Eric R. Williams

Williams graduated from Northwestern University in 1990 with a bachelor's degree in radio/television/film and a minor in education. He earned his MFA in film from Columbia University, directing the feature film Snakes and Arrows as his thesis. Williams chose Columbia so that he could study writing and producing from James Schamus, Richard Brick, David Shaber and Terry Southern. == Career ==

Film and television Williams' first feature film, Snakes and Arrows, opened the door for him to meet Peter Falk, who hired him to write a Columbo made-for-TV murder mystery for Universal Pictures / Universal Studios in 1998. He later developed and co-produced a pilot for American Movie Classics called ''Don't Try This At Home''. In the 2000s, Williams worked as a freelance screenwriter and was often hired to write adaptations. Notably, he adapted Luis Alberto Urrea's anthology Across the Wire in 2003; Bill Littlefield's novel The Prospect in 2005; and the anthology Voices from the Heartland in 2008. Williams' work on Voices received the "Ohio Arts Council Award of Individual Excellence in Screenwriting" in 2009. These scripts are shared as examples in his book Screen Adaptation: Beyond the Basics. By 2010, Williams co-directed and co-produced two documentary television series (Redefining Appalachia and Guyana Pepperpot) as well as the documentary Breaking News (featuring Dianne Rehm, Walter Cronkite and Terry Anderson). Over the course of ten years as a professor, Williams developed three unique concepts for film and television, publishing two books on the topics: • Screenwriters taxonomy • Kortlander-Williams Theme Matrix • Triangle of knowledge Academic career After working as a screenwriter, director and producer for eight years, Williams joined the faculty of Ohio University's Scripps College of Communication in 2005. In addition to a variety of domestic media projects, Williams used his faculty position to work on international media projects in Ukraine, Guyana and Ecuador. Williams currently develops virtual reality cinema techniques at Ohio University's Game Research and Immersive Design (GRID) Lab, where he continues to collaborate on a wide variety of non-fiction and narrative-based projects. In 2022, Williams collaborated with visual journalist, and graphic designer Adonis Durado, to create the award-winning interactive story Dating Forward. The following year, he wrote and hosted the television series Imagining Tomorrow’s Entertainment interviewing emerging media artists across the country. Each episode was based at the GRID Lab and started with a discussion of Williams’ various immersive media projects and collaborators. The show was runner up for the prestigious World Congress of Science and Factual Producers’ award for “Most Innovative Factual Project of the Year”. In 2025, Williams began working as a writer for video games, helping to create the online RPG “Centauri: Bloomtar Region”, the virtual reality detective game “CSI: The Red House”, and the satirical mixed reality game “Operation Big Missile”. At the same time, his work in cine-VR expanded from law enforcement into the public sphere. The GRID Lab collaborated with the Voinovich Academy for Excellence in Public Service to create OHIO360 – an immersive media production facility dedicated to developing high-quality, immersive soft-skill VR experiences to train public service professionals working on the challenging frontlines of safety, security, and health care. Their first clients were the Forensic Nursing Network, human resources training, and the Ohio Department of Health. == Cinematic virtual reality ==

Williams began writing, directing and producing virtual reality experiences at Ohio University's Game Research and Immersive Design Lab in 2016. Williams' first narrative virtual reality project was Re:Disappearing, which he wrote and directed that same year. Their cine-VR approach was said to improve cultural self-efficacy in healthcare providers. After three years of research at Ohio University's Game Research and Immersive Design Lab, Williams and the Loves subsequently wrote the book Virtual Reality Cinema: Narrative Tips and Techniques identifying at least four new concepts for telling stories using cine-VR: Music for the piece was provided by Moby; Jordan Herron was the immersive sound designer. In 2021, For the Love of God won the "Best Virtual Reality Award" in the New York Nil Gallery International Media Festival and "First Place: Outstanding Virtual Reality Film" in the Short Sweet Film Festival. Williams co-developed the concept of "PRE-ality" (a portmanteau of "prepare" and "reality") while working with emergency room doctors and physical therapists, Williams furthered this research in collaboration with Dr. Petra Williams, Northern Arizona University professor of Physical Therapy, and subsequently introduced the concept of PRE-ality at the Virtual Reality and Healthcare Symposium in Washington, D.C. in 2017. == Works ==

