DEADLINE Wednesday, April 13th, 2022, at 11:59pm.
IMMERSION 4.0: VR Creation Lab
July 20th - August 8th, 2022
Cucalorus campus, Wilmington, NC
Tuition $1250 *includes food, lodging and technical support for VR production | tuition and travel subsidies available
The IMMERSION Lab is an opportunity to put critical thinking into practice through immersive media projects. This summer, The School of Making Thinking will run IMMERSION 4.0, our fourth iteration of our 360° video creation lab, in partnership with Cucalorus Film Festival. Through this residency, artists become acquainted with the growing field of virtual reality (VR) and develop and execute an immersive media project with production support and technical assistance from the residency leadership and collaborators.
Building on the belief that meaningful work is born out of a deep sensitivity for the context from which it emerges, we will immerse ourselves on every level. We will build group rapport through collective experiences, embodied workshops, intimate collaboration and co-mentorship of creative processes. We will engage the history of our surroundings through curated film screenings and readings, allowing our research to inform our projects and process. The tools of virtual reality have created a new space of exploration for the vanguard of immersive media and performance. The IMMERSION program asks: How do we root our virtual realities within the political and social realities from which they emerge? How do we resist the escapist trends of immersive media and deepen our relationship to place and to each other through immersion? What layers of historical, cultural, colonial, oppressive, personal and social fabrics map onto our movements in a space? How might we engage these realities actually, and virtually? As technologies evolve, how do artists adapt?
The first week of the session will be focused on group and site introductions, as well as developing technical familiarity with the technology and gear. In the second week, we will create immersive media projects with our co-residents as collaborators and crew. The third week will be devoted to post production and finessing, culminating in a work-in-progress sharing of projects.
We are seeking participants who have capacity to engage in an intensive production schedule, interest in developing skills and familiarity with immersive media and 360 video, and a desire to work within local communities and contexts. Prior experience with 360° cameras and technology will not be required. Session participants will have access to 360° video capture cameras, training in other immersive media software (tbd), as well as technical support during the shooting and editing process. Please note that IMMERSION 4.0 has access to limited computer workstations, and participants should be prepared to work from their own laptop and hard drives if they have access to them.
Pieces created at the residency will exhibit at the VR EXPO at the Cucalorus Festival in November 2022. Residents will be encouraged to return to Wilmington for the festival to participate as exhibiting artists.
Building on the belief that meaningful work is born out of a deep sensitivity for the context from which it emerges, we will immerse ourselves on every level. We will build group rapport through collective experiences, embodied workshops, intimate collaboration and co-mentorship of creative processes. We will engage the history of our surroundings through curated film screenings and readings, allowing our research to inform our projects and process. The tools of virtual reality have created a new space of exploration for the vanguard of immersive media and performance. The IMMERSION program asks: How do we root our virtual realities within the political and social realities from which they emerge? How do we resist the escapist trends of immersive media and deepen our relationship to place and to each other through immersion? What layers of historical, cultural, colonial, oppressive, personal and social fabrics map onto our movements in a space? How might we engage these realities actually, and virtually? As technologies evolve, how do artists adapt?
The first week of the session will be focused on group and site introductions, as well as developing technical familiarity with the technology and gear. In the second week, we will create immersive media projects with our co-residents as collaborators and crew. The third week will be devoted to post production and finessing, culminating in a work-in-progress sharing of projects.
We are seeking participants who have capacity to engage in an intensive production schedule, interest in developing skills and familiarity with immersive media and 360 video, and a desire to work within local communities and contexts. Prior experience with 360° cameras and technology will not be required. Session participants will have access to 360° video capture cameras, training in other immersive media software (tbd), as well as technical support during the shooting and editing process. Please note that IMMERSION 4.0 has access to limited computer workstations, and participants should be prepared to work from their own laptop and hard drives if they have access to them.
Pieces created at the residency will exhibit at the VR EXPO at the Cucalorus Festival in November 2022. Residents will be encouraged to return to Wilmington for the festival to participate as exhibiting artists.
