Vivian Ewalefo, Keisha Senter & Ashley Briley | The 2022 MAKERS Conference

Vivian Ewalefo, Keisha Senter & Ashley Briley at the 2022 MAKERS Conference.

Video Transcript

- Please welcome Vivian Ewalefo, Keisha Senter, and Ashley Briley.

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KEISHA SENTER: Hey, everyone. Good morning, and welcome to the first-ever discussion about the metaverse among the MAKERS community. We give a quick shout. Raise of hands really quick for anyone in the room that who's already playing in this space. OK, I see you. Show of hands for anyone who's used AR, VR. Amazing. And show of hands for anyone who actually owns the devices. OK. All right. I love it.

So this is a big deal, you guys. We're so grateful for the opportunity to explore the next generation of technology and connection among this aspirational community of women. I'm Vivian Ewalefo. I work in culture and equity communications for Meta. I'm a people-first storytelling strategist. And over the past year, I've been hyper-focused on breaking down barriers to entry for us in the world of immersive tech as the industry builds towards the metaverse. And when I say us, I mean, women. I mean Black and Brown people. I mean all of the communities that have been historically excluded from the conversation from the onset.

And over the past couple of days, we've spent a lot of time talking about and hearing about from leaders, about equity and fairness. We've learned about the emerging leaders and businesses who are making strides to unwinding generations of systemic exclusion and the impacts that that's had across society. So now, the internet was built 50 years ago, and I'm not going to try to do the math. But there weren't many of us-- people who look like us-- who had a seat at that table in forming the strategy and the considerations of how that was being built.

And so now that we approach the beginning of the metaverse, we all have an opportunity to stake claim in building it. And we're here today to unpack what that means for this group. So with that, it's my pleasure to introduce Keisha Senter, VP of Culture and Impact at Monkeypaw--

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--and Ashley Briley, VR creator and founder of VR In Review. Welcome.

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So Ashley, please break it down for us. What does it mean to be a creator in VR? We'd love to know.

ASHLEY BRILEY: Absolutely. So I'll start by saying that traditionally, you think VR creator, you're thinking someone who has, like, gone to school and/or as a developer, spends their days working in front of a computer designing these virtual spaces. I would say that the definition of a VR creator has definitely expanded to include people who come from a non-traditional background who are going into that space and creating these experiences. And that includes me. I don't have a background in development. So I am a VR creator because now I have access to tools that are simplified enough for me to be a VR creator.

VIVIAN EWALEFO: Awesome. So, did you start your career in this space?

ASHLEY BRILEY: I absolutely did not. So, I went to school-- I went to school for accounting. So I-- yeah, there's no real parallel there, right? I went to school for accounting. I got my CPA exam and I was working in cost accounting before I became a VR creator, so it was not a direct route. I literally got a headset because I needed some way to decompress from working with spreadsheets all day. I wanted to build something and just have, like, an outlet for my creativity. And Horizon Worlds was the app that I downloaded that gave that to me, and then it turned into a company VR interview.

VIVIAN EWALEFO: That's awesome. So Keisha, welcome.

KEISHA SENTER: My pleasure to be here.

VIVIAN EWALEFO: So at Monkeypaw Productions, your work in film has primarily existed in the digital and physical reality. What has drawn you to this new medium?

KEISHA SENTER: Yeah. You know, first let me just say thank you. So, it's so exciting to share the stage with Ashley. We've been going all around the world talking about this, so we're so excited about it at Monkeypaw and so great to be here with you, and with you as well, Vivian.

You know, you're right. We make films, we make television shows and things of that sort. And at Monkeypaw, the reason why we were really interested in this and exploring this new medium is that we're innovative. We think about it, you know. And Monkeypaw Productions, for those-- let me say that we are a horror company. We're Jordan Peele's production company. We really look at ways to scare you, from "Get Out" to "Us" to "Nope," that just was this summer blockbuster that was fantastic, and fun, and scary, and big. "Candyman," you know.

