1. "Print stuff didn't scratch the itch
"Print stuff didn't scratch the itch. Documentary didn't scratch the itch. TV drama didn't scratch the itch. It wasn't until I started building this stuff. There was no way I could do anything else. I just couldn't do anything else. I don't know even how to explain that. And I think sometimes I wanna shoot myself in the head that I can't do anything else because it just motivates me. [VR] drives me. This is such a visceral empathy generator. It can make people feel in a way that nothing, no other platform I've ever worked in can successfully do in this way.” – Nonny De La Peña

2. Nonny De La Peña
Was a documentary filmmaker and correspondent for Newsweek and PhD student at USC when she began working on Hunger in LA.
Palmer Luckey (right) was her intern making Hunger in LA
He would soon develop the Oculus Rift.

3. "I had colleagues literally pointing their finger at me and saying, 'You can't do that. That doesn't work. It's not ethical. It's too subjective.' And I got so much criticism. It was really difficult.” Regarding Hunger in LA

4. is VR and immersive journalism an extension of the longstanding tradition of journalists taking you into the action?
Is the moment we are in similar to Robert Drew and the development of Direct Cinema?

5. Her company Emblematic Group is developing a new headset in competition with the Oculus. “And I can spend $3,000 on my goggles instead of $300 right now. Right? I can get higher-end components to make it crisper and get a wider field of view. And I can set up my own tracking system. This is a phase-based tracking system, which I have to tell you, is still one of the best in the world. You know what? It's really good.”
Project Syria headset image below

6. In what ways is Hunger in LA a fusion of re-enactment and cinema verité.

7. Nonny De La Peña is using the 3D gaming engine Unity to create the visual reenactments in her films.