Williams authored three books: Virtual Reality Cinema (Routledge, 2021 with Matt and Carrie Love), Screen Adaptation (Focal Press, 2017), and The Screenwriters Taxonomy (Routledge, 2017), and edited two others, The Power of Virtual Reality Cinema for Healthcare Training (Routledge, 2021, with John Bowditch) and Media and the Creative Process (Cognella, 2014, with Beth Novak). Williams also wrote and directed for a variety of traditional and new media platforms: Cine-VR • What Happened on Peach Tree Ridge? (FNN, 2026) – co-writer / director • Armed Man on Oberlin Way (OPOTA, 2026) – co-writer / director • Death in D-Block (OPOTA, 2026) – co-writer / director • Isolated Incident on Sunset Trail? (OPOTA, 2026) – co-writer / director • Six Stops around Latona (OPOTA, 2026) – co-writer / director • Tragedy at Home (OPOTA, 2026) – co-writer / director • From Buddy to Boss (OHIO 360, 2025) – co-writer / director • Choices on the One Bus (OPOTA, 2025) – co-writer / director • Fireworks on Oak Street (OPOTA, 2025) – co-writer / director • Knock & Talk at the Red House (OPOTA, 2025) – co-writer / director • Protest at City Hall (OPOTA, 2025) – co-writer / director • Stolen Vehicle on Route 16 (OPOTA, 2025) – co-writer / director • Traffic Stop at Butcher Street Storage (OPOTA, 2025) – co-writer / director • Jumper on High Plains Bridge (OPOTA, 2024) – co-writer / director • Oak Street: Domestic in Progress (OPOTA, 2024) – co-writer / director • Pink Slip Issued on Runway Drive (OPOTA, 2024) – co-writer / director • Shots Fired at CW High (OPOTA, 2024) – co-writer / director • Thieves in Harding Park (OPOTA, 2024) – co-writer / director • ''Wild Bill's Brawl in Indian Hills (OPOTA, 2024) – co-writer'' / director • The Chet Story (GRID Lab, 2021) – writer / director • The Dion Story (GRID Lab, 2021) – writer / director • For the Love of God (GRID Lab, 2021) – director • He Loves Me (not) (GRID Lab, 2021) – director • Moving in Moving On (GRID Lab, 2021) – director • Diabetes in Appalachia (GRID Lab, 2020) – co-writer / co-director • Living with Addiction (GRID Lab, 2020) – co-writer / associate producer • Lost Broken Alone (GRID Lab, 2020) – writer / director • Re: Disappearing (GRID Lab, 2016) – writer / director Film and television • ''Imagining Tomorrow's Entertainment'' (Wondrium, 2023) – head writer / host • Guyana Pepperpot (Blue Arm Productions, 2010) – series producer / segment director • Breaking News (Blue Arm Productions, 2009) – writer / director • Redefining Appalachia (WOUB-TV, 2009) – series producer • ''Don't Try This at Home [TV pilot]'' (American Movie Classics, 2002) – creator / co-producer • Colombo and the Curse of Sorcery Circus [un-produced] (Universal Studios, 1998) – writer • Snakes & Arrows (Blue Arm Productions, 1996) – co-writer / director Audio Series • ''TV's New Golden Age'' (Audible Original, 2021) – writer / host • How to Appreciate Great Movies (Audible, 2020) – writer / host • Falling in Love with Romance Films (Audible Original, 2019) – writer / host • How to View and Appreciate Great Movies (Great Courses, 2018) – writer / host Video Games • Operation Big Missile (GRID Lab, 2026) – co-writer • CSI: The Red House (OHIO 360, 2026) co-writer • Centauri: The Bloomtar Region (GRID Lab, 2025) – co-writer / co-producer Books • The Power of Virtual Reality Cinema for Healthcare Training (Routledge, 2021) • Virtual Reality Cinema: Tips and Techniques (Routledge, 2021) • Screen Adaptation (Focal Press, 2017) • The Screenwriters Taxonomy (Routledge, 2017) • Media and the Creative Process (Cognella, 2014) == Awards ==

Award Nominations and Results == References ==