Eve Weston is an American comedy writer and extended reality (XR) consultant.[1][2] working in Los Angeles. Known for her work in both television (TV) and virtual reality (VR), Weston created the first virtual reality sitcom, a workplace comedy called The BizNest.[3] She also authored the Taxonomy of Experience, a taxonomy for discussing point of view (POV) in XR[4]; her additional academic work on VR has been published by Harvard[5]. Weston's speaking engagements as a VR and Metaverse expert include SIGGRAPH[6], Digital Hollywood[7], Augmented World Expo[7] and others.

Education[edit]

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Weston earned a Bachelor's degree from Princeton University, where she graduated with honors.[8] She later earned an MFA in Screenwriting from USC[2]. Weston also studied improv comedy at Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre and I.O. West and has been a regular performer at Westside Comedy Theater.[9]

Career[edit]

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Prior to her career as a writer, Weston worked as an investment banking analyst for Goldman Sachs.[10]

As a television comedy writer, Weston has contributed to Better Off Ted, The Megan Mullally Show, Will & Grace, and Yes, Dear. She has also written episodes for ABC's Better With You, Disney XD's Randy Cunningham: 9th Grade Ninja and Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place.

On Wizards of Waverly Place, Weston contributed to Season 1,[11] helping develop the early tone and direction of the show. This was particularly evident with the contribution of the song "Funky Hat Dance," which she wrote and choreographed. The song and dance was widely shared outside the show, garnering over 2 million views in the early days of YouTube. Weston has also written an original holiday song, "Oh, That's Right,"[12] available on Apple Music[13]. She is a member of ASCAP.

Weston is an award-wining journalist. In 2015, she won Best Entertainment Commentary in the 57th annual Southern California Journalism Awards for her L.A. Weekly essay, "Does Into The Woods Punish a Wife for Adultery and Not a Husband?". She was also recognized with an award in the Humor/Satire Writing category for her work on “Cards Against Humanity: Los Angeles Edition" for LA Weekly.[14]

In 2018, Weston wrote, directed and produced the world's first 360 virtual reality sitcom, The BizNest. The BizNest stars Legion's Ellie Araiza and ERB's "Epic Lloyd" Ahlquist, among others. Weston's pioneering work[15] is documented in a case study published by IGI Global in the Handbook of Research on the Global Impacts and Roles of Immersive Media.[3]

Weston has taught TV writing, virtual reality filmmaking and XR storytelling at Emerson College LA[16], Los Angeles Film School[17] and Chapman University[18]. She has been a speaker and mentor at Stanford's Brown Institute for Media Innovation[18].[8] She is recognized for her efforts to make VR more inclusive and accessible, particularly for women and other underrepresented groups.[19]

In 2020, Weston published 10 Kick-Ass Careers for Storytellers: Interviews with Pioneers in Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Podcasts, Escape Rooms, Video Games, Comics, Interactive Television and More!, a conversational read which gives a peek into the careers of storytelling pioneers.

In 2022, Weston worked in partnership with the Bruce Lee Foundation and Seattle's Wing Luke Museum to bring to life her vision for an interactive museum exhibit that allows visitors to explore volumes from the martial artist’s 2,800-book collection, not by turning pages, but through full-body movement[20]

Weston's work has brought her international acclaim[21]. An invited speaker at the Zip-Scene conference in Budapest in 2023, Weston addressed XR storytelling methods and authoring for the Metaverse.[22] In early 2024, she spoke at EuropaPark's Aurea Awards for the second time and was interviewed in Germany by entrepreneur Michael Mack on his podcast The World Beyond[23]. Later that year, she accepted an invitation by the government of Finland to be a keynote speaker at their Imagine the Metaverse conference; she also presented at Film Tampere's mentorship pilot program and was interviewed by Finland's national public broadcasting company, YLE.[24]

Weston is also an expert on artificial intelligence (AI).[7]

Personal life[edit]

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Weston grew up in La Jolla,[25] has two siblings and comes from a family of swimmers.[26] She is not married.[11]

