Image: By Geoscan Group - https://vk.com/geoscan_drone_show, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=112635292
Author: VANAS Team
Jeffrey Katzenberg’s Bold Investment in Drone Entertainment
Introduction Jeffrey Katzenberg—Hollywood titan, co-founder of DreamWorks, and former Disney executive—is embarking on an extraordinary new venture that takes storytelling skyward. He has placed his creative and financial bets on Nova Sky Stories, a drone entertainment company co-led by Kimbal Musk.
Table of Contents
- How It All Started: A Magical Moment at Burning Man
- Nova Sky Stories Meets Hollywood Magic
- Vision: Turning the Sky into a Canvas for Storytelling
- A New Entertainment Platform
- Why This Matters to Animation, VFX, and Video Games
- What to Watch For
- Final Thoughts
How It All Started: A Magical Moment at Burning Man
Back in 2022 at Burning Man, Katzenberg witnessed a drone light show by Nova Sky Stories—where a thousand drones elegantly morphed into a giant human face. He described the experience as emblematic of a “Pixar moment,” saying it “completely blew me away” and opened his eyes to storytelling’s next frontier.
Nova Sky Stories Meets Hollywood Magic
Since acquiring Intel’s drone light show division, Nova Sky Stories has built proprietary drones and refined the art of aerial spectacle. Now, with Katzenberg joining as strategic advisor and board member—and WndrCo, his investment firm, co-investing—they’ve secured millions in funding to expand operations and creative capacities.
Vision: Turning the Sky into a Canvas for Storytelling
Katzenberg views drone shows not as fleeting stunts, but as narrative mediums where the sky itself becomes a stage. He envisions immersive, long-form “Sky Stories” with original characters, music, voice interaction, and structured arcs that unfold in three dimensions above us.
Kimbal Musk shares this vision. He likens the dawn of drone storytelling to early Disney animation and sees the sky as a stage to captivate families worldwide. Nova plans to premiere their first co-developed “Sky Story” in 2026, delivering immersive aerial narrative experiences.
A New Entertainment Platform
Their ambition extends beyond festivals. The duo aims to fill underused stadiums with shows for audiences of 50,000 to 80,000, at a fraction of traditional event costs. They’re planning a global rollout powered by a growing fleet of drones, already profitable and expanding rapidly.
Why This Matters to Animation, VFX, and Video Games
Drone entertainment may look like fireworks 2.0—but at its core, it has much more in common with animation, visual effects, and video games:
- Animation Influence: Just like animators bring drawings to life frame by frame, drone shows rely on precision choreography and timing to make images move in the sky.
- Visual Effects Parallel: The spectacle of hundreds of synchronized drones is like watching real-time CGI unfold outdoors. Techniques from VFX—such as storyboarding, previs, and motion design—are critical in creating drone shows.
- Video Game Inspiration: Game engines and interactive media are already being used to design drone formations. The possibility of interactive drone experiences—where the audience’s smartphones or gestures influence the show—echoes the immersive qualities of gaming.
Drone entertainment is blurring the lines between these industries, creating a new hybrid space where digital art leaves the screen and comes alive in the real world.
What to Watch For
| What’s Next | What to Expect |
|---|---|
| Debut of the first Sky Story | A cinematic drone experience in 2026 |
| Strategic growth & scaling | Larger fleets, global reach, more elaborate shows |
| New IP development | Original characters and narratives for aerial shows |
| Industry crossover | Collaboration with animators, VFX studios, and game developers |
Final Thoughts
Jeffrey Katzenberg’s dive into drone entertainment via Nova Sky Stories is more than a media investment—it’s a venture into a new era of storytelling. Partnering with Kimbal Musk, he’s poised to elevate drones from spectacle to narrative art, offering families a chance to sit beneath the stars and be transfixed by stories unfolding above.
For professionals in animation, visual effects, and video games, this is an exciting frontier. The tools, skills, and creativity that shape digital worlds on screens may soon be shaping the very skies—turning technology into a canvas for shared human wonder.
