Paramount Pictures hires first futurist in residence

Paramount Pictures has named Ted Schilowitz its first futurist in residence as it seeks to explore opportunities in new and emerging technologies.

Schilowitz was a consulting futurist at 20th Century Fox and will continue as chief creative officer at Barco Escape. In his new role he reports jointly to Paramount chairman and CEO Jim Gianopulos and COO Andrew Gumpert.

Schilowitz will work closely with the Paramount and Viacom technology teams and his remit will focus on technology with an emphasis on virtual reality and augmented reality.

“Ted has been an integral part of the film industry’s innovation into next generation visual storytelling,” Gianopulos and Gumpert said. “He has been a pioneer throughout the industry’s constant technological evolution and can identify what is and what will be relevant and important to movie-goers. He will be an incredible asset to the Paramount team.”   

Schilowitz added: “From immersive cinema to augmented reality and beyond, I’m excited to work with the Paramount and Viacom teams to discover and implement the latest technological advancements and create strategies that will enhance the audience’s experiences across Paramount’s movie, television, and interactive content.”

In his consultancy role at Fox, Schilowitz created strategy on future technology and vision of cinema for the next generation of filmed entertainment. 

He was a founding member and an integral part of the product development team at RED Digital Cinema, and is one of the founders and creators of the G-Tech product line of advanced hard drive storage products used in film and TV. 

Schilowitz was on the team that developed and launched the Macintosh products desktop video division of AJA Video Systems that created Kona Cards and IO boxes in tandem with Apple. 

At Barco Escape he has been spearheading the creative aspects of the cinema project that adds immersive right and left screens to cinemas. Barco Escape titles include Paramount’s Star Trek: Beyond and 20th Century Fox’s The Maze Runner series.