Dekker Dreyer

Dekker Dreyer (born November 16, 1980) is a filmmaker, artist, and composer[1] also known as Phantom Astronaut.[2][3] He is a prominent creator in virtual and augmented reality.

Dekker Dreyer
Dekker Dreyer and wife Julia Howe at the 2016 Primetime Emmy Awards
Born
Ryan Dekker Dreyer

(1980-11-16) November 16, 1980
Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.
OccupationFilm and television producer, director, screenwriter, and actor.
Spouse(s)Julia Howe

Personal life

Dreyer was born on November 16, 1980 in Daytona Beach, Florida.

Virtual and Augmented Reality

Dreyer has been called a VR pioneer by both Entrepreneur[4] and MovieMaker.[5] He is considered a prominent artist in immersive media[6][7][8] and created the VR / AR Producing course at Columbia College Chicago Online.[9][10] At the studio he co-founded, Clever Fox, he created and directed two of the first scripted original series in VR, The Depths[11][12] and Broadcast.[13] He has also created XR experiences for musical artists Bootsy Collins, Devo[14] and Disturbed.[15]

His augmented reality live experience The Summoning has been called a "First of its kind" by UploadVR and received wide recognition for its innovative use of technology and creativity.[16][17][18] Subsequent projects include the collaborative storytelling project What We Leave Behind.[19][20]

In 2019 he released Lucid, an immersive visual album, under his Phantom Astronaut persona. Good Men Project said of it, "The experience evokes a mash-up of Twin Peaks and 2001 with a Sigur Ros soundtrack produced and remixed by Massive Attack."[21]

Film and Television

Dekker's work in independent film began when his short Closed Circuit, commissioned by Miramax to accompany the feature Naqoyqatsi, was shown at the 2002 Slamdance Film Festival. His first documentary film, the free-form Three Days in Orlando showcased the friction both inside and out facing the yearly Gay Days event in Orlando Florida through a series of intimate profiles.[22] His experimental feature, made from ten episodic installments, The Arcadian starring Lance Henriksen with the music of Perturbator[23][24] has released on collector's edition VHS and digital download with special international midnight screenings.[25] He is also the director of the Mystery Skulls official music video for the single Music.

In 2007 he and his partners launched the Illusion On-Demand network, a science fiction channel with a large national footprint.[26] He soon took on the duty of creative director and brought both anime[27] and sci-fi classics like Doctor Who[28] to the network. Dekker produced many of the original programs that appeared on Illusion including Analog presents: The Science of Fiction in partnership with Analog Science Fiction and Fact. He would later expand the channel's holdings by launching the short-lived anthology magazine Transmitter[29]

From 2012 to 2016 he was part of Participant Media's online video arm at Takepart.com and on the launch team for their cable television network Pivot. Participant Media is widely known to produce content dealing with the subjects of climate change, journalistic ethics, and social justice.

Dreyer has spoken at events such as The Cannes Film Festival and Sundance.[30][31]

Film and Media Festivals

Dreyer returned to the Slamdance Film Festival as a jurist in 2016.[32] That same year he was a major supporter of the organization's DIG (Digital, Interactive, and Gaming) showcase.[33] In 2018 he took on the role of organizer and co-curator of the DIG program.[34][35] Dreyer was also the founder of the touring animation festival Anime After Dark[36][37] which kicked off with presenting the official 20th anniversary event for Grave of the Fireflies which had a digital conversion overseen by Dreyer.[38][39]

Writing

Dreyer is the author of the short story anthologies, Cyberpunk is Dead: Long Live Cyberpunk, Dark Astronomy, Body Horrors, Demonology Lessons, and the novella The Tea Goddess.[40][41] He is credited as having coined the term ecopunk in 2010, being one of the first authors in the genre which is now widely accepted as Solarpunk.[42] In comics, Dekker is a writer and illustrator,[43][44] His work includes Mondo Atomic, which retells the stories of Plan 9 from Outer Space, Robot Monster, and other B movies in a contemporary way.[45]

