Boz to the Future Episode 23: The Future According to James Cameron

Welcome back for another episode of Boz To The Future, a podcast from Reality Labs. In today’s episode, our host, Meta CTO and Head of Reality Labs Andrew “Boz” Bosworth, is joined by legendary film-maker, explorer, and Lightstorm Vision Founder James Cameron to discuss how technology is revolutionizing the entertainment industry as platforms like Meta Quest spawn new opportunities for creators.

With a background spanning the heights of blockbuster entertainment and the depths of oceanic exploration, Cameron is a true visionary in his field and has long been at the forefront of merging technological breakthroughs with action-packed and emotionally resonant storytelling. Not only did he co-develop the digital 3D Fusion Camera System, he’s also contributed to both remote vehicle and underwater filming technologies. While many will recognize him as the creative powerhouse behind The Terminator and Avatar franchises, Titanic, Aliens, True Lies, and more, they may not realize that he also sits on the Board of Directors of Stability AI—a start-up with a bold vision to transform visual media. He also recently inked a partnership deal between Lightstorm Vision and Meta’s Reality Labs to scale the creation of world-class 3D entertainment experiences on Quest—Lightstorm Vision’s exclusive MR hardware platform.

From “proscenium 3D” to immersive experiences, Cameron dives into the latest trends and innovations that are changing the face of film as we know it—and why storytellers and creatives should take note. He also says that watching movies on Quest is a game-changer, offering a high-quality experience that’s unlike anything else out there (we’re looking at you, IMAX).

Because MR headsets provide discrete images for the left and right eyes, Cameron explains, many of the problems associated with stereoscopic display in movie theaters go away. You don’t have to worry about a single image getting decoded via a special pair of glasses, and brightness, color, and dynamic range are no longer troublesome issues outside of the filmmaker’s control.

“A door opened for me,” Cameron says of the first time he tried an MR headset. “The heavens parted, light shone down, there was an angel choir singing. It’s like, ‘Ah, this is how people can see the movie the way I created it to be seen.’”

The two also discuss the use of generative AI in filmmaking. Of his involvement with Stability AI, Cameron says his goal was to understand this burgeoning space and learn more about the development cycle with the hope of integrating it into a visual effects workflow to help empower CG artists.

“Your cadence is faster and your throughput cycles faster, and artists get to move on to do other cool things, right?” Cameron explains. “That’s my sort of vision.”

Speaking of bold visions, you can catch this episode of Boz to the Future in stereoscopic 3D-180 via Meta Quest TV. And as always, you can tune in to Boz to the Future on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and wherever you listen to podcasts.

You can follow Cameron on Threads and Instagram. You can follow Bosworth on Instagram, Twitter/X, and Threads @boztank.