Digital Hollywood recently took place here in Los Angeles. 

At Digital Hollywood, you get to see what all the digital gurus are doing, all in one place.

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) are still the talk of the town, as they have been for several years now.

But, unlike in previous years, when AR/VR seemed more like a dream than reality, this year there were several live demonstrations of AR/VR in action.

I tried on some goggles and earphones at the Hear360 booth. Hear360 has an outpost in Marina del Rey and a recording studio near Olympic and Bundy.  

As I turned slowly in a circle, I could “see,” in 3D, several musicians who formed a big circle around me.

One was playing drums, another saxophone, another trombone, another guitar, etc.

When I was facing one musician, the clarity of that musician’s sound was amazing.

When I turned to the next musician, his or her music became much more prominent – and the sounds from the other musicians faded a bit into the background.

“Surround Sound for your device” (tablet or smartphone) is how CEO Matt Marrin described Hear360. Hear360 sells an audio recording device – the 8ball – that allows sound to marry with video in a way that makes it sound like you are “right there.”

At Digital Hollywood, there are lots of filmmakers, financiers and attorneys in the swirl. There is a “let’s make a deal” quality in the air.

Brian MacMahon, who runs Expert Dojo in Santa Monica, told people looking for funding to remember at all times that “investors invest in YOU.”

Every communication, every chance meeting, every email, your body language, your voice – people are sizing you up at all times, said MacMahon. People are busy, he added. You need to get right to the point with a very clear message, he emphasized.

Crowdfunding, barely on anyone’s radar screen a few years ago, is now a headliner topic, as is anything having to do with promoting media projects via YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat and other platforms.