He is an outspoken essayist on the topics of human rights, race, sexual identity, and alternative economic models.[46][47] His horror comic anthology Seven Deadly Sins critiques the role of technology in modern society.[48]

Experimental Art

Dekker is a visual artist working in physical, digital, and non-conventional mediums. His work has been included in numerous pop culture shows in the Los Angeles art scene most notably associated with the venue Meltdown Comics.[49][50][51]

Dekker's experiential projects combine immersive theatricality, dining, and absurdist cultural commentary. These projects include the restaurant Kaiju Sushi which was located in the shark attack capital of the world. Dreyer and his partner Julia Howe proclaimed that any person coming to the pop-up restaurant with proof that they were attacked by sharks would get free sushi resulting in national coverage and raised awareness for ecological conservation.[52][53][54] and L'Aldila, a supernatural restaurant in the heart of Cassadaga, Florida where patrons were encouraged to commune with the dead during their meals.[55]

His live event series Movie Cult, encourages audience participation around forgotten VHS movies.[56][57]

Dreyer teamed up with his wife to produce the art meme project Tentacle Grape to bring awareness to a rising tide of misogyny in pop culture in an era predating Gamergate and related movements. The project, presented as a regular product, drew controversy about the brand's packaging and message.[58][59] Although controversial, the product was overwhelmingly popular leading to Cracked naming it #4 on their list of "Horrifying Soft Drinks Around the World".[60] The unexpected popularity of the product lead to a backlog prompting watchdog site The Consumerist to question the existence of the soda.[61] A retraction was subsequently published.[62]

Hosting

From 2017 to 2018 Dreyer was the co-host of the podcast The Future is Virtual from Embolden Entertainment (later Zero Gravity). The show was unique in that it was live streamed as a simulcast to AltspaceVR, Twitch, and Facebook 360.[63] In 2015 Dreyer was featured on TV Tokyo's television series Why Did You Come to Japan. He and his wife Julia took the audience on a tour of Tokyo's Golden Gai nightlife.[64]

