or accelerator programs. Article

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