Jessica Brillhart

Traditional filmmaking techniques often don’t work in virtual reality. So for the past few years, first as the principal filmmaker for virtual reality at Google and now as an independent filmmaker, Jessica Brillhart has been defining what will.

Brillhart recognized early on that in VR, the director’s vision is no longer paramount. A viewer won’t always focus where a filmmaker expects. Brillhart embraces these “acts of visitor rebellion” and says they push her to be “bold and audacious in ways I would never have been otherwise.” She adds: “I love how a frame is no longer the central concept in my work. I can build worlds.”

—Caleb Garling