46. Sam Barlow: The Future of Interactive Filmmaking

Future of Film Podcast with Alex Stolz

Visionary storyteller Sam Barlow's work blends traditional filmmaking techniques with gaming mechanics to create new forms of interactive films. He is known largely for the pioneering works HER STORY and more recently the Annapurna-produced TELLING LIES which is a hugely ambitious interactive thriller told from multiple points of view. In this conversation we explore Sam’s creative process and his vision for the future of interactive filmmaking. In particular, how his work differs from the "Choose your Own Adventure" style adopted by Black Mirror's Bandersnatch . We also touch on Sam’s career and get into the business model and distribution strategy for this kind of work - which although it looks like films has a very different release and revenue cycle. Although we talk primarily about interactive filmmaking, Sam is first and foremost a storyteller and we cover a lot of the fundamentals of this. He is also a a deep thinker about his craft and the episode is densely packed with ideas, concepts and strategies for creators. We will be focusing further on interactive filmmaking at this year's Future of Film Summit: www.futureoffilm.live