Sam Baumel - VR & Video Production

06/13/2024

Canon continues to invest in the future of Immersive Filmmaking with their new 3D VR lens. Honored to work with them on this project!

https://www.canon-europe.com/lenses/rf-s-3-9mm-f3-5-stm-dual-fisheye-lens/

05/31/2024

One of my favorite NYC happenings is going down this weekend. Hundreds of Greenpoint artists & designers will open their studio doors to the public Saturday & Sunday 12pm – 6pm. I'll be sharing VR Docs & Dance Films + vintage stereo viewers and a 3d anaglyph slideshow at 252 Java St. Come say hey :)

Here's a map listing all the participants in this year's Greenpoint Open Studios: https://greenpointopenstudios.com/map-guide/

10/16/2023

Louie Hinnen & Paul Outlaw took a leap of faith. They started off as sculptors designing fashion photography sets before starting their own experiential fabrication business The Factory NYC, which employs & empowers a bunch of artists to do what they love. It was an inspiration getting to know these guys and a joy to tell their story along with Brad Gage & Entrepreneur for Comcast Business.

10/02/2023

Devocion USA does coffee different - it's the freshest roast in town. How do they get the beans from Colombia to your cup so fast? Ep 2 of this mini doc series created with Entrepreneur & Brad Gage for Comcast Business explores the innovations & origins of Devocion.

09/22/2023

The best part of my job is championing artists & innovators in the videos we make. It was an honor to team up with Entrepreneur & Brad Gage to create this mini documentary series for Comcast Business. First one is about the most beautiful plant shop in New York City - Tula House.

09/22/2023

05/06/2022

I am delighted to invite you to the exhibition of two fantastic VR documentaries at The Africa center museum in NYC - up through Juneteenth!

“Black food is American food,” said CheFarmer, Matthew Raiford as we interviewed him on his family farm. Matthew’s great-great-great grandfather, Jupiter Gilliard was born a slave. After emancipation, he purchased a plot of land in Brunswick, GA so that he and his descendants could be forever empowered because “if you’ve got land, you’ve got power.”

The story of Gilliard Farms is one of a pair of 3D VR documentaries, which I had the honor of producing and co-directing. They were commissioned by MOFAD - Museum of Food and Drink and are being exhibited at The Africa Center through June 19 as part of the exhibition "African/American: Making the Nations Table."

If you’ve never been to The Africa Center, you’re in for a treat. Located on Manhattan’s Museum Mile, the address is 1280 5th Avenue, right at the northeast corner of Central Park.

Tickets are available for reservation at:
https://mofad.ticketing.veevartapp.com/tickets/view/list/africanamerican-making-the-nations-table

The other VR doc features the Jones Sisters, famous for their feature on the Kansas City season of Q***r Eye and renowned for their delicious Bar-B-Q sauce.

When we asked Mary Jones about the secret sauce recipe, she replied: “It’s the love. That’s the secret to the sauce. It's love. You can taste it.”

Also, on display is the original, full-scale, restored Ebony Test Kitchen, a psychedelic 1970s state-of-the-art kitchen. Formerly located at the Ebony Magazine HQ in Chicago, the test kitchen is where recipes for the magazine's food section were developed. Alongside the kitchen installation, you'll find our video interviews with the magazine's food editors. You won't want to miss it.

Take a spring stroll through the park and stop by the museum :)

I am delighted to invite you to the exhibition of two fantastic VR documentaries at The Africa center museum in NYC - up through Juneteenth!Tickets are avail...

10/29/2021

We have a spectacular showcase of 360 video eye candy to titillate your taste buds. From intimate documentaries reflecting on the effects of COVID to music videos, dance films, the elections and performance art. Tricks N' Treats 360 is exhibiting at the Slipper Room, an iconic burlesque theatre in New York City’s Lower East Side over Halloween weekend.

I’ll be on site with other filmmakers to present information about the pieces as well as assist audience members with the VR headsets. Our collective has been creating punk VR content for over 5 years. This event is all about bringing folks in the community together who may not have ever had access to or interest in VR until now. It is essential that we cultivate the intersections of arts, culture and technology as we aim to build back a better NYC.

The Slipper Room
167 Orchard Street, Manhattan
1-5PM; $FREE w/RSVP at the link in my bio :)
SATURDAY OCT. 30 + SUNDAY OCT. 31
Reserve your timed ticket at: https://bit.ly/eyecandyvr

Big thank you to collaborators who’ve worked on these VR films with us including:

04/13/2021

Curious to dabble in the world of but don't know where to start? The Video Consortium is hosting a workshop on VR Video for Nonfiction Filmmakers featuring a discussion with three award-winning filmmakers who are pioneers in this new storytelling terrain.

Learn how you can tell stories differently for the growing audience of folks with VR headsets as Sam Baumel will be moderating the conversation with Lauren Ruffin, Michaela A. Ternasky-Holland and

Want to learn about the essential gear/crew you'll need? Which film festivals are best for ? Who is funding these projects? What are some of the best nonfiction VR videos to check out? Join us and register at the Eventbrite link below.

Learn how filmmakers are leveraging VR Video to tell their stories, find engaged audiences and define the language of an emerging art form.