References
  1. 'Lucid' VR Album Forces You to Question Moral Choices As You Explore: WATCH - The Good Men Project, 2019-10-17, retrieved 2020-01-19
  2. "Dekker Dreyer". Retrieved 2019-07-27.
  3. Stories, Local. "Meet Dekker Dreyer - Voyage LA Magazine | LA City Guide". Retrieved 2020-01-19.
  4. Carone, Patrick (2018-09-14). "3 Ways a Virtual Reality Pioneer Is Rebranding the Form". Entrepreneur. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  5. MovieMaker Magazine
  6. Cablefax Multiscreen Summit
  7. Slamdance to Expand DIG Showcase, Screen Daily
  8. TV Academy Inside VR 2015
  9. "Monday Hustle with Dekker Dreyer, Columbia College Chicago Online". Columbia College Chicago Online. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  10. GmbH, finanzen.net. "Columbia College Chicago Online Launches Augmented and Virtual Reality, Coding CoursesColumbia among the few higher education institutions in the U.S. to offer distinctive online courses in... | Markets Insider". markets.businessinsider.com. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  11. VR Director Dekker Dreyer on Building an Immersive Horror universe, Horror Society
  12. The Depths Brings Terror in 360 Degrees Dreadcentral
  13. Broadcast is a Black Mirror Style Anthology Uploadvr.com
  14. "Clever Fox Enters Facebook AR World With Devo". VRROOM. 2018-09-26. Retrieved 2018-09-28.
  15. Experience Disturbed's 360 Degree VR Video The Sound of Silence AXS.com
  16. The Summoning is a First of its Kind AR Horror Experience, Uploadvr.com
  17. "ScareLA Returns This Summer! And They're Planning A Dark Zone of Epic Proportions!, Blumhouse.com". Archived from the original on 2017-07-31. Retrieved 2017-07-31.
  18. Horror Goes VR in Dekker Dreyer's The Summoning, Dread Central
  19. "'What We Leave Behind' Encourages AR Confessions at Slamdance". Animation World Network. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  20. "Clever Fox's Latest Project Coming To Slamdance Film Festival". VRFocus. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  21. 'Lucid' VR Album Forces You to Question Moral Choices As You Explore: WATCH - The Good Men Project, 2019-10-17, retrieved 2020-01-19
  22. "Selling Queer". 2005-05-05. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  23. Featured Fearmaker: Dekker Dreyer, We Are Indie Horror
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  25. "Al Ravenna Nightmare Film Festival arriva anche Fabio Testi". RavennaToday. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  26. Marketwire
  27. Ain't It Cool News
  28. AMC's Sci-Fi Scanner Archived 2009-02-15 at the Wayback Machine
  29. Transmitter Seeks New Readers Sci-Fi wire
  30. "Le Marché du Film". www.marchedufilm.com. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  31. "The Industry". theindustry.com. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  32. Slamdance Jury Reveal, Variety
  33. "Slamdance to expand DIG showcase". Screen. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  34. Slamdance (2018-08-31). "The Revolution in Media is Already Here". Slamdance Fearless Filmmaking. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  35. Gera, Emily (2019-01-28). "After 'Super Columbine Massacre RPG!': The Rebirth of The Slamdance Guerrilla Game Competition (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2019-02-06.
  36. "Anime After Dark launches in Somerville - Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  37. Ryce, Walter. "Anime After Dark Film Festival reveals the depth and versatility of the genre". Monterey County Weekly. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  38. "CPAC Guest Appearances". web.stevens.edu. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  39. Carson, René (2008-09-08). "Grave of the Fireflies getting 20th anniversary screening at Anime After Dark fest". Film Fetish | Crush Collectibles. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  40. Chambers, Jim. "Review Tea Goddess by Dekker Dreyer". Red Adept. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 7 April 2011.
  41. "Tea Goddess Review". Midwest Book Review. Retrieved October 2010. Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  42. Review of Tea Goddess, Misty Baker, Kindel Obsessed
  43. Johnson, Rich. "Phantom Astronaut Makes a Leveled Landing". Bleeding Cool.
  44. Abadsidis, Savas (2019-07-26). "The Seven Deadly Sins Re-Imagined for Today". #GAYNRD. Retrieved 2019-10-03.
  45. Hart, Hugh (6 July 2010). "Mondo Atomic Mashes Plan 9 and Brain That Wouldn't Die". Wired. Retrieved 7 July 2010.
  46. The Evangelicals you Don't Know by Tom Krattenmaker pg. 194
  47. What World AIDS Days Means to Me, The Advocate
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  49. Experiment 87a, LA Taco
  50. "Art from the Mr. Show, Show is Fantastic, Weird, Nerdist". Archived from the original on 2015-09-29. Retrieved 2016-12-19.
  51. THQ Matches Donations Raised by We Heart Japan's Meltdown Comics Event - IGN, retrieved 2019-07-17
  52. Shark Attack Victims Get Free Sushi in New Smyrna Beach Fl, Huffington Post
  53. WTF Attacked by a Shark and Get Free Sushi, OC Weekly
  54. Florida Restaurant to Give Free Sushi to Shark Attack Victims, Food Beast
  55. Misaktonic Monday, Diesel Punks
  56. Move the Crowd, Huffington Post
  57. 24 of our Favorite Events in Los Angeles, LAist Archived 2017-11-05 at the Wayback Machine
  58. Grapevines: Ah, The Delicious Taste of Tentacle Rape. Kotaku
  59. Alex Zalben.Tentacle Grape Soda, Hilarious or in Poor Taste? Archived 2009-02-16 at the Wayback Machine Nerve.com
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  63. "360 Talk Show 'The Future is Virtual' Coming to Facebook Live, AltspaceVR, and iTunes". VRFocus. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
  64. "地獄のデスマッチ DEATHMATCH IN HELL". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 2018-09-02.
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