At the fmx we interviewed Jenn Duong, Trisha Gum and Simon Griesser. And next to these interviews, we asked about their ideas concerning 5 general topics.
Artificial Intelligence
Meaningful Storytelling
Responsible Media
Authenticity of Media
Tools and Engines
Robotics

Here are the answers in comparison. Please scroll.
1rst Jenn Duong
2nd Trisha Gum
3rd Simon Griesser

Artificial Intelligence:

It is something we need to start thinking now and something to start thinking thoughtfully about now because of the ethical implication. I think technology serves to make our lives easier and to make us more efficient. I am actually very excited for AI. I think it is going to enable people to do a lot of things that they couldn’t do before like e. g I am not a musician but there are artificial intelligence algorithms and programs that could help me write songs and I think that’s really unique. My biggest concern with AI is for the industry , but for the mainstream audience still think it is so far away but it is not like it is right here at our doorsteps. We all have AI in our phone we have Siri, we have Alexa at home, we have google homes, and so I think it is just something that we as people who are going to be using our technology really need to make a more concerted effort to think about the data, the privacy and what are – again – the ethical implications of this technology. Where can it go. We do need to go to the dark places like this could potentially be a utopian world or a utopian World. It is going to be up to us to dictate what route it takes. Jenn Duong

It’s something that excites me and scares me at the same time. Hopefully as humans we figure out a way to use it and develop it responsibly.
Trisha Gum

Super, I love it. It makes me think a lot and makes me focus a lot on what I actually am and why I’m special, so that I can’t be replaced as such. This is for every artist, figuring out what’s your subjective personal thing that can’t be replaced. But then I’m also looking forward to processes that go really fast in the future, like I would love to have a computer that works on voice command and creates all the images that I have in mind. That would be beautiful. Simon Griesser

Meaningful Storytelling:

It is hard. (Smiling) Storytelling is not easy and I think a lot of people don’t realise that is not easy. But it is special. I love watching stories, I love watching stories, I love reading stories, working with stories. It is something that I hope one day I do really, really well.  Jenn Duong

I think it is important. It’s something that we need in our culture and I think right now people are excited to hear different points of view and excited to hear meaningful storytelling. I think our world needs it globally, so it’s something that should be embraced, promoted and continued.   Trisha Gum

It’s good, hard. I think the storytelling needs to pull me in, which doesn’t mean that it’s meaningful. But it has something that I’m just dragged in, dragged along the road and then I’m spit out on the other side. This could be for educational reasons, could be for advertising or for entertainment. Sometimes I want something from this side, something from that side. Simon Griesser

Responsible Media:

Oh God (smile). I have a lot of thought about this –  Let me streamline them real quick. (Time passes and she thinks). When I think about responsible media I start thinking about the fake news,  I start thinking about opinion news, I start thinking about big data, in terms of like how a lot of social media platforms sell their data to advertisers and how that starts. And then they use media marketing campaigns to target us. And I think big media is corporations and corporate responsibility . It is a really large topic that quite frankly I feel is really hard to cover in just a few words but responsible media —- it worries me because I don’t feel like most people are looking at media that way. Even like the social good stories right…Like Gillette recently did an ad for a new razer that was about men and how to be a good guy. …. 

I personally really loved the ad and I personally thought that it was a great piece of media and storytelling  but then I started thinking about this and that Gillette do this because these are actually their values or is Gillette doing this to ride on top of the tide of social chance that is currently happening or is it PR? Big topic lot of thoughts (smile) . Those were the general once (smile).  Jenn Duong

I have a lot to say about that, so it’s hard to hone it in. I think media is something that can be so powerful,  it can be used for good and it can be used for bad. And so I think it’s something as a culture and as a global community we need to start to understand how to be responsible about media. I know there is like online bullying and all these things that we didn’t really understand at the beginning of media and putting things out there. So really trying to maintain it in a way that is positive for our world rather than negative, I think is our responsibility as humans and filmmakers, as creators. Trisha Gum

I think responsible, educated consumers is much more important. We are overwhelmed by content every day and we just feed ourselves with nonsense every day and we have to learn. I think in the new generation everybody grows up with the techniques, learns automatically to filter out and then the way we filter and what’s our filter is actually important. And that’s the educated consumer, that knows what to choose or pick from. Simon Griesser

Authenticity of Media:

