Future Cinema

Short Screens Paper – Theo X

Taking our discussion in the first class as a starting point, a new form of the cinematic experience that would actually make me not miss its current iteration is something akin to the holodeck on Star Trek: The Next Generation. To move beyond the traditional moviegoing model, I would need a total immersive and interactive experience that a creation like the holodeck could provide. In particular, I would want to use such a technology to recreate and even possibly re-contextualize historical events.

However, since it is doubtful that such a technology can exist (especially in my lifetime), I wonder about the possibility of developing a primitive prototype. At the very least, a prototype version that utilizes archival footage and/or a variety of materials from the archive to immerse the spectator in history. Essentially, existing virtual reality technology would be used and refined to allow viewers to creatively engage with history.

When thinking about such a development, I recall a scene from the episode of The Simpsons entitled “Marge vs. the Monorail,” in which Lisa imagines a history classroom that employs such an innovation to learn about the life of Genghis Khan. Pondering such technology also brings to mind The Secret Annex Online, a website created by the Anne Frank House that employs archival documents to construct a three-dimensional model of the home Anne Frank hid in during the Second World War, as a way for users (especially young students), to learn about her plight by clicking on icons that provide contextual information when they virtually traverse the space.

I cite these two examples because they are emblematic of the pedagogic potential that I envision for my prototype. Just as film provided previous generations (such as my own) with a new method of comprehending history, such an interactive and virtual technology would do the same for upcoming generations. Thus, it is my hope that in the future our understanding of history will become increasingly vivid and affective.

Vr discussed in class: clouds over sidra

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFnhMX6oR1Q

seminar information will soon be here

will be confirmed by next week.

email me three preferences : caitlin @ yorku. ca

FC 2017 syllabus

You can find it here: www.yorku.ca/caitlin/futurecinemas/future_cinema1_2017.pdf

sorry for the delay!

(menu link will also be updated)

Symposium looking for proposals

One more thing I am happy to share:

Anthea Foyer (who worked with Siobhan O’Flynn on the Transmedia Bible, and who Mark also interviewed), recently shared with me some information about an upcoming symposium looking for proposals. She says “They are also looking for great projects to highlight and keynote speakers. Let me know if you have any ideas of people / projects to promote!”

http://ima-mfa.hunter.cuny.edu/reframe/

Here is the info she sent me, provided to her by Heidi Boisvert of the futurePerfect Lab (whose contact info is below):

Amidst the flurry of techno-utopian industry hype surrounding Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, Mixed Reality, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning, not enough attention has been paid to long-term socio-cultural or neurobiological impacts of these new technologies. How can theorists, activists and artists develop a useful framework to explore the complex implications of using these technologies?

This version of the Codes and Modes Symposium aims to create an intervention into the uncritical excitement about emerging technologies to establish a space for conversations that are not being had. We are looking for presentations on new forms of nonfiction media that feature critical thinking on new technology, aesthetics, activism, practices, platforms and outreach.

Topics may include but are not limited to: sensory input, VR, AI, machine learning, the role of the body, methods for engaging subjects, AR, immersion, MR, user interfaces, games, creative code, representations of nature, interactive documentary, transmedia, technology and pedagogy, collaborative environments, biomedia, social media platforms, or experiential design.

We are interested in questions that examine:

What are new methods media makers are using to engage communities for social transformation?
How can the economics of data mining that permeate social media be avoided in this new realm?
What are compelling open source technologies and knowledge practices that advance possibilities for a genuinely free exchange of ideas and experiences?
Does the dominance of an ocularcentric focus of emerging technology in nonfiction hide the affective and embodied potential of immersive media?
What are the ethical implications of immersion and how might we collectively develop a set of best practices?
What strategies are activists using with immersive environments that turn outreach into policy change?
Please submit papers, panel discussions, artworks, workshops and artist talks to imamfaassistant@gmail.com prior to December 15th. Include your CV, short bio, and an abstract (500 words or less) of your presentation. Make sure to include your name, title, email, and institutional affiliation (if any). The symposium is March 17th & 18th. Symposium website: http://ima-mfa.hunter.cuny.edu/reframe/

The symposium is sponsored by the Integrated Media Arts MFA Program at Hunter College, the Department of Film and Media Studies at Hunter College and the Emerging Media Technologies Program at NYC College of Technology, the Entertainment Technology Department.