References

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  1. ^ Glover, Claudia (2022-05-30). "Why collaboration in the metaverse is still 'ten years away'". Tech Monitor. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  2. ^ a b Glover, Claudia (2022-05-30). "Why collaboration in the metaverse is still 'ten years away'". Tech Monitor. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  3. ^ a b Weston, Eve (2020), "Case Study of The BizNest: The World's First Immersive Sitcom", Handbook of Research on the Global Impacts and Roles of Immersive Media, IGI Global, pp. 176–199, ISBN 978-1-7998-2433-6, retrieved 2024-09-06
  4. ^ Weston, Eve (2020), "POV in XR: How We Experience, Discuss, and Create the Virtual World", Handbook of Research on the Global Impacts and Roles of Immersive Media, IGI Global, pp. 264–283, ISBN 978-1-7998-2433-6, retrieved 2024-09-06
  5. ^ Troche, Julia; Weston, Eve (2023-02-23), "Virtual Reality Storytelling: Pedagogy and Applications", Ancient Egypt, New Technology, Brill, pp. 572–591, ISBN 978-90-04-50129-4, retrieved 2024-09-06
  6. ^ Weston, Eve. "How The BizNest Paves the Way for Immersive Narrative". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  7. ^ a b c "Full Agenda July, 2024". www.digitalhollywood.com. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  8. ^ a b "With Virtual Reality, Eve Weston '01 Creates Interactive Art". Princeton Alumni Weekly. 2022-08-31. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  9. ^ "Eve Weston". Westside Comedy. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  10. ^ "Eve Weston". ACES: The Society for Editing. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  11. ^ a b "EVE WESTON VS ZACHARY PINCUS ROTH". UniCourt. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  12. ^ "It's Hanukkah! ("Oh, That's Right") | Eve Weston". Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  13. ^ Oh, That's Right (It's Hanukkah) - Single by Jen Rhonheimer on Apple Music, 2012-12-06, retrieved 2024-09-06
  14. ^ 57th Annual Southern California Journalism Awards https://lapressclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/2015-SOCAL.pdf
  15. ^ Olman, Emily (2024-03-12). "Spawning into the IRL Metaverse at Europapark's AUREA Award". AR Insider. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  16. ^ Clossey, Erin (2018-11-27). "Emerson LA Students Create VR Film for Nonprofit LA Mission". Emerson Today. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  17. ^ "2024 Catalog Addendum" (PDF). Los Angeles Film School Online Faculty Roster.
  18. ^ a b "Eve WESTON | Chapman University, Orange | Department of Screenwriting | Research profile".
  19. ^ Alptraum, Lux (2019-10-10). "Virtual Reality Is Still Failing Half of the World's Population". OneZero. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  20. ^ "How Bruce Lee's teachings helped his daughter overcome grief". The Seattle Times. 2022-07-12. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  21. ^ "Digital Frontier". digitalfrontier.com. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  22. ^ "ZIP-SCENE Conference". zip-scene.com.
  23. ^ "Eve Weston, Professor of VR Filmmaking: Storytelling is a Force for positive Change, but Hardware is the Key". Apple Podcasts. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  24. ^ "Ensin tv-tuotantoja tilattiin läjittäin, ja sitten kupla puhkesi – näin Tampereella haetaan kasvua alan ahdinkoon". Yle Uutiset (in Finnish). 2024-06-19. Retrieved 2024-09-06.
  25. ^ "La Jolla High Grad Wins TV Award".
  26. ^ "2004 La Jolla Rough Water Swim Masters Women Event Official Results" (PDF).

Category:Virtual reality Category:Virtual reality artists Category:Television Category:Entertainment Category:Sitcom episodes Category:Sitcoms Category:Screenwriters Category:Journalists Category:Princeton University alumni Category:ASCAP composers and authors Category:Writers Guild of America Category:Improvisation Category:Television writers Category:Storytellers Category:Comedy