360 Degrees of Innovation: Nathalie Mathe on her journey from Hollywood VFX to social impact VR and beyond

Former NASA AI scientist turned VR creative director and producer, Nathalie Mathe, has been pushing the boundaries of VR since the early days of the Oculus DK1 and DK2. 

From creating visual effects on blockbuster films like Total Recall, Fast & Furious6, Skyfall, and The Dark Knight Rises to directing and supervising cutting-edge VR projects for Google, Facebook, JauntVR and Condition One, Nathalie is a powerhouse of innovation and artistry.

She’s also the founder of NativeVR, an independent VR studio in California, and has taught VR & Immersive Media at UC Berkeley, Drexel University, and University of the Arts. 

She currently teaches at Northeastern University’s College of Art, Media, and Design, in The Game Science and Design MS program at Mills College.

On today’s episode, Nathalie shares how her Hollywood work propelled her to the forefront of pioneering techniques in photogrammetry and 360 video to create groundbreaking entertainment and social impact stories—including U-Turn, her award-winning interactive VR comedy that raises awareness of the gender gap in tech.

She takes us through the importance of transparency, ethics and scientific approaches to studying immersive tech and AI, and how following her intuition about the future has shaped her successful career. 

Plus Natalie offers her advice for aspiring creators looking to break into the rapidly evolving industry. 

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Thanks for listening, happy installing!  

FEATURED LINK:
Master of Science in Game Science and Design, Northeastern University, Oakland

BLAST FROM THE PAST:
VIDEO: Uturn Trailer
VIDEO: Jaunt VR app trailer
VIDEO: Oculus Developer Kit 2 trailer

MORE RESOURCES:
Unity
Unreal Engine
Godot Game Engine
Foundary / Nuke VFX Software - Compositing, Editorial and Review
Touch Designer   by Derivative

CONNECT WITH NATHALIE:
LinkedIn

CONNECT WITH SICILIANA:
LinkedIn
sicilianatrevino.com