Symposium Organizers:

Marty Lucas, Associate Professor, Integrated Media Arts MFA Program, Hunter College

Heidi Boisvert, Assistant Professor, Emerging Media Technologies Program, NYC College of Technology

Andrew Demirjian, Assistant Professor, Integrated Media Arts MFA Program, Hunter College

–
Heidi J. Boisvert I Founder & Creative Director
futurePerfect lab :: We do good, better.

m. +1.917.536.2792
skype id: hjboisvert I twitter: futureperfects I www.futureperfectlab.com

VR Narratives Presentation

Hello everyone!

In addition to the links Amit posted from our presentation on Tuesday, we are happy to share the long-form video interview we shot with Scott Herman, the VR expert and Software Developer with DEEP Inc. (Polar Sea) who worked with Amit.

See the full video here: https://vimeo.com/194624165/b19c8b04ec

This is a private link only visible to those who have it.

I also wanted to share the quick ‘Cinema to VR’ timeline I put together:

http://lisasantonato.com/project/cinema-to-vr/

Enjoy!

P.S. On a personal note I would really like to express how much I enjoyed being part of this class. Thank you, everyone, for your insights and contributions. I have learned so much, from all of you. Most importantly however, I want to say thank you to Caitlin for creating a wide open space for sharing. Our “Feminist Check-in” day was possibly the best, and most unexpectedly rewarding, addition which I hope becomes a regular part of class repertoire. Thank you for that, it was much needed, very positive and so helpful and reorienting for us all after a confusing day in world events.

Tags: virtual reality

Hello Future Cinema Class!

As promised, I am posting a link to the website I built for my project: https://futurecinemaproject.com/. In addition to the map itself, which I encourage you all to interact with and leave comments for me, I have also included a paper on the project’s theories and praxis under the tab “Artist Statement” you may want to read. There’s also some interesting stuff under “Press Room”. I’m very sorry the tech wasn’t co-operating during my presentation, so hopefully, you can explore this website and the map to get a better understanding of what I am attempting to do. Thanks for a great and truly inspiring course, Caitlin! Have a great break everyone and I look forward to seeing most of you again in Future Cinema II, the sequel.

new frontier line up at Sundance 2017

Looked at the line up for the VR part at the upcoming Sundance festival and wanted to share this tree project that might be interesting to Anna and Akim
http://variety.com/2016/film/news/sundance-film-festival-2017-vr-new-frontier-lineup-1201930819/

posts from our talk yesterday

Hi everyone,
As promised, here are the links to the projects and speaker we mentioned yesterday in our talk :
the google lady – Jessica Brillhart http://uploadvr.com/google-vr-insights-360-video/
Polar Sea project http://www.polarsea360.com/journey/en/
Notes on Blindness http://notesonblindness.arte.tv/en/vr
or http://novelab.net/en/project/notes-on-blindness-into-darkness-vr/
6×9 https://www.theguardian.com/world/ng-interactive/2016/apr/27/6×9-a-virtual-experience-of-solitary-confinement
Lisa will add more . Best Regards Amit

Some final thoughts

I apologize for my absence today!

I thought I would post the questions I had prepared for today’s class if anyone’s interested in taking a look.

We’ve talked a lot about the technologies we use for filmmaking, game-making, and storytelling. I have been thinking quite a bit about how other more utility based technologies are impacting storytelling. What comes to mind is Jon Rafman’s work, 9 Eyes, where he crowd-sourced Google images. But I’m wondering if we can even make the distinction between utilitarian technologies and artistic ones? And if for instance, we accept that military technologies (for example) are appropriated and/or embedded in artistic practices what are the moral implications? What are the artistic implications?
• 9-eyes.com
• https://devart.withgoogle.com

Are certain mediums more suited to provoking emotion? Are there particular senses that stimulate feeling more? I was thinking about podcasting as such an incredible mode of storytelling as I have been moved to tears many times by the sound of someone’s voice.

Where do we stand as a class: technological determinism? Technogenesis? Social constructionism?