Same thoughts. (smile). Couse I think authenticity and responsibility they kind of go hand in hand. You know I think we as storytellers have responsibility to tell authentic stories and to tell the stories that are ours to tell I think. Authenticity blends itself really well when you do something really responsible. I don’t know if that makes sense.  Jenn Duong

Wow, that. Gosh it’s so interesting right now in this time, because it is confusing of what to believe in media,  so I think that is a complicated issue that would be great for sociologists to really start digging into. I guess that’s such a big topic. Trisha Gum

Authenticity goes back to just the persons who create something. Just don’t hide it. When there is something beautiful,  like we had in the spot the cell frame animation, put it up front. Yesterday on the panel discussion [concept art panel]  especially this was a topic, about bringing the concept artist up front, to show that they actually contributed and had their authentic piece in it. Simon Griesser

Tools and Engines:

Like Unityand Unreal?  Lot of great tools out there, lot of great engines and my mind goes out to Elon Musk and the tools that he is creating. But (ahm) keep it topic specific. I think it is really exciting because technology is getting to a point where tools and technology is advancing at a rate unlike before. Like, when you think about the iPhone like 10 years ago and where it is now? This is insane, we basically have a supercomputer in our pocket. And when we think about the fidelity of virtually type lines, the fidelity of video games, just anything that is made in CG, like it is insane, how beautiful things in unreal look, how realistic things both inUnityand Unreallook. So it is a really exciting time to be working whether that is in VR or AR or any industry that is utilising these tools like we are groundbreaking we are doing some ground breaking things. (ahm) And I think that this going to get us to better stories and to a more immersive future. Jenn Duong

I’m excited to see them continue to develop in a way that is useful for us as creators. Trisha Gum

Tools are tools. What they are, you use them. And as far as you understand them in the beginning, just a quick test,  enjoy them and if you can’t use them, move on to the next. But then also go back to it. It took me about 8 years to go and learn zBrush, since I went a certain way and then I quit again and thought I’m not going to be comfortable with the software as such, but eventually I pushed through. Simon Griesser

Robotics:

I God so.. I don’t know if this is directly to robotics but it is what come to mind, a eally good friend of mine, her name is Taryn Southern(https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6802922/), she just directed her first feature film documentary and that is called “ I am human” and she is talking about cyborgs. And it is talking about what happens when we start combining computer or like robots and integrating that into our own human bodies. I think what is really interesting is not a lot of people realize this but there are a couple of hundred thousand cyborgs walking among us today because they have medical devices implanted in them and that starts making me think about in the future what that like. Right now there a really great used cases for the medical field , right, but what happens when it is installing a supercomputer into your brain and everything  is accessible just by looking out into your eyes. And then that makes me think about like what is the affordability of getting a feature like that. How at this point to be continued the divide the poor and the rich in terms of access and accessibility to this type of technology? And so like robotic is really cool, again  we need to be very cautious and start thinking about the implications about that technology now rather than later.  Jenn Duong

Robotics are starting to, in my opinion, hit a place where they’re starting to change and evolve who we are as humans. You know you see all these different robotic things, that are really changing the lives of people and how we make things and do things and experience the world and so I think it’s an exciting time right now to see it develop and what we can do with robotics. Trisha Gum

Goes together with AI and such right? I hope I don’t need a robot. But it would be good to have one. Robotics as such is a technical consequence of the development we’re in. When I think about robotics, the Boston Dynamics machines come to mind. Like the cheetah, the dog, and also the soldier runner. But I seem them as just an extension, the prosthetics that we have already, but robotics as such will eventually emerge with biological things and will all melt in such a way in the future. Simon Griesser

Interviews by:

Lisa Schubert ist a young illustrator and graphic designer from lake constance, studying at University of Media, Stuttgart to learn more about animation. She loves 2D animation and is never to be found without her sketchbook.

Malena Trachte is a young philosopher from Nowhereland. She recently started her studies at the University of Media in Stuttgart to find new and creative ways of storytelling, learning as much as possible about audio, visual and interactive media engineering.

Supervision
Ursula Drees ist seit 2008 Professorin für Mediengestaltung mit Schwerpunkt Event Media an der Hochschule der Medien in Stuttgart. Ihre Forschungsinteressen liegen im Bereich: Narration, Interaktion und Spiel im Eventmedialen Erlebnisraum. Nach dem Abschluss als Meisterschülerin und Diplom Designerin im Fach Visuelle Kommunikation mit dem Schwerpunkt Neue Medien an der Universität der Künste in Berlin arbeitete Ursula Drees in namhaften Firmen.