Yeah, we're from the mind of Jordan Peele really does mean the mind of Jordan Peele at Monkeypaw. And so, when we're looking at stuff, we always want to figure out creative and innovative ways to meet our audiences and fans where they are, right? You know, is that traditional ways of marketing? You're going to be our fan, you might be scary, but we're going to bring you in with some social commentary that brings you in. We're going to have Keke Palmer. And if you're a Keke Palmer fan, you might come see [INAUDIBLE] because of Keke Palmer.

You might think Daniel Kaluuya is awesome, so you want to see it because-- there's just different ways that you can bring people in. And we were looking at "Nope" and we're looking at how big "Nope" was and how interesting it was, I started talking to some friends at Meta, and we were like, I was like, how can people be the protagonist? We always want you to be the protagonist in storytelling. What would you do? What decisions would you make? Would you go down there, or would you not?

Like, what would you do? And so VR started-- gave you that-- the opportunity to literally put on the headset and get sucked up, right? To get on the motorcycle and ride and do things. And that's-- we're storytellers. We're creators. And we care about our audience. We care about our core audience, and we always care about bringing new people into those audiences as well.

And so, this gave us another opportunity to do that, to find a creative and innovative way to bring people into the content, into the mind of Jordan Peele, and to bring it into storytelling and letting you be a part of the story.

VIVIAN EWALEFO: It's awesome. Exactly.

ASHLEY BRILEY: Like you.

VIVIAN EWALEFO: So, as we were walking out onto the stage, you all saw a short video of kind of Metaverse 101. And, you know, we're talking about this here in the work, the early work, that we're doing. So so while the metaverse might feel like a far-off vision, it's still about 10 to 15 years out from being properly built and actualized-- we can already have glimpses of the experiences that you might have today in AR and VR.

And so eventually, our goal is to have billions of people having access to the metaverse and utilizing it in their day-to-day lives, if you can imagine what that experience would be like and how we could benefit from that. So I'd love to take a look at the VR experience that these ladies have collaborated on and have built, inspired by Jordan Peele's latest film called "Nope."

JORDAN PEELE: The horror, and experience the film in a brand new way.

Oh, Haywood Ranch, whoa. Are you kidding me? And there's the cloud. This-- This is incredible. Wow. Hey. Yo.

I'm Jordan Peele. I directed the film "Nope," and I'm standing on Haywood Ranch, the very set that we shot this movie on. And I can't believe my eyes.

BRANDON PEREA: You look at the house, dog. Like, I'm like whoa, we used to be just chatting on the porch here.

JORDAN PEELE: I think it would be awesome for the fans to be able to come, see Haywood Ranch, and to see this world and to experience it like I intended them to experience it, which is completely immersed.

KEKE PALMER: I'm on there. You see me riding? Whoo. I'm riding.

JORDAN PEELE: And so, I love this as a supplement for the film.

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VIVIAN EWALEFO: Awesome. And, congratulations on the film and this work. So Keisha, why build a virtual world like this, and what power do you think that experiences like this can hold for businesses and for creators?

KEISHA SENTER: Yeah. You know, I mean, but why not? Right? Why not find another way to engage people around your products, your content, whatever you're creating? Why not find so many different entry points in to amplifying the work that you're doing? And so, I mean, that's the way that we think about it. And then also for Monkeypaw, for those of you who don't know, we're not familiar. We're very intentional. We're very intentional about positioning Black and Brown storytellers and filmmakers and creators.

And that extends-- that's our DNA. That's the value and that's the core of who we are. So that stands across everything we do. So all, when we look at the creator economy from our TikTok to social-- other social media creators, we look at how do we build with people that are Black and Brown? How do we position them? And so you have so much power and you have to be intentional about that.

And so, when we were looking, how do we build this world, I said, I want to build it with a Black woman. I want to build it with a team of people who look like our filmmakers and we want to make sure that when we look at the next world, we don't understand VR. I know I don't. I don't understand it completely, and that's OK, and I should feel comfortable saying that we're not fully there yet. But if we're going to be innovative, we're going to do something extremely creative, how can we do it with those at the forefront of building the unknown and still be waiting to see what it looks like a few years ago when it's developed and everyone is in there?

So we were intentional about finding-- we talked. It was so fantastic working with Meta and also Universal, who's been a great partner at this as well. You know, we worked with them specifically to say how do we identify a team that looks like our filmmakers, looks like Monkeypaw, looks like what Jordan Peele puts in his movies, because that's important to us. And so, that's how we looked at how we build this creator economy in the way that is core to our DNA and our values.

And we do that across everything that we do, from-- and I mean that from externally-facing to when we're looking at-- we have from coffee to fashion. Everything that we look at is how do we intentionally use the brand and the power of Monkeypaw to elevate creators, to Black and Brown creators, women, queer community, that we want to make sure they're not left out, like you started-- like you said in the beginning.

VIVIAN EWALEFO: I love that. I love that. So then enters Ashley.

KEISHA SENTER: Enters Ashley. They brought Ashley to us, and-- and we were sold. We were super-excited and just hearing her story is just the way that she is thinking about the world and looking at Monkeypaw and then mirroring that and creating that and bringing a great team on board from all over the country-- college students-- it's fantastic.

VIVIAN EWALEFO: That's incredible. So Ashley, from your perspective as a creator, what was your experience in building this? And were you doing it alone, or did you have a team of collaborative-- artistic collaborators in this?

ASHLEY BRILEY: Yes, we had a team. And like Keisha was saying, it was definitely intentional for me to make sure I built out the team with diversity in mind. So making sure that the people who are creating for this story also can understand the story, because they've lived the story. And my team-- like Keisha said-- one of them is like, is a young creator who's in college and was able to do this while she was off of college. And she brought some vitality to the project. And, to me, she reminds me of Keisha-- I'm sorry, Keke's character. And I think that was important to just, like, making sure that the project itself had that energy of the storytelling.

And then the other creator we brought on, he also has the energy of-- that silent energy of-- Daniel Kaluuya's character, and so also brings that to the project. And I think that brings that magic to the space. So just as like an Easter egg, I guess you would say, that motorcycle that Keke rode off on was definitely the most popular piece of the world because it's just a lot of fun. And that was the whole point of the world is creating this fun space where people can come and talk about the film, experience it, and tell their own stories.

VIVIAN EWALEFO: That's so exciting, and so much more to come, I'm sure.

ASHLEY BRILEY: Yes.

KEISHA SENTER: Yeah, you know, so-- and so we started with "Nope." We launched with "Nope" and then Ashley and her team had built out "Get Out" as well, and built out "Us" world as well as too. And so, we've been talking to our partners at Meta, like, what else can we do? You know, like, how can we continue this and deepen it, you know, so it can be a really exciting experience?

And we were OK with being-- I think we're the first production company that has been partnering with this VR world, and we're OK with that. We're good at taking risk. We think it's important. And so, we're just excited that people get to come into to all of our different worlds. If you're too scared to watch it on television, you can participate. You can participate and experience in virtual.

VIVIAN EWALEFO: That's awesome. So I know that making the metaverse safe is so crucial to making it a success. This year at Meta, we launched a campaign called the Metaverse Culture Series with the primary goal of creating more accessible entry points into tech for-- again, for us. So as a part of that, we've been partnering with emerging artists like you, Ashley, and artists who don't have a skill set in immersive spaces. We've been investing in those artists as artists in residences, and have been building and co-creating experiences in our immersive products with them, investing and expanding their skill set, helping them to deepen their monetization and their reach from a business standpoint.

We've also been hosting Candid Conversations in Closed Spaces, just having real raw and real talk about embedding their culture and identity, community and industry into the future metaverse. What can that look like? These conversations have been hyper-focused on identity as well. And so, we found it really, really important to bring as many people to the table to have these types of conversations, and we really hope to be able to connect with the likes of you as we move forward and continue that programming. You can learn more about the Metaverse Culture Series on the Meta newsroom and our app, Meta Socials.

So Keisha, you acknowledged the potential risk at a company level to forging new territory and getting into any new space that hasn't been forged yet. But you also mentioned that Monkeypaw is game to pioneer. Why is that?

KEISHA SENTER: You know, I mean, look. When we think about risk, I also think the other side of risk, if you just shift your mindset, it can be opportunity. So, you know, I mean, I'm a risk-taker. Similar to Ashley, you know, I went to college to be an obstetrician-gynecologist. Everyone should be happy that I am not delivering. Like, everyone should be happy I'm not a doctor. That would have been tragic, right? You know, and so, I mean, I know, and I navigated through politics, philanthropy, and entertainment, and so many. All those were risks it was the first time that we have done that.

Let's look at Jordan Peele. He started off in comedy, and he's one of the leading horror storytellers now. That's a risk. That's a shift-shaping and shifting. And that's what we're founded on. So when we looked at this as being a risk, we also see it as an opportunity for us to say if we build it, we want to build it this way, right? You know, it is a risk to take to-- for an industry, for someone to say I have an idea, I have a story about something I want to tell, and then give me all this money to tell that story. So we live in this space of risk.

And so, how do we take calculated risk? How do we take risks with good partners at the table where we're all heard, where we're seen. You know, a lot of us-- and there's women in this room-- having that power to say, this is what I-- this is how I want to build it, this is who I want to build it with, and understanding-- hoping that your partner listens to you and values you. And that's what, I think, Monkeypaw does. That's what Meta did for us. And that's what Universal did. And that risk has led to us creating this opportunity, you know, us creating this world, us creating more ways to get our content out there. So, yes, it is a risk. But--

VIVIAN EWALEFO: But opportunity, so speaking of opportunity, I'd love to hear from both of you about the economic opportunity you see for creators and for businesses alike in these immersive spaces.

ASHLEY BRILEY: Yeah, the fact that I'm able to actually start a business is just-- I'm still processing that, because a year ago, I was a cost accountant. I was doing that. I was working a job that, you know, it satisfied me for-- to live the life I was living, but it didn't satisfy me fully where I can actually make some change and make things that will actually impact the world today.

I feel like with the opportunity growing for creators, my company, I see it as a place for those new creators to land who don't have that traditional background and to learn how they can go out and create their own companies. And that's how we build that ecosystem of this new economy of VR.

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KEISHA SENTER: And the business opportunity for us is multifold. But one of it is that, like, hearing her and to hear that from when we first started, she was still doing-- you know, she was doing this on the side, right? And now, months later, she's taken that leap. That's what we want for Monkeypaw. We want to be able to see that in the creator economy when we're working with VR creators and also our filmmakers.

And so one of the key things for us as a company has been to-- of course, this helps us get more people knowing-- knowing about "Nope," right? It helps us to continue to market and talk about our film and then hopefully get everyone going to theaters or downloading at home. All of that, the more ways that you can bring audiences in and fans and deepen it, but then also using-- what's really important for us is that we use our power, we use our platform to open up the doors for others.

And what does that look like across film? What does that look like across television? Now we can say what it looks like across VR? And I'm excited about that.

VIVIAN EWALEFO: I love that.

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Awesome. So now, from each of your perspectives, how do you think the MAKERS women community can get involved, and what do you think that they should be doing next?

KEISHA SENTER: Well, they should be going to Ashley's world and experiencing it and coming to the Monkeypaw world. So everyone should be doing that. But one of the key things I think that I'll walk away with is that, you know, when you're in your position and you're trying to look at partnerships, are you asking the question of yes, OK, I want to build this, but what's the next step? Do I want-- can I build it with a woman at the lead in the table? Find that woman for me. Put that pressure and know that that's what going to be a value for your company and from for what your mandate is.

Can I build it with a woman of color? Can I build it with someone who is queer? You know, like whatever it is that is the key and the foundation for your values, ask that and know that as a partner, you do have leverage and power to be able to do that. Because that's what we did, and I think all of our partners didn't. They did not pause with that. They said, well, let's rise to the occasion, because that's important for Monkeypaw. So that's one key thing that I think I would suggest our MAKERS audience continue to understand our power and our voice that we have to build the future the way we want to see it actually built.

VIVIAN EWALEFO: I love that. Well, thank you so much, everyone, for allowing us to hold this incredible stage with you. Making the Future is what we're all doing here, and we really hope to hear from you and see you as we're all building towards the metaverse, and we hope that you take your seat